What the heck is a "Stratolina?"

[muddyboots]

reminds me of the short bus Gary

[retroaviation]

reminds me of the short bus Gary

Funny how things in life come full circle sometimes, huh?

Gary

[Jack Cook]

I like it

[marine air]

It's great. I have been thinking about what line of bull Gary will have to give the eventual pesky neighbor that decides he doesn't like Gary's art work. Possible lines of baloney;
1) "It is a peice of art to memorialize the sacrifices of every man and woman that served in the U.S. military and it's allies on land and sea, The piece of art represents actual aircraft types used by every branch of the military and x number of foreign services from several wars. How can they oppose that tribute?
2) It's a radical "green "design that uses recycled aircraft parts.
3) as the "Catofreighter" It's a radical new business concept. It will combine both the amphibious qualities of a PBY-5a and the comfort of a fully decked out Boeing Stratoliner. It will be flown to areas of the U.S. where prostitution isn't legal and passengers will embark on flights out over international waters where they can party and engage in "the pursuit of happiness." The slogan could be "others haul boxes, We're haulinass!"

[retroaviation]

I was kinda thinkin', "Hey...screw you!" But your ideas might work too.

Gary

[Jack Cook]

I thought Godzilla was going to raise his family there when he finally settles down

[retroaviation]

Man. We all need to get out more, huh?

Gary

[Ztex]

I think some of us are too far out now....

[Jack Cook]

OK Gary you shamed me into moving the grass, reseeding some thin areas, pulling a bushell of weeds, pruning the roses, planting some flowers
to replace the ones the dog dug up while burying a ball and laying down about a gallon of round-up. I hope your happy now

[RyanShort1]

reminds me of the short bus Gary

Don't even get me started on that track...

Ryan Short

[engguy]

I'm really going against my better judgement, since I always lean toward the recips for power. But after many hours of thought, and studying the pictures of the stratalina, I have come to the conclusion that the best engine for that plane is an F1 rocket engine, it would not only look very cool sticking outa the back of strata, it has enough power to make that thing really scoot. Though you may have a problem with fuel quantity, it will have a good jato assist, and when you run out of fuel you will be able to pretty much glide the rest of the way to your destination.
Those pontoons can double as fuel tanks, and instead of engines on the wings just fabricate some nice looking bullet shapen fuel tanks as well.
You will need to better reinforce those wings though. And maybe sweep them back some or do that goofy for and aft wing deal for supersonic flight. Like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leFheCftMH0

[Nathan]

Not on the site much anymore but dang!

[retroaviation]

Not that this is any kind of "breaking news," but it is a Stratolina update nonetheless. As mentioned earlier in this thread, I had plans for relocating the tail of the airplane back a little, primarily in order to allow room for the cargo door to be utilized. So today, I tinkered with making a little frame assembly to do just that. As with just about every other part of this project, the frame isn't complete, but it is (hopefully) sufficient to hold the tail in place until I can get out there and make it more permanent.

And, in compliance with how the rest of my last couple days has gone, this "simple" project took up the majority of the day, while only falling off the forklift once and the ladder twice (one of which was a doozie...but thankfully I slowed the fall of the 7ft. steel bar I was holding).

So anyway, here's the pictures with the tail section moved aft. I kinda like it there. It gives the "airplane" a little better look, and it'll also make for a nice bit of shade for the barbeque grill, or a picnic table, or...............






Gary

[mustangdriver]

May I present the official Stratolina T-shirt.

[retroaviation]

Holy crap! I don't know how you did it, and I sure can't remember, but you even got ME to model the shirt for you!

Thanks for the laugh. It was much needed.

Gary