I remember seeing a group of engineers testing some sort of glider with a brief hop inside its hangar (unmanned), and there are the recent attempts at human powered helicopter flight. But I’m thinking about a traditional fixed-wing aircraft. Is it even possible? Piper Cub in a domed stadium perhaps?
Side question: Would the FAA have jurisdiction over such a flight if it took place on private property, inside a private building? I think yes since the FAA oversees all civil aviation and there are private airports in the U.S., but I wonder if an enclosed building would change things at all legally.
Dirigibles were commonly flown into their hangers, rather than taxiing as planes do. This was done at Lakehurst, NJ, and at Mountain View, CA. It was also done at the Goodyear-Zeppelin Airdock in Akron, OH up into the 1960’s. The Airdock is currently owned by Lockheed Martin, and is believed to be used for building & testing drones. 9those don’t count, as they are not ‘manned’ aircraft.)
Maybe not still there. Navy was stripping the skin last year - how long the framework will last without covering is to be seen.
Too depressing a topic for me- do your own research…
It probably isn’t what you are looking for but barnstorming was popular in the early days of aviation and meets the technical criteria.
You could fly a helicopter briefly in many buildings. There are enclosed helipads with retractable roofs after all.
I assume you are more interested in small planes that have taken off, flown around a bit, and landed in the same building without ever leaving it. That is a lot harder to pull off and their are probably only a few buildings in the world where it would be possible and semi-safe. You might be able to do it in the New Orleans Superdome (once the biggest enclosed dome in the world). It is circular and all open but the dimensions are still a little tight. It was built for American football so you have 300 feet plus the end zones plus some extra space at the end. I am not sure of the exact dimensions but even at 500 feet long, that is a tough takeoff and maneuvering run even for a Short Takeoff and Landing general aviation aircraft to pull ff safely. Certain ultralights could do it and room have time to circle and land but I don’t know of anyone that has ever tried it.
The human powered Gossamer Albatross was flown inside the Houston Astrodome in 1980. It is reported as the first ever controlled indoor flight by a human powered aircraft.
Thought I had heard of a small Cessna being flown inside the Astrodome in the late 70’s, but can’t find anything on that. Might be confusing it with the Albatross.
I think this is the closet we will find, and even that looked very tight. I’m doubtful it could be done with anything larger than an ultralight in that type of space. What we need is a Truman Show sized dome for indoor aviation.
I was at the Dayton Airshow some years back and had the chance to walk through the cargo hold of a C-5 Galaxy. There were a number of fun facts…how many ping pong balls the plane could hold, etc. The one fact that struck me was that the Wright Brothers first powered flight could have taken place inside the C-5. WAIT, WAIT! Before you go all “nu-uh” on me. The 120 foot distance of the first flight would have fit inside the 121 foot cargo hold, but the wingspan of the plane (~40 ft) would not have fit in the 19 foot wide hold. So…technically, no, but the fact that it’s a PLANE…pretty cool.
Also, the C-5 interior height of only 13.5 feet would not be enough, either – I believe the Wright brothers plane got higher than that (but only slightly). Of course, the lack of wind would prevent the Wright brothers plane from actually flying inside there, anyway.
But the C-5 is certainly large enough to carry some of the new unmanned drones inside (and has done so). They might be small enough to take off from inside the C-5. Could they do so if the C-5 was airborne, with the back door open? Then the C-5 could be an airborne aircraft carrier, a mother ship. Something that hasn’t happened since the USS Akron and USS Macon dirigibles in the 1930’s.
The short distance of this flight is often cited. Much less often mentioned is the headwind: 21 kts (24 mph). So the across-the-ground distance (120 ft) is misleading: the through-the-air distance was around 540 ft - which no airplane ever made could contain.
(That the Wrights were capable of controlling a primitive aircraft in 21-kt winds is quite astonishing.)
Cite please. I have a tough time believing this. It’s plenty big, but it’s not that big–unless we’re slippery about “rain clouds”, “form”, and “rain”, in which case my bathroom is big enough.
The treadmill joke has been made, but if you were to fly an aircraft in a large wind tunnel, that is essentially the aerodynamic equivalent to a treadmill. Anyone know if this has been done?
