# Is this a real aircraft? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718 "2017-05-30T13:49:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/1 "2017-05-30T13:49:43Z")
I was visiting a major news site, and in their links to external “Paid Content” was an article about how a basketball star’s jet was “disgusting”, accompanied by [this picture](http://images.outbrain.com/Imaginarium/api/uuid/526006c5bbdfcda08b0ffc1da4a24d84de386818e43b2ca0430adbb34572a013/400/226/2.0). Having not seen an aircraft like it before, I was curious as to what it was and clicked through to visit the link. As with a lot of clickbait, the advertizing picture did not appear anywhere in the “article”, a slideshow of rich people’s jets. So, is this a real aircraft? The cockpit looks like that of a helicopter and it doesn’t look very aerodynamic, so my suspicion is that it’s a photoshopped picture, perhaps some Frankenstein’s monster of visual parts assembled from other aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/2 "2017-05-30T13:50:47Z")
no, it’s a drawing. > **[My, What Big Transport Planes You Have](https://kotaku.com/my-what-big-transport-planes-you-have-1739300187)** > > Daniel Comerci is an artist from Venice who works across everything from video games to magazines to tabletop games. [http://www.danielcomerci.com/vehicles-mechs-concept-art/](http://www.danielcomerci.com/vehicles-mechs-concept-art/) ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/3 "2017-05-30T14:01:29Z")
Well, that was solved quickly! So it’s concept art, and, of course, nothing to do with the article. I’m reminded of a clickbait photo from a few years back of what appeared to be a woman giving a blowjob - there wasn’t really any other interpretation one could make from it. Needless to say, the picture didn’t feature in the article and had no relation to its subject, which I can’t recall. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/4 "2017-05-30T14:02:14Z")
You’d be surprised about how [bulky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super_Guppy) planes can be. With a computer and big enough wings you can make quite a lot of things fly. I suspect the biggest problems with that concept’s airworthiness are that (1) the wings are too short to generate much lift, and (2) the intakes on the outer engines point down, and are likely to ingest all manner of junk from the runway on takeoff. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/5 "2017-05-30T14:10:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > (2) the intakes on the outer engines point down, and are likely to ingest all manner of junk from the runway on takeoff. Is there any practical reason why they would be depicted facing downwards? Perhaps they are supposed to be a rocket launcher pods or similar? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/6 "2017-05-30T14:14:33Z")
It looks a lot like the Nostromo’s landing [craft](http://mallonart.com/illustrations/coverArt/01-AlienSelfPromo/fullsize/movieAlienPromotionDETAIL05_fs.jpg)… ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/7 "2017-05-30T14:32:42Z")
If I were Gargantua, broke the Apache and Space Shuttle I was playing with, and glued them back together with tar. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/8 "2017-05-30T14:39:33Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It looks a lot like the Nostromo’s landing [craft](http://mallonart.com/illustrations/coverArt/01-AlienSelfPromo/fullsize/movieAlienPromotionDETAIL05_fs.jpg)… Technically, wasn’t the Nostromo the landing craft (or space tug or whatever)? The large structure it was towing was some sort of space refinery IIRC. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You’d be surprised about how [bulky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Spacelines_Super_Guppy) planes can be. With a computer and big enough wings you can make quite a lot of things fly. > > I suspect the biggest problems with that concept’s airworthiness are that (1) the wings are too short to generate much lift, and (2) the intakes on the outer engines point down, and are likely to ingest all manner of junk from the runway on takeoff. Might be a lifting body design. Of course it’s concept art, so not actually required to obey the laws of aerodynamics. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/9 "2017-05-30T15:47:43Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Well, that was solved quickly! So it’s concept art, and, of course, nothing to do with the article. > > I’m reminded of a clickbait photo from a few years back of what appeared to be a woman giving a blowjob - there wasn’t really any other interpretation one could make from it. Needless to say, the picture didn’t feature in the article and had no relation to its subject, which I can’t recall. That’s how it is with clickbait thumbnails: the only picture you’re guaranteed not to see, even if you click through the entire tedious spam-ridden malware mine, is the picture in the thumbnail. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/10 "2017-05-30T15:55:43Z")
Is “concept art” the right term, here? When I see that, I think of something that some company is actually considering building, or at least of incorporating elements of it into some other design. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/11 "2017-05-30T16:04:48Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > That’s how it is with clickbait thumbnails: the only picture you’re guaranteed not to see, even if you click through the entire tedious spam-ridden malware mine, is the picture in the thumbnail. :mad: One would think, in the era of “fake news” accusations, that news sites - or this particular news site, at least - would be a bit more discerning regarding the articles displayed on their front page, or elsewhere, regardless of whether it’s an external “Paid Content” site or not. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/12 "2017-05-30T16:09:33Z")
It appears to have 14 air intakes. Not counting the slits in the fuselage which could be additional air intakes. Makes no sense at all. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/13 "2017-05-30T16:18:37Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > That’s how it is with clickbait thumbnails: the only picture you’re guaranteed not to see, even if you click through the entire tedious spam-ridden malware mine, is the picture in the thumbnail. :mad: Which is why I’ve taken to right-clicking on the image (in Chrome) and selecting “Search Google for image”, in order to find out the true context of the picture. In extreme cases when they’ve juxtaposed two images to falsely imply they’re connected, I’ve actually cropped the image in order to search for the two components separately. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/14 "2017-05-30T16:52:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is “concept art” the right term, here? When I see that, I think of something that some company is actually considering building, or at least of incorporating elements of it into some other design. It’s concept art for video games, comics, that sort of thing… like a pre-3D-rendered artist’s illustration of the final model. At least that’s what the sources say about him. He’s an illustrator for fantasy games/comics/etc., not real-world engineering. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/15 "2017-05-30T18:44:00Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > It appears to have 14 air intakes. Not counting the slits in the fuselage which could be additional air intakes. Makes no sense at all. That’s nothing. The two fighter-style jets on his page have 1. Intakes, on intakes, on intakes and 1. Either intakes all along the front of the wings and horizontal stabilizers, or no intakes at all. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/16 "2017-05-31T00:09:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I suspect the biggest problems with that concept’s airworthiness are that (1) the wings are too short to generate much lift, and (2) the intakes on the outer engines point down, and are likely to ingest all manner of junk from the runway on takeoff. Meridian Prime, new leader of the transformers cares nothing for wing lift or runway junk in his throat 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-real-aircraft/787718/17 "2017-05-31T14:30:22Z")
Nah, that’s clearly a Decepticon. It’s got the canopy from a [Mil-24](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--leFLu747--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1467077758936174149.jpg), which is clearly the most evil aircraft ever.