# What is this proposed aircraft called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302 "2010-05-30T17:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/1 "2010-05-30T17:39:10Z")
I remember seeing a description of a proposed aircraft. It was a combination jet aircraft and dirigible. I remember it looking rather like Thunderbird Two, but absolutely huge. I also remember thinking that thy were targeting the wrong market: instead of passengers, they should have been going to Walmart. What was it called? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/2 "2010-05-30T17:48:19Z")
Googling produced nothing useful for me. Why would Walmart want this? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/3 "2010-05-30T17:49:06Z")
[Aeroscraft](http://www.aerosml.com/aeroscraft.asp). [_Popular Science_ article](http://www.popsci.com/aeros/article/2006-02/flying-luxury-hotel). . ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/4 "2010-05-30T18:21:33Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Aeroscraft](http://www.aerosml.com/aeroscraft.asp). That’s it! And in 10 minutes! Jeebus but the Force is strong with the Dope tonight. > [@Xema](#): > > Why would Walmart want this? How many lorries or fleets of lorries could these things replace? And supermarkets have huge VTOL landing areas called car parks. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/5 "2010-05-30T18:32:49Z")
Hmm… their cargo page says 60 tonnes. Only one and a half containers. That’s pretty useless for the likes of Walmart. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/6 "2010-05-30T19:34:51Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > That’s pretty useless for the likes of Walmart. That would be my sense of it. With a speed 50% to 70% better than a truck’s, comparable capacity, and dramatically higher capital and operating costs, this doesn’t look like a winner. We’ve had a good number of airship threads in the past. It seems to be a common belief that they are promising, but no close examination bears this out. Their drawbacks are: - High cost to build & maintain - Low maximum speed - Poor fuel efficiency at any decent speed - Poor load-carrying ability for their size & cost - Vulnerability to wind and weather They have some attractions when what’s needed is a slow or stationary airborne platform (e.g. for overhead shots at a sporting event). Other than that, they don’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/7 "2010-05-30T19:38:53Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > How many lorries or fleets of lorries could these things replace? And supermarkets have huge VTOL landing areas called car parks. Which are full of street lights that would almost certainly be in the way of something like this attempting to land. My guess, if they were really going to do something like this they would either have to lease/buy additional space behind the building or possibly set up a landing pad on the roof with a cargo elevator to bring the pallets down to the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/8 "2010-05-30T20:42:33Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Which are full of street lights that would almost certainly be in the way of something like this attempting to land Haven’t you seen Thunderbirds? Like the palm trees, they’d hinge. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![monkey\_coding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@monkey\_coding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkey_coding)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-proposed-aircraft-called/541302/9 "2010-05-31T00:19:07Z")
Video and images of a prototype can be found by searching “P-791.” It’s about as maneuverable as it looks, still impressive though.