Luxury Italian Flying Boat

[kitflubber]

I had posted this eons ago, back when Planeman was on here a lot (what happened to him?). It's a super-lux twin-hulled Italian flying boat from between the Wars I and II.

[kitflubber]

It definitely needs some tweaking -- I would be building it in Strata 3D.

[PR19_Kit]

So is that twin hulled like the SM55, but with the control cabin up at the high level? And does it have FIVE engines?

I like that idea, I bet Tophe does too! 

[kitflubber]

I decided that the previous design was too darn small... now it's 257 feet long, 84 feet keel to top of engines (all twelve), with a 471 foot span.

It has a restaurant, a casino, and a dance floor on the middle sponson (when docked).

[kitflubber]

Oh and I stole the Piaggio hydrofoil plane's water prop...

PR19_Kit: Yeah, the Captain's quarters are in the top wing.

[kitflubber]

Oh goodness -- bigger than the Spruce Goose, per Wikipedia:

Specifications (H-4)

Performance specifications are projected.

General characteristics

    * Crew: 3
    * Length: 218 ft 8 in (66.65 m)
    * Wingspan: 319 ft 11 in (97.54 m)
    * Height: 79 ft 4 in (24.18 m)

    * Fuselage height: 30 ft (9.1 m)

    * Loaded weight: 400,000 lb (180,000 kg)
    * Powerplant: 8× Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial engines, 3,000 hp (2,240 kW) each
    * Propellers: four-bladed Hamilton Standard, prop, 1 per engine
          o Propeller diameter: 17 ft 2 in (5.23 m)

[Weaver]

Cool - don't worry about the size: just keep adding engines......

Speaking of the engines, why not have them in oversized torpedo-shaped pods with an engine room between each pair, access being via a ladder up the inside of the pylon?

I hope those guard rails are retractable and the promenade decks closed in flight: even with the likely "stately" performace, the ladies will still lose their parasols and handerkerchiefs, and young gentlemen might be inclinded to put themselves at risk retrieving them...

[kitflubber]

Weaver, I was debating about the engine pods -- maybe they should enclosed in fairings. I need to crack open my old 'Conquerors of the Air' to get better reference, especially for the paint.

[kitflubber]

I found this Frenchsite with three view drawings of various seaplanes:

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/j.s/hydravions/index2.htm

[kitflubber]

Been working on profile drawing for the flying boat... Does anyone have info on the insignias on 1930's Italian Flying Boats?

[kitflubber]

The Savoia Marchetti S-55 in the previous images were to show scale... The new plane is a bit bigger than the Dornier DO-X -- about 180 feet long.

I finished the engines here -- they are Fiat V-12s, producing about 1,000 H.P. each (there are nine now).

[cthulhu77]

Very Cool !!!!

[glanini]

What a Marvel...............

[kitflubber]

Thanks for the compliments! I have been building it with Strata now. Here are a couple of progress shots.

[kitflubber]

Major geometry worked out! Now need to apply paint and put in scene... My ambition exceeds my ability. I want a night time scene with revelers crowding the decks, and party lights strung on the plane.