C'mon now. Is this is going to Va just for training - practice loading and unloading - wouldn't it be cheaper to just build a perfect full size model in place, rather than waste an actual fuselage AND ship it across the country? A LOT cheaper?
That and they are using an Army Logistics vessel too. Might be one of those deals where they are using it as a training exersize for the crew too. Kind of like where they will fly a bomber to fly over a football game becuase they would have been out flying a training navigation mission anyway.
This entire exercise was done with the express intent of giving the Wiener Mobile an inferiority complex. Tomorrow night Pfizer will close down PCH to transport the world's largest Viagra tablet...
Here in the Pacific Northwest we often see fuselages in transport on semi trailers. Boeing has a fleet of trailers that have a tail driver who sits below the cargo. He has little windows and everything. I looked for a photo but couldn't find one. Granted, the fuselages are not as large as the C-17 but it is still fun to see.
I’m guessing that this fuselage was a static or fatigue test article based on all the load points that are bolted to the exterior of the fuselage. If these tests are done then this fuselage would have been scrap anyway. Might as well use it for training and save an airworthy fuselage.
Movement of large fuselage components by truck, bus and plane are not unusual at all. I’m not saying it isn’t cool, but it happens frequently.
This is your captain speaking. We have reached our cruising altitude of 7 feet. I have turned off the seatbelt sign, but please remain seated. It looks like we've got a tailwind, so we should be arriving at our destination a little ahead of schedule. Local time in Virginia at the time of our arrival should be next Thursday sometime. The weather at Ft. Lee is currently 79 degrees and fair, though that will likely change during our time in transit. The weather is expected to be 90 degrees and mostly sunny at the time of our arrival, but what are the odds that the national weather service knows what they are talking about that far in advance? We know that you had a choice in your rickety seaborne transcontinental flight, and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for flying with US Army Charters. Please enjoy the in-flight movie. Since we don't have a working entertainment system, we have David Spade on board to reenact Mariah Carey's blockbuster hit "Glitter"
By the way, these planes are IMPRESSIVE as hell. I've seen them doing some nutty shit over Charleston, they are fat as hell, fast, huge, and apparently really maneuverable.
07/22/09
Pfft, I'm surprised no one has made the comment that Long Beach is pretty well accustomed to having oversized planes trucked through it.
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Argh.
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That and they are using an Army Logistics vessel too. Might be one of those deals where they are using it as a training exersize for the crew too. Kind of like where they will fly a bomber to fly over a football game becuase they would have been out flying a training navigation mission anyway.
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Answer: not this one.
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Because shipping by boat is crazy dirt cheap compared to flying, road, or rail transport.
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Yeah, "Obamaair', because this just started happening in January. Nice troll.
07/23/09
[OMBUDSMAN NOTE: For future notice, a good example of the sort of comments to not distinguish with a reply.]
07/22/09
Movement of large fuselage components by truck, bus and plane are not unusual at all. I’m not saying it isn’t cool, but it happens frequently.
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Airbus-Industrie/Airbus-A380-800/0678343/L/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled-(Airbus-Industrie)/Airbus-A380-800/0597884/L/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Airbus-Industrie/Airbus-A380-800/0545498/L/
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Hope to see you again in the near future.
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