THe biggest single engined a/c

[Sir George Cayley]

An idle thought. What was/is it?

DHC Otter, something Russian? For now lets stick to propellor and introduce jets as the thread flags.

A vous

Sir George Cayley

[henry crun]

Do you mean largest wingspan as the sole measurement of size ?

[PPRuNeUser0139]

Vickers Wellesley (http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/vickers_wellesley.php) maybe?

[henry crun]

ANT-25 was much bigger than the Wellesley.

[chiglet]

Lockheed U2, maybe?

[henry crun]

chiglet: "For now lets stick to propellor"

[Noyade]

biggest Gunston says the Tupolev Tu-91 was the most powerful single-engine propeller aircraft ever built and with a MTOW of 31,746lb I wonder if it was the heaviest?

Cheers.

[Noyade]

I wonder if it was the heaviest?

Nope.
They just keep getting bigger! The Douglas XTB2D-1 Skypirate at 34,760 lb...?

[barit1]

Maybe a stretch of the thread.

Three Boeing 299Z (http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/GauthierDavidJ/9578.htm) ships were converted from surplus B-17G stock by Boeing. They were used by Allison, Curtiss-Wright, and P&W as engine testbeds. All three ships were, on occasion, flown in cruise with the four R-1820s shut down, so the only power was the single testbed engine.

Note that P&W's ship, NC5111N, was retired to the Bradley Air Museum (or New England air museum) and damaged in a tornado in the late 70s. This ship eventually was reconverted to B-17G, and became "Liberty Belle", flying from 2005-2011 for the Liberty Foundation. It was destroyed by fire after a forced landing two months ago.

[Fareastdriver]

The odd Lancaster used to be used for the same purpose. One was for the Mamba trials and used to spend some time on one engine.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee224/fareastdriver/pic-lanc-test11.jpg

In this picture it looks as if No1-3-4 are feathered with No 2 unfeathered for a quick start if neccessary.

[chevvron]

Biggest single engine piston was called the Evangel; only a few built but they were bigger than an AN2.
I can only find details of a twin version, but I'm sure I read a story in an American magazine about a single engine high wing version.

[bingofuel]

Does BA flight 9 (B747) count, south east of Jakarta when they managed to restart one engine? Okay I admit they became a multi pretty quickly afterwards, but for a few minutes were a pretty big single engined aircraft!

[Haraka]

Far East Driver - Isn't your " Odd Lancaster " a Lincoln?
(For largest single Propeller driven aeroplane the Linke Hoffman R II beat the Lincoln by over 18 ft wingspan at 138+ ft and about 25 years IIRC)

[Sir George Cayley]

Photos guys we need photos:ugh:

SGC

[SincoTC]

Photos guys we need photos:ugh:

Whiling away the time monitoring an SC Challenge, I thought I may as well oblige!

Courtesy of henry crun: the ANT-25 1933: Wingspan: 34m (111 ft 7 in), Length: 13.9m (45 ft 7 in), Height: 5.5m (18 ft 1 in)

Powerplant: 1 × Mikulin AM-34, 560 kW (750 hp (later forced to 874 hp)) at 1,760 rpm for cruise

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n540/SincoSafe/ANT-25.jpg

Courtesy of Haraka: the Linke-Hofmann R.II 1919: Wingspan: 42.16 m (138 ft 4 in), Length: 20.316 m (66 ft 7-7/8 in), Height: 7.1 m (23 ft 3-5/8 in)

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n540/SincoSafe/Linke-Hofmann_RII.png

Power was supplied by four 252 horsepower (188 kW). Mercedes D.IVa engines, arranged in pairs, in the central fuselage driving the propeller through clutches, shafts and gearboxes.

As Haraka intimated, the Linke-Hoffman R.II was probably the largest single propeller aircraft ever built and flown

[longer ron]

Smiling at the concept of a 5 engined a/c being classified as a single ...come on guys LOL

5 donks = 5 donks

1 donk = 1 donk :)

[Noyade]

Photos guys we need photos:ugh:Sure.

The Douglas XTB2D-1 from a December 1981 Wings article....

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1488/skypirate.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/718/skypirate.jpg/)

Power was supplied by four 252 horsepower (188 kW)Hence why I dispensed with the Linke monster and the Douglas XB-42 with two Allisons.

Intriguing thread :ok:

[Lightning Mate]

Here's a thought.

When we have solved this conundrum, how about a discussion on the worlds' smallest single engine aircraft (excluding models of course and it must have been flown by a human on board). :)

I reckon Noyade and I know what it might be.

[RegDep]

How about defining biggest?

Reason for my question:

For Douglas XTB2D-1, the weights are:

Empty weight: 18,405 lb (8,348 kg)
Loaded weight: 28,545 lb (12,948 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 34,760 lb (15,767 kg)

What would be the best comparable weight for "biggest" single engined a/c"?

If this was not fun, please disregard.

[Noyade]

How about defining biggest?For me, I've obviously been looking at weights, however dimensions are certainly another factor to consider. The ANT-25 has an impressive span and I'm ashamed to say I spent a considerable part of the morning looking for something bigger. :) Closest I got was the Egret...

D-FSTN - Private Grob G520T Egret Aircraft Photo | Airplane-Pictures.net (http://www.airplane-pictures.net/image54613.html)

[stepwilk]

The how-many-engines/how-many-props conundrum is a difficult one. Was the Macchi MC-72 record-setting seaplane racer a single or a twin, for example?

Is a Fairey Gannet a single or a twin?

[barit1]

Both the Macchi and Gannet are twins. The engines were mechanically independent, as were the drivetrains and props - even though coaxially located.

The same does not apply to a Griffon-powered coaxial contrarotating prop machine - that would be a single.

[Dave Barnshaw]

The AN2 is the Worlds biggest single engine bi-plane that is still in commercial use today.:=

[Tmbstory]

An AN2 located in Far Eastern Russia.

A versatile aircraft.

Tmb

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll161/Chalus/Scannerhats1185.jpg

[Tankertrashnav]

I've been told you can fly an AN2 on a PPL (not commercially, of course). Think I'd want a bit of a conversion course from a C172 though!

[stepwilk]

The AN-2 is quite easy to fly. Taxiing, however...(pneumatic brakes).

[Tmbstory]

Hope this is of interest, the cockpit and panel of an AN 2.

Tmbhttp://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll161/Chalus/Scannerhats1212.jpg

[Tankertrashnav]

How do the pneumatic brakes on those skis work Stepwilk? ;)

Great pic, Tmbstory, I'd love a go on one of those. I might want to learn what all those knobs and tits in the middle mean first, though!

[stepwilk]

They're actually rubber bladders--god knows maybe they're goatskin--that force the drum-brake shoes out against the drums, and of course they're prone to leakage. The air compressor on an Ant is as important as the APU on a jet.

As I remember--it's been awhile--the brake bladders are activated by a bicycle-grip squeeze handle on the yoke, plus differential rudder-pedal use. Makes a wonderful noise as you taxi in, though.

The other thing I remember about flying the AN-2 is that the windshield-panels configuration is such that there are areas where the wind whips the rain away as you fly through it, and other areas where it just drips and falls pretty much as it does out of a clogged gutter on your porch. Very strange.

[DX Wombat]

The AN2 is the biggest SEP which can be flown on a PPL. :ok:
AN2, Project Propeller Halfpenny Green 2006
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/DX_Wombat/P1011563.jpg

[H.Finn]

Grumman AF Guardian may have been the largest mass-produced and operationally used single-engine airplane, 389 built with a mtow of 25500 lbs (11567 kg).

[stepwilk]

It's a close call between the Guardian and the Doug Skyraider, both of which had nearly the same max gross and wingspan, though the Guardian's was slightly larger in each category. Yet the Skyraider was a vastly more effective and far more numerous airplane; no Guardians were even operating by the time of the Vietnam war, when Skyraiders were still very active.

But let's widen the purview to include single-engine jets, for the fun of it. Nothing comes close to the Republic F-105, with the MiG-27 and Lockheed U2 trailing somewhat behind. NOTHING with one engine has ever carried as much as a Thud.

[aviate1138]

I really like the Chinese version Y-5 with its cute wingtips………

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k35/beejaviate/y5_1.jpg

The reason for pneumatics on an AN-2/Y-5 is probably to do with extreme cold weather it often has to endure in Siberia etc?

[VX275]

You'd need to be careful with pneumatics in cold weather as the act of compressing the air can condense water out of it and you wouldn't want that freezing in your brake pipes now would you.

Pneumatics were once quite common in British aircraft, for instance the Dh Dove had it undercarriage, flaps and brakes powered by pneumatics, it was only the propeller pitch and the windscreen wipers! that were hydraulic.

[Rory57]

When I read "biggest" at the head of this thread, I thought of power rather than weight or wingspan. Anything with a single piston engine to trump the R4360 powered Super-Corsair or DB2D for power?

For turboprops, I can think of nothing more powerful than those frightening tailsitters the Convair XFY and the Lockheed XFV. As for jets, I suppose the JSF is king of the hill.

[Flash2001]

How about 7 engines? If I have it right, an Orenda Iroquois was mounted on a borrowed B-47 for trials. The aircraft was flown for a time on the Iroquois alone.

After an excellent landing etc...

[barit1]

The Navy bailed a B-47 to GE for flight tests of the then-new TF34 engine (1971). This particular ship was selected because it had a large resistor load bank installed in the bomb bay from a previous test project. The load bank was useful for testing the TF34 under relatively large generator loads, part of the S-3A installation requirement.

[terrain safe]

What about the F105?
MTOW about 52500Lb for the D version.

Probably faster than an AN2 as well.

[stepwilk]

The Thud is the runner-up, now. F-35 MTOW is 70,000 pounds.

[chiglet]

What about the Avro Vulcan?
Olympus Test Bed......

[stepwilk]

I think every two-, four-, six- and eight-engine airplane that carried--and flew on--a single test engine has so far been mentioned as a "world's heaviest single" candidate. Amusing, but irrelevant.

My own Top-10 list, culled from this thread and based on MTOW plus a "wingspan factor," is...

Boeing F-35
Republic F-105D
MiG-27
Lockheed U2
Tupolev Tu-91
Grumman AF Guardian
Tupolev Ant-25
Douglas Skyraider
Breguet Alize
Vickers Wellesley

Your mileage may vary, but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

[Noyade]

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, "PPRuNe Threads" proudly present for your entertainment on page 3...weighing in at 20,600 lbs and with a wingspan of 88 ft...the "Big Bastard from Blackburn"...

The Mighty Cubaroo!

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/1931/blackburncubaroo19241.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/153/blackburncubaroo19241.jpg/)

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/7260/71148289.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/43/71148289.jpg/)

[stepwilk]

Okay, you got me. Scratch the Wellesley from my list and substitute this monster. I love it!

[Rengineer]

Don't forget the Junkers Ju-52/1m, the original single-engine version of the Ju. With a span of 29m and length of 18,5m, it could dispute first place with either the Tupolev or the Cubaroo.

[Wander00]

88ft wingspan, and the engine weighed a ton (according to Wikipedia) - amazing

[AvMed.IN]

Lockheed U2, maybe?
Also increased the pilots' susceptibility to Decompression Sickness (DCS) (http://www.avmed.in/2011/08/decompression-sickness-in-ha-reconnaissance-aircraft/), as could MiG 25...