chipchenry said: “Boeing is likely creating this aircraft to take advantage of the Arctic Sea being ice free by 2012 to sell for cargo transport. When the seas are open, the Russian Natural Gas plant being built on the other side of the expected ice free sea will be a hop away, and with that tonnage of cargo capacity, this type of plane would be a better cost effective and safer method to transport the natural gas and/or fuel. There’ll also be a boom n standard cargo. As a hybrid with high altitude capabilities, it could also make the trips during high seas negating the ground effect it’s built to operate in.

Alternatively it could be used to transport military personnel and equipment.
They’d use turboprops because they’re the most efficient engine available and can be configured to burn several different types of fuel.”

Not as efficient as a turbo diesel with high pressure electronic multiple injection. Can one buy an ‘off the shelf’ kit to re-configure popular turboprop engines for different fuels I wonder? Also, would the aircraft type certificate allow it, it is a major modification to the aircraft and the authorities are very reluctant to ‘meddle’ with type certificates, as a lot of them only hold up because nobody meddles. On the topic of Arctic sea ice, in my imagination the polar ice cap is pretty flat so would suit a GEV right now. If, in fact, the ice does melt, the Japs would build a 500,000 tonne gas tanker, within a month, for half the price of the GEV. Man it with a Filipino crew and paint ‘CHEEP GAS’ on the side, job done!

Alx_xlA said: “A say, no need S said: “eeewww,,,ussr russia plane is sooo ugly and low / no life,,,
too much show off to america,,,america still beat ussr russia,,,
america plane is the best plane in the world than ussr russia,,,
ussr russia is always COPY STEAL COPY STEAL from america idea,,,”
Don’t be a douche.
Brought to you by the international society for not being a douche.
As an aside, what about the Hughes H-4 Hercules (aka the Spruce Goose (even though it was made of birch, not spruce))? Many people claim it only flew as a result of ground effect. I did a science fair project on it. Got bored and didn’t finish, though.”

It didn’t matter to Hughes whether it flew or not, I think he was a philanthropist and provided years of work for his staff allowing them to buy houses and raise their families in comfort. In those days one could not hand out ‘Dosh’ to strangers without a project or a goal. A simple power to weight calculation would have revealed an inadequate performance right from the start. Also, I seem to remember Mr. Boeing was in the wood trade? ——— after that it gets a bit murky!

wileybot said: “Curious, how do these perform over rough or heavy swell seas?”

The average wave height in the North Atlantic is 2.6 m

Alternatively it could be used to transport military personnel and equipment.

They’d use turboprops because they’re the most efficient engine available and can be configured to burn several different types of fuel.