All language subtitles for Impossible Engineering s09e01 Worlds Largest Plane Stratolaunch.eng

In this episode... It is bigger than any
other airplane you've seen before.

It's overwhelming, really, in the scale
of it.

The largest airplane ever constructed.

It's crazy.

Like, wow, we're really trying to make
this thing fly.

And the pioneering historic innovations.

All right, so we're going to take this
aircraft up into the sky and see what

it's capable of.

That made the impossible possible.

The Mojave Air and Spaceport in Southern
California.

At this secretive facility, an
aeronautical revolution is occurring.

Engineers are preparing to create
history by flying a new aircraft for the

first time.

Designed to lift a 240 -ton payload to
altitudes of over 29 ,000 feet,

this new airplane has the potential to
radically transform the future of

aviation on Earth and in space.

But first, it has to leave the ground.

The original design intent for the
carrier aircraft or mothership was to

half a million pounds, which to put in
context is about two and a half, 737,

fully fueled.

It's more weight than has ever been
lifted by an aircraft of this design.

To achieve this goal, they've had to
redefine aeronautical engineering and

create an airplane unlike any other.

Stratolaunch. The Stratolaunch is in a
league of its own in terms of airplanes.

When it comes to just sheer size,
wingspan, engines, fuselages,

nothing can compare to Stratolaunch.

It is the world's largest wingspan
airplane.

385 feet wingspan. That is roughly the
size if you took a Saturn V rocket from

the Apollo days and laid it on its side.

That's roughly the length of our wing.

Standing over four stories high and with
a wingspan wider than a Boeing 747,

Stratolaunch is the largest aircraft
ever constructed.

It's powered by six gigantic engines,
each producing over 50 ,000 pounds of

thrust.

Its mission? To carry rockets and
prototype aircraft to altitudes of over

,000 feet before releasing them into the
atmosphere or beyond.

But building the world's largest
airplane presents some enormous

challenges for the team behind it.

For a start, how do you ensure it's
actually going to get off the ground?

So it is a big challenge to make an
airplane this large and light enough to

sure it can do the job.

Then once airborne, how does a three
-man crew maneuver something as wide as

football field is long?

The airplane's far too large for a human
to be able to move the control surfaces

while it's flying.

And how do you launch a payload into
space?

Carrying a half -million -pound payload
to altitude is a huge challenge.

Nobody's ever done it like this before.

Today will be the most significant
moment in Stratolaunch's history.

After six years of design and
construction and months of taxi testing

runway, pilot Evan Thomas is leading the
three -man crew about to take this

gigantic aircraft into the sky for the
very first time.

It's a little daunting as a pilot. It is
unusual, and it's hard to compare it

to, in your mind, to something else.

that you've flown before, because really
there's nothing like it in the world.

With the eyes of the aviation world
watching,

failure is not an option.

Building an aircraft of this scale
requires that our design and build teams

incredible attention to detail.

And it's not just the team's reputation
on the line.

We are putting three human beings in the
aircraft, and they need to come home

and land safely.

It's a mission no one takes lightly.

Even today, I walk in and I'm amazed by
the size of it.

The design capability of being able to
carry 500 ,000 pounds, that's...

roughly equivalent to two and a half
fully loaded 737s. It is a huge amount

weight, and it is an order of magnitude
above what any other airplane can do.

Lifting this much weight means that
every part of Stratolaunch's airframe

to be supersized, including its elevator
control surfaces, the devices that

enable the airplane to ascend and
descend.

By tilting the elevator up, the pilot
changes the airflow over the wing and

tail, causing the plane to climb and
vice versa.

In order to make the airplane pitch to
climb or dive, we need enough control

surface that that will change the
aerodynamics over the tail and move the

tail, which then moves the rest of the
airplane.

Measuring 29 by 6 feet, the four
elevators are the largest control

Stratolodge.

Our elevators are larger than you will
find on most conventional aircraft

because of the weight and the size of
the airplane that we need to move.

But these supersized surfaces present a
challenge in flight.

The force of the air moving past them is
too great for crew to manipulate the

elevators by muscle power alone.

So, can the solution to this unique
challenge be found with the great

of the past?

At the Evergreen Aviation and Space
Museum in Oregon.

Pilot Mary Hsu is uncovering an airplane
with a control system on a scale unlike

any other.

This is the Hughes H -4 Hercules.

Oh my gosh, the size of this is just
incredible.

For over 70 years, it was the largest
aircraft ever built.

It's hard to believe that this airplane
would fly.

It almost brings a tear to my eye just
to look at it.

Standing the height of an eight -story
building and weighing in at a whopping

250 ,000 pounds, the H -4's wings are so
wide that the Statue of Liberty could

lie across them.

The brainchild of pilot, philanthropist,
and film producer Howard Hughes.

Due to wartime shortages of metal, the H
-4 was built almost entirely from wood,

a fact that earned it the nickname the
Spruce Goose.

According to Howard Hughes' notes, this
airplane was designed to carry 152

,000 pounds of load. And to put that
into perspective, up until that time,

one of the big airplanes was considered
to be the DC -3.

It would carry about 6 ,000 pounds. So
no wonder people thought Howard Hughes

was crazy.

Weighing almost 400 ,000 pounds fully
loaded, it required engineers to think

bigger than ever before.

But much like the team behind
Stratolaunch, Hughes encountered

challenges as he designed his record
-breaking aircraft.

Oh my gosh, I'm going to sit where
Howard Hughes sat.

Isn't that amazing?

Wow. Until the H -4, airplanes were
controlled by a series of cables

to the pilot's control column.

Due to the sheer size of this airplane,
conventional controls could not possibly

work. So Hughes and his engineers had to
come up with a new plan and develop the

oil hydraulic pressure system.

As the pilot inputs a movement in the
cockpit, Cables signal pumps to direct

hydraulic pressure to the relevant
control surfaces disrupting the airflow

them and changing the direction of the
plane.

This means that for each pound of
pressure exerted on the controls, 1 ,500

pounds of pressure is directed to move
the relevant surface.

These flight controls are very exciting
because this is the first pressurized

system for boosting those controls,
which allow an airplane of this size to

flown. Now, smaller airplanes don't need
that. We can use the cables. But this,

because it's so huge, it would take the
force of 200 men to be able to fly this

airplane.

Although it was completed after the war
ended, the Goose did fly.

On November 2, 1947, observers witnessed
Hughes take to the skies.

It only flew for one mile at an altitude
of 69 feet, but it was enough to change

aviation forever.

Hughes proved that big airplanes can
fly, and it paved the way for all the

airplanes of the future.

And with Stratolaunch now poised to
become the largest plane in history, the

engineers behind it must look to Hughes'
design to help them reach the sky.

In Southern California, A monumental
flying machine is preparing to take to

skies for the very first time.

The Stratolaunch carrier aircraft.

With a colossal wingspan of 385 feet and
six engines,

Stratolaunch is now the world's largest
aircraft by wingspan, a record

previously held by the H -4 for over 70
years.

I would like to think we are following
on in the legacy of the engineering team

and the builders of the H -4.

And the principles behind Hughes'
pioneering control method are exactly

Evan and his team will need to get this
21st century behemoth airborne.

The StratLaunch has control surfaces
that are hydraulically powered, but

mechanically signaled, which means we
have cables running from the yoke up in

the front cockpit.

all the way to all the different control
surfaces.

We said, well, rather than have a bunch
of computers that would control the

hydraulic system and display that
information to the pilots like it's done

modern airliner, we'd go back to the old
747 or Hercules H -4 days.

Despite the difference in design, some
things remain the same even 70 years

later.

To get an airplane this size into the
sky still primarily requires two things,

lift and thrust.

It's the world's largest wingspan. Even
the biggest 747 or Airbus, their wing

stretches from our outer engine to the
other outer engine. And we've got

60 or 70 feet of wing on either end of
that.

So truly in terms of wingspan, this is
something.

that no one else matches.

Eclipsing the Spruce Goose by over 65
feet, Stratolaunch also dwarfs its

predecessor in terms of power.

We can see the three engines here on the
left wing. There are another three out

on the right side.

Those are Pratt & Whitney 4056 engines.
They each produce 56 ,000 pounds of

thrust.

With a wingspan longer than a football
field and six massive jet engines

producing more thrust than ten fighter
jets,

Stratolaunch is poised to become the
largest aircraft ever to take to the

It's a new milestone in aviation
engineering.

But the team still faces many obstacles.

No airplane has been ever designed
before to carry this large of a payload

this configuration.

Adding a payload will make Stratolaunch
one of the heaviest aircraft in the

world, a fact that presents many
challenges for senior design engineer

Wang.

Designing an airplane around that one
large payload is really difficult. If it

were a lot of smaller payloads split up,
that would be a lot easier.

But just this one massive, massive
payload, that's a big deal.

Lifting a payload this large in this
configuration is a challenge never

faced by aircraft designers.

Some other examples of airplanes that
have carried big payloads are the

An -225 that carried a payload just
under 500 ,000 pounds.

The modified 747s that were created to
carry the space shuttle.

But cargo aircraft like the Antonov 225
have the luxury of storing their payload

inside the plane.

And although the NASA -modified 747
transported their vehicles outside the

aircraft, the space shuttle weighs
roughly 165 ,000 pounds. Just a third of

weight Stratolaunch will transport.

The challenges of carrying one...

Half -million -pound enormous payload in
one spot are that you have really high

point loads.

It's also really bad for the bending
moment of your wing, and it's just a

massive spatial problem.

To ensure Stratolaunch is capable of
carrying the record -breaking payload,

Grace and the team must find an airframe
design capable of taking the strain.

For inspiration, they must look to
engineering breakthroughs of the past.

Test pilot instructor Andy Edgell has
come to the Valiant Air Command Warbird

Museum in Florida to uncover the
engineering solution to one of World War

most difficult problems.

This is the XP -82 Twin Mustang.

Based on the original Mustang design, as
we can see, it is two Mustangs strapped

together.

Over seven decades after its inception
in the early 1940s, the XP -82

still remains one of the most unusual
aircraft ever constructed.

She immediately reeks powerful.

She immediately reeks damaging.

She's an absolute beast of an aircraft.

The brainchild of American engineer
Edgar Schmood, the XP -82 was designed

escort fighter that could carry enough
fuel to travel thousands of miles on

-range missions over the Pacific Ocean.

Now, the way the twin Mustang solved
this problem was it's got an extended

fuselage just after the cockpit. It was
extended by about five feet. And that

freed up space to put more fuel into the
fuselage section.

And remember, there's not just one
fuselage on this aircraft.

There are two fuselages. So already
we're getting more fuel in the aircraft.

Additionally, they filled the wings full
of fuel and were able to put...

at least two drop tanks under each wing.
And a drop tank is an external fuel

tank. And once you've used up the fuel,
you can jettison or drop the fuel tank.

But with the wings carrying additional
fuel tanks, there was no room for the

machine guns that the original P -51
Mustang had installed to defend its

against enemy fighters.

An alternative solution was required.

So the beauty of the twin -fuselage
design aircraft is that it offers

versatility. Somehow you've got to strap
the fuselages together, and they use

this centre wing section here.

Now, this is an aerodynamic surface. It
helps the aircraft fly. But in addition,

it affords the engineers and the
designers some extra space to put stuff.

Now, here you can see they've decided to
put six 50 -cal machine guns.

Additionally, on this hard point here,
they could hang an enormous 400

-gallon... fuel tank to extend the range
even further.

With onboard fuel and drop tanks
combined, the XP -82 could fly distances

over 2 ,400 miles, far outstripping a
conventional P -51 Mustang.

But the twin fuselage design was useful
for more than just increasing fuel

capacity.

To demonstrate, Andy and pilot Ray
Fowler are taking to the skies.

I've checked for everything.

I think they've got enough runaway. You
ready to do this? I'm ready.

All right, let's do this.

Although World War II ended before the
XP -82 went into full production, it was

eventually reclassified as the F -82,
and it saw service all the way up to the

Korean War.

Today, this is the only one in the world
still flying.

Back in California, engineers have taken
the unique concept behind the XP -82's

twin fuselage and supersized it.

In the Mojave Desert, senior design
engineer Grace Wang takes a rare moment

appreciate the mind -blowing scale of
the unique Stratolaunch project.

I love actually getting on the airplane
and getting your hands dirty. A lot of

engineering companies, you don't get to
do that.

You don't see very many twin fuselage
airplanes, and that's because the

of most airplanes doesn't drive them to
this design.

So in our case, the mission happened to
drive us to this corner.

The payload goes underneath the center
wing here.

There's five attached points, and the
max load that one single one of these

points will take is over 600 ,000
pounds.

And that's crazy. That's about the
weight of a 777 just taken at one place.

Measuring 240 feet from nose to tail and
situated 105 feet apart,

Stratolaunch's twin fuselages are
unparalleled in aviation history.

The fuselages are spaced apart how they
are for a really big centerline payload.

provide clearance on the side for
separation dynamics.

But it's really nice in that it actually
gives you some flexibility for smaller

payloads. So instead of one large
payload, you could put maybe three

ones in between these fuselages.

When I look at this twin fuselage
design, part of me as an engineer

okay, this makes sense. And another part
of the aviation fan in me just thinks,

hey, this looks really cool.

The twin fuselage may be the perfect
airframe design, but it also creates

another problem that must be overcome.

We are here at the wing and fuselage
intersection.

We call this the wing to fuselage joint.

There was a lot of effort put into this
wing, so obviously it

had to carry enormous load, in
particular bending moments.

Measuring almost 330 feet long,

Stratolaunch's wings are placed under
immense strain.

This is most prevalent in the center.

The weight of the payload, combined with
the lift generated in flight, creates

what's known as a bending moment, a
force that's trying to snap the plane in

half.

So the amount of bending moment at the
center of that wing, it's hard to count

millions of hundreds, but we did, and it
is 800.

million inch pounds and you're like well
what does that mean so we put it in

terms of elephants so that moment is the
same as if you had put an elephant an

african elephant the big ones at on a
ruler a mile away so that's a bending

moment that the center of that wing has
to take one elephant mile to overcome

this vast force The wing is constructed
around four massive continuous bars that

run from one end to the other without
stopping inside the fuselages.

These bars are massive. They weigh about
16 ,000 pounds each.

And I think that is the largest single
airplane component

ever made.

But being so massive means that when
something goes wrong inside the wing,

there's only one way to fix it.

We need to go up in the wing routinely
to repair parts or to fabricate parts.

There's a lot of systems, flight control
cables up in here and hydraulics.

A lot of people have to spend a lot of
time up here in these tiny bays.

It's hard to get a sense of...

the scale of this airplane, but when you
disappear into this hole, it kind of

gives you a sense of how massive this
airplane is and how much work it was to

put together.

Stratolaunch is a milestone of
engineering.

But to ensure it's capable of dealing
with the extreme forces of flight,

engineers must overcome another complex
challenge.

To find a design that worked, we had to
create something new because there's Not

much precedent for anything like this.
We were really starting from scratch.

And draw inspiration from the great
innovators of the past.

Oh, I cannot wait to see this thing.

Oh, wow.

The Stratolaunch carrier aircraft has
redefined aviation.

100 miles of wiring, 28 wheels, and 6
engines have gone into creating

an airplane of gigantic proportions.

If it can get off the ground safely, it
will become the largest plane ever to

take to the sky.

But before that can happen, The team
must ensure that the airframe is strong

enough to cope with the forces of
flight, yet light enough to get off the

ground.

When you're building an airplane, weight
is central.

Weight doesn't help.

The whole lift equals weight equation,
every pound that you can pull out of an

airplane helps.

This airplane also has to be really
strong.

To support that elephant mile bending
moment, also all the other plethora of

loads that it's experiencing, the
structure has to be incredibly strong.

Strength and saving weight aren't really
compatible in engineering usually. When

you want to make something strong, you
usually make it out of better material

you throw material at it. You make it
bigger, you make it wider, you make it

thicker. So saving weight and being
strong are kind of...

Two opposite objectives.

So, could the perfect strong yet
lightweight material be found in the

innovations of the past?

On the edge of Dallas, Texas, is a

groundbreaking piece of aviation
engineering that could offer the

the team at Stratolaunch.

Oh, I cannot wait to see this thing.

Oh, there it is.

Oh, wow.

It's the Beechcraft Starship.

What a unique looking aircraft.

Engineer Dan Dickrell has come to
discover its secret.

Look at the design of it. It's got two
massive engines in the back. Those wings

that come out with the vertical
wingtips, the swooping nose, the front

-facing wing.

This thing looks like nothing else. The
shape of the Beechcraft Starship,

however, is not the game -changing
aspect of it. When it was built in the

something else entirely that really,
really changed the game.

The Starship was built to be the
blueprint for the next generation of

aircraft.

So historically, airplanes were made of
wood and fabric.

Later on, materials like steel and
aluminum were used. These were much

but also actually ended up being much
heavier.

Now when it came to the Starship, Rutan
needed a solution that was just as

strong as metal, but also a lot lighter.

By saving weight.

Rutin could make the Starship more fuel
-efficient, setting his design apart

from the competition.

His solution was to use a material that
was relatively untested in aviation at

the time, carbon fiber.

It was a choice that would create a
revolutionary aircraft.

All right, so we're going to take this
aircraft up into the sky and see what

it's capable of.

Raj Narayanan is the proud owner of this
piece of aviation history.

You can tell

you're in a composite airplane because
it doesn't behave like a metal

airplane with the way the composite
structure, the stiffness of the

structure.

Most other airplanes built at the same
time that were metal airplanes are not

flying anymore because of corrosion and
fatigue.

and reliability.

The Starship was a truly game -changing
aircraft.

Its unconventional design inspired other
mass -produced carbon fiber planes,

starting a trend in composite materials
that would change aviation engineering

forever.

Back in California,

Stratolaunch manufacturer Scaled
Composites have taken the use of carbon

in aviation to another level.

Stratolaunch is set to become the
biggest aircraft to ever fly and to

safely gets off the ground.

The team has turned to a lightweight but
strong composite material, carbon

fiber.

David Eicher is their director of
engineering.

Strata Launch is the largest carbon
fiber airplane in the world. The

the cabin, the tails, the control
surfaces, the flaps, the ailerons, and

wing structure is all carbon fiber.

This means that without a payload
attached,

Stratolaunch weighs just 250 tons, about
375 tons less than a fully loaded

Airbus A380.

But for David and the team, carbon fiber
does more than just save weight.

This piece, it's very lightweight. You
can see it's very thin. It's extremely

strong. So this piece maybe weighs a
couple pounds at most, and I can easily

stand on it.

So I'm about 230 pounds. I'm standing on
this piece that's just the skin and the

ribs that are holding me up.

Despite the cutting -edge nature of
carbon fiber, molding it into a section

airplane still requires work to be done
by hand.

I'm going to make a fuselage skin panel.
This is a way to make a really strong

panel but very lightweight.

This is uncured carbon fiber.

David starts by layering sheets of
carbon fiber on top of one another at 45

-degree angles to give the piece
strength in multiple directions.

Next, he vacuum seals the part, bonding
the layers together, before a

lightweight honeycomb core material is
added to provide stiffness and strength.

David then adds the final layers of
carbon fiber sheet, before giving it a

airtight compress.

So we're going to take the whole thing,
including the sheet at the bottom that's

acting as our mold, and we're going to
stick it in the oven and bake it.

This baking process allows the epoxy to
cure, joining the layers of carbon fiber

into one solid part.

All right, so we've taken the part out
of the oven and cleaned up the side,

trimmed it to the...

size it needs to be. And this is what
the final part looks like here. You can

see a nice smooth surface.

And then here's the core. You can see
the thickness that's been added.

You can't tell the difference between
the different layers unless you

use a microscope.

So it's all bonded very tightly
together. It's extremely stiff and

strong. I could try to snap it, but I'm
not going to be able to break it off

like that.

It's a material that has revolutionized
aviation.

and made Stratolaunch a reality.

But now the time has come for the team
to get this gigantic aircraft into the

sky for the very first time.

If they are successful, they will pass
into the realms of aviation legend.

Three crew members.

Six engines.

Two fuselages.

The largest wing ever built.

After six years of design, engineering,
and construction, it all comes down to

this moment.

Dude, get out of here.

We put the power up and pull back on the
column.

It's like an elevator ride going up.

Going up on 150.

The size of the aircraft does change the
way we fly. We do things slow to get

there faster, do gentle turns, no high
bank maneuvers, no high G maneuvers.

It is all slow and steady, wind at the
rate.

Flying this airplane is not like
piloting a racing yacht.

It's more like a supertanker.

It's going the direction it is going.

And in order to change that direction,
you have to think ahead.

After 149 minutes in the air,

Evan and the crew line straddle launch
up for the most nerve -wracking moment

the flight.

Now imagine I'm taking my supertanker at
speed into the Panama Canal.

You really have to do your lineup very
carefully and then keep the ship as

straight as possible coming into that
target.

For me, as the pilot, I'm most concerned
about will we be able to land it

safely.

That's the riskiest part of our first
flight. What's going to happen when we

touch down?

Because we have to line up on the right
side of the runway.

You know the left fuselage is over there
somewhere, but you don't know exactly

where it is. It's very hard to imagine
where it is.

We only have 43 feet to either side
before we're taking part of the airplane

of the runway. So it's quite a small
window.

to fly this giant airplane into.

This difficult landing is all that
stands between the Stratolaunch and its

in the history books as the largest
aircraft to ever fly.

Having successfully taken off and
cruised the skies for over two hours,

Stratolaunch is preparing for the most
difficult part of its maiden flight, the

landing. There is almost no margin for
error.

500 feet, looking good, we're stable,
we're on our line. 200

feet, still stable, still on our line.

Touchdown. We straighten the plane out
on the runway, brake to a stop.

For me personally, a highlight of my
career of flying.

Without a doubt.

Stratolaunch has done it. The team has
solidified their place in aviation

history.

The world's largest aircraft, fully
loaded, it weighs more than six blue

has a wingspan the length of 24 family
cars, produces more thrust than 10

fighter jets, and can lift a 240 -ton
payload to altitudes of over 29 ,000

Having gotten Stratolaunch airborne, the
team has reached an aviation milestone.

Growing up, I did not have this concept
of size, let alone this concept of size

for a flying machine in my head. This is
an incredible accomplishment.

Stratolaunch is one of the most
ambitious projects in the last two

aviation.

The courage and naivete that it took.

Whatever combination of that there was,
and just a pure nerve to say, hey, we've

never made anything this scale before,
but we're going to do it. That just

blows my mind.

It's a feat of engineering few thought
possible.

I've been working on straddle launch
for...

Seven years now, and it's a bit like my
baby in designing it, seeing it come to

fruition, and seeing it fly.

By looking to great pioneers of the past
for inspiration,

adapting their ideas, refining their

designs, and overcoming monumental
challenges,

I never thought that I would work on an
airplane this size or of this complexity

or this groundbreaking.

Working on this airplane was kind of
like winning the aerospace job lottery.

Engineers have built an age -defining
airplane and succeeded in making

the impossible possible.

I think that in 40 to 50 years, when we
look at aviation milestones, this will

stand out as one of those milestones.

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