Whatchamacallit You’ve Ever Seen

Published on January 10th, 2009

Posted by Uncle Dave in Video, strange

It’s a Lockheed P791.

34 users responded in " The Weirdest Airplane/Airship/Whatchamacallit You’ve Ever Seen "

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# 1 LibertyLover said, on January 10th, 2009 at 5:46 am

Heavy Lifters. I believe there was book called that a few years ago but I can’t find a link to it.

[This might be it. - ed.]

# 2 joshuab said, on January 10th, 2009 at 6:17 am

I knew Boeing was working on a “Skyhook” program: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyHook_JHL-40 but didn’t know Lockheed was joining in on the party! Nice video! Thanks always for you posts.

# 3 QB said, on January 10th, 2009 at 6:41 am

There’s a number of companies exploring airships for cargo. You get huge fuel savings going with the wind and break even the opposite way. I think it’s pretty cool.

Anyone see the Icon A5 over at Wired? I’m starting to think a lot of old ideas are marrying up with new technologies to create a whole new era of personal and commercial flight.

# 4 Shubee said, on January 10th, 2009 at 7:03 am

At some angles, it makes me think that I’m looking at a flying pig. Did you notice the pig’s feet?

# 5 Pagon said, on January 10th, 2009 at 7:19 am

For military uses it has a major weakness. Being an “airship” it can be easily (to some degree) punctured – and it wouldn’t take sophisticated armament to do so.

Good military equipment must be reliable. When the troops need something, it must be available. How reliable can a “balloon like” transport be?

Notice that the article referred to is from 2006.

# 6 xwing71 said, on January 10th, 2009 at 7:25 am

Well it looks REAL stable. I love how it lands on one side first, then the other. Looks like we have a new wobbly goblin.

# 7 billabong said, on January 10th, 2009 at 7:57 am

WTF is it good for?Give us some information please.

# 8 deowll said, on January 10th, 2009 at 8:12 am

If you reverse the blades to hold the thing down you suck gravel into the blades.

I’m sure this thing will be a UFO to most people seeing it. Many will have it traveling at hyper speeds.

# 9 John C Dvorak said, on January 10th, 2009 at 8:13 am

for some reason I am reminded of the Pillsbury Dough-boy

# 10 Winston said, on January 10th, 2009 at 8:14 am

“Major unresolved issues could derail the airship dream, such as their traditional delicate ground handling, and possibly prohibitive economics and vulnerability.”

Yeah, there’s all that… but we’ll ignore those fundamental and insurmountable problems and make one anyway. It ain’t our money, it’s the taxpayers’.

# 11 Paddy-O said, on January 10th, 2009 at 8:15 am

If it isn’t actually lighter than air it won’t be that useful for heavy lift. It doesn’t hold cargo internally so you’d have to drop it while moving…

# 12 Raff said, on January 10th, 2009 at 8:47 am

Look on the side. It says “Ice Cube’s a pimp!”

# 13 chuck said, on January 10th, 2009 at 8:48 am

From the back it looks like Marc Perkel after he’s eaten too many angry whoppers.

# 14 Tippis said, on January 10th, 2009 at 9:20 am

I think the word you’re looking for is “dirigible”

# 15 Somebody_Else said, on January 10th, 2009 at 9:36 am

I guess Ron Paul is commissioning a new super-blimp for the next election…

# 16 Daniel Kaiser said, on January 10th, 2009 at 10:08 am

#1 I remember that book it was from the early 90’s, author? the design from the book was a flying wing shape, makes more sense than that bulbous thing, just did a search, it was called the big lifters by Dean ing, in 94 I moved to Memphis TN and met a guy that was working on an animation of a large cargo ship for FEDEX, looks like they had an interest in the concept back then.

# 17 morbo said, on January 10th, 2009 at 10:17 am

It’s the Iron Chef of aviation design: secret ingredient, Macys thanksgiving parade baloons. Begin!

# 18 Pink Floyd said, on January 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am

It’s been done already.

# 19 amodedoma said, on January 10th, 2009 at 10:40 am

I’d love to watch it fly in a little wind. I’m sure even the slightest of breezes are major navigational hazards for this thing. Sure glad my taxes aren’t paying for this investigation.

# 20 jbenson2 said, on January 10th, 2009 at 10:56 am

It looks like a cross between the German Graf Zeppelin and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters.

# 21 9yo said, on January 10th, 2009 at 11:38 am

big upside down camel toe

# 22 Pmitchell said, on January 10th, 2009 at 11:41 am

why is it that every fool that posts a video to you tube feels the need to put loud stupid music with it

# 23 ECA said, on January 10th, 2009 at 12:30 pm

You may have seen the cargo ships using Para-sails..save about 20%
They have a NEW one..
http://polizeros.com/2009/01/09/cargo-ships-with-solar-sails/

Wing sails, with Solar..they say it will save upto 40%

# 24 Angel H. Wong said, on January 10th, 2009 at 2:02 pm

Looks like three asscheeks pressed together.

# 25 Uncle Dave said, on January 10th, 2009 at 2:24 pm

Angel, you horny bastard!

# 26 IMR said, on January 10th, 2009 at 3:47 pm

Thunderbird-2 is go!

# 27 Mr. Fusion said, on January 10th, 2009 at 5:26 pm

#24, Angel,

Damn you !!! I’ve got coffee dripping from my nose and all over the keyboard. And I don’t want to know how you know what three asscheeks together look like.

(shouldn’t there be a little hair there?)

# 28 LucasJV said, on January 10th, 2009 at 7:50 pm

It looks like a zeppelin. That is very cool, although not very practical.

# 29 thisisold said, on January 10th, 2009 at 8:28 pm

This is 3 years old…

# 30 Greg Allen said, on January 10th, 2009 at 9:14 pm

It’s too bad the Hindenburg disaster killed off blimps as a way to travel.

Slow, low level, flying seem so cool… especially if they could make it quiet.

# 31 cgp said, on January 10th, 2009 at 9:39 pm

Its a model nignogs.

# 32 Wretched Gnu said, on January 11th, 2009 at 9:59 am

The head-on view of this thing will look familiar to any of us in the habit of pleasuring our girlfriends.

# 33 Gaolbird said, on January 11th, 2009 at 10:03 am

Pigs do fly!

# 34 Rick Cain said, on January 11th, 2009 at 10:14 am

For some reason it reminds me of this.

http://www.xofacto.com/justin024/mondo.jpg

The best thing about zeppelins was that they crashed in slow motion, giving you enough time to jump out when it gets low enough.

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