SKIRMISHER

Norman Bel Geddes was a man who had balls so big the only thing he could do was build an aircraft that matched his cojones. The aircraft in question was something called Airline No. 4, proposed in 1929. Why is it more awesome than today’s 747s? Its sheer size — and rumored efficiency that the world never came to experience.

“The interior of the auxiliary wing contains a thoroughly equipped engine room, with machine and repair shops, and carries six motors in reserve.” There is a small railroad so the engines can be changed in flight, and moved around at ease within the auxiliary wing. The nonfunctioning motor can be replaced with a reserve motor within five minutes and broken motor run over to the machine shop and to be repaired on the spot.

Bel Geddes figured that while it required 20 engines to lift the ship off the water, only 12 were needed to fly at cruising speed, so it would be possible to remain in the air on just half the engines with which it was equipped. He considered this a safety factor of 2.

The pontoons carried 6 completely enclosed 40 ft lifeboats capable of carrying 110 people apiece. They were to have engines, windows along the side, radio gear, and food and water for 2 weeks..

Diagram of the aircraft (above and below), showing the facilities and the kind of space you’ve never seen in modern passenger aircraft. It even had a freaking gym.

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