World's largest airplane is rolled out

Just a tough but it is made out to what the Mustangs designers would have thought of of as proof of Clarke;s third law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Most of it is extremely well proved tech.

1stSgt Nelson Kerr - They could have easily worked around that by having the elevators at the top of the tail. It may turn out to be a non-issue, but that is a helluva lot more mass and surface area involved, and therefore stronger forces at work, than with any previous similar design. Probably the most analogous design was the Heinkel He-111Z (Zwilling), which also did not have tails connected. I'd be interested in learning how well it worked, and what problems they ran into.

SSgt Christopher Brose - What would be the point of having the tail joined by a long thing member, The could add it if the wanted to add the weight and reduce payload , but what would they gain in doing so? If the stress analysis said it was necessary it wold be there.

1stSgt Nelson Kerr - I'm sure you're right about that last part. But visually, it's going to give me the heebie-jeebies until my brain is used to seeing it fly. And part of me will always be ready to shout "I told you so!" at the TV if it ever crashes.

SSgt Christopher Brose -
I tend have the attitude that if the pilot will fly it I will ride it.

I flew over ice cold and frozen water when I was a kid in a Ford Tri-motor with wicker seats no less , on the world shortest scheduled airline flight.

The stresses are huge I agree bu the folks that built the Hienkle would have thought that the materials used in the new bird could only have been created by a wizard or a deity,