Eight-engine aircraft

Boeing B-52 climbing (engines arranged in 4 pairs of engines)

Eight-engine aircraft are aircraft that are propelled by eight jet engines. This construction was only used primarily in the military field for strategic long-range bombers until the early 1960s . Eight engines were necessary in order to enable a long range and a corresponding payload due to the engines that were not yet sufficiently powerful at that time. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress , which is still in use today, was developed as a nuclear-armed long-range bomber from the end of the 1940s and replaced the US Air Force's B-36 and B-47 as the base aircraft for US nuclear deterrence between 1955 and 1965 . Other models, including the American Convair YB-60 , were only produced as prototypes, without going into series production.

historical development

After initial, unsatisfactory tests by Northrop between 1947 and 1950, Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation and Boeing developed two operational models for the United States Air Force in 1952 , of which the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was able to prevail. Between 1952 and 1962, Boeing 744 manufactured B-52 bombers. In 2014 78 machines were still in active use. For cost reasons, the US Air Force plans to keep the B-52 operational until around 2044; the machines would then be a good 80 years old.

A corresponding development in the former Soviet Union is only known for models of the Ekranoplan ground-effect vehicles . The only completed example of the Lun class (Nato Code Utka ) from the 1970s, which has been decommissioned since the end of the Soviet Union, is also propelled by eight jet engines attached to the side of the cockpit.

Technical details

In the B-52 and the Convair YB-60, which were only developed in prototypes in 1952, the engines are attached in pairs in four engine nacelles below the wings. Another design was tried with the Soviet ground-effect vehicles SM-8 (1967) and Lun (between 1970 and 1975) with the attachment at the height of the cockpit. The experimental flying wing Northrop YB-49 , developed in the late 1940s, was equipped with jet engines integrated into the wings.

Classification of eight-engine aircraft according to size and production

In 2015 only the Boeing B-52 is actively used. The Ekranoplan MD-160 of the Lun class is out of operation at a shipyard, the types Convair YB-60 as well as SM-8 and Northrop YB-49 are historical models.

Note on the table: For a quick overview, the aircraft types used in 2015 are highlighted in light blue. The columns can be sorted by clicking the small arrows in the heading bar.

Aircraft type	image	Production (period)	Piece production (2015)	Pieces ready for use (2015)	country	Length in m	Span in m	Range in km	Starting weight in t	comment
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress		1952-1962	744	78	United States	46-47 m	56 m	7,200 km	221 t	Planned use until approx. 2044, nuclear bomber, transfer range up to 20,000 km, payload 31 t
Convair YB-60		1952-1953	2	-	United States	52 m	62 m	13,000 km	185 t	Prototypes
Ekranoplan Lun Utka		1970-1975	1	-	Soviet Union	73.3 m	44 m	2,000 km	380 t	Ground effect vehicle , decommissioned; another copy of the Spasatel variant is still unfinished
Ekranoplan SM-8		1967	1	-	Soviet Union	18.5 m	19.4 m	120 km	8.1 t	Ground effect vehicle , version of the KM on a scale of 1: 4
Northrop YB-49		1947-1948	2	-	United States	16 m	52 m	2,500 km	87 t	Prototypes

See also

• Single-engine aircraft
• Twin-engine aircraft
• Three-engine aircraft
• Four-engine aircraft
• Six-engine aircraft
• KM (Ekranoplan) (ten-engine aircraft)

Web links

Commons : Eight-Engine Aircraft  - Image Collection

Remarks

1. ↑ The respective model is classified under the name under which it became known or, in the case of current models, under which it is offered or listed by the manufacturers. Possibly. Several names are listed, for models from the former Soviet Union, Russia, China, etc. also the NATO names.
2. ↑ ^{a b} The numbers are taken from (a) overviews in Flight International : "World Airliner Census" for civil aircraft (as of mid-year), "Directory World Air Forces" for military aircraft (as of year-end). The overviews summarize all aircraft in use on the respective cut-off date, including temporarily decommissioned ("parked") aircraft, with the exception of aircraft operated by leasing companies. (b) Airbus production information at www.airbus.com (always updated) under Aircraft families and Boeing at www.boeing.com . Some of the total number of items produced are not published. B. the engl. Taken from Wikipedia or other statistics from Flight International and Aviation Week . The overviews are online at flightglobal.com. Archived from the original ; accessed on March 23, 2020 .  Overviews available as PDFs. Figures for China are generally not certain. a. sinodefence.com .
3. ↑ Country or countries where the manufacturer is based. In cooperation, e.g. B. EADS / Airbus all countries directly involved are listed. In the case of the countries of the former Eastern Bloc , the former USSR may also be listed for production before 1990.
4. ↑ ^{a b} The length and span dimensions are rounded to the nearest meter in order to keep the table clear. Different sizes for variants of a model: xy m, for swing-wing aircraft : maximum / minimum size.
5. ↑ as normal specified maximum range of the manufacturer in kilometers with normal payload, most powerful model of the type without taking additional tanks into account, except where applicable for specially listed ER models ( extended range ) in kilometers, possibly rounded
6. ↑ Gross weight, according to the manufacturer's specifications in metric tons, the most powerful model of the type, rounded if necessary

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Flight International, December 9, 2014, p. 53 (English)
2. ↑ Photos from "Лунь" (Lun) , aviastar.org (Russian).
3. ↑ Photo of the "СМ-8" (SM-8) , aviastar.org (Russian).