McDonnell Douglas Model 226 "Quiet Attack Aircraft" naval stealth study of 1974 (plus more)

If you are interested in secret projects and aviation might-have-beens, check out RetroMechanix.com. We have an in depth article on the McDonnell Douglas Quiet Attack Aircraft proposal of 1974, an early attempt at designing a stealth aircraft for the U.S. Navy:



It features 8 high resolution images, including 4 modern CG artist's impressions of the design.

We also have an article on the North American All Weather Super Fury (an evolution of an earlier navalized F-100 proposal) from 1954:



It features 78 high resolution images, most previously unpublished. We also have an article on the Bell Supersonic Research Test Aircraft proposal of 1954:



This features a pair of high resolution drawings of this little known study. Most of the content is previously unpublished, taken directly from primary documents in the U.S. National Archives. There are many more articles to come in the weeks ahead, so please visit frequently!

Best Regards,

Jared

Star for you! Great websites - thanks heaps for sharing

That is a fairly advanced airframe design for the times.

The only problems I see are in the design of the wings - which seem 'spindly' and like they might be subject to twisting and fluttering at higher air speeds. Though I suppose the A-10 doesn't have too many problems, so perhaps it is merely my own subjective bias messing with me.

The aircraft was designed to be subsonic (max speed was 445 kts), so it didn't require swept wings.