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Gliders. During WWII, the US Army used almost 14,000 of these Waco CG-4A gliders, towed aloft and allowed to glide to landing fields in enemy territory. Able to haul a Jeep, or a 75mm Howitzer along with 4 troops, or 13 troops by themself, these were regarded as 'stealth' aircraft, silently dropping into a landing zone and then being abandoned after the personnel aboard had snuck away to do their assignment.
Made by several different companies who shared the same plans, Ford made the most with 4,190 rolling off their lines, at a cost of $14,891 each.
Instruments were rudimentary, with airspeed, turn and bank, rate of descent, altimeter and a compass making up the instrument panel.
Technical Details Crew Pilot, Co-Pilot Span 83' 8" (25.5m) Length 48' 8" (14.8m) Height 15' 4" (4.7m) Maximum Speed 150 mph (241 kmh) Glide Ratio 12:1 Empty Weight 3,900 lbs Loaded Weight 7,500 lbs Max Takeoff Weight 7.500 Emergency Load 9,000 Capacity 13 soldiers or a single jeep with 4 soldiers or 6 litters
Way back in the 1950s, Cessna undertook a project to build a business plane to carry eight or ten passengers. It was pressurized and sported four engines. This was the Cessna 620, powered by four 350 hp. Continental flat six engines.
The design started in 1953, but the first flight wasn't until 1956. By then, Cessna management took a hard look at the economics, and decided that with jet airliners on the horizon, pretty soon there would be a lot of used passenger planes for sale for less than the cost of this new project.
And so, although the plane met all of its objectives, the idea was shelved with just the one prototype ever existing.
No longer existing, the airframe was eventually sold for scrap.