Quote:
Originally Posted by Huckleberry
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Let's just quote the entire paragraph, especially the part in red.. My guess is that means it was not in the "design"
One widely held dual-use-related belief is that one out of every five miles of the NHDS is mandated to be straight and level, capable of functioning as an emergency airstrip.
Aside from the fact that, according to Weingroff, ‘no law, regulation, policy, or sliver of red tape requires that one out of every five miles of the interstate highway system be straight,’ it is virtually impossible from an engineering standpoint. The NHDS is composed of nearly 50,000 miles of road, meaning that almost 10,000 miles would need to be straight and level to conform to the supposed one-in-five-mile rule, a figure that is wildly unrealistic. In addition, from an aerial standpoint, an airstrip every five miles is superfluous, given the speed at which modern aircraft travel. Although there are long and level stretches of highway that could function as an emergency landing strip in a pinch, they are nowhere near as evenly parceled out as the one-in-five-mile rule would suggest. (The use of highway infrastructure for an airstrip is not unheard of, however: Nazi Germany did use limited stretches of the autobahn for such purposes during World War II.)
I also want to point out one more thing here. I mentioned the C-130 earlier.. This aircraft has a wingspan of 132 feet. That is about half the length of a football field. It is 38 feet tall, Much larger than the aircraft in use at the time of the design.
As you all drive around, try to find a spot to fit one of these on most interstates. And remember the landing strip should be at least 50-100 feet wider than the wingspan to attempt a safe landing. At best, most two lane stretches of highway are 40 feet in width for each side with a 10 to 40 foot median. and most of them are lined with trees or have overhead signs, not to mention the trees in the median, or a jersey wall. While there are many areas where this might be done,(Kansas, Nebraska, Arizona, west Texas, and eastern California maybe)most states do not have near the open and level space for this purpose.
If you had the width, Where would the gear be on the ground? In most areas it would have to be in the median.. That soft, grassy, rough area that will not even support the weight of some cars or trucks without getting rutted. Let alone the weight of an aircraft weighing between 100,000 to 800,000 pounds. It would tear the gear off on touchdown.
Also remember that the larger cargo aircraft such as the C-141 Starlifter and the C-5 Galaxy would require not only a much wider(as much as 100 feet more) but longer (approximately 2 mile runway) area to land and take off. The 130 is the only Cargo/troop movement aircraft that could operate in areas of a mile or less.
On another note, while researching this, I discovered the basis for the design of the interstate system. A quote from wikipedia says this. "It is said he drew six lines (three vertical and three horizontal) on a piece of paper and told his people to base their freeway system on it." LOL but don't take my word for it.. Go here and see for yourself...
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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