"Gord Beaman" wrote
Scott Ferrin wrote:


They built a model to go with it that weekend too. Hardly a napkin
and I doubt many (any actually) manufactures use napkin drawings
for
their presentation to the brass.

That's really quite a silly suggestion Scott...of course they
don't, doesn't preclude the initial idea being roughed out by a
hand drawn sketch does it?

Scott's refering to the original pitch that sold the B-52 to the Air
Force. According to Gunston, a team of Boeing engineers initially
pitched a turboprop B-52. When it became plain that the Air Force
thought a developed B-36 was preferable, the USAF types handed Boeing
a draft set of requirements for a jet bomber, the Boeing guys retired
to a hotel in Dayton and over a long weekend, developed the concept of
the BUFF from scratch, generated enough drawings and description,
including a wooden model to sell the concept. They had a great deal of
supporting data with them that was developed in a study that resulted
in the B-47 but it's still an amazing feat.