Stratocruisers in Don's Stories

[Carey Furlong]

Excerpted from Don Rosa's reply, where he described how he had to compromise
on his depiction of the early Rio cable cars...

> have never seen that will puzzle them. But perhaps they will take a clue
> from the fact that I show Donald arriving in Rio on a 1949 Boeing
> Strat-o-Cruiser turboprop airliner. Or perhaps not. Can't be helped. At
> least when I visit Brazil next month I'll be able to explain the situation
> in advance...

I would certainly take a clue if I saw Donald arriving in a
Stratocruiser.

I'm a fan of the Boeing Stratocruiser (just look at my email
address), and I pointed out to the mailing list a few years ago
when Don included one in another story of his, The Sign of the
Triple Distelfink.  I loved his drawing of that aircraft in that
story, and I'll be looking forward to seeing another one in his
new upcoming story.

The Stratocruiser wasn't a turboprop, though.  A turboprop is a
hyprid aircraft engine, a jet engine really, with a turbine-driven
propeller that produced the principal thrust, augmented by the thrust
of the jet exhaust.  A well known turboprop is Lockheed's Electra
(known to the military as the Orion).  The Stratocruiser was a
descendant of the B-29, and used supercharged radial engines.

Sorry for the lengthy nit-pick, Don! I can't wait to see your new
Stratocruiser!

Carey Furlong
Dana Point, California