User:N9002U/sandbox

Design
In general design, the P.87 was a single-engine, tail-first monoplane design. The unusual arrangement allowed for the crew to all be placed in the nose of the aircraft, ahead of the powerplant & propeller, which would have been quite novel for a propeller-driven aircraft of the time. The P.87 was to be powered by a single rear-mounted Daimler Benz DB 610 engine (the same type used on the Heinkel He 177 heavy bomber) in pusher configuration, driving a contra-rotating propeller. It featured an unconventional tail-first canard layout, with the tailplane being located towards the nose of the aircraft and the primary wings being at the rear of the fuselage, along with the vertical fins at said wings' tips. The mainplanes featured 30° sweep on the leading edge, with a swept trailing edge as well. The landing gear was hydraulically retracted and of tricycle configuration. Offensive armament would have most likely consisted of multiple 30mm MK 108 autocannon in the nose, with bombs either being carried directly underneath the fuselage and/or wings, or in an internal bomb bay.

Cancellation
The P.87 was theoretically a sound design, but a combination of a lack of experience among German pilots in flying pusher-configuration aircraft, and the unconventional and relatively untested layout lead to the whole project being dropped to focus on higher priorities. No mock-up or prototype was ever constructed, with only paper design work ever being done and no RLM number having been designated

Surviving aircraft



 * BuNo 139208 (NASA 708) still in NASA markings was part of Merle Maine's private collection in Ontario, Oregon until 2014.  The aircraft currently resides at Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.
 * BuNo 142350 (NASA 802) is a part of the Ohio History Connection permanent collection. The aircraft sits on static display outside of the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Neil Armstrong flew the aircraft during the Dyna-Soar research program. This aircraft has returned to static display outside of the museum after undergoing an 8-month restoration in 2017 and 2018. The cockpit is now a display inside of the museum.

Specifications
Data from

General characteristics


 * Crew: 3-4
 * Length: 12.15 m (39 ft 10.7 in)
 * Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11.25 in)
 * Wing area: 31.7 m² (341.216 sq ft)
 * Height: 2.8 m (9.19 ft)
 * Empty weight: 7,000 kg (15,432 lbs)
 * Max takeoff weight: 9,000 kg (19,842 lbs)
 * Powerplant: 1 × Daimler Benz DB 610 24-cylinder liquid-cooled inverted Vee piston engine, producing 2,218 kW (2,975 hp)

Performance


 * Maximum speed: 750 km/h (466 mph) at 7,000m (22,965 ft)
 * Range: 800 km (497 miles)
 * Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,808 ft)
 * Rate of climb: 671 m/min (2,200 ft/min)

Armament


 * Guns: Likely 2 or 4 × 30mm (1.181 in) MK 108 cannon in the nose, 650 rounds/minute each
 * Bombs: Unknown, would be carried externally and/or internally