Passenger Transfer Vehicle: the Mobile Lounge

[Hotel26]

I really enjoyed the Regional Jet Challenge topic and tried quite a few of the entries there and learned a lot.  I really liked the Lassen Supersonic B, for example.

My Krew Bus (pictured) was originally used to deploy Kerbals onto the runway to board rovers (for loading then into transport planes).  The Bus was then recovered from the runway.  It hardly even needed wheels.

But I'm venturing into aircraft with higher passenger (pax) capacity now and wanting a better way to load/unload Kerbals.  With a couple of Klaws added, the Krew Bus is really quick for docking to an aircraft on the tarmac and transferring passengers: 3 clicks per.

In addition, the Krew Bus can be used to temporarily accommodate passengers in transit or awaiting re-assignment.  Now I want to keep 1 or 2 (it can be doppel-ganged) on every hub airport.

 

It's pretty ugly but..........

Edited April 23, 2018 by Hotel26

[Hotel26]

.....a Mk-3 crew cabin on wheels is not really a "design", but I rode on one of these once in 1980s at Dulles Washington International Airport:

 

...so it's not an original idea.  And now I don't feel so bad about it seeming "ugly", because it exists in real life and does its job, although it's pretty much outmoded now by automatic underground train loops...  The Mobile Lounge is a type of Passenger Transfer Vehicle...

...and this one is the work of Eero Saarinen.    All good.

In addition, I hoping it's feasible to use an articulated arm (2 d.o.f) to make a movable Klaw that will dock with the top of most pax aircraft.

Edited April 20, 2018 by Hotel26

[Hotel26]

Found this also active at the moment: Grounded Modular Vehicles R2.0, for those interested.

It may be more about 'realism' (Earth) than high-efficiency pax transfer...?