spacesailor Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 '' CRAZY IDEA! The Northrop XP-79 ‘Flying Ram’ was a bizarre attempt to make an aeroplane that disabled enemy craft by colliding into them in mid-air. The product of a long line of all-wing fighters originally envisioned by the founder of Northrop, the XP-79 was doomed from the start and quite predictably ended in disaster! . As he floated down to earth the glider started to come towards him but luckily missed, going on to crash into the desert . only a few meters from where Crosby landed. https://planehistoria.com/experimental/northrop-xp-79/. '' spacesailor oddballaircraft.txt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 The Focke-Wulf F 19 Ente (German: "Duck") was a German experimental "canard" aircraft in the late 1920s. The F 19 Ente was a high-wing monoplane with a canard layout and fixed tricycle undercarriage. The pilot sat in an open cockpit, while an enclosed cabin was provided for two or three passengers. The canard was mounted on short struts above the nose of the aircraft, ahead of the cockpit, and the two engines were housed in nacelles mounted under the wings. The F 19 design was set so that the front stabilizer would stall some moments before the rear-mounted main wing, which in theory made the Ente virtually stall-proof. Two units built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 It's a BS theory. Control by something stalling is not control. Nev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 It always amuses me how, in the early aircraft designs, it was perfectly acceptable for the pilot or pilots to be stuck out in an exposed cockpit - while the pax got a fully-enclosed, relatively comfortable cabin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfGnome Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Not dissimilar to the old chauffeurs. Just the hired help… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Can't have Pilots in seats that could be sold to a passenger. Nev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacesailor Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 That goes all the way back to ' horse & carriage days . Your driver sat at the front to control the horses, the Gentry sat under a roofed canopy. Chauffeur ! when the driver was a professional in His Tailored Livery & not the stable hand. Even the first cars had no cover for the Chauffeur, the windscreen was behind the driver . So he ( alway a male to control big horse power ) could use the ' whip ' . spacesailor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmccarthy Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Pilots refused to use enclosed cockpits. The sound of the engine, the wind on one side of their face, and so on were essential for good aircraft control (they said). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 "Canard" also means "duck" (in French) - I've always been curious as to why a front HS is called a "canard". Not like you see ducks flying around with a little set of wings sticking out of their neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Koreelah Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Similar to the story from The Great War about pilots (many of whom were drawn from the cavalry) who insisted on wearing their spurs while flying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 46 minutes ago, Marty_d said: "Canard" also means "duck" (in French) - I've always been curious as to why a front HS is called a "canard". Not like you see ducks flying around with a little set of wings sticking out of their neck. Peter Stevens comment and photo, below, best describes how the French ended up calling the design a canard. https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-front-wing-on-a-plane-called-a-Canard-How-is-it-related-to-a-Duck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 The Ligeti Stratos referred to in the above article. Designed and built in Australia. See also here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Yeah... kind of... but a delta (sans canards) would also have a rear-mounted wing like a duck... seems a bit thin really. But the word has been around since 1906 - Wikipedia reckons it started with the Santos-Dumont 14 bis which, when you look at that box-shaped front stabilizer, actually does look a bit like a duck. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Yeah, someone should tell that Santos-Dumont bloke, that he's flying that plane backwards! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 At least that plane has vertical surfaces that stop it being sensitive to sliding sideways. Nev 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Koreelah Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 4 minutes ago, onetrack said: Yeah, someone should tell that Santos-Dumont bloke, that he's flying that plane backwards! That Brazilian was flying around in France long before the Wrights, but in dirigibles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 He was a pretty smart Dude in many ways. Nev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmccarthy Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 I was reading his biography but left it in a Qantas seat pocket so never found out how it ended. I assume he died. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Koreelah Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 3 minutes ago, pmccarthy said: I was reading his biography but left it in a Qantas seat pocket… I can’t think of a more appropriate place to leave it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Santos-Dumont led an increasingly desperate lifestyle, stricken with MS, and possibly also suffering from bi-polar disorder, he took his own life in 1932, by reportedly hanging himself with his necktie. The sad part is that during several depressive events he burned a lot of his books, diaries and records. Typical of many brilliant people, he became a tortured soul. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Santos-Dumont 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmccarthy Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 Well I didn’t expect that! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 Genius and madness can be closely associated. Its a stressful environment and you are basically alone.. Nev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted April 15, 2023 Author Share Posted April 15, 2023 The Douglas Skystreak (D-558-1 or D-558-I) was an American single-engine jet research aircraft of the 1940s. It was designed in 1945 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, in conjunction with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The Skystreaks were turbojet-powered aircraft that took off from the ground under their own power and had unswept flying surfaces. Three were built and a further three were ordered by later cancelled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted April 15, 2023 Author Share Posted April 15, 2023 The Boulton Paul P.75 Overstrand was a twin-engine biplane medium bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Boulton Paul. It was the final example of a series of biplane medium bombers that had served in the Royal Air Force since the First World War, starting with the likes of the Vickers Vimy and Handley Page Type O. The Overstrand was also the first aircraft to be fitted with a fully-enclosed power-operated turret. First flown in 1933, the Overstrand was essentially an improved model of the Boulton Paul Sidestrand of the 1920s, thus early references to the type referred to it as the Sidestrand Mk IV instead. It demonstrated a higher maximum speed than its predecessor and was procured for the RAF in limited numbers. As such, the type entered service during the mid 1930s, but became increasingly overshadowed by the new generation of monoplane medium bombers, such as the Vickers Wellington and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley. Nevertheless, the Overstrand remained operational during the early years of the Second World War, albeit only being flown by training units. The few surviving aircraft were withdrawn from service during 1941, having been rendered surplus to requirements. Sometimes described as the ugliest plane ever built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacesailor Posted April 15, 2023 Share Posted April 15, 2023 (edited) And here's a modern twist!. 330 px Barlow Acapela 100 N455 CB Originally a Bede BD-5 design. spacesailor Edited April 15, 2023 by spacesailor lost image 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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