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Airplanes


NightHawkm.png



Well, British anti-zeppelin fighter, again...:-)
In 1915, bomber zeppelins of Germany bothered all the UK, and in the company of N.P.Billing was designed a large fighter plane that was wanted to wait and ambush zeppelins in heights and attack them from above. The type P.B.29E crashed during tests and was replaced by the P.B.31E, similar but improved type (one of the designers was R.J.Mitchell, later designer of famous WW2 fighter Spitfire). The plane with five-member crew was equipped by two gunposts, headlight in front of hull and even bed :-), because the plane was assumed to fly even about 18 hours without landing. It was extremely slow, though (about 120 km/h) and also its rising took a long time, so it looked obvious that zeppelines could easily escape and the plane was not able to intercept them. They found out soon that all the conception of such a fighters was mistake. The only built prototype was tested in 1917 at Eastchurch navy base and in the summer of the same year was canceled.
 
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Bolkowm.png

It's been more a 'Stillborn blades' this time...:-)
In the early 60's has been built many helicopter designs for exploring how to increase choppers' speed. One of the insteresting experimental solutions (built for German Ministry of Defense) was the Derschmidt rotor system with blades mounted by joints to a central rotor part. It allowed the blades to rotate backwards or forwards in dependance of which place of rotation circle they were at. The speed of such helicopter could be about 500km/h (in the era when the usual was about 250km/h). Tests in wind tunnels were succes, but during experimental flights in 1964 added complexity occured with an unexpected new types of dynamic loads. Bo-46 with its semi-rigid rotor never passed an experimental stage, and 3 pieces only have been built, but the fibreglass blades used in this experiment work good enough and were lately used in Bo-105 project.
If this type were more succesful, it could meybe serve as emergency chopper in bad terrains due to its high speed...:-)
 
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Don't you know anyone please, why I cannot edit (my own) already added posts? The icon for it disapeears when I submit new reply...:-(
 
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About a week ago I tried to edit one of my posts but got the message that posts cannot be edited after more that 30 mins has passed. I think this is a "feature" added with the recent upgrade of the forum software as I didn't have it before.

I did get one of the mods to edit the post for me - which makes me think @IamSam that might be why you don't have the problem as you have administrator / moderator privileges.

Cheers

John
 
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Thanks guys, we'll check into it. It may have been change that happened with the upgrade.
 
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Well, this machine went further then to prototype and was even produced in amount of 300 pieces, but there is a special reason to have it in The Stillborn Wings line, though...:-)
During the WW1 and the years after there were many new aircrafts constructed, some of them flew better, some of them less better - and in the USA appeared even an airplane designed especially not to fly at all. In the era when two-seated training planes were too rare yet, many pilot beginners didn't know how to drive their planes on a ground correctly and that causes many damages of those expensive machines. In France before WW1 a few old Blériot's machines were used with their wings cut to training onground moving, but in the States in 1918 was built the machine just for this purpose. With their wings too short and their engines too weak for flying they started their service in 1919. Some of them were equipped with a protective cages all around the cockpit - and it's said that only five of all these 300 pieces were finally destroyed in training...:-)
 
Glosterm.png



There were three figter airplanes developed in Britain in 30's in the same request and the same specification. Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane became the two of the most famous airplanes of WW2 and now are good known by aircraft fans all around the world. The third plane were designed by H.P.Folland in the Gloster company and its conception was based on its succesful fighter constructed before, the biplane Gladiator. The type was moved by Mercury IX engine and armed by eight of Browning 7.7mm aircraft guns. The first prototype was flying in the December of 1937 and the second one on the spring of 1938. In that time Hurricanes were already sent to RAF units and Spitfires started to be produced, so Air Ministry decided that there's no need for a next type, so the project was canceled, the airplane didn't even get neither fabric assignment nor any nickname and were almost forgotten.
 
Varivolmal.png

In the 30's there were many experiments with variable-area wings provided, mostly in France, where aircraft designer Jacques Gerin constructed special experimental biplane with very narrow metal wings and additional flexible surfaces made from wood and canvas. The adds were located inside the fuselage during flight and moved by electrical engine during takeoff and landing to increase area of the wings. The wings flat could be increased this way from 6,3 m2 to 26 m2. Movable tips of the upper wing help with airplane control. In 1936 the aircraft was tested in the wind tunnel at Chalais-Meudon and then flied till the November of the same year. Then crashed, its pilot died and experiment was stopped though the wings were not a cause of the accident. Two years later, in 1938, Gerin used the similar concept for next aircraft, racing machine V-6E Varivol Racer.
 
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The French aircraft designer René Leduc beginnt an experiments with ramjet engines since WW2 and after liberation of his land he started immediately to construct experimental ramjet airplane Leduc 010. The first flight of this type was realized in April 1949, its speed was about 800km/h. As it wasn't able to take off by its own power, it was taken of on the top on modified airliner SE.161 Languedoc. Next experimental types followed: 010-02, 016 in the year 1951 and 021 in 1953. In 1956 all experiences with these experimentals were used to design of interceptor plane Leduc 022. This one were equipped by coaxial turbojet-ramjet powerplant and unlike the all previous types was able to take off by itself. First flown on 26 December 1956 on turbojet power alone, the ramjet was finally fired on the 34th flight, on 18 May 1957. Then the project was cancelled in favour of Dassault Mirage III. Although intended to be a supersonic fighter, the 022 proved unable to exceed the speed of sound (Mach 1) because of the prohibitive drag induced by its non-area-ruled fuselage at near-sonic speeds. The cancellation of the project marked the end of René Leduc's aircraft development activities. Now, this type common with Leduc 010 is to be seen in Le Bourget aircraft museum in Paris.
And this one is the only SW I have seen with my own eyes, btw...:)
 
Stipam.png

The one of the most strangely looking aircrafts ever was an Italian experimental machine designed in 1932 by Luigi Stipa for the Italian Air Ministry. To make aircraft's engine more efficient, it had a hollow barrel-shaped fusselage with engine and proppeler placed inside, working as a big Venturi's tube and making lift of the plane about 37pc better. The Stipa-Caproni proved to be noticeably quieter than conventional aircraft of the time. Unfortunately, the "intubed propeller" design also induced so much aerodynamic drag that the benefits in engine efficiency were cancelled out, and the aircraft's top speed proved to be only 131 km/h. The prototype made many flights from the Taliedo and Guidonia airports, was easy to control but not very useful for serial production and has been forgotten. This type, though, meant an important step in the development of jet propulsion. The skills made with it was leter used for example in design of Caproni Campini N-1.
 
LNmal.png

The economic crisis in 30's led to fusion of two big French air factories, 'Ateliers and Chantiers de la Loire' and 'Societé Nieuport-Astra'. The new concern 'Groupement Aviation Loire - Nieuport' was stronger but not so stable due to bad rivality between the two former factories. In 1934 the concern started to design a new fighter LN 160 (simultaneously with another type Loire 250...) First prototype of the plane flew in October of 1935, then returned back to workshop and was improved to LN 161 that flew on spring 1936. French air forces were satisfied with it and asked for next three prototypes. But then a troubles occured. The two prototypes crashed and more, the concern was nationalized and changed into SNCAO. The tests continued till the year 1938, but Armée de l'Air due to all the complications chose another plane, Morane Saulnier MS-406, as a stardard fighter, and this project was canceled.
 
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After the success of the famous WW2 fighter P-38 Lightning decided Lockheed company to design even bigger and stronger type with the same conception. When they were allowed to export Lightnings to France and Great Britain, they promised to build the new airplane at their own expense. In May 1940 Air Force required a two seated version and ordered to use stronger engines Pratt and Whitney XH-2600-9/11. In October of the same year PaW canceled develope of the engine, the Air Force then wanted to use Wright XR-2160 Tornado, that increase weight of the plane from 7500kg to 15500kg. Then USA entered the war, construction team was reduced and develope of the Tornado engine was even more delayed. USAAF knew that XP-58 is not already good enough as fighter, they want to use it as tactic bomber and later as "bomber destroyer"(when Douglas A-26 started to fly as the tactic bomber). In the June 1944 the first and the only prototype landed at last (with a heavy and bad Allison engines), in the October flew to the Wright Field army base, but nobody knew what to do with it, so it ended as ground stuff trainer.
 
Iljuškamal.png

The airplanes Il-2 'Stormovik' and later improved version Il-10 became very famous machines in Soviet Union during WW2. Both types had a metal fuselage armor, were used as light bombers and had one weakness - a fuselage part in front of cockpit covered up targets during bomb attacks and it made aiming much more difficult. Ilyushin company then designed new improved type in 1947, with cockpit placed just in a front of fuselage (and a little bit upwards because of engine). A new window in nose was added, in the armored fuselage were placed seat for shooter, fuel and oil tanks, parachute grenades launcher and about 1190kg of bombs. The prototype of the airplane nicknamed 'Gorbach'(Hunchback) has flown in the end of 1948, but in the next year the project has been canceled because of bad engine and also because of jet airplanes production beginning. Assignment Il-20 was later given to military mutation of Il-18 airliner.
 
I've seem some aircrafts but the ones you are drawing and presenting, hard to imagine they even lifted from the ground...
Thanks for sharing.
 
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In 1951 British Royal Navy asked for a small and cheap anti-submarine airplane able to take off the small aircrat carriers and help bigger and more expensive planes taking off the larger ships or coastal airports. The Irish company Short designed simple light bomber with two seats (for pilot and radar operator), able to carry about 830kg of explosives, but with no guns. Two prototypes were tested in 1953 and 1954 and then on naval aircraft carrier HMS Bulwark. All tests were succes and the airplane started to be produced in two different variations: AS Mk.1 (anti-submarine for ships) and MR Mk.2 (for earth airports) with rigid wings and bigger wheels and without naval equipment. But in 1955 conceptional changes were made is British Navy and all 21 already constructed airplanes ended into warehouse before they could started to fly and later were wrecked.
 
Tichonravm.png

In 1940, Russian aircraft construction team of M.K.Tichonrawow designed a new attack fighter with three engines - the main one for taking off was placed in fuselage, the other two with eliptic shape were placed under wings and were designate for moving and fighting in the air with a full speed. The airplane should have been constructed in the jet scientific institution RNII in Moscow lead by A.G.Kostikow (whose name is assigned to it in many articles). On the spring of 1941 the type was approved by all Russian authorities, but when SSSR was attacked by Germany in the June 1941, all work was stopped. In the July of 1942 the airplane was approved again and in the autumn of the year Stalin himself ordered its construction (after intervention of Kostikow and K.J. Voroshilow). But on the spring of 1943 the troubles occured, when the underwing jet engines of V.S.Zuyev did not succes and there were no another suitable ones. One prototype was constructed as a glider and pulled by Petlyakow Pe-2. The airplane seemed very good, but in 1944 all the project was shut down, though.
 
I like all of your drawings and the history of them. What is the thing at the top of the Toichonrawow drawing that looks like a spaceship, with the word Zoki?
 


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