Biblane Hurricane

[Airframes]

Somewhere in a dusty box, I have some footage of this on VHS, and 'stills' showing the upper wing jettison trials - if I can find it, I'll see if I can have it transferred to digital.

 

[Wayne Little]

Let's hope you find it Terry...

 

[buffnut453]

Yeah, the whole concept of jettisoning that wing seems...well, scarily dangerous. Wonder what were the odds of the wing hitting the fin/tail?

 

[Airframes]

From what I remember, that was a problem which had been considered, and I believe early trials showed a distinct possibility of this. However, the 'stills', from what I recall, show the top wing 'lifting' at the leading edge as it's jettisoned, with the next shot showing the wing quite high above the mid fuselage section, and the third shot showing it behind the aircraft, at the start of what could be described as a wing tip stall.
I'll dig through the stuff I still haven't un-packed after moving house fourteen years ago(!), and if it's not there, then it'll probably be at my ex-wife's house, in the loft somewhere!

 

[nuuumannn]

No worries, Geo. So, Terry, what are you going to offer the ex-wife to go raid her loft?

 

[Airframes]

Er... I'm still pondering on that one - especially as the 'loft' is actually in the roof void of a 350 year old cottage, and, seeing as I'm now knackered with Rheumatoid Arthritis, the chances of me squirming through the top of a cupboard, turning left in a space about 20 inches high, then clambering upwards through a small hatch, before crawling along the tree trunk used as a main beam, are fairly slim!