Junkers G-31 other 3-motors. (1 Viewer)

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CharlesBronson

Senior Master Sergeant
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Jan 11, 2005
Cordoba - Argentina

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Interesting clip Charles. Thanks.

The video shows "Peter", one of four? G-31's operated by Guinea Airways during the "Gold Rush" days which eventually brought in eight 1,100 ton dredges to the Bulolo flats.

If you look carefully at the start, you can see that the nose engine mountings have been lengthened several feet. This was to compensate for the very heavy loads they carried, 7,000 lbs being typical.

Three G-31's were destroyed on the ground by marauding Zeros in January 1942. One escaped the slaughter and was eventually impressed into the RAAF.

 
Described as "probably" the world's smallest trimotor, the Aerogypt (the aeroplane of Egypt) series of aircraft was the brainchild of Saleh Helmy, a young Egyptian medical student. Subject of a patent, he designed a moving aerofoil flap attached to the top of the aircraft. The "flap" was intended to be raised and lowered to provide additional lifting surface, to reduce take-off and landing speeds. Power was three 22 HP Aero Sprite two-cylinder air-cooled engines.

The concept was appraised by the National Physical laboratory at Teddington who commented favourably on the device but declared the idea "mechanically impracticable". The Aerogypt never flew with a fully functioning flap.
Helmy spent 10 years on the project (Aerogypt IV being the last) and was hoping to incorporate the flap theory in a 100ft span 80 passenger aircraft.

He had the backing of King Farouk to produce the Aerogypt in Egypt for private/club owners, hoping to manufacture up to 100 at the cost of 1,000 pounds each. Helmy and his wife were in the processing of flying the Aerogypt IV to Egypt in late 1947 when the tail caught a perimeter wire at Northolt aerodrome and like a carrier arrester hook-up, it came to an abrupt halt. The plane was lifted by a crane for removal but the cable snapped, and the Aerogypt came to earth abruptly, for the second time. It never flew again.

Helmy regarded the Aerogypt as "Maidenhead's Baby", as it was the place where it was conceived and construction began.




(Aeroplane Monthly April 1990)
 
Bah, no more tha other underwing engine designs.

Another vid of the XB-51:
 

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