Peter Gunn
Master Sergeant
KLM didn't seem to mind.
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KLM didn't seem to mind.Yeah, but that's a foreign product. Can't have that, now, can we?
That's different. They were Dutch.KLM didn't seem to mind.
Neat looking airplane! Had it been built, would those engines have impaired forward vision?If its weird, its British.
If its ugly, its French.
If its wierd AND ugly, its Russian.
In the case of this British spec, none were exactly good-looking. But, if we're going to have small tail booms, I like this Soviet design that was never quite completed: Grokhovsky G-38.
View attachment 613655
It used French Gnome-Rhone radials, and COULD have been a neat airplane. Alas, the designer apparenly somehow ran afoul of Stalin or was just caught up in a purge and, as so many others who had done so did, he died in prison. So, no really neat twin-boom fighter. But I like the design. At least it is NOT both wierd and ugly simultaneously.
If looks could kill, this would have been a winner. I wonder where exactly they placed the tailwheel ....
Sometimes you swing and you miss, and I suspect just take government funding for something you know isn't going to get picked.To be honest, I find this a massive embarrassment. All these companies had been designing aircraft for years, yet any notion of basic aerodynamics, use of modern technology, inspiration, anything was just thrown out of the window, ignored and/or forgotten.
Strapping a torpedo to the bottom of a DC2 would have been better than these
Wiki says it flew in 27 November 1934 without spats or Townsend rings. I wouldn't expect much from a 650hp Taurus.
The main criticism I would have is the 3 legs used to support each wheel but consider that its forerunners were biplanes.
Without retraction there is lots of room for fuel in the wings. Its redeeming feature is a Range: 1,250 mi (2,010 km, 1,090 nmi) on a 650hp engine.
It's hard to imagine a Bristol radial not running out of oil before the trip was done.For all the criticism of these designs, they were built to meet a Government requirement. Let's bear in mind that the Wellesley set a world distance record flying 7,162 miles non-stop from Ismailia to Darwin.
If its weird, its British.
If its ugly, its French.
If its wierd AND ugly, its Russian.
In the case of this British spec, none were exactly good-looking. But, if we're going to have small tail booms, I like this Soviet design that was never quite completed: Grokhovsky G-38.
View attachment 613655
It used French Gnome-Rhone radials, and COULD have been a neat airplane. Alas, the designer apparenly somehow ran afoul of Stalin or was just caught up in a purge and, as so many others who had done so did, he died in prison. So, no really neat twin-boom fighter. But I like the design. At least it is NOT both wierd and ugly simultaneously.
If looks could kill, this would have been a winner. I wonder where exactly they placed the tailwheel ....
I know, but how at 7,000 miles non-stop. I suppose you could enlarge the oil capacity and sump, but if you're burning oil you're fouling plugs.Fill up the oil and check the gas ...
The militarized DC-2 was better know as the Douglas B-18 Bolo. Not exactly a roaring success.To be honest, I find this a massive embarrassment. All these companies had been designing aircraft for years, yet any notion of basic aerodynamics, use of modern technology, inspiration, anything was just thrown out of the window, ignored and/or forgotten.
Strapping a torpedo to the bottom of a DC2 would have been better than these
I agree but it was still better than what was proposedThe militarized DC-2 was better know as the Douglas B-18 Bolo. Not exactly a roaring success.
For all the criticism of these designs, they were built to meet a Government requirement
If its weird, its British.
If its ugly, its French.
If its wierd AND ugly, its Russian.
In the case of this British spec, none were exactly good-looking. But, if we're going to have small tail booms, I like this Soviet design that was never quite completed: Grokhovsky G-38.
View attachment 613655
It used French Gnome-Rhone radials, and COULD have been a neat airplane. Alas, the designer apparenly somehow ran afoul of Stalin or was just caught up in a purge and, as so many others who had done so did, he died in prison. So, no really neat twin-boom fighter. But I like the design. At least it is NOT both wierd and ugly simultaneously.
If looks could kill, this would have been a winner. I wonder where exactly they placed the tailwheel ....
For all the criticism of these designs, they were built to meet a Government requirement. Let's bear in mind that the Wellesley set a world distance record flying 7,162 miles non-stop from Ismailia to Darwin. Yes, the aircraft were modified from the service standard but that distance record for a single-engined aircraft lasted for over 68 years! The ability to fly that sort of range didn't come by accident; it must have been driven in large part by the original specification. One look at the Wellesley's aspect ratio suggests the design traded speed and manoeuvrability for lift, presumably to meet the specification.