Nmber # 1 of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

[Glenn]

About 10 years ago, I bought the Huma Trieb and it sat in it's bag for 5 years. Eventually I decided on building it, but before actually constructing it, I decided to up scale the model to 1/35th scale.  The model in front of you is scratch built, and the only 'kit parts' are the pilot and the five wheels.
The fuselage and ramjets are made from fibre-glass, the wings, and tails from Evergreen and the canopy vac-formed. (no, I'm the worlds' worst at vac-forming) Assembled with the wing section through the centre join.
The colour scheme is as with the Flitzer.

[F-32]

the thought of scratchbuilding anything more complex than an engine bay or cockpit makes me run and hide in a dark corner, crying like a girl!

The model is the dogs dangly bits, nice one!  

[Tophe]

Great work, Glenn...  

[nev]

Scratchbuilt!!??    

Aye Carumba!!    

[John Howling Mouse]

There's more compound curves in that scratchbuilt beauty than a
busload of cheerleaders.  Cool!

Not understanding the photo retouching though, was the original image blurred or were you going for some kind of effect?  Or is it simply a case of editing out the background?

This is going to drive me nuts.

[Glenn]

Yea,
  Sorry about the background, it was a light grey card, and since the shot was taken in sunlight, the shadow would have confused everyone. So, I deleted the background. Not up to my normal standard was it, but it was a bit BIG1 It won't happen again, promise!
                              Glenn

[John Howling Mouse]

Yea,
  Sorry about the background, it was a light grey card, and since the shot was taken in sunlight, the shadow would have confused everyone. So, I deleted the background. Not up to my normal standard was it, but it was a bit BIG1 It won't happen again, promise!
                              Glenn

No problem.  I've submitted far stranger backgrounds (i.e. my kitchen).

I was just trying to figure out what was going on (I'm getting old and even MP3's are confusing to me).  

I think this would also look good in space with a complete starfield background (I know that's not the original intent of the design but I might just play around with that idea).

[Glenn]

JHM,
 I'd like to see what Tophe could do with it as a twin boom with both inner or outer rotating props! If I think, landing that monster as it was designed, how would it be with two bodies!
BLOODY HELL!!!!

[Tophe]

I'd like to see what Tophe could do with it as a twin boom with both inner or outer rotating props!
how would it be with two bodies!

Please Glenn, detail your dream... Should I put a connecting wing aft of the rotors ? Could the rotors be intermeshing to decrease a little the distance ? Please tell me, and I will be happy to draw it (next week-end, maybe)

[Glenn]

Tophe,
   I think, a wing forward and aft of the centre rotor, and with the tails, leave the tailplanes the same, but make the vertical ones longer, to support the "thing" on landing.
There's one other thing, I don't care what side has the cockpit, BUT, I think it should be built within the nose shape. Rather than have the pilot sitting for take-off's and landings, have the pilots' position prone, so when the ship is in the vertical position, the pilot is upright.
Would that make it easier to land vertically, I'm asking a pilot here?
Inter-mesh props, I like that idea, more like 'Murphy's Law, if it can go wrong, it will go wrong'

[Tophe]

Dear Glenn,
First, reading your words, I thought : "it is impossible    to have a wing in front of the rotor, as there is the canopy here"...    I was stupid : of course, the wing can be on the side no matter what is on top. Moreover, with the glazed nose of the Glenn-improved Triebflugel, the top will be free. So it is okey, thanks a lot.
Our main pilot here is Ollie, I think he will answer, but I fear he has not much experience of VTOL tailsitters... few pilots have. But, if I remember well : Ollie was the one that explained me how the triebflugel would have flown (I was not understanding what would provide lift in horizontal flight) : not level flight, but nose up a little. So your prone pilot, dear Glenn, will have the head up, a little, almost comfortable...  

[Tophe]

Tophe,
Rather than have the pilot sitting for take-off's and landings, have the pilots' position prone, so when the ship is in the vertical position, the pilot is upright.

Glenn,
Don't you think this genius idea of yours (prone pilot for tailsitters) deserve a patent   ? Why no engineer ever think about that   ? Or maybe it just stayed on the drawing board, one boss   saying "no, forbidden idea, impossible to sell"...
About drawing the Triebflugel, I face 3 problems :
- As the level flight is "slightly nose up", the Corel-Draw macro-commands I have built, to turn 3-views into my usual angle, are not appropriate, and I should calculate and program all over again... So I think I am going to present the bird not flying horizontally (nose up a little) but slightly going down (nose horizontal...).
- As the rotating parts are so big (wings and big jets), I fear I cannot only draw an external line the way I do usually for propellers and rotors, and it is not matching the rest of the collection.
- If I draw this bird on the ground, with fixed rotor(s), I still have the unconfortable axis of the jets and air intakes to handle, requiring different calculations from the 3-view-orthogonal usual basis. Very uneasy...
The week-end will be busy. You will see what came from it, if I succeed... Drawing is not so much easier than modelling, you see  

[Tophe]

Glenn,
Don't you think this genius idea of yours (prone pilot for tailsitters) deserve a patent   ? Why no engineer ever think about that   ? Or maybe it just stayed on the drawing board

On my source (Secret German Aircraft Projects of 1945, Toros Pub.), the Fw Triebflugel nose seem to be already glazed, not like your model (nor Ted Nomura's drawings - I do not mean at all that you were wrong). So maybe this prone position, even temporary, has been considered, I can draw it that way : glazed nose for TOL, top-canopy for level flight.    No ? Question for Ollie or Evan, what about the pilot's commands in this 2 position cockpit...? Possible or not ?
By the way, I thought : a glazed nose was impossible    with nose propellers like the Pogo's (most famous of all tail-sitters), but it would have been rather easy on the Ryan X-13 Vertijet. Will someone ever build this nice X-13B VertiGlenn    ?

[Tophe]

the Pogo's (most famous of all tail-sitters)

No... how stupid am I... one tailsitter was much more famous than the Pogo : the Shuttle!
So, for the spacecraft that will replace the Shuttle, your idea must be considered, Glenn, with high patent rights for you, and becoming a billionaire! You deserve it, you genius...  As far as we are concerned, we will be very happy if you can make what-if models full time, retired, enjoying us again and again...      

[Tophe]

Ohh... Glenn will not be billionnaire : my friend Koen told me this has already been tried, on the Hiller XVT-8...
See his site, Proned pilots page, at http://users.skynet.be/nestofdragons/weird_index.htm
Nicely different anyway...