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Did you ever see a Prawn fly?...

Started by jcf, March 19, 2009, 11:43:09 AM

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jcf

March 19, 2009, 11:43:09 AM Last Edit: May 11, 2011, 03:23:03 PM by joncarrfarrelly
Parnall Prawn that is,   ;D

and the point of departure for a new build.

The Prawn was built in 1930 and only few technical details are known:
stainless steel used in construction, all-metal single step hull, fabric covered wings,
65 hp Ricardo Burt liquid-cooled engine (thought to be similar to engine planned as R101 APU).

Dimensions are thought to be:
Span 28 ft
Length 18 ft
Height (on dolly) 7 ft
Max speed approx. 100 mph.

I'll see what I can get done on a Prawn-ish craft before school starts back up on the 30th.











Jon

Ed S

#1
March 19, 2009, 11:59:53 AM
And people thought vectored thrust was new idea.

This should be interesting.  Are you going to kitbash this from something or just go from scratch.

Ed
We don't just embrace insanity here.  We feel it up, french kiss it and then buy it a drink.

lancer

#2
March 19, 2009, 12:54:59 PM
Quite the smart little sea plane. Innovative way of keeping the engine clear of the water and spray. I wonder how well it performed?
If you love, love without reservation; If you fight, fight without fear - THAT is the way of the warrior

If you go into battle knowing you will die, then you will live. If you go into battle hoping to live, then you will die

jcf

#3
March 19, 2009, 01:23:32 PM
Quote from: Ed S on March 19, 2009, 11:59:53 AM
And people thought vectored thrust was new idea.

This should be interesting.  Are you going to kitbash this from something or just go from scratch.

Ed

I'm examining possible victims.. er.. raw-material at the moment.  ;D

Probably gonna roll BdB stylie on this one.  ;D

Jschmus

#4
March 19, 2009, 01:42:07 PM
I found this little tidbit on Wikipedia:

"The first was the Prawn, a small single-engined, single-seater parasol flying-boat powered by a 65 hp Ricardo-Burt engine. It was designed to assess the feasibility of mounting a flying boat's engine in the extreme bow thereby producing a low drag installation. To make this feasible a very small four bladed propeller was needed and the engine could be tilted up to 22 degrees upwards to avoid the spray over the nose. It never was a very practical idea and it seems that little was done with it."
"Life isn't divided into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky."-Alan Moore

jcf

#5
March 19, 2009, 02:01:54 PM
Quote from: Jschmus on March 19, 2009, 01:42:07 PM
I found this little tidbit on Wikipedia:

"The first was the Prawn, a small single-engined, single-seater parasol flying-boat powered by a 65 hp Ricardo-Burt engine. It was designed to assess the feasibility of mounting a flying boat's engine in the extreme bow thereby producing a low drag installation. To make this feasible a very small four bladed propeller was needed and the engine could be tilted up to 22 degrees upwards to avoid the spray over the nose. It never was a very practical idea and it seems that little was done with it."

Most of what is known about the aircraft is in 'Parnall Aircraft since1914',
one of the thinnest in the Putnam/NIP series on manufacturers, however,
it does have some interesting stuff.

The coverage on the Peto, the small floatplane carried by HM Submarine M.2 in the late 20s - early 30s, is pretty
good with several photos and GA drawings.

Jon

puddingwrestler

#6
March 19, 2009, 02:24:42 PM
Well, it's almost beaten that Italian schneider contender, which took off on hyrdofoils using a tail mounted water prop before switching to an airscrew when it was clear enough of the water, to the title of most insane way to mount a seaplane powerplant. Almost.

Which naturally means the Scarlett Sloth will need to experiment with this arrangement on a future wonder plane  :wacko:
There are no good kits, bad kits or grail kits, just kitbash fodder.

jcf

#7
March 19, 2009, 02:31:44 PM
Quote from: puddingwrestler on March 19, 2009, 02:24:42 PM
Well, it's almost beaten that Italian schneider contender, which took off on hyrdofoils using a tail mounted water prop before switching to an airscrew when it was clear enough of the water, to the title of most insane way to mount a seaplane powerplant. Almost.
Pity the Pegna PC-7 never actually worked.

Quote from: puddingwrestler on March 19, 2009, 02:24:42 PM
Which naturally means the Scarlett Sloth will need to experiment with this arrangement on a future wonder plane  :wacko:
Funny you should mention that...  ;D ;D

jcf

#8
March 20, 2009, 10:50:29 PM
Quote from: apophenia on March 20, 2009, 07:51:24 PM
Jon,

As you probably know, Giovanni Pegna came up with a very similar concept -- the Piaggio PC.1.
Yep, and its the other influence on my bunch-o-different-kits-smash-up.  ;D

Current donors (all 1/48th):
Tamiya N1K1 Kyofu
Testors/Hawk Supermarine S.6B
Tauro MC. 202

Jon

kitnut617

#9
March 22, 2009, 04:11:50 PM
Not heard of the Prawn before but I've just been reading in BSP Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950 about a Saro S.37 Shrimp
If I'm not building models, I'm out riding my dirtbike

jcf

#10
March 22, 2009, 09:57:57 PM Last Edit: May 11, 2011, 03:17:54 PM by joncarrfarrelly
Quote from: kitnut617 on March 22, 2009, 04:11:50 PM
Not heard of the Prawn before but I've just been reading in BSP Fighters & Bombers 1935-1950 about a Saro S.37 Shrimp
Saro A.37 'Shrimp' (1/2 scale test of the S.38 design) on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyMnQR4bdpY&feature=channel

An earlier small flying boat was the Short S.1 Cockle of 1924.



Jon
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