WW-I Aircraft for Whiffery.

[Doc Yo]

On the notion of a ZEL arrangement for Biplanes, joncarrfarrelly wrote

Nor would rockets be necessary, a counterweight or steam powered catapult would work due to the relatively light weight
and biplane layout (lots of wing area = short takeoff) of the majority of aircraft in the period.

That makes me think of using a trebuchet...I've also been toying with the idea of converting an old
Aurora Gotha to a pair of Coanda turbines...

The Coanda jet wasn't a Turbine, it used a compressor driven by a four-cylinder engine, the compressed air was then
conducted to burner cans, mixed with fuel and ignited. Coanda's design was similar in concept to the composite engines
used in the Campini-Caproni, Ohka and MiG I-250.

Jon

I won't quibble. Thanks for the correction.

[Daryl J.]

From another thread:


The SE5a Hisso:  Clip the wings one bay, remove the weapons, and using an 1918-ish font build up the Red Bull demonstration aircraft.   Colors according to the era.

The LVG:  convert the wings to plywood, increase both top and bottom spans by about a quarter  and bring the tips to a point not unlike the wings of some Lloyd aircraft only the point is mid chord rather than far aft.  Bright wood finish.   High altitude pressure suits for the aviators that fit in with Jules Verne or Alan Quatermain styles.   The thin air machine gets used for early meteorological research.   Perhaps it drops  lines of weather balloons....

The Bristol Fighter:  Marconi-equipped Quadratyre with a bunch of vacuum tubes and thin wire antennae...see thread on WW-1 stuff from a couple years ago.  It might be heavy enough that the only thing it can shoot a Zeppelin down with at night is a flaming arrow from a longbow, but what the hey.   

The Junkers:  Since the kit is of the machines with the fabric aft fuselage, convert the back half to plywood that has external carbon fibre supports, a glass cockpit with a few old time instruments for good measure.   Hand thrown small laser guided bombs.  Natural metal fuselage in the front.  Possible conversion into a monoplane using an extension of that big upper wing on the lower.    Building up a 1/32 scale laptop for the pilot to be searching out his orders, weather, and stock quotes is far beyond my skill level at this time but could add to a diorama's impact.   

Now if Peter decides they need to kit a B.E.2c........

[GTX]

Inspired by EB's Junkers, a revised Albatross:



Note - no practical thought went into this.

Regards,

Greg

[jcf]

A potential interceptor of the De Bruyere Canard ground attack aircraft.  

[Daryl J.]

Since the kit is headed down the pike, the Gotha G.IV in FedEX livery.   Munitions removed entirely and a removable pod slung underneath the fuselage for the parcels.   

Then in a time warp, the same type of machine gets used by NASA as a weather research aircraft with requisite armor for the machine and armored flight suits for the open cockpited crew.   Decals from the brilliant 1/48 sheet Jennings did for the  TSR.2.   White aircraft overall trimmed in yellow and da-glow orange.

What's a good German beer?  ( can you tell my drinking is limited to principally Scotch?)   Anyways, the Gotha could also be used for aerial transport of lager in the livery of the manufacturer.     That'd be fun.


Daryl J.

[jcf]

What's a good German beer?  ( can you tell my drinking is limited to principally Scotch?)   Anyways, the Gotha could also be used for aerial transport of lager in the livery of the manufacturer.     That'd be fun.


Daryl J.

Dunno about good, but the Gothaer Waggonfabrik AG was located in Warnemünde, a sea resort and district of Rostock on the Baltic, so
being as its considered part of Rostock, how about Rostocker Pils?


Jon

[Daryl J.]

The Wingnuts Junkers J.I is too funky not to whiff.    Am giving serious consideration to putting it on floats, carrying a rugged looking single bomb or torpedo slung beneath, and RATO-like cannisters.    If so, a lighter overall neutral color would likely be applied to emphasize the shape and modifications rather than hiding them beneath a 3-4 tone camo job.

Hopefully the kit is in house by 9 May.   
[Edit]  It arrived stateside and is held for clearance.   
[Edit]  It arrived at the door 7 May.  WoW!!!!!  What a kit.

After looking at the kit, it would do as a low altitude ground attack light bomber.   Blending the Never Retired idea with the J.I and given the current piracy problem in Somalia, some sort of satellite communications gear (weighing the equivalent of the observer and his gun) in the aft bay that looks like it could fit in with the WW-1 era and a set of droppable fuel air explosives slung beneath the wings might work.    Natural metal and a light muslin colored coating for the linen.   I'm not sure 5mm plate would withstand the MG fire from the pirate rafts and boats but the FAE's ought to disperse the threat a bit.





Daryl J.

[jcf]

After looking at the kit, it would do as a low altitude ground attack light bomber.   


Daryl J.

Uhhh, Daryl that's exactly the role that the J.1 was built to perform.

[Daryl J.]

After looking at the kit, it would do as a low altitude ground attack light bomber.   


Daryl J.

Uhhh, Daryl that's exactly the role that the J.1 was built to perform.

Oops....missed the word 'alternative'.     LoL.    

Munitions in mind at the time were impossible for the time frame:  offbeat laser guided bombs, fuel air explosives, Rockeye-like variants,  etc.


Daryl J., often found with a silly, profound sense of the obvious. 

[Daryl J.]

Since the L.V.G. C.VI continued in production post war, several wound up in the U.S. and were converted in Knut's Cabinet Shop near the Fargo Airport there. They were used by the Prairie Parcel Air Delivery Service, the company that eventually gave rise to UPS. Did ya know that UPS had its roots in Nort Dakota?  Apparently the darkened varnish on the fuselage is what gave rise to UPS choosing their olive brown color.  Their use in the Northern Great Plains is not well documented but it is rumored that Eric Ericson, Nels Nelson, John Johnson, and Thor Thorstensen each have an old picture or two that their grandpas took back in the day.   They got talking over lefse and coffee at the potluck and while remembering the Good Ol' Days brought up the old company and the pictures got discussed a bit.   If they can find them, they're going to try sell them at the garage sale this summer.  Hopefully a collector who'll appreciate them will show up and they might sell for a dime or two each!  They are also going to Nort. Dakota soon to check the rock pile over on the Krack's place too.   They've got a few parts of an old German airplane engine there.   Y'know, that might be interesting.   Mrs. Krack make pretty good apple pie too.



Daryl J.



Daryl J.