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onetrack

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Aircraft Comments posted by onetrack

    Brock KB-2

    in Rotorcraft

    Posted · Edited by onetrack

    Despite looking like a fragile death trap, Ken Brock was very successful with his gyroplanes, and they were inherently safe.

    But he was very badly injured in the mid-1980's, when he was hit by a rotor blade from his own gyroplane, when he landed quickly and exited too fast, to try and help another aviator who had crashed.

     

    However, the greatest irony of Ken Brocks shortened career, was that he was killed in 2001, when the Thorp T-18 he had built, crashed on rollout at his private airstrip.

    An official investigation showed the tailwheel fork had broken due to corrosion, letting the tailwheel depart the aircraft and causing Ken to lose directional control. 

     

    The Thorp left the airstrip and hit a vertical steel post on an adjoining property, tore off a wing, and went inverted. Ken was trapped in the aircraft, suspended in his harness, and his death was caused by asphyxiation, as he'd suffered blunt force injuries and he was trapped upside down with his head pressed sharply to one side, causing the asphyxiation.

     

    His wife was passenger in the aircraft and survived with only minor injuries.

    The investigators commented on the lack of a roll cage in the Thorp, which would possibly have prevented Kens death, or at least allowed him to be extracted, before he suffocated.

     

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Brock_Manufacturing

     

    https://www.buildagyrocopter.com/sport-pilot-pioneer-ken-brock/

     

    https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53646/pdf

     

    • Informative 2

    Gyroflug SC-01 Speed Canard

    in General Aviation (single engine)

    Posted · Edited by onetrack

    This bloke has a very good 15 minute video of why he bought a Cozy MKIV Canard aircraft, and what the drawbacks are in their design.

     

    In essence, despite being promoted as "stall-proof", they're tricky to fly. A flapless wing (the design can't be fitted with flaps) makes for high speed takeoffs and landings, meaning a longer runway is needed.

    The tiny undercarriage and high landing/takeoff speeds means it is unsuitable for rough airstrips - and most importantly, a narrow C of G, and strict attention to load positioning, means you can't afford any mistakes in that load positioning.

     

    When he flies alone, he has two bags of shot that are required on board to balance the aircraft - and fat friends in the passenger seat, are out.

     

    So, not an aircraft that appeals to all, as it's quite unforgiving in numerous areas. Obviously, this bloke loves the advantages - high cruise speed, low fuel consumption, and a reduction in engine noise.

     

    He's a good presenter, with clear simple information and explanations - a lot of YouTubers would do well to copy his informative style.

     

     

    • Like 2
    • Informative 2

    Pelegrin Tarragon

    in Recreational (3 Axis)

    Posted

    No MTOW in the specs? Seems like a glaring omission. The article above appears to be quite dated, the list of engines currently offered by Pelegrin is vastly different to what's listed above.

     

    Currently, the only engines offered are the 160HP Rotax 916iS, the 130HP UL Power 350iSA, and the 185HP Edge Performance 918.

     

    I did finally find the MTOW, it's not listed in the manufacturers site specs, it's listed under "Technology", which is a weird place to list it.

     

    The aircraft is rated at 650kg MTOW - but the cabin is very narrow at 700mm, and the -2.2G wing loading is not all that good.

     

    5a1a70_a6e12b067f804563819c59a81d9d2a8d~

    13b184_c0217bc68caa4df6a8201cd8dec5d15f%7Emv2.png Tarragon Aircraft

    WWW.TARRAGONAIRCRAFT.COM
    tarragon, aircraft, plane, UL, fast, fastest, carbon, fibre, tarragonaircraft, quality, best, tandem, military, modern, luxury, exclusive, performance, acrobatic, latvia, riga, manufacturer, composite, pre-preg, tehnology...

     

    Klemm Kl 25

    in Recreational (3 Axis)

    Posted

    The German Consul in W.A., imported 2 Klemm monoplanes in late 1929 and early 1930. The Consul, a Mr H.C. Ittershagen, ran a company called the Aerial Commerce Co., and tried to sell the Klemm aircraft with barnstorming sessions, and much advertising and visitations by the aircraft, and giving joyrides, in many rural regions of W.A.

     

    H.C. Ittershagen was also the local dealer for German Lanz tractors, and he was intent on selling the Klemm aircraft to wealthy farmers.

     

    However, it was the height of the Great Depression, and most peoples thoughts were on survival, not purchasing aeroplanes. The farming community was under stress as commodity prices had collapsed below the cost of production. As a result, sales of the Klemm aircraft failed to eventuate, and I believe the company was wound up before the Great Depression was over (1934).

     

    The two seater Klemm apparently survived until the early 1950's, and was apparently flown unregistered and secretly during the War by an unlicenced pilot.

     

    https://encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1920207?lang=eng&ivts=x9%2FQXzsNh%2Bv1jvs6BeSDUg%3D%3D&casts=xs0LRgWFEu0M%2B8o995kfRA%3D%3D

     

    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/33345002

     

    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/244479910?searchTerm="Aerial Commerce Co"

     

    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/33346529

     

    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32309256

     

    https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/264201167

     

    https://www.airhistory.net/photo/564927/VH-ULU

     

     

     

     

    • Informative 1

    Lasco Lascondor

    in Unique Aircraft

    Posted

    It's a shame the Larkin Aircraft Co. folded because of the Great Depression. I have an early 1930's copy of the Australian Wings aviation magazine, and it features a lot of information about the Lascondor and the Larkin Aircraft Co. Aviation was going great guns here in Australia in the late 1920's, but the Great Depression wiped out a lot of aviation efforts.

    Buhl Airsedan

    in General Aviation (single engine)

    Posted

    Sharp eyes, there, Nev. You're correct, the Packard diesel was long ago scrapped and a buyer from Argentina fitted a Wright Whirlwind. That engine was lost along the way and the engineless airframe sold back to a buyer in the U.S. in 1989. That owner passed away before any restoration work could be carried out, and the sad remains of the aircraft only just escaped being dumped.

    Another American purchaser bought the remains and rebuilt the aircraft completely and fitted a Wright R-975.

     

    I have seen photos of complete Packard DR-980 aircraft diesel radials, some have survived, but it appears none are fitted to aircraft.

     

    https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/packard-dr-980-radial-9-engine/nasm_A19710893000

     

    No photo description available.

    • Like 1

    Buhl Airsedan

    in General Aviation (single engine)

    Posted

    Interesting to see the black Buhl running a Packard diesel radial. I believe this aircraft was purchased by Packard to be used as the "show machine" for their Packard DR-980 diesel.

     

    Sadly, the designer of the DR-980, one Capt L.M. Woolson, was killed in an air crash in April 1930, and coupled with the onset of the Great Depression, work on further development of the DR-980 ceased immediately. It could have been a different story for aircraft diesel engine development, if Woolson had survived, and the Great Depression had not interfered.

     

    https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-1929-buhl-air-sedan-was-a-private-plane-for-packard-now-it-s-for-sale-201213.html#:~:text=This 1929 Buhl Air Sedan,Now it's for Sale - autoevolution

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