Now there you have an idea: make
a super-sized dart-like paper airplane, bolt-on a Curtiss OX-5 engine and
climb on board. Crazy? Well, in 1930 Mr. Scroggs, a tailor, test flew such
thing at a height of 10 feet!
The way he christened the machine, “The Last Laugh”, surely says
something about the lesson he taught to the incredulous bystanders.
Click on
images below to see larger images
For the curious here
is a link to Aerofiles, scroll down to Scroggs, The Last Laugh:
http://www.aerofiles.com/_sa.html
Hey, I just looked at it and knew I was in love. In the photo sequence you
will appreciate the basic simplicity of the construction, further
simplified thanks to my suspicious building methods, but preserving the
spirit of the original. Even so, the engine alone took more than 40 parts.
Miscellaneous bits were made basically from styrene, and a few wires here
and there. Aeroclub etched spoke wheels were used and a tiny home-made
“The Last Laugh” decal completed the list, together with the wood hand
carved prop and an etched boss.
Don’t you love those tiny windows?
I can still hear Scroggs laughter!
Many thanks to Jon Noble
and Jim Schubert from the Wings of Peace forum for their kindness and knowledge.
Gabriel
Click on
images below to see larger images
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