Calling a plane a
“potato bug” doesn’t seem to be very polite, does it?
In any case, the prominent canvas surface ribbing caused by the underlying
tubular structure in a sort of beetle-like fuselage prompted the nickname.
Unusual and beautiful
are two qualities that seem to go together when dealing with designs from the
Golden Era of aviation. These unrecognized, sometimes ridiculed daring steps
into the unknown spawned decades later “cutting edge” designs and in doing
so ridiculed the ridiculers.
The Ben Brown SC
Diamond Wing is, as part of its name indicates, a jewel. Aerofiles has some
notes on it: http://www.aerofiles.com/_bo.html
scroll down once there to find the entry.
And since we are at it,
Aerofiles is one of the many sites that provide you with quality information and
fun in the same large amounts. These sites are usually the work of love of
unrecognized individuals or groups, so let’s take a minute to thank them and,
if you can, support them too.
Long hours on the Internet finally
paid off when I found this Youtube clip showing the SC flying wonderfully, among
many other creative designs of the time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7gDnrQ3jWc&feature=related
Funnily enough, in doing the research some sources stated that the “Potato”
–and many of its clip companions, by the way- never or barely flew. Or perhaps
made a “hop”. Well, hop my building board, if I may say so. These guys
REALLY flew.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Structurally an
aerodynamically sound (hey, have a look at the “new” designs around)
the so called Potato Bug also flashes its attractive lines that make it a
wonderful scratch project.
As you can see in the
accompanying images first a Sculpey master was made, then detailed, and
promptly Vacu-Mattelized.
A 15 minute engine
was fabricated to replicate the inverted Cirrus and an interior was added,
taking in consideration that the control column was hanging from the roof,
as seen in the clip.
The flying
surfaces of this biplane…sorry, tandem…err..triplane? well, whatever
this may be, were made from styrene sheet and rod, as well as the vertical
stabilizer.
Wheels came from a
generous vac donor and metal tail wheel and prop were acquired across the
ocean. Struts came from the same source.
In the clip you
can see the SC with registrations at least on the fin (X682H). The
fin/rudder area and presumably the flying surfaces are of a lighter color
than the fuselage. In other images it appears of a uniform color and has a
very light color stripe running longitudinally on the fuselage sides,
ending in a diamond at the nose.
As a starting
point I used a two-view drawing in nuricom.de. It needs adjustments in a
few areas; most noticeably is the absence of the aft elevators (visible in
many photos) and the windows area. The missing –“other”- side view
should show the cockpit door and a different engine panel/cover. Notice
that you may add a Pitot tube as per photos. A frontal view should show
the particular arrangement of the landing gear struts and the “V”
formed by the “Bellanca” type, airfoiled struts joining the lower
fuselage in a sort of inverted pylon.
The clip also
shows an air “scoop” intake on the left fuselage side, immediately
after the engine cover. Why you need airflow after the engine area, I
don’t know. Perhaps a radiator or cooler was involved, located after the
engine inside the scarab-like fuselage.
Another missing detail is a
window on the cockpit roof, visible in photos. Engine covers were made of
alu sheet. Had to make each three times until I got it right
(experimenting with the alu thickness). Construction
miscellanea aside, this was an interesting project to work with. The
strange configuration and the remarkable esthetics kept the flame going.
What did you say?
Beatles song? "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
A note to
the ARC forum members:
By chance, I discovered a number of messages with comments on the articles and
models posted on the ARC forums. I am not a member of the forums, so if you guys
feel like writing, you could use the link provided in the articles. I am
nevertheless thankful for the kind words that were posted at the ARC forums.
Gabriel
Stern
Click on
images below to see larger images
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