In with a bang, out with a whimper

[David L. Downey]

Don't I also remember scuttlebutt that firing the gun also shook the composite airframe apart?

I was not an employee but as the onsite rep for a big name customer during the ARES days I can tell you thta Mike told me that the plane was a fantastic flyer - and I still have a nice VHS somewhere showing it in close to the ground maneuvering. The accuracy likely suffered just as Marc has posted and I know that the muzzle blast caused concern over the structural laminates adjacent to it. Amazing plane though.

 

[edwisch]

The Questair Venture was not a plane for maneuvering, it was a fast, X-C plane. It had the same aerodynamics as the Piper Malibu. IIRC, it kind of flew like a truck, which is exactly what you want for X-C and IFR. Problems were the tiny wheels which could get caught in ruts (ran one Venture off the runway at Reno); header tanks, and IIRC, those caused one crash; and I suspect that the sharp leading edge on the horizontal stabilizer would pick up ice easily.

 

[Vigilant1]

Oddly enough for southern New England, I grew up shooting and my grandfather was a class III dealer. Fourth of July with the Thompson was a family tradition.

My only experience with the Thompson was at an indoor range.With the perfect lighting (from behind us), the slow rounds, and their big .45" bases, it was possible to vaguely see the burst travelling downrange. Kinda like shooting a loud, raucus Super Soaker. Very fun.

 

[Pops]

Oddly enough for southern New England, I grew up shooting and my grandfather was a class III dealer. Fourth of July with the Thompson was a family tradition. I shot most U.S. rifles and carbines from the trap-door Springfield through WWII and today own an M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, M1917 Enfield, and Savage-made Lee-Enfield. I once went to a personal security training course that included a little basic orientation with the AR and AK. When asked, “Have you ever fired an automatic weapon before?” I said, “Yes, but nothing made after 1945.” That got some looks. ;-)

My firearms training started with my father that always carried with a shoulder holster when I was 6 years old. Shot empty .22 casing off the top of the fence post and a head shot on a Prince Albert tobacco can. Was going hunting with adults when I was 8 years old and was allowed to go hunting by myself at 10 years old. Taught my 3 children. Also can use the Bow and Arrow.

 

[Pilot-34]

100 hp x 2 amphibious fiberglass flying twin from the 30s?
Guys you’re gonna have to help me out with this,A few years ago well maybe 25 come I came across some sheet papers about various aircraft one of them what is a fiberglass twin with about 100 hp on each side I might be wrong on that it might be 65 hp but in any case when losing an engine it was not gonna fly but it was certified. I wound up giving the papers away but a few years after that reading trade-a-plane I come across an engineering outfit in Tucson that was trying to sell The manufacturing rights.

 

[Vigilant1]

100 hp x 2 amphibious fiberglass flying twin from the 30s?
Guys you’re gonna have to help me out with this,A few years ago well maybe 25 come I came across some sheet papers about various aircraft one of them what is a fiberglass twin with about 100 hp on each side I might be wrong on that it might be 65 hp but in any case when losing an engine it was not gonna fly but it was certified. I wound up giving the papers away but a few years after that reading trade-a-plane I come across an engineering outfit in Tucson that was trying to sell The manufacturing rights.

I think the first fiberglass fabric reinforcements became commercially available in the early 1940s. The resins available at that time were polyester and not very strong. So, maybe the aircraft you saw was designed later?

 

[bmcj]

100 hp x 2 amphibious fiberglass flying twin from the 30s?
Guys you’re gonna have to help me out with this,A few years ago well maybe 25 come I came across some sheet papers about various aircraft one of them what is a fiberglass twin with about 100 hp on each side I might be wrong on that it might be 65 hp but in any case when losing an engine it was not gonna fly but it was certified. I wound up giving the papers away but a few years after that reading trade-a-plane I come across an engineering outfit in Tucson that was trying to sell The manufacturing rights.

I don’t know if it is the plane you reference, but the Champion Lancer was somewhat similar. It was a twin engine version of the Aeronca Champ (landplane) with two 100 hp engines with fixed pitch props. It would not hold its altitude if you lost an engine.

Plastic fabric… could you be thinking of Razorback glass fiber fabric?

 

[speedracer]

The Questair Venture was not a plane for maneuvering, it was a fast, X-C plane. It had the same aerodynamics as the Piper Malibu. IIRC, it kind of flew like a truck, which is exactly what you want for X-C and IFR. Problems were the tiny wheels which could get caught in ruts (ran one Venture off the runway at Reno); header tanks, and IIRC, those caused one crash; and I suspect that the sharp leading edge on the horizontal stabilizer would pick up ice easily.

I watched a Questair come apart at Reno, killing the pilot. The entire tail unit was bolted on the rear of the fuselage with a circle of bolts going all the way around and that's where it broke, IIRC. That year I took my dad with me and got him signed up for security (get in free and get fed). There were three fatalities in three days in three different classes and they shut down the races for a day to have a talk with all the race pilots. My dad said "This is kind of a dangerous sport, huh?"

 

[Marc Zeitlin]

Don't I also remember scuttlebutt that firing the gun also shook the composite airframe apart?

Neither Mike nor anyone else at Scaled ever indicated any such thing.

...Mike told me that the plane was a fantastic flyer...

Yes - everyone who flew it liked it a lot. And still does.

 

[Pilot-34]

I don’t know if it is the plane you reference, but the Champion Lancer was somewhat similar. It was a twin engine version of the Aeronca Champ (landplane) with two 100 hp engines with fixed pitch props. It would not hold its altitude if you lost an engine.

Plastic fabric… could you be thinking of Razorback glass fiber fabric?

Pretty sure it was just plain early first generation fiber glass

 

[D Hillberg]

We proposed the Ares to the RAAF for the Lead-in Fighter Program with a Taiwanese made ( under license) jet engine. Got nowhere. First meeting with Defence they had pictures and models of the BAE Hawk all around the office. Wyman-Gordon didn't want to deal with us and there was some question about selling us IP for the Kevlar recoil spring for the cannon ( not that hard to work out!)

I still love your Rotormouse design. Would it be more feasible now that PBS are producing the TJ100 and helicopter gearboxes?

Production had off the shelf gear boxes , The whole airframe could be built up from aluminum sheet for less than $1,000. and a surplus T 62 T 32 for $2,500 but that's life. It could cruise at 150 mph -A flooded market is a flooded market

 

[cblink.007]

Leonardo 609

Pretty airplane; intended to be the low-cost civil tilt-rotor. Ended up becoming an overpriced, underpowered and underperforming piece with extremely limited proprotor flap/feathering controllability in airplane mode (that contributed to an inflight breakup some years ago). There is a reason why we washed our hands of the project...but applied all the lessons learned to the V-280.

 

[challenger_II]

Figured you'd had your hands on one...

Sadly, no, not in over 20 years. We used to shoot one every July 4th but Gramps sold his M1A1. No kidding.

 

[Riggerrob]

Pretty sure it was just plain early first generation fiber glass

Back during the 1930s, composites were limited to Bakelite resins reinforced with cotton or linen fabric.

During World War 2, both the USA and USSR developed Vilas, Duramold, etc. laminated wood construction methods that were impregnated with phenolic resins. Hundreds of molded plywood, Avro Anson Mark V trainers were built in Canada during WW2.

What we now know of as fiberglass was developed in West Germany during the 1950s.

 

[Bill-Higdon]

Back during the 1930s, composites were limited to Bakelite resins reinforced with cotton or linen fabric.

During World War 2, both the USA and USSR developed Vilas, Duramold, etc. laminated wood construction methods that were impregnated with phenolic resins. Hundreds of molded plywood, Avro Anson Mark V trainers were built in Canada during WW2.

What we now know of as fiberglass was developed in West Germany during the 1950s.

The Germans also had wood composites