Retro Thing

Build Your Own Sopwith Pup Biplane

As a child, I spent hours in an inconspicuous garden shed somewhere in Oxford building plastic model kits. Spitfires and Bf 109s were popular among my schoolmates, but I was strangely drawn to the kite-like form of WWI aircraft. The Sopwith Pup was my absolute favorite. There was something endearing about its simple shape, and I doodled squadrons of marauding Sopwiths on any scrap of paper that fell within arm's reach.

Airdrome Aeroplanes in Holden, Missouri manufactures a broad range of WWI kitplanes, including the Fokker DR-1 Triplane, various Nieuports and -- wonder of wonders -- the stunning full scale Sopwith Pup pictured here.

A deluxe airframe kit costs $12,495 and includes everything from the rudder and fuselage to the engine mount and cowling. You'll need to add an extra $195 to get your hands on the machine gun kit. If you're skilled, it will take about 400 hours to turn a few boxes of parts into a flyable airplane.  Power comes from a decidedly modern 110 hp Rotec R2800 7-cylinder radial engine and there's room for basic instruments in the single seat cockpit.

Officially known as the Sopwith Scout, A total of 1,770 Pups were manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company between 1916 and 1918. The Pup proved to be a nimble combat aircraft and dominated the skies when it arrived on the battlefield in October 1916. However, it was quickly outclassed by formidable new German aircraft and was pulled from combat in the face of mounting losses a year later. The Pup went on to have a second life as a capable training aircraft.

Sopwith Pup Pics

The Goodyear Inflatoplane

The Goodyear GA-466 Inflatoplane was an improbable rubber aircraft designed for the United States Army as a compact rescue vehicle. The idea of parachuting a rubber airplane kit into hostile territory is ludicrous, especially when you consider that you'd need to be a trained pilot with access to a runway to have any chance of making it home.

Still, I suppose a secret agent being held hostage at an enemy airbase might be able to overpower a half dozen ill-trained guards and force them to assemble her 740 lb getaway vehicle at gunpoint. Of course, she'd also have to borrow a few gallons of avgas and evade enemy jet fighters and helicopter gunships while cruising along at a maximum speed of 70 mph.

A total of 12 Inflatoplanes were built between 1955 and 1962 before the Army concluded there was no viable use for such a quirky craft. One of the originals is on display at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, should you have an overwhelming urge to witness such lunacy first hand.

More about the Goodyear Inflatoplane [thanks, Greg Lorincz!]

Celebrating a Century of Canadian Powered Flight

The first airplane to fly in Canada - the Silver Dart - took off from Baddeck Bay in Nova Scotia on February 23, 1909. Of course, the picturesque Cape Breton village is well known as the home of Beinn Bhreagh, Alexander Graham Bell's historic estate. And it should come as no surprise that Bell had a hand in the project.

Update: Supermarine Spitfire Mk26b Kitplane

We first mentioned Supermarine Aircraft in mid 2005. Over 35 of their 80% scale Spitfire Mark 26 fighter replicas are now flying, and another 40+ kits are under construction around the world.

Many potential buyers asked about the possibility of a 100% scale version. The company decided against it, simply because such a large aircraft would require significantly higher landing speeds and extremely skilled airmanship.

Instead, they developed the Spitfire Mark 26b. This 90% version offers a roomier cockpit with tandem seating for the pilot and a passenger. It has a maximum cruise speed of 170 knots and a 260 hp GM V6 engine that gives a 2400 fpm climb rate with a service ceiling of 18,000 ft.

The airframe is tested to +6 / -4 Gs, allowing limited (and fun) aerobatics such as loops and wingovers. Most of the really hard work has already been done for you, but you'll have to put in another 1200 hours of fiddly effort to turn your kit into a lean, mean playing machine. The final product will be an 90% scale easy-to-fly reminder of the original without the multi-million dollar price tag.

The company says, "The kit is sold only as a fast build option in which the metal airframe components are jig assembled at the factory. All fuselage bulkheads are pre-cut, formed and mounted on a central spine during Factory kit construction. The main spar, wing assembly and empennage sub assemblies are also pre-built using jigs in the factory. The fuselage is supplied to the kit builder as a pre-constructed assembly. This ensures structural integrity is maintained."

The modern Spitfire is extremely well-behaved. It flies itself off the ground easily and the 48 knot stall speed (clean) ensures that you'll have time to think as you pass over the fence on short final. It shows no tendency to balloon, so beautiful 3-point landings should be easy with a bit of practice.

The price for all this fightery goodness? $175,000 (Australian) gets you a 90% fast build kit. Add $45,500 for a GM ISUZU V6 naturally aspirated engine and $2,750 for optional dual controls. You'll also need to source your own instruments and paint.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk26b [Supermarine Aircraft]

Jumbo Hostel: Spend The Night Onboard A Real 747

 
Most airliners die ignominious deaths. Some are chopped to bits. Others are abandoned and forgotten, and an unfortunate few run into things at high speed and never fly again. This particular Boeing 747 entered service with Singapore Airlines in 1976. It spent a few years in Pan Am livery and finally with a Swedish leasing company before being mothballed at Arlanda Airport, just outside Stockholm.

That might have been the end of the story, had it not been for Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Dios, who decided to expand his business by parking the old jetliner just outside the airport perimeter and turning it into a hostel.

The Jumbo Hostel will cram 25 rooms with 85 beds into 3,750 square feet of floor space. Each 65 sq. ft room features bunk beds, overhead luggage compartments and a flat screen TV. The nose of the aircraft will house a reception desk and small cafeteria, while the old first class seating in the top bubble will become a conference room. Showers and toilets are located in the rear.

Nightly rates will range from 300 krona ($37) for a bed in a shared 4-person dorm to 3,300 krona ($410) for the Cockpit Suite (I'll keep the obvious jokes to myself) with panoramic view and two adjustable beds. Hostel staff will wear 1970s-style uniforms and the furnishings will evoke the burnt orange color scheme so prevalent in the jet set days.

The hostel is scheduled to open on January 15, 2009, although it remains to be seen whether travelers will be willing to shell out their hard-earned kronabucks to sleep on a refurbished airliner after a day cooped up in dingy airport lounges and cramped hospitality class seats.

Jumbo Hostel: Spend The Night Onboard A Real 747 [thanks, Karen!]

CubCrafters Reinvents Aviation History

The Piper PA-18 Super Cub was a little two-seat utility airplane introduced in 1949. It became known for its distinctive yellow paint scheme and incredible short take-off and landing capabilities. Over 9,000 were made over the next forty years or so, but rising fuel prices and advancing technology pushed it into the history books.

CubCrafters was started in 1980 by Jim Richmond. He initially rebuilt old Cubs, often modifying them to the point where they were basically new airplanes. By 2004, the company had evolved to the point where they began to manufacture their own line of aircraft, including the Top Cub and the beautiful Super Cub S2 that I have my eye on.

The $119,500 Super Cub includes 2nd-generation AmSafe Airbags for the pilot and passenger, Continental 0-200 100 HP engine, Sensenich wood composite prop, classic yellow paint scheme with black lightning bolt, composite reinforced fuselage and chunky tires. The panel is equipped with standard instruments including a Garmin SL40 VHF comm transceiver.

The performance of this little bush plane can be summed up as "classic." It has a top speed of 122 mph (103 mph cruise), a 790 fpm climb rate and a 450 mile range. Its landing ground roll is a mere 245 ft, although you'll need 415 ft to get off the ground again.The relatively frugal Continental powerplant consumes 4-5 gal/hr, meaning that it'll cost about $23 per hour to run at current 100 LL fuel prices.

CubCrafters: The Classic. Reinvented.

eBay: Own A 1956 Taylor Aerocar

Flying cars are brilliant in concept but not so great in reality. The end result always seems to be a rather awkward airplane mated to a fancy golf cart. Still, Moulton Taylor's Aerocar is pretty damn impressive. Even in the 1950s, hanger space was expensive. Popping off the wings and towing them home to the garage at the end of a flying day made a lot of sense. Being able to morph into an automobile was also incredibly convenient when flying cross-country, since it gave you a way to drive from the airport into town for your afternoon meeting at Spacely Sprockets.

This particular Aerocar -- serial number 0002 -- is powered by a 160 HP Lycoming engine and has seen 1,103 hours in the air and 303.3 hours puttering around town as an automobile. Its last annual inspection was performed in July 1976, so expect a massive amount of restoration work.

The Aerocar is the only certified airplane in history that can be legally driven on US roads. It originally carried a price tag of $25,000 and was capable of cruising at 100 mph in the air. I'd put in a bid, except for one little detail -- the starting price is a ridiculous $3,500,000. That's enough to purchase several very nice P-51 Mustangs with enough left over for a Ferrari or two.

Check out the eBay auction for lots more photos [via Gizmodo]

The Luscombe Returns to the Sky

Tom Seibold wrote to tell us about the reintroduction of the Luscombe 8, which was once considered a "sports car" among early 1950s aircraft. His story has a personal connection, too. I'll let him explain:

"For many years, I have had a picture of my father standing by an airplane--his airplane--on a snowy North Dakota day.

I recently came across a story on how the Luscombe-Silvaire Aircraft Company of Riverside, California, is starting to build Luscombe 8s--or at least a plane based on the same airframe--again. Looking at the picture of the plane on the new Luscombe-Silvaire website and comparing it with the one Dad had outfitted with skis in that black and white early-50s photo, it certainly looks to me like an 8/Silvaire...

Boeing 314 "Clipper"

It has been just over 70 years since the elegant Boeing 314 flying boat first took to the air on June 7, 1938. Pan American was the driving force behind the design, seeking a fast, comfortable and safe aircraft for regularly scheduled transatlantic service.

The 314's distinctive silhouette featured a triple tail, since early flight tests with a single vertical stabilizer demonstrated inadequate directional control. The design eliminated wing-mounted floating stabilizers in favor of stubby sponsons mounted on either side of the fuselage (these served double duty as fuel tanks). It entered service as the largest civil aircraft ever built, with an empty weight of just over 50,000 lbs and a 152 ft wingspan.

The four Four Wright Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engines each put out 1,600 HP and propelled the aircraft across the ocean at a cruising speed of 183 mph. A total of 3,500 gallons of fuel gave the Boeing 314 an impressive 3,500 mile range, although it would take over 19 hours to travel that far. A variety of seating arrangements allowed a maximum of 74 passengers, or as few as 40 in reclining sleeper seats.

The 314 began regular transatlantic service with Pan Am in the spring of 1939. Flights were interrupted by the outbreak of WWII and the design was adopted for transport service by the US Army Air Force and the US Navy.

Service resumed for a short time after the war, but the tremendous technological advances in aviation during the war years had rendered flying boats a footnote in intercontinental aviation history - the remaining Clippers were sold off to smaller charter companies and finally retired from service in 1950, shortly before the dawn of the Jet Age.

Sadly, there are no remaining examples of this iconic aircraft. Only a dozen were built, although they made up for their small number by flying far and wide around the globe.

Finnair Travels Back in Time

Finnair is going retro. The 'Silver Bird' Airbus A319 will make its maiden flight from Helsinki to Copenhagen on July 30, 2008. To commemorate the airline's 85th anniversary, it's painted in the livery of the company's 1950s Convair fleet and the crew will be stylishly appointed in 1950s uniforms. A total of 60 retro flights are scheduled throughout the remainder of the year, although the aircraft will retain its historic color scheme for years to come.

Unlike the first time around, it's doubtful you'll be allowed to chain smoke a pack of unfiltered cigarettes while enjoying a scotch or two as you sail through the skies. The original Convair cabins had leather armchairs in two rows, tasty meals were eaten at tables for the first time and the airline even offered passengers the use of an electric Philishave razor.

Visit the Finnair Retro site for details [via retrotogo]

Bargain of the Month: L-29 Delfin Jet Trainer

Here's your chance to pick up a cheap Czech-built L-29 Delfin Trainer Jet on eBay. This aircraft was built in 1967 and flew with the Romanian armed forces until 1999. It has just under 3000 hours on the airframe and the engine has 181 hours since its last major overhaul in 1990.

It was imported into the USA in 2005 but needs professional restoration to make it flight worthy. It apparently includes new landing gear, new front and rear canopies, new rubber and has been stripped to bare metal for repainting. The seller will even throw in a zero-time engine for an extra five grand.

In addition to a healthy bank account (this thing burns 150 gph, at a current cost of about $575), you'll need a fair amount of flying experience to qualify for a US type rating - a minimum of 1000 hours, preferably including aerobatic training and experience in high-performance aircraft. The L-29 has a reputation as a tough and forgiving workhorse, but the ground can come up and smack you in an awful hurry at a few hundred knots.

related:
Aero Vodochody L-39 Flight Training (Fly the L-29's younger sibling)
Me 262 Project: Resurrecting The First Jet Fighter

The Avro Arrow's Forgotten 50th Anniversary

Oh, Canada. I've been waiting for someone to write a tribute to the Avro Arrow. Alas, the fiftieth anniversary of her first flight came and went earlier this week without so much as a quiet sigh.

The CF-105 Arrow was Canada's ill-fated foray into the world of advanced jet fighter design. The delta-wing design was considered by many to be decades ahead of its time. The aircraft first flew for just over half an hour on March 25, 1958. By the time the Arrow program was canceled on February 20, 1959, five prototypes had flown a total of 70.5 hours. The design reached Mach 1.96 and 50,000 feet - impressive achievements in that era.

Although rapidly escalating development costs and Canada's integration into NORAD played roles in the Canadian government's decision to cancel the program, the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 greatly influenced the political landscape as well. The arrival of the Space Age foreshadowed the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles that were untouchable by even the most advanced supersonic interceptor.

The cancellation of the program in early 1959 caught Avro off guard, and the aircraft, engines, tooling and plans were ordered destroyed within weeks to avoid them falling into Soviet hands. All that remains of the $260 million program today is a single nose section and a couple of wing panels. It was an ignominious end for a once-promising aircraft.

The Avro Arrow [Diefenbaker Canada Centre Archives]

Fuel-Efficient Turboprop Airliners Stage A Surprise Comeback

I used to fly a lot. My least favorite aircraft was the DeHavilland Dash-8, a noisy twin-engine turboprop commuter plane that has the ability to transform a quick 45 minute jet flight into 90 minutes of stupefying rattle and hum.

I reacted to repeated Dash-8 exposure by becoming a huge fan of a regional airline that flew nothing but chunky 737 jets, even on half hour flights. I wasn't alone. By 2000, airlines around the world responded to customer demand by replacing shuddery turboprops with sleek new regional jets from Bombardier and Embraer. It looked like the turboprop era had come to an end.

However, the lowly propeller is set to make a comeback. Jet fuel prices have soared as much as 70% over the past 12 months. Suddenly, regional jets don't make economic sense on many short-haul flights. Turboprop aircraft such as Bombardier's 78-seat Q400 now have per-seat costs of around 30% less than comparable jets. That's a lot of money, especially in the perpetually struggling airline industry.

The result is renewed airline interest in turboprop designs out of economic necessity - passenger comfort be damned. Canadian manufacturer Bombardier is considering stretching its Q400 design to accommodate 90 seats, and French/Italian manufacturer ATR is looking into a larger design to follow up its successful 74-seat ATR-72-500 model. Steven Ridolfi, President, Bombardier Regional Aircraft, succinctly sums up the turboprop advantage: "At 360 knots, the Q400 airliner combines jet-like speed with among the lowest operating costs of any regional aircraft."

It will be interesting to see what the next few years bring. One thing's for sure: Propeller-driven aircraft aren't going to vanish anytime soon.

Hello 21st Century, Now Where Is My Jetpack?

Is there any more consistent image of science fiction than a flying man, propelled by a rocket jetpack?  As early as 1920's Buck Rogers comics, there have been many fictional takes on some sort of jet suit - and surprisingly several real ones.  Early German experiments started toward the end of WWII, but it wasn't until the late 50's that the idea became somewhat feasible.

As you'd imagine, many of these early experiments had military objectives.  The concept was less about flight, and more about propulsion-assisted leaping in a single bound over minefields or unbridged rivers.  Jetpacks are difficult to control.  Since most of us are not equipped with naturally sprouting ailerons or other First Class amenities of flight, without motive force we tend to not so much fly as plummet.  Jetpacks operate below minimum parachute height, so safety and control are major concerns.  The other major problem is fuel.  These devices consume tremendous fuel, limiting flights to about a minute.

This has relegated jet packs mostly to entertainment.  As a kid I remember seeing a jetpack in use in the James Bond "Thunderball" movie, TV's "Lost in Space", even an oddball Saturday morning sci-fi show called "Ark II".  I was old enough to mistakenly think that these devices were being simulated through the movie magic of special effects - who would image that what I was looking at were filmed flights of real jetpacks!

I'm no daredevil, but I'd love to take flight using a jetpack (one hidden under my clothes for quick escapes, of course).  I'd just want them to be safer for an amateur control, and stay in the air for more than a minute.  I've seen plans for jetpacks on the internet, but it's hard to believe that anyone would build and fly such a thing.  There's a reason that there are only five known working packs in the world today.

So when will get to see an actual regular everyday kind of Rocket Man?  Quoth the Bard Sir Elton John, "I think it's gonna be a long, long time...".  Okay, 21st Century, get to work.

Hire a jetpack pilot for your next event
A terrific site all about jetpacks & rocketbelts

Related:

Build your own personal helicopter
Another kit copter

43 Years Ago Today: The SR-71 Blackbird Takes Flight

The inaugural flight of the SR-71 took place on December 22, 1964, becoming the most impressive Christmas present ever to slip out of Lockheed's Skunk Works facility at Burbank airport. Amazingly, the SR-71 took to the air less than 17 years after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier.

On paper, this titanium-skinned monster was capable of Mach 3.2, although pilot Brian Shul has since admitted that he once pushed a Blackbird to Mach 3.4 in his haste to leave Libyan airspace well in advance of looming surface-to-air missiles. He reported that the aircraft seemed to fly smoother than ever at those unbelievable speeds, cruising at well over 80,000 ft.

Propulsion came from a pair of Pratt & Whitney J58-P4 engines that produced a total of 65,000 lbf of static thrust and operated on afterburner at all times. The Sunkworks team had initially played with the idea of using liquid hydrogen for propulsion, but were unable to figure out how to cram the storage tanks into the airframe. They settled upon a much safer fuel known as Jet Propellant 7, which featured a high flash point of 60 C that reportedly couldn't be lit with a match (convenient, since the SR-71 leaked fuel like a sieve while on the ground ).

The SR-71's skin was subjected to extreme heat due to the friction generated by flying at Mach 3+ for extended periods of time. The designers settled on a Titanium-composite alloy that revolutionized high-speed design. The shadowy monster flew her first operation sortie in early 1968, and a total of 32 aircraft were built before the tooling was ordered destroyed. They remained in and out of operation with the USAF until the last three aircraft were formally retired from military use in 1998, although several SR-71s were flown by NASA until the final flight of the SR-71 on October 9, 1999.

Almost a decade later the Blackbird remains the stuff of legends. No other aircraft embodies the essence of raw speed and technological might to such an impressive degree. Unfortunately, modern advances in digital satellite imaging have probably ensured that the United States Air Force will never again be able to unleash such an impressive and untouchable reconnaissance vehicle.

related
The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and Kelly Johnson's rules
The SR-71 Flight Manual