Another one to baffle the IPMS judges with:
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PatVery early VTOL
May 04, 2008
5 Replies
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Wouldn't the wings block the downward flow of air to the propellors and wouldn't the latter generate more lift if they were aligned perpendicular to the upper wing surface?
(kim)
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Now you know why you never heard of the Hamilton Metalplane Company....but actually you did, as this becomes Hamilton Standard, the propeller manufacturer:
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imagine this particular design was politely excised from the company history. :-) The Hamilton H-47 did get built and used though. (This may be related also:
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Kamov was going to make good use of that rotor concept in the years to come.) The VTOL is a really bad design, and with no lift rotor back by the tail to control its pitch attitude once airborne, it's going to go out of control right after lift-off....assuming it could actually leave the ground. I wondered if they actually tried to fly it?
Pat
No, no, no. Read the article again. One Jesse Johnson of Delray Florida took the Metalplane and converted it into this contraption. The Metalplane itself was a very good aircraft that served as a cargo aircraft and feederline transport for years and was flown by bush pilots (see Wien Alaska Airways) in Alaska.
Actually, Hamilton as an aircraft manufacturer is well known to early airliner buffs. They made some neat looking small airliners. Featured all-metal construction, sort of single engined Ford Tri-motors.
The VTOL one in the photo doesn't look like the H-45 or H-47, which were used up in Alaska; they had rectangular bodies in cross section and enclosed cockpits: Here's a H-45:
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a H-47:
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one in the photo is ovoid in cross section, appears to have a open cockpit, and has a lot thicker wings on it. This the is the first aircraft Hamilton Metalplane produced, the H-18:
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you are right; the oddity probably can't be laid at Hamilton Metalplane's door, and one wonders what they thought when they saw what he had done to the aircraft. I never expected to find this connection for Thomas F. Hamilton...he was in with "the Leonardo da Vinci of kooks", Alfred Lawson, and his airline schemes:
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's the plane:
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if you want the straight poop on how everything works, then go to the wellspring of knowledge itself:
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Pat
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