“That can’t be a real airplane! It’s much too small!” That’s what one visitor said when he saw Tom Wathen’s full-scale replica Avions Caudron C.460 on display in front of Vintage Aircraft headquarters at this summer’s AirVenture. The airplane, which hails from the 1930s, the Golden Age of air racing, measures 23 feet from spinner […]
Search Results for: air racing from the cockpit
Bonhomme wins 2010 Red Bull championship
Britain’s Paul Bonhomme won the 2010 Red Bull Air Race World Championship by taking second place behind Austria’s Hannes Arch in the final race of the season at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany on Sunday, Aug. 8. Australia’s Matt Hall got the third podium of his career with third place in the 50th race in […]
SR-71 Mustang to be raffled off at OSH
Two automotive icons, legendary racer and manufacturer Carroll Shelby, and world-renowned racer, engineer and designer Jack Roush, have come together in their first vehicle collaboration project to join Ford in creating a one-off 2011 Mustang, the aviation-themed SR-71 “Blackbird.” The one-of-a-kind vehicle will be sold at the Gathering of Eagles July 29 during the Experimental […]
The Navy’s Curtiss Hawks
By PETER M. BOWERS. The first Curtiss Hawks for the U.S. Navy were nine F6C-1s, direct equivalents of the Army P-1s, and were delivered late in 1925. The designation meant a fighter model (F), the sixth ordered from Curtiss. The –1 identified the initial configuration. These were used mostly by the U.S. Marines from shore […]
Seawind races towards certification
The Seawind 300C, billed as the world’s fastest seaplane, is racing towards certification. The amphibian, which began as a kit, is going through dual certification in Canada and the U.S. While initial plans had called for certification in 2004, financing issues slowed the process. But those problems are behind the company now, as final funding, […]
More to the story than meets the eye
The first time I saw Sam Lyons’ print “”Shellightning,”” it got my attention. It is vividly colorful and it depicts one of the famous Lockheed planes, specifically one made notable by Jimmy Doolittle. Little did I know then the fascinating story of this plane, which was to unfold as I investigated its history. The plane, […]
Simple Structure: The SA-1 was designed to be simple, almost to the point of being crude
By PETER M. BOWERS. A major design objective of the Naval Aircraft Factory SA-1 of late 1918 was to have as simple a structure as possible. This was achieved, but almost to the point of being crude in some areas. The structure, particularly in the fuselage, has some features well worth considering for today’s ultralights […]