72 | Pilot June 2018 | pilotweb.aero
Dave Unwin
Pilot’s Flight Test Editor operates a Jodel D.9
from a farm strip and has logged stick-time on
everything from ultralights to fast jetsJ
ust what is it about aviation
that seems to attract so
many dreamers, charlatans,
snake oil salesmen and
Walter Mittys? From the
hundred–hour PPL who insists on flying
the club 150 attired like a Typhoon
pilot (a surprisingly popular trend as
some recent letters in ‘Airmail’ would
suggest) to the bloke sitting in a mouldy
Portakabin with a borrowed handheld
transceiver who behaves as if he’s
‘Heathrow Approach’ − I just don’t get it.
And, having recently returned from
the Aero at ‘Friedrich shop’, I’m even
more confused, for along with the
various permutations of composite
two-seaters, both high and low wing
and side-by-side or tandem, and each
powered by a Rotax 912, there were
a couple of designs that were... well,
distinctly different−and could only have
come from the most vivid of dreams (or
perhaps they were nightmares?)
Displayed somewhat incongruously
amongst some fascinating and
futuristic electric aircraft in the E-flight
expo was the appositely named
Discopter Lufttaxi (see p.13−Ed).
Looking like something straight out
of a 1950s sci-fi ‘B’ movie this curious
contraption promised to out-perform
both helicopters and aeroplanes
alike! I must admit I was intrigued.
Most aviators are aware of the hoary
old aphorism (usually attributed to
Colin Chapman) to “simplify, then
add lightness,” yet the Discopter
appeared to have been constructed
from a combination of second-hand
Armco, redundant crane booms and
bits of old bridge. Consequently,
although it appeared very robust it
must presumably be extremely heavy,
yet it was plastered with ‘Do Not Touch’
signs. Perhaps it was made from a new
and exotic alloy, possibly an ultra-
modern amalgamation of titanium
and Duralumin, and was consequently
not as heavy as it looked? Intrigued,I gently touched one of the crudely
welded seams. It was made from
heavy-duty steel! Goodness knows
why they were worried about people
touching it. Forget ‘bulletproof’−the
thing could probably shrug off a
direct hit from a 20mm cannon shell!
Two design flaws were immediately
apparent even to my untrained eye: the
not inconsequential issue of providing
control longitudinally and laterally
didn’t appear to have been addressed
(there were some sort of vanes, but
I imagine the effects of gyroscopic
precession would’ve been colossal);
and, even more fundamentally, it really
wasn’t obvious how the pilot and eight
passengers accessed the cockpit.At the other end of the Messe (in fact
in pole position in the main entrance)
was the EAC Equator amphibian by
Renaissance aircraft. With its smooth
composite construction impervious to
corrosion, a single pusher propeller
sensibly placed high on a pylon to
keep it out of the damaging effects
of seawater spray, and a practical
retractable tricycle undercarriage I’ll
admit I was nearly fooled, as from a
distance it did look quite believable.
Upon closer inspection however
I soon realised that the instrument
panel had been created after a trip to
the local aircraft scrapyard. In fact,
I’m not entirely convinced that all
the instruments scattered randomly
across the panel were from aircraft.
Furthermore, controls for operating
the engine and propeller, and even
the elevator, rudder and ailerons
were conspicuous by their absence.
However, it was only when I readthe spec sheet on the nearby display
board did I realise that the machine
in front of me was offered in a truly
dazzling number of versions, from a
‘2-seat high-performance trainer’ to
a ‘20-seat allround[sic] commuter’. It
was claimed to be both ‘STOL & very
long range’ and could be powered by
either one or two engines, installed in
both pusher or tractor installations,
including avgas- or diesel-fuelled
piston engines up to 475hp, or a
1,350shp turboprop. Obviously, it
would be certified to FAR Part 23 in
the ‘Normal’ category, and with its
340kt top speed, 5,000nm range and
36,000ft ceiling, the Equator really
did appear to offer something for
everyone. According to the spec sheet
it was also ‘pressurised or not’.
Of course, this sort of thing is not
new. From William Henson and John
Stringfellow’s Aerial Steam Carriage
of 1842 to the Moller SkyCar, aviation
has always attracted some... shall
we say ‘imaginative’ designs. During
the mid-1970s Pilot’s late and much-
missed Editor James Gilbert wrote
the appositely titled The World’s
Worst Aircraft–and if you can track
down a copy on the internet I highly
recommend it. From the astonishing
Christmas Bullet (it was designed
by a doctor of medicine and shed its
wings on its first flight, killing the
pilot) to the Caproni Ca.60 (which
had nine wings but no tail) it is a
book that delights and dumbfounds in
equal measure.
Finally, although the Aerial Steam
Carriage never got past the patent
stage (British Patent Number 9478, if
you were wondering) in 1933 a steam-
powered aircraft was built, possibly
delighting both steam enthusiasts and
plane spotters. The Besler Brothers
bought a 150hp engine from the Doble
Steam Motors Co. of Detroit, installed
it in a Travel Air 2000, and it flew! I bet
the pilot was well chuffed.Dreamers, charlatans
and snake oil salesmen
A couple of designs
were from the most
vivid of dreams
Push to Talk