Monthly Archives: January 2013

Arsenal VG 70: “Un appareil à reaction aux lignes racées”.

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The VG 70 was the second French jet aircraft to fly, and the first really handsome. Its designer Jean Galtier and his Bureau continued with his tendency to use wood and ventral air intakes previous employed in their piston-engined fighters. With its bold 38º swept wing, the VG 70 was more than tradition though. Regrettably it was handicapped by the low power and reliability of its German surplus Jumo 004 jet. It only made a mere five flights and was soon forgotten.

The return of la Beauté.

Lockheed XFV-1 “Pogo Stick”: Awesome Lemon.

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The XFV-1 is a clear example of the 1950s VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) fever. In this case a tail-sitter designed to fulfil a US Navy requirement for a Convoy “protector”. Built in competition with the Convair XFY, the XFV-1 proved to be the least successful of the two. It didn’t really matter. Both were cancelled when tests showed the impracticability of the whole concept: they demanded very high-experienced pilots at the helm and their performance was well bellow their possible enemies.

Nice model with a model. Some things don’t change.

Ansaldo S.V.A.5: In War and in Peace.

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Ansaldo S.V.A.5: In War and in Peace.

This aircraft type was made famous Gabriele D’Annunzio’s daring Viena raid. The S.V.As were originally conceived as fighters aircraft and they proved to be both very fast and robust, but sadly not very maneouvrable. No problem, they became one of the best reconnaissance aircraft of the last part of The Great War.

In this photo the S.V.A.5 used in the 1920 Roma-Tokio Raid, another D’Annunzio’s idea.Its beautiful yet strong lines are quite alluring.

Yakovlev Yak-7B: Stopgap? No Way !!

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Yakovlev Yak-7B: Stopgap?, no way !!

The Yak-7 family had a very interesting story: a fighter trainer design that desperation turned into a fighter/heavy fighter. And a very good one.

An excellent quality photo (something of a rarity in WW2 USSR) of fighter ace Lt. Peter Gryshchenko and his stallion…, or was it a work horse? Crude construction finish and Hucks starter chuck on the propeller hub. Couldn’t be more Soviet.

Miles M.39B Libellula: Another George Miles’ Marvel.

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Miles M.39B Libellula: Another George Miles' Marvel.

George Miles “played” a lot with this tandem wing configuration during WW2. At first with its possible use as carrier-borne fighter (tested in the M.35) and later as a bomber aircraft. The M.39B is a one-off 5/8 scale model of the projected bomber. Miles thought the tandem-winged layout offered a extended CG range plus a low target area in case of enemy attack. During tests the M.39B showed a good, if “peculiar” behaviour, enjoying good stability over a wide CG range. Sadly, the the was a lot of skepticism by its possible customers and didn’t go much further. George Miles’ usual impulsiveness didn’t help either.

Artist: Anthony Cowland.

FMA AeMB.1 Bombi: Yep,it was a little Bomber.

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FMA AeMB.1 Bombi: Yep,it was a little Bomber.

Conceived and built in Argentina in the middle of the 1930s, the Bombi was one of the Argentine aircraft industry’s first signs of independence from foreign products. Not really up to date with the latest construction methods, but a very deserving effort anyway. After some teething problems they gave a valuable, if humble service until end of the 1940s.

Nice photo of a pair examples of the slightly modified first model. Very orthodox machines born already obsolete.

Sopwith Baby: Skeletal, but juicy.

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Sopwith Baby: Skeletal,but juicy.

One of the first derivatives of the 1914 Schneider winner-the Tabloid-, he Baby was a hardworking shipborne multirole (well, at least at WW1 level) floatplane. Built in considerable numbers by Sopwith it was also built and developed into improved models by some of those manufacturers (Fairey’s Hamble Baby).

Sopwith’s neat construction simplicity is evident in this fascinating photo. This Clerget engined example was sure a Babe.