UFO 6

The machine is a monoplane with arched wings. Its cloth-capped pilot is seated in a faired central nacelle, immediately in front of a large vertical piston engine, possibly with four cylinders, driving a two-bladed wooden pusher propeller. The nacelle is supported on a twin-wheel undercarriage, and a few feet out on either side are open frames extending rearwards to carry the tall surfaces. The rear ends of these frames are covered in to serve as fins There appears to be a monoplane tailplane, possibly with an elevator, plus twin rudders behind the tailplane. The wings appear to be double-surfaced only along their leading edges, back to the front spar, and single surfaced aft of the front spar, and their fabric covering is clearly poorly applied, as it may be seen hanging down beneath the inboard leading edges. Inset ailerons are fitted at the wingtips. It is extremely difficult to date it any more precisely than 1909-13.

Aeroplane Monthly August 2006