Piston

Bohemia B.5

TerryLeave a comment

The Bohemia B.5 was a single engined, two seat, light sport aircraft designed and built in Czechoslovakia shortly after World War I.

The B.5 was the first aircraft designed and built in Czechoslovakia at the end of the First World War. Designed and constructed at the Bohemia Pilsen works the B.5 had one engine and two seats in separate, tandem open cockpits. The B.5 was a typical biplane sport/trainer aircraft of the period, with staggered upper and lower wings; the lower wing attaching directly to the lower fuselage between the two cockpits and the one piece upper wing supported on cabane and inter-plane struts.

The structure of the fuselage and wings was entirely conventional with fabric and/or plywood skinning and wooden structure. Conventional fin and tailplane were sited at the rear of the fuselage and were fitted with fin and elevators of generous area for yaw and pitch control. Roll control was effected by ailerons fitted to the upper wings only. The undercarriage consisted of bungee sprung main-wheels on a live axle supported by wire-braced struts and a sprung tail-skid at the extreme end of the fuselage.

Power was supplied by a Neue Automobil-Gesellschaft mbH NAG 4-cyl in-line piston engine, rated at 40 hp (30 kW), turning a two-blade wooden propeller counter-clockwise as viewed from the cockpit.

Colours and markings were simple with the fabric covering being left in its natural colour doped with a clear varnish. Large black letters across the span of the lower wing bottom surface spelt out BOHEMIA.

The prototype first flew from Pilsen aerodrome on 27 April 1919, but due to its lacklustre performance it was not a commercial success with few sales. The prototype B.5 crashed on Saturday, 17 May 1919, killing the student, Joseph Klíbr, and slightly injuring the instructor in the rear cockpit, Rudolf Polanecký. The remains of the B.5 were swiftly resurrected in just six weeks.

The B.5 kept flying until 1923 when it was owned by Chrudim J. Wiesner. By this time the NAG engine was completely worn out and unsafe. Wiesner and a test pilot from the Aero factory, Rudolf Valenta, converted the B.5 to a glider by removing the engine, modifying the front fuselage and replacing the wheeled undercarriage with skids. Results of attempts to fly the glider by Valenta Kbelská were mediocre due to the poor aerodynamic qualities and lack of a suitable launching area.

No complete B.5 exists today, but the fuselage is on display at the Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely.

Engine: Neue Automobil-Gesellschaft mbH NAG, 30 kW (40 hp)
Wingspan: 8.00 m (26 ft 3 in)
Length: 6.68 m (21 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 18.05 sq.m (194.3 sq.ft)
Height: 2.8 m (9 ft 3 in)
Empty weight: 340 kg (750 lb)
Gross weight: 520 kg (1,147 lb)
Maximum speed: 110 km/h (68 mph)
Service ceiling: 1,500 m (4,921 ft)
Range: 120 km (74 miles)
Endurance: ca 3 hours
Seats: 2

Bogatyrew Utka Nadieżda / Kaczka-Nadzieja

TerryLeave a comment

In 1910, Michał Bohatyrew built a canard aircraft in Mońki near Białystok, called “Utka Nadieżda” (“Kaczka-Nadzieja”). Modeled on a Voison canard, but it was a monoplane.

A single-seat monoplane with a wooden structure. Double-girder rectangular lobe stiffened with steel wires. Truss hull with rectangular cross-section in the front and triangular in the rear with ash bars, taffeta cover. The cabin is open. Four-wheeled chassis with anti-cabotage skids.

After initial tests, the aircraft was transported to St. Petersburg, where it was shown at the First Exhibition of New Works in April 1911. Then, at the St. Gatczyno airport. the designer made further tests of the aircraft. During the first take-off the plane was crashed.

Engine: air-cooled, 18 kW (25 HP)
Empty weight: 250-270 kg
Total weight: 350-370 kg.
Speed: 45-50 km / h.

Boel Blauwvoet I

TerryLeave a comment

This machine, named after the Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii), was built in 1909/1910 in Ostend, Belgium, by Nicolas Boel, together with his brother Louis. It had a wingspan of 9.5 m and was 9 m long. With a turn of the steering wheel the pilot was able to operate the rear rudder, while the forward or backward movement of the steering column caused the elevator to raise and lower. Like on the Voisin, there was no lateral control. Some members of the Aero Club expressed their doubts as to whether that rickety thing could ever fly. Nicolas recognized the merits of their criticism, but instead of, as his brother quietly hoped, losing his heart, he immediately went back to work to improve his first creation, which became the Blauwvoet II.

Boeing & Westervelt B&W1

TerryLeave a comment

The B & W Model 1 design was the result of a collaboration between William E. Boeing and a friend, Cdr G.C. Westervelt of the US Navy, and the B & W designation recognised this association.
Of wood and fabric construction, extensively strutted and wire-braced, the Model 1 was an unequal-span biplane, with ailerons on the upper wings only. The fuselage, mounted directly on the lower wing, had two open cockpits in tandem, and carried at the rear a tail unit that was a typical braced structure of its period. Power was provided by a Hall-Scott engine mounted in the nose of the fuselage to drive a tractor propeller. Floatplane landing gear included two single-step floats, strut-mounted and braced beneath the fuselage, plus a small float under the tail to prevent disaster in a tail-down landing.
The first of two Model 1s was flown initially on 29 June 1916, by which time Cdr Westervelt had been posted to the other side of the American continent. William Boeing decided, therefore, to establish a company to build these aircraft, and his Pacific Aero Products Company was founded on 15 July 1916 in a rented boathouse on Seattle’s Lake Union. The first company to incorporate the Boeing name, the Boeing Airplane Company, was formed on 26 April 1917.
The two Model 1s, construction numbers 1 and 2, were sold to the New Zealand government.

Later, Boeing staff created a replica of the B&W1.

Gallery

Engine: 1 x Hall-Scott A-5, 125 hp / 93kW
Take-off weight: 1270 kg / 2800 lb
Empty weight: 953 kg / 2101 lb
Wingspan: 15.85 m / 52 ft 0 in
Length: 9.5 m / 31 ft 2 in
Wing area: 53.88 sq.m / 579.96 sq ft
Max. speed: 121 km/h / 75 mph
Cruise speed: 108 km/h / 67 mph
Range: 515 km / 320 miles

Boeing C-700

TerryLeave a comment

The Boeing C-700 was a development of the Model 5. Boeing (on the float) and Edward Hubbard put this aircraft to work in 1919 carrying mail between Seattle and Victoria B.C. and to ships at sea.

The first internation airmail flight was made from Vancouver to Seattle on 3 May 1919 by Eddie Hubbard and Bill Boeing. A pouch of 60 letters was carried in the C-700.

First international airmail

Powered by a Hall-Scott water-cooled four-cylinder of 100 hp, the cruise was 60 mph.

Boeing Condor

TerryLeave a comment

The Boeing Condor was a high-tech test bed reconnaissance aircraft built in the late 1980s. With a wing span of over 200 feet, the Condor is larger than either the Boeing 747 or the Boeing B-52 bomber. The Condor had an un-refuelled flight duration of 80 hours. It was powered by two 175 hp, six-cylinder opposed, twin supercharged, liquid cooled, Continental TSOL-300-2 engines. The aircraft is totally robotic with no pilot. On board computers communicate with computers on the ground via satellite to control all facets of the Condor’s mission.

The Condor set an altitude record for a piston powered aircraft of 67,000 feet, over twelve and a half miles high. The Condor logged over 300 hours of secret missions before its retirement. All of its test flying took place at Moses Lake, Washington.

Very light for its size, the Condor was built of state-of -the-art carbon fiber composite materials, giving the Condor stealth qualities. With a very low radar and heat signature footprint, the Condor was nearly electronically invisible.

Boeing PB / XPB / 50

TerryLeave a comment
Boeing PB-1

In September 1924, the Naval Aircraft Factory was tasked with designing a long-range twin-engined flying boat, capable of flying the 2,400 mi (3,860 km) between San Francisco and Hawaii. The initial design was carried out by Isaac Laddon, an employee of Consolidated Aircraft, and then passed to Boeing for detailed design and construction. The new flying boat, the Boeing Model 50, was a two-bay biplane of very streamlined design for flying boats of the time. The wings were of metal construction, with wooden wingtips and leading edges. The fuselage had a metal lower part, with the upper half made of laminated wooden frames with a wood veneer covering. Two 800 hp (600 kW) Packard 2A-2500 V12 engines driving four-bladed propellers were mounted in tandem between the wings above the fuselage.

The Boeing Model 50, designated PB-1 by the US Navy, made its maiden flight in August 1925 as A6881. It was intended to use it to lead a pair of Naval Aircraft Factory PN-9s in an attempt to fly to Hawaii on 31 August 1925, but engine trouble led to its participation in the flight being cancelled.

PB-1

In 1928, the aircraft was modified by the Naval Aircraft Factory, its Packard engines were replaced by two 500 hp (370 kW) geared Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines, leading to the new designation PB-2.

Although the aircraft was a prototype the U. S. Navy did not distinguish between experimental and operational aircraft at that time so the aircraft was never designated XPB-1 or XPB-2.

XPB-1
Engines: 2 × Packard 2A-2500, 800 hp (600 kW) each
Length: 59 ft 4.5 in (18.098 m)
Wingspan: 87 ft 6 in (26.67 m)
Wing area: 1,801 sq ft (167.3 m2)
Airfoil: Clark Y
Height: 20 ft 10 in (6.35 m)
Empty weight: 11,551 lb (5,239 kg)
Gross weight: 26,882 lb (12,193 kg)
Maximum speed: 97 kn; 180 km/h (112 mph)
Cruise speed: 82 kn; 151 km/h (94 mph)
Service ceiling: 9,000 ft (2,700 m)
Range: 2,172 nmi; 4,023 km (2,500 mi)
Rate of climb: 4,000 ft/min (20 m/s)
Armament: none fitted
Crew: 5

Boeing GA-2

TerryLeave a comment

After the failure with the construction of GA-1 (and it was considered the refusal of the military to purchase a large series), Boeing decided to change the design of its attack aircraft while preserving the concept itself. The next model that received the designation GA-2 was already a single-engine armoured biplane that was also tested on the basis at McCook Airbase.

The GA-2 was initially seen as a prototype for a new three-engine attack aircraft with 700 hp engines, but as a result, the military ministry ordered two prototypes. The reservation remained approximately identical to GA-1, but due to the reduction of the crew and the number of engines, the mass of it decreased. The weapons were also changed, the gun remained in the same place, and two machine guns were placed in the turret instead of the turrets in front of the nacelle.

Both aircraft were left at the McCook airbase where they flew until 1926.

GA-2
Engine: Engineering Division W-18, 750 hp
Wing span: 16.47 m
Length: 11.25 m
Height: 3.60 m
Wing area: 258.00 sq.m
Empty weight: 2934 kg
Normal take-off weight: 3941kg
Maximum speed: 206 km / h
Cruising speed: 182 km / h
Range: 364 km
Maximum climb rate: 220 m / min
Ceiling: 3505 m
Crew: 3
Armament: one 37-mm Baldwin cannon, 6×7.62 mm Browning machine guns

Boeing 6 / B-1    

TerryLeave a comment

The Boeing Model 6, also known as the B-1 was a small biplane flying boat designed by William Boeing shortly after World War I. The Model 6 was the first commercial design for Boeing (as opposed to military or experimental designs), hence the B-1 designation. Its layout was conventional for its day, with a Hall-Scott engine driving a pusher propeller mounted amongst the cabane struts. The pilot sat in an open cockpit at the bow, and up to two passengers could be carried in a second open cockpit behind the first. The hull was laminated wood veneer, and the wing frames were spruce and plywood. The design was reminiscent of the Curtiss HS-2L that Boeing had been building under license during the war.

Only a single aircraft was built, first flying on 27 December 1919, as Boeing had trouble selling it in a market flooded with war-surplus aircraft. In 1920, it was purchased by Edward Hubbard, who used it to carry air mail between Seattle, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia. Air mail service began on 27 December 1919, and continued for eight years. The B-1 mail flights took off from Lake Union in Seattle. It outlasted six engines in eight years of international airmail runs between Seattle, Wash., and Victoria, British Columbia. Flown by Eddie Hubbard, the B-1 covered 350,000 miles (563,000 kilometers).

The plane flew until 1930 before being preserved and put on display at Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry in 1954.

Model 6 on display at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle

Engine: 1 × Hall-Scott L-6, 200 hp (149 kW) 6 or 400-hp Liberty
Prop: 4 blade wooden fixed pitch
Wingspan: 50 ft 3 in (15.32 m)
Wing area: 492 sq.ft (45.7 sq.m)
Length: 31 ft 3 in (9.53 m)
Height: 13 ft 4 in (4.06 m)
Empty weight: 2,400 lb (1,089 kg)
Gross weight: 3,850 lb (1,746 kg)
Maximum speed: 90 mph (145 km/h)
Cruise speed: 80 mph (128 km/h)
Range: 400 miles (640 km)
Service ceiling: 13,300 ft (4,050 m)
Crew: one pilot
Capacity: 2 passengers

Boeing PBB Sea Ranger / 344

TerryLeave a comment

Well before the United States entered World War II, the Navy started a program to develop a long-range flying boat, able to cover the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. The Model 344 design offered by Boeing was chosen, and a contract for 57 aircraft was awarded on 29 June 1940.

To build the large twin-engined XPBB-1 Sea Ranger (Boeing 344) flying boat Patrol Bomber prototype, Boeing started construction of a new lakeside factory in Renton, Washington, that was owned by the US Navy. The Navy owned 95 acres (38 hectares) on the south shore of Lake Washington in Renton, Wash. The waterfront site provided natural protection from prevailing winds, so it was easier to launch seaplanes directly from the plant. However, the prototype was constructed mostly in Seattle, and was moved to Renton only to be completed.

To achieve the desired long range, the PBB became a large aircraft, with a wing span of 139 feet 8½ inches (42.59 m) and a crew of 10. Despite this size, it was powered by just two Wright R-3350 Duplex Cyclone radial engines, driving three-bladed Curtiss Electric propellers. It was the largest twin-engined flying boat flown during World War II. For a flying boat, the PBB was aerodynamically clean, with a cantilever wing set high on the fuselage. The planing bottom had a single step, and the non-retractable outrigger floats were attached to streamlined, cantilever struts. The lower hull was divided in seven watertight compartments, and a short upper deck provided seating for the cockpit crew. The wing of the PBB was constructed in a centre section and two outer panels. The centre section carried the engine nacelles and contained the internal bomb bays, as well as fuel and oil tanks. The outer wing panels contained main and auxiliary, integral fuel tanks.

The defensive armament of the PBB consisted of five powered turrets equipped with Browning .50 M2 machine guns. They were installed in the nose, in the tail, on the upper fuselage just aft of the trailing edge of the wing, and in two waist positions on the rear fuselage. Except for the waist guns, the turrets had two guns each. Offensive armament could consist of up to 20,000 lb of bombs in internal bomb bays in the wing centre section (five bays on each side) or of two Mk.13 or Mk.15 torpedoes slung under the wing centre section.

The 1710 US gallon auxiliary outer and 1565 US gallon inner fuel tanks were intended to be used only in an overload condition, in which the PBB would use catapult-assisted take off to achieve a theoretical range of 11000 miles (17700 km). Normal range using the main fuel tanks was 4245 miles (6830 km).

The PBB was the first aircraft of the Patrol Bomber category built by Boeing for the Navy.

In March 1941 the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics asked the Naval Aircraft Factory for a catapult able to launch a PBB-1. The NAF duly prepared a design for a Mark VII catapult that would be able to launch a fifty-ton PBB-1 at a speed of 130 miles per hour. The catapult would be installed on a lighter, so that the flying boat could be lifted onto it with a large crane or hydraulic jacks. However, in the summer of 1942, while development of the Mk.VII catapult was still ongoing, the Navy cancelled the project because it considered JATO assistance at take-off more practical.

The prototype, designated XPBB-1 (hull number 3144), made its first flight on 9 July 1942 from Lake Washington. The aircraft handled very well and was considered technically successful.

The Boeing 25-year tradition of building seaplanes came to an end when the Lone Ranger flew out of Renton for the last time on Oct. 25, 1943, heading for the Navy base in San Diego, Calif.

However, already in 1942 the PBB programme had been cancelled: The need for a long-range flying boat had been reduced by the ability of land planes such as the Consolidated PB4Y to fly long-range missions over the ocean, and construction of a small number of PBB-1s would have a negative impact on the production rate of the B-29. The Navy allowed the Army to use the Renton factory for the production of B-29 bombers, in return for the use of another factory in Kansas.

The single XPBB-1 was handed over to US Navy in 1943, and was used in trials programmes at the naval base in San Diego until 1947, when it was finally retired to the Norfolk Naval Air Station in Virginia. It remained the single example of the type, and was accordingly nicknamed “Lone Ranger”.

The Navy traded the Renton site with the U.S. Army for a plant in Kansas City, Mo., and the Army took over the Renton plant, where Boeing workers subsequently produced 1,119 B-29 bombers. After the war, the Renton plant eventually became a manufacturing facility for Boeing commercial jet transports.

Gallery

XPBB-1 Sea Ranger
Engines: 2 × Wright R-3350-8 Double Cyclone, 2,300 hp (1,716 kW)
Wingspan: 139 ft 8½ in (42.59 m)
Wing area: 1,826 ft² (169.7 m²)
Length: 94 ft 9 in (28.89 m)
Height: 34 ft 2 in (10.42 m)
Empty weight: 41,531 lb (18,878 kg)
Loaded weight: 62,006 lb (28,185 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 101,130 lb (45,968 kg)
Maximum speed: 186 knots (214 mph, 345 km/h) at sea level
Cruising speed: 158 mph / 254 km / h
Range: 6,300 mi (5,500 nm, 10,000 km) (maximum)
Normal range: 3,691 NM, (4,245 mi, 6,834 km)
Service ceiling: 22,400 ft (6,830 m)
Rate of climb: 980 ft/min (4.98 m/s)
Endurance: 72 hr
Wing loading: 34.0 lb/ft² (166 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.24 kW/kg)
Armament: 8 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in bow and tail turrets and waist positions
Bombload: 20,000 lb (9,100 kg)
Crew: 10