stona
SMF Supporter
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2008
- Messages
- 11,484
- Points
- 113
- First Name
- Steve
I've already completed the major construction, though there is a little fettling to do. The kit goes together quite nicely.
What an amazing aeroplane it is.
I need to get the nose cone on and mask up the canopy after which I'll contemplate some painting.
A little history lesson, please fell free to skip this bit!
This incredible shape was designed by Alexander Lippisch one of Germany's most brilliant aerodynamicists. He cut his teeth testing his designs with sailplanes at the "Wasserkuppe" in the late twenties and early thirties. He had some very able assistants at his Ursinus House design office. To name a few, Hans Jacobs, Willy Hubert, Heinrich Voepel and test pilots Gunter Groenhoff and Peter Reidel, the latter a name well know even today in gliding circles. Also working on the delta wing was a certain Canadian called Beverly Shenstone who would later move to Vickers Supermarine where he designed the wing for the Spitfire.
Lippisch also invented a method for vertical take off and pioneered the canard or fore wing. His early ones, designed with Shenstone, were elliptical.
Lippisch moved to the USA after the war (Paperclip). Here he is, unfortunately there is a whiff of the mad scientist/ Dr Strangelove about him in this film. He and Shenstone, despite being on opposite sides during the war, remained lifelong friends.
Cheers
Steve
What an amazing aeroplane it is.
I need to get the nose cone on and mask up the canopy after which I'll contemplate some painting.
A little history lesson, please fell free to skip this bit!
This incredible shape was designed by Alexander Lippisch one of Germany's most brilliant aerodynamicists. He cut his teeth testing his designs with sailplanes at the "Wasserkuppe" in the late twenties and early thirties. He had some very able assistants at his Ursinus House design office. To name a few, Hans Jacobs, Willy Hubert, Heinrich Voepel and test pilots Gunter Groenhoff and Peter Reidel, the latter a name well know even today in gliding circles. Also working on the delta wing was a certain Canadian called Beverly Shenstone who would later move to Vickers Supermarine where he designed the wing for the Spitfire.
Lippisch also invented a method for vertical take off and pioneered the canard or fore wing. His early ones, designed with Shenstone, were elliptical.
Lippisch moved to the USA after the war (Paperclip). Here he is, unfortunately there is a whiff of the mad scientist/ Dr Strangelove about him in this film. He and Shenstone, despite being on opposite sides during the war, remained lifelong friends.
Steve
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