Random Bit Of Acft.-Design Oddness

[csadn]

Story idea I'm working on requires a WW1 "attack plane" with the 37mm cannon firing through the prop hub. However, the SPAD XII was, to put it bluntly, Rubbish.

So, I'm pondering a SPAD 2-seater design, based off the 7-13 series. It's a 2-seater, but the pilot is in the rear cockpit. The front seater fires the cannon, and handles a ring-mounted single 0.30-cal, said mount being raised so the ring is faired into the trailing edge of the upper wing (the mount is on posts without fairings so the pilot can still see forward). The forward cockpit also contains vents, and some ram-air ducting, so when the cannon is fired, the fumes are flushed away.

[Naharaht]

So, are you designing a variant on the SPAD XI two-seater, Chris?

[flash]

With a Spad XII, the pilot aims the cannon, using the mg to assist his aim, would it not be impossible for an observer to do that with someone else in control of the aircraft ? Whilst they were hard to fly due to control mods Spad XII's did achieve some kills in the hands of skilled pilots.
Here's some info on the set up.

[Diamondback]

Interesting concept, Chris... sounds worthy of the crowd at What-If Modelers. Beware the Bitchy Little Girls that run Beyond the Sprues, though...

[csadn]

So, are you designing a variant on the SPAD XI two-seater, Chris?

Essentially -- the main problem with the XI is its handling (if it were any more bricklike, one would think it was built by The LEGO Group -- one wonders if moving the weight forward would help any), which is totally unsuitable for the purpose; also, I'm not sure if the engines the XI used were suitable for use with the 37mm. Rear-engine designs handle even worse, tho'....

Interesting concept, Chris... sounds worthy of the crowd at What-If Modelers. Beware the Bitchy Little Girls that run Beyond the Sprues, though...

Oh, I'm well acquainted with the BLBB... and how to deal with them. >:)

[Jager]

Interesting concept, Chris... sounds worthy of the crowd at What-If Modelers. Beware the Bitchy Little Girls that run Beyond the Sprues, though...

A sub-species of troll?
Karl

[Diamondback]

WORSE, amigo--the kind of heavy-handed Admins who see the mere members as toys to be used, abused, pushed around, screwed over and discarded like... well, broken toys as their individual and/or collective whims may strike, and firmly believe "Rules are for Thee but NOT for ME".

BLG's are worse than mere trolls, though I would suspect trolls are a subspecies of them. (Re my term, watch more Burn Notice--it's one of Bruce Campbell's "Sam-isms" from that. I miss that show...)

[Jager]

WORSE, amigo--the kind of heavy-handed Admins who see the mere members as toys to be used, abused, pushed around, screwed over and discarded like... well, broken toys as their individual and/or collective whims may strike, and firmly believe "Rules are for Thee but NOT for ME".

Sounds like a most unwelcome site
Karl

[Diamondback]

That's the thing... they're pretty good at concealing it and playing BFF's until somebody decides to spring the trap--the only reason I still have an account there is there are a few decent guys among the membership who I owe favors.

The funny thing is, after I left that site, somebody on another site asked for thoughts on it, I gave my review and Head BLG after long enough he should've KNOWN I was G-O-N-E Fracking GONE still sent a note carping and griping about it. "Don't like my assessment, change the situation so I have reason to reanalyze with new data and deliver a new assessment" is all I got to say about that. *mike drop*

[csadn]

I wonder what they'd make of my B-29 design with the swept wings (with wing fences) and R-4360s.... >:)

[Diamondback]

Chris, you know what we call a B-29 with R-4360s? A B-50. By the way, that's almost exactly what the design concept for both the B-52 and the Tu-95 Bear started as: swept-wing, turboprop B-29s.

[csadn]

Chris, you know what we call a B-29 with R-4360s? A B-50. By the way, that's almost exactly what the design concept for both the B-52 and the Tu-95 Bear started as: swept-wing, turboprop B-29s.

True -- but they didn't *build* them. Also, I'm imagining someone figuring out in '43 or so "the R-3350 is a PoS, and this thing needs to be faster"; so we get a swept-wing, corncob-powered B-29 over Japan. (Gun turrets? Who needs 'em? >:) )

[Diamondback]

They DID have the B-50 already on the books and in design in '43 IIRC, as the B-29D. Redesignation was to get around Congress saying "You can't build more of anything built during The War", so USAF and Boeing did a little sleight of hand to present it as "New Aircraft". Rub was, Dev time on the R-4360, and the B-36 program had first call on 'em.

Do remember, most everyone outside Germany was a little slow on the uptake on swept wings at that time...

[csadn]

They DID have the B-50 already on the books and in design in '43 IIRC, as the B-29D. Redesignation was to get around Congress saying "You can't build more of anything built during The War", so USAF and Boeing did a little sleight of hand to present it as "New Aircraft". Rub was, Dev time on the R-4360, and the B-36 program had first call on 'em.

I was aware of that.

Do remember, most everyone outside Germany was a little slow on the uptake on swept wings at that time...

Slow on the uptake -- but that was more to do with wartime exigencies than lack of knowledge (it's also why the West was up to its eyebrows in DC-3s, when the DC-5 design was in all respects the superior military transport). Look at OldGuy59's avatar to see how far back swept-wing development goes.

And Theodore von Kármán was working in the US most of his career: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor...C3%A1rm%C3%A1n , so it wasn't as tho' the West was totally ignorant of the subject.