Japanese aircraft pioneer Chuhachi Ninomiya

[blackkite]

Hi!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABhachi_Ninomiya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WsPnusghwc

 

[chuck4]

Interesting. Was the flying replica exact enough to prove the original concept could have worked with material and fabrication available?

 

[blackkite]

Hmmmm..... Give me time.
http://sekiai.net/rc2_tama.html

 

[blackkite]

Wishful thinking. ;D

"If he had got a 12 horsepower engine, he could have flown before the Wright brothers' success, because the difference [between his design and their flight] is 12 years," said Noguchi, now the head of an aviation consulting company.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/04/30/843612.htm

I think one of the hard problem for Tamamushi was how to get longitudinal(pitch) stability, because she had no tail horizontal stabilizer.
Tamamushi had some inherent directional(yaw) stability, because she had sweep back under wing(movable control surface).
Someone said that Tamamushi was too heavy to flight.

 

[sienar]

Propellers mounted behind the CG, ie pushers, tend to add directional stability to the aircraft if I'm remembering things right. But it looks like directional stability would still be a problem even with those huge propeller blades far aft.


Of course the comment that all it needed was a better engine is a bit funny - getting a lightweight engine but with adequate power was the biggest problem with pre-wright aircraft.

 

[Jemiba]

This may be a similar case, as that of Gustav Weißkopf, whose "Nr.21" is said to have actually been
the first succesful powered aircraft (Was especially interesting for some Germans, as G.Weißkopf was
born in Germany ... but built his aircraft, when he already had emigrated to the US... !).
It should be added, that he, like the Wright brothres, had built the engine by himself. As sienar said,
the engine was the biggest problem during that era and to solve the problem of powered flight, just
getting the basic aerodynamics right, or at least sufficiently working wasn't enough, I think.

 

[blackkite]

Thanks to all for your sharp opinions.
RC flight model has special wing cross section and sweep back wing which contribute pitch stability.

 

[snark]

Thanks to all for your sharp opinions.
RC flight model has special wing cross section and sweep back wing which contribute pitch stability.

The "Karasu" is a delicate and aesthetically appealing design, in my opinion. Though it flew only in rubber-band-powered model form, it remains a beautiful piece of art.

Thanks for showing these designs to us, Blackkite-san. Regards, Harry