cluttonfred
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Please don't forget to respond to the poll!
All,
I am working with a designer on a concept for a semi-replica of the Sperry Messenger biplane.
<DIV align=center>
<DIV align=center>Verville-Sperry Messenger at NASM Udvar-Hazy
<DIV align=center>(Click "Long Description" for the detailed article.)
If you don't know the Messenger, it was designed by Alfred Verville for the U.S. Army Air Service in the early 1920s as the aerial equivalent of a motorcycle for military couriers. It's short span (under 20') and overall small size and simplicity were intended to allow operation from small fields and country roads. Unusually, it used struts, with neither flying nor landing wires, to simplify rigging and maintenance.
The Messenger earned it's claim to fame in experiments operating aircraft from airships as the first ever to succcessfully hook up and detach from an airship in flight. It was also used as the basis for an early "aerial torpedo" (guided missile) and frequently used in early NACA aerodynamic research because it's small size allowed it to fit in the wind tunnel.
This replica would duplicate the lines, wooden construction, bracing struts, etc. of the original but likely at about 90% scale, simplified for easier building and light enough to operate as a microlight in Europe, so about 400-425 lbs empty weight. Not aerobatic, but utility category to allow some tossing about, and powered by a direct-drive1835cc VW conversion. The closest equivalent available today is probably the Fisher Youngster.
Is this something that might interest any of the members of this forum?
Cheers,
Matthew
Please don't forget to respond to the poll!Edited by: Matthew L
All,
I am working with a designer on a concept for a semi-replica of the Sperry Messenger biplane.
<DIV align=center>
<DIV align=center>Verville-Sperry Messenger at NASM Udvar-Hazy
<DIV align=center>(Click "Long Description" for the detailed article.)
If you don't know the Messenger, it was designed by Alfred Verville for the U.S. Army Air Service in the early 1920s as the aerial equivalent of a motorcycle for military couriers. It's short span (under 20') and overall small size and simplicity were intended to allow operation from small fields and country roads. Unusually, it used struts, with neither flying nor landing wires, to simplify rigging and maintenance.
The Messenger earned it's claim to fame in experiments operating aircraft from airships as the first ever to succcessfully hook up and detach from an airship in flight. It was also used as the basis for an early "aerial torpedo" (guided missile) and frequently used in early NACA aerodynamic research because it's small size allowed it to fit in the wind tunnel.
This replica would duplicate the lines, wooden construction, bracing struts, etc. of the original but likely at about 90% scale, simplified for easier building and light enough to operate as a microlight in Europe, so about 400-425 lbs empty weight. Not aerobatic, but utility category to allow some tossing about, and powered by a direct-drive1835cc VW conversion. The closest equivalent available today is probably the Fisher Youngster.
Is this something that might interest any of the members of this forum?
Cheers,
Matthew
Please don't forget to respond to the poll!Edited by: Matthew L
