Stearman Biplane
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Posts: 18
Joined: 6/5/2004 From: Northeast,
WI, USA Status: offline
Hi guys,
Found this site while surfing the web and a rush of childhood memories came back.
My introduction to gas powered planes was in the early 70's when I received a complete volume of Popular Mechanics "Do It Yourself" books. As I was thumbing through, Roy L. Clough's Hoopskirt airplane caught my eye. A .020 powered hooped shaped barrel wing. Wow, that was cool. There were several other models by Roy within the set such as a "Waterbug", "hovercraft", "Gyrocopter", to name a few from memory.
I built two Hoopskirts. The first was finished in 1971 and weighed a "ton". I made a pilots head from my Mattel Fighting Men ThingMaker Set and used Testors' enamel paint to paint the tissue. It was not correctly balanced and even if it was, it still would have plummeted to the ground when trying to trim.
My second attempt was finished during our nation's bicentennial and flew several flights. What a great sense of accomplishment to see that free flight Hoopskirt roll back and forth as she gained altitude. Look at the amount of forward weight I added to the nacelle to have it balanced. That weight was nothing but melted solder shaped and cooled in a bottle cap. I still have that "Bicentennial Hoopskirt".
In 1978 I purchased blue transparent "microfilm" and all the balsa to make a lighter 3rd version, but never got around to it.
Oh, by the way, that .020 cost $6.98 in 1971.
Well anyway, the main reason for the aforemention information is, does anybody know if Mr. Clough ever assembled a book pertaining to his wonderful models?? If not, does anybody know of an archival list of magazines, books etc that his projects were published in.
Mr. Clough was an extremely talented man and gave me a great sense of pride when I completed and successfully flew his model. There was limited first hand information available about model aviation from where I grew up. Determined persistence to get that Hoopskirt to fly was a stepping stone to overcome other obstacles as I have walked through life. Thank you Mr. Clough.
Posts: 261
Joined: 3/23/2002 From: Glendale, AZ/Englewood, FL ,
AZ, USA Status: offline
Hi Doc Boss;
Greetings from rainy, hot'n'humid Florida.
I have come across a couple more interesting articles by Roy Clough Jr.:
a. in the 19/54 issue of Air Trails, pg 38, is a construction article for WIND WAGON, a tethered prop-rod type of car, powered by a .09>.29 engine.
b. and just today a came across item # 5905874594, in eBay, for a CL design article from 1947-48, using a 'stressed-paper-skin' construction method that he had developed; far ahead thinking on his part.
Anyways, Mr. Clough seems to have been a modellers' developemental engineer for sure, covering a vast area of endeavours. I hope this info is of interest to you also, best regards from the Gulf Coast of Florida,
Posts: 2040
Joined: 7/17/2003 From: Greensburg,
LA, USA Status: offline
thanks JOE. still need basic HELP, am not a Ebay user and tried to punch in what you said and my machine said 'no such thing'. can you help me futher ? all of my Ebay buddies are out of town. dick
Posts: 261
Joined: 3/23/2002 From: Glendale, AZ/Englewood, FL ,
AZ, USA Status: offline
Hi Dicknadine:
Re the eBay item above: I tried standard eBay Search...nothin'; then clicked Advanced Search, just entered word 'hoopskirt', 8 items popped up, the last of which is the item listed above, it is eBay # 5908084091. Just enter that # into the standard eBay Search and it should pop rite up for you. I do like the first of the 2 plans articles listed; the saucer shaped parasol wing FF, looks real interesting, as does the discussed hoop/barrel shaped wing.
Let me know if you need more assistance with ebay, glad to help out; best regards from really hot'n'humid Gulf Coast Florida,
Posts: 18
Joined: 6/5/2004 From: Northeast,
WI, USA Status: offline
DickNadine
I see that I'm having trouble automatically sending you to the ebay site, therefore type the following number 5908084091 into the searchbar at ebay to locate the article.
Here you'll find the original article I used in 1971 for building "Hoopskirt" from the Popular Mechanics volume "Do It Yourself". Hope this helps with your endeavors.
Cheers
DocBoss
< Message edited by DrBoss302 -- 8/11/2004 9:17:14 PM >
Posts: 851
Joined: 1/3/2002 From: Saint Paul,
MN, USA Status: offline
Here it is: Dave 1968 Popular Mechanics do-it-yourself Encyclopedia, p46, Roy Clough Jr. TROT THIS MODEL out on the field at your next meet and watch the eyes bug. If anybody snickers, put 'em in their place by reminding them that the annular wing is a very old aeronautical principle. Then launch your Hoopskirt. If its tradition hasn't impressed them, its performance is certain to!
At least a half-dozen full-scale planes (plus innumerable kites and gliders) have been built on the "flying barrel" design. One of the initial aircraft made by Ellehammer---the first Dane to fly---took this form. Louis Blerriot, the daring Frenchman who was the first to fly the English Channel, perched one on floats and tried, with indifferent success, to get it off the water. The French are still at it; their latest attempt at annular-winged aircraft is a tail sitting jet.
One of the big advantages of this design is its propulsive efficiency. Efficiency in a flying system is highest when the velocity of the discharged air is almost as great as the forward speed of the plane. This means that it's better to move a lot of air relatively slowly than a small amount at high speed. (It's rather like matching impedances.) The annular wing with a propeller ahead of it functions as an effective aspirator to increase the amount of air thrust backward.
Such a wing has more lift than you might think. The closed-circuit nature of the airfoil eliminates wing-tip vortices. Theoretically, a hoop-wing plane shouldn't have to bank in order to turn. This model does, however, because of the vertical stabilizing fin at the top of the wing. This was added to produce an effect comparable to dihedral.
The Hoopskirt is an extremely stable flying machine. It'll teach you a lot about this off-beat configuration. Don't let the circular wing scare you--- it's quite easy to build. Any cylinder with a diameter of about 10 in. (a half inch either way won't hurt) can serve as a mold for the two spars. I used a straight-sided layer-cake pan. The spars can be of any light wood that bends easily when soaked in hot water. Bind these around the mold with a strip of rag. When dry, trim the ends in long, matching bevels to form the lap shown in the sketch; cement and bind with sewing thread.
You can trace the wing-rib pattern directly onto your balsa, stacking blanks to cut as many at once as you can manage. The slots in each end are 3/32 in. wide and 1/4 in. deep. The width should provide a snug fit over the spars. When these hoops are seated in the notches, their outer edges will protrude 1/16 in. for rounding off.
An easy way to space the ribs accurately is to set the spar-mold cylinder on a piece of cardboard and scribe around it to produce a circle the same diameter as the spars. Mark off sixteen rib positions by means of radius lines and assemble the wing vertically over this pattern.
Cover the frame one section at a time with light model-plane tissue. Sections into which the strut, fin or booms will pass can be left uncovered until assembly is completed---or you can cover the entire wing and then slit the paper of these sections when you install parts that must be cemented to the ribs. Water-shrink the paper; when dry, give it a coat of clear dope.
Careful alignment of all balsa parts pays off in good performance. Don't diminish the strength of the rock-hard-balsa booms by sanding off the corners---leave them square.
The tail plane has a deeply-notched trailing edge, backed up with parallel pieces of soft wire cemented to the wood. These wires---which can be snipped from a paper clip---will hold any flight-adjustment bends you may give the two elevator sections after trial runs. An annular wing operates at zero incidence, so you'll have to bend the elevators up two or three degrees to get an angle of attack for climb. Bending one elevator up more than the other makes the model turn in that direction. The rudders have no adjustments, and are simply cemented to the sides of the booms after the tail plane is in place.
The engine-pilot nacelle is given a coat of pigmented dope after the motor is fastened on its plywood mount. The color scheme of the model shown is: red nacelle, rudders and fin: natural white wing; silver booms, strut and tail plane— a highly visible combination against a blue sky.
For best performance, be sure the model balances at a point about 1 1/4-in. ahead of the trailing edge of the wing. An easy way to balance the plane is to stick straight pins into both booms 1 1/4-in. ahead of the trailing edges. Support the plane on these pins between two stacks of books, and add weight---in the form of bits of clay, small pieces of lead, etc.---to either the nose or the tail until the plane is suspended between the books in a level flight position.
Hand launch the model over tall grass until, by bending the elevators up a little at a time, you get a flat glide. As a check on these adjustments try a flight with the motor running rich, then lean it out and watch your model zoom.
This is a free-flying model, and has not been adapted for control-line operation. It is a stable flyer, and when out of fuel, it will glide gracefully to a landing if you balanced it carefully.
If you're flying it in a limited space, it's a good idea to burn off some of the fuel before turning it loose, because the model travels at a good clip.
In any event, you'll draw a good many curious glances---and perhaps a few snorts of derision when you take Hoopskirt out for its first flight. Any snickers in your direction, though, will quickly change to whistles of admiration when onlookers see the stability of the "flying barrel," one of the earliest of all aircraft designs.
< Message edited by fritzke -- 7/8/2004 5:29:17 AM >
Posts: 18
Joined: 6/5/2004 From: Northeast,
WI, USA Status: offline
Fritzke
Boy, after reading that and looking at the construction diagram, it makes me want to build it again after 33 years from the first one built. Thanks for posting the info.
Which leads me back to my original question, namely:
quote:
Well anyway, the main reason for the aforemention information is, does anybody know if Mr. Clough ever assembled a book pertaining to his wonderful models?? If not, does anybody know of an archival list of magazines, books etc that his projects were published in.
I've always enjoyed his 1/2A cars (Hovercraft), boats (Waterbug), and freeflight (Hoopskirt) models. Thanks to all for any leads or info on how to compile a list.
Posts: 2040
Joined: 7/17/2003 From: Greensburg,
LA, USA Status: offline
Got it, Thanks a lot. its already planned to be on the drawing board real soon. will be an upscaled RC version, size TBD. will give me more experimentation experience with bending/ fabricating the hoops that big. 1st idea is to laminate them to leading/trailing shapes. will keep you posted. may even take the place of the Dornier Do L2 seaplane. -- what size hoop would you suggest? what class would a 36" dia fit into?if I'm not wrong, it would equate to approx 113"ws 24" =75"ws. power is no problem, as I have all size engines avilable. think electric might be too heavy. so HELP from all. dick
Posts: 2040
Joined: 7/17/2003 From: Greensburg,
LA, USA Status: offline
have gotten started on the upscale. its going at a 13 3/4 X inlargement to 86.9" and chord of 8.875". plan on a symetical airfoil. will make it a giant scale class. plans are drawn, with a Enya .46,4 cycle for power, van go up to .70 if needed. 4 channel. now fabing the circular bending form for L.E. and T.E. both will be 3/16 laminated 3/16 sheet. plan on constant symetrical airfoil, my shape, with 6 stringers,radially. will sheet it if necessary to manitain a constant shape after covering, both ID and OD. any ideas or questions?? will be another odd ball at the field and fly-ins. whats tour response?? will keep you posted. dick
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