Staggerwing

[jankees]

[Flying Trucker]

Very nice shot Jan...don't see that airplane posted too often...

[yancovitch]

interesting design....i would have made the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer more curved, in harmony with the rest of the plane ...but...i wonder what the physics of the wing design was....and if it was so successful, why every aircraft wasn't designed that way...hmmmm......

[Flacke]

interesting design....i would have made the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer more curved, in harmony with the rest of the plane ...but...i wonder what the physics of the wing design was....and if it was so successful, why every aircraft wasn't designed that way...hmmmm......

An airline captain friend/neighbour owned a superb red Staggerwing. I got to fly co-pilot with him, I TOTALLY LOVED THAT AIRPLANE and the cabin was large and comfortable.
Yes, the vertical fin would have been stunningly beautiful if it was swept back to match the wings etc . The design used was the most efficient in terms of fin effectiveness and rudder control along with minimum/size/weight/drag.
The staggered top wing reduced the Interference drag between the upper and lower wings. That gave it some of its great speed for that era.
From a Pilots point of view, the staggered top wing allowed a clear view when turning towards an airport for landing etc. Normally that top wing blinds you just when you want to have maximum view for safety and to fine tune your landing base-to-final turn. It was a pleasure. I miss that airplane and the P-51 and Harvards/T6s that we used to fly with.

[yancovitch]

thanks for that flacke............sounds so romantic...........i can only wish i had not been such a whimp.....got carsick often in my early years, forget about flying in a small plane, and had very limited brain power, etc etc....that's why i only can kind of live that experience through the flightsim......though..... i might be getting better in my old age....i may try to pay for a flight in a beaver here next summer, to see if that is true......i may have to tell the pilot that it could be a short flight ..............

[SpaceHippy1975]

From your title I thought you were Pwissed!

Great shots though!

Keith.

[Flacke]

thanks for that flacke............sounds so romantic...........i can only wish i had not been such a whimp.....got carsick often in my early years, forget about flying in a small plane, and had very limited brain power, etc etc....that's why i only can kind of live that experience through the flightsim......though..... i might be getting better in my old age....i may try to pay for a flight in a beaver here next summer, to see if that is true......i may have to tell the pilot that it could be a short flight ..............

Yes, those were wonderful days for me and I am so glad that I had so many friends and fellow Pilots to fly with [still do]. Some were Airline Pilots and some were Bush Pilots. Many owned an airplane so I got to fly or fly in some great airplanes even though I didn't own one myself. Every time I got close to getting my own airplane I would end up buying a Motorhome/RV for the missus and kids. [glad I did].

By the way, many many great Pilots started their flying careers with airsickness [ I had it to a small degree at first as well]. After all, the movements of an airplane in flight are very foreign to normal human beings. But most people will adapt quite quickly and before long they never get airsick at all .
If you have a Cessna Flight Center or similar near you , go there and ask for their short familiarization flight [its usually cheap]. Tell them that YOU want to fly the plane as much as possible. Then when you are in a safe area do some climbs, descents, tight turns etc etc. I have recommended this to people for many years and they always say that it was great to actually fly an airplane and feel the controls and the sounds and sights. Even though some people cannot become Pilots that flight will be a lifelong memory for them.