Inspiration

[Milhafre]

Here is some inspiration for scale waterplane builders.

I am a Canadian, but for the last 14 years I have lived on the island of Faial in the Azores.

Situated as we are 1,000 miles W of Portugal and 1,300 miles ESE of Newfoundland we were an ideal stopping point for early trans-Atlantic fliers.

I have discovered in the archives of a local photography company some pictures of these early visitors. The quality is not always great—negatives do not hold up well in this climate, and there is no documentation. Most of the planes I recognize, a few I do not.

Hope you enjoy them and if you can help with the identification I would appreciate it.

Roly

[Milhafre]

Here are some more....

Roly

[arrow5]

Good find Milhafre, I`m sure Kiwi will name the last one, French I think. Wait till Airboat Clive gets a load of this !

[Airboatflyingshp]

He has just. ;) .......................and welcome Sir I know a chap in Newport IOW who also built a model of the Saro Princess and Ive been talking to another gent in Bath whose even now working on a set of plans for an electric version of that Cetian like Beauty...........have you seen the links in the thread below?

I believe Arrows referring to collecting habits in this field :rolleyes: Which are mostly ............as the Fast show used to say to be found here http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=448080&pp=15 and which to I will add this thread if that's alright?

Finding this sort of stuff feels like searching for dinosaur eggs.......once in a while though some like minded kind soul walks into the curiosity shop and offers to put a nestful on display in the window :D :D

Kiwi as you know from luke's Solent thread used to work on these fantastic beasts.......and upsets me terribly by posting pictures of damaged wrecked and Cannibalized ones ..Knowing that there's more examples in some of his shots than there are in left in all the world and unless I can Find a Beriev somewhere offering lifts I will never Know what its like to ROW travel and land in a large flying-boat :(

Stand by for a lot of questions :D :D

[Milhafre]

Here is one more I somehow missed yesterday.

[Airboatflyingshp]

http://www.seawings.co.uk/empcutaway.htm this should help orientate the interior space .............courtesy of Seawings.

[LukeZ]

Roly, these are some great pictures. Did you scan these yourself or the photo store do it? I wonder if some high-res scans could be made, suitable for printing. I'd love to frame one of these in my "shop."

I just watched another episode of my Flying Wings DVD set the other night. The DO-X was featured in one, and the C-Class ships also in another. I like the Empire boats; they look kind of like fish to me for some reason. Cleaner lines, ironically, than some later models.

But seeing these photos and watching those old videos really just makes one sad, to think how little of these creations are still in existence in a museum, let alone in flying condition. When they showed video of the SaRo Princess being towed to the wreckers it was really almost too much. I understand it must have cost a substantial sum to even mothball these things, but really - if there's only one left in the world, wouldn't they want to save it?

Ahh well. Thanks again for these pictures.


Luke

[TLyttle]

Ain't that a fact! The Brits seem to be better at preservation than anyone else; I guess it comes from a country where history and preservation are part of who they are.

Flying boats are a problem. They operated off salt water for the most part, therefore just keeping them from dissolving before your very eyes is difficult, usually meaning complete disassembly, and reassembly to get rid of the never-sleeping corrosion. Even the aircraft they rescue from the depths of the seas MUST be immediately immersed in fresh water once they hit the air.

I, too, wish there were more of those magnificent boats still around, but I guess that is why we are here: to revive, in miniature, all the majesty of those amazing aircraft. I have the Cleveland plans to the Martin M130 Clipper, 8' span; I must build it, even though I cannot yet afford to buy the power system for it... Soon, though.

[Brad Trent]

Terry, what are you considering for power in the M130 Clipper? Ivan has gone to Jamara 480s for his large multis - they are fairly cheap, and being brushed, ESC costs are low, as 2 or more can be run from 1 ESC.
Brad.

[Airboatflyingshp]

I would second Brads comment past two motors and your better of doing an Ivan if you can keep the wt down. Theres a E bay trader selling 50amp brushed controllers out of HK for a very good price.

There's a bit of a gap in our national collective mania and Aircraft are it ...........the flyingboat has its own particular problems as you point out.....on some the inside of the underfloor areas/bilges was coated with Lanolin to try to delay it..........riveted seams had to be inspected and attended to..... recommended read - Brian Cassidy's PDF book on the C class if you can download it.
The Berievs use welded construction ...new materials and stainless steel ..even the motors were designed to resist the salt attack......I know the NZ Sherewater uses SS steel carbon and GRP to beat the problem as did the last experimental push pull turboprop Dornier amphibians.
But its still the universal solvent!

That final picture might be of a French design.....theres something about the fin Bre or Cams? -but Ive got biplanes wrong before so I will fudge that for now.


Edit..........Im almost certain its French a Cams?

[Milhafre]

LukeZ
I saw a beautiful big framed print of the three Boeings hanging over the reception desk in my dentist's office and asked him about it, he put me on to FotoJovial. There they have albums of historic photos. I bought postcard-sized prints for €2 each, but they can print any size I guess. They don't have a web site but I can get information if you want it.

TLyttle & Airboat
re corrosion: Many years ago I was an electronic tech in the RCAF with the Search and Rescue unit at Greenwood, Nova Scotia. We had two Cansos (I told you it was a long time ago) Unfortunately although I flew in them several times I never got to do a water landing. When they had to make a salt water landing they always did a touch-and-go in a fresh water lake on the way back to base to rinse off the salt.

[TLyttle]

Brad, you gotta see the plans for this Martin... I will have to buy a balsa tree for the materials. As far as power is concerned, it will likely need large geared motors to drive 3-bladers, and a bellyful of batteries. All this is a bit rich for me at the moment.

I guess I should have paid more attention to the flying boats around the Coast when I lived there. I know the old Stranraer at YVR was mostly stainless (I had some of the interplane struts for awhile) but I knew nothing of the maintenance required to beat the corrosion. (That aircraft is now on display at Hendon, fully restored.) Again, I saw the Mars aircraft during their reconfiguration into waterbombers, and never thought to ask about corrosion; the fact that they are/were based at Sproat Lake would seem to indicate that fresh water is part of their longevity. I have seen them pick up salt water for firefighting, but they never stuck around, they simply flew back to Sproat.

Same queston arises with the CL215-415 aircraft; I can only assume that the ones in Europe are not exposed to salt very often...

So many questions!

[LukeZ]

I saw a beautiful big framed print of the three Boeings hanging over the reception desk in my dentist's office and asked him about it, he put me on to FotoJovial. There they have albums of historic photos. I bought postcard-sized prints for €2 each, but they can print any size I guess. They don't have a web site but I can get information if you want it.Roly, that's ok, I won't put you through the trouble. There'd be currency to change and shipping and all that. I just thought perhaps if these were yours and you had them scanned they could be sent over the wire.

I will keep my eyes out for a good print, sometimes one will pop up on eBay.



Luke