Wicked cool that Bugatti is. Kermit has a couple Gee Bees next door. Likes em so much he bought the company... And a short bit of Gee Bee history...http://fantasyofflight.com/aircraftpages/geebee.htm And just for a little "on topic" action here's a 1950's flying car.
Ive never been much of a plane guy but it's even cooler than a mustang or p51. this is smoothest plane Ive ever seen.
A replica of Howard Hughes record breaking 360 mph plane of the thirties,...I wonder if it was used in the movie "The Aviator"
I've always said good design is good design, whether its a toaster, a bench vice or an automobile. If it moves you, inspires you... its successful. We're all here because we have a love of style (sometimes over function!)
Spec-fucking-tacular! I find it amazing that these Schneider Cup seaplanes were much faster than the non-float air racers of the day. Something about the length of runway long enough to take off a plane of that configuration -- there weren't any paved strips long enough to take off a comparable wheeled plane. The Bugatti plane is the original Bat-Plane.
Just remembered the air intake for the Bugatti radiator was in the leading edge of the V tail and ducted out along the rear of the wing. Thanks for posting the sketch McKee. The driveshafts were 3-4 inches in diameter just under the pilots arm pit, it was designed for a short pilot. I remember the driveshaft to prop junction box well. Like a lot of Bugatti stuff they took the time to hand scrape the steel it was carved from. Looked like the table on a new Bridgeport.
Tragically, the beautiful H1 replica was destroyed in a crash in Yellowstone park in 2003. The pilot, Jim Wright, didn´t survive.
I 've been up to Oshkosh for the big show for 13 strait years. The Racer never fails to impress. It is other-worldly. Sleek is not enough of a word for it. Yes the cockpit is tight. I think the French were smaller back then.
Did I miss it or has anyone stated wether the Bugatti prototype ever actually flew before being hidden? And how did they hide a big airplane from those treasure huntin' Nazi thieves? Exellent thread. I never tire of historical design/engineering ideas. It is amazing what was accomplished without computers, CAD and pessimism.
From what I´ve read, the answer is no, it never flew. They hid it by bricking it up behind a wall IIRC.
Certainly an amazing looking plane. If it can/has never been flown, I wonder if it would fly as well as it looks like it would. Have wind tunnel or computer simulation tests (or what ever), ever been done ?
I toured the Bugatti Heritage Trust in England last year, and it was a fascinating place...I even bought a Bugatti DVD while there with old footage of the cars being built...very cool stuff. (Ryan, part of the DVD I sent you had photography of the Bugatti Trust on it). I saw the drafting plans for the plane on the wall, but of course, no plane. On the Bugatti vises, I think there was a second part that went from the bottom of the vise to the floor. This way, when you hammered something in the vise, it was as if it was on the floor. If I find a photo, I'll post it. But hell yes, fabulous plane design....can you imagine how friggin' hot it got in that cockpit?!! Jeezus! P
You mean how they killed just about every pilot that ever flew them? That Bugatti is amazing to look at. Wonder how it flies though?
We're currently working on a replica from the same ear. This is a 1936 Caudron C-460 racer. The original came over from France to compete in the 1936 National Air races held in Los Angeles and it absolutely smoked the competition. The original was powered by a Renault engine of approximately 340 h.p.. We're using a supercharged LOM 337 that puts out about 250 h.p. The plan is to get it finished in time for Oshkosh this year. (These photos are several months old) Should be fun to fly when it's finished. Mark
heres an airplane im sur youll all like. this is the convair car (not corvair car) it was one of those crazy 1950 s ideas that never worked out http://www.1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Visschedijk/2722L.jpg
This is what I really love about the HAMB, there is so much O/T stuff that is just so right. I never knew about Bugatti bench vices, go figure. I love the look of this baby, I just wonder what the rate of roll would be like. I'm surprised they didn't consider making it a pusher with a tricycle 'cart.
Did you know there even is a dedicated club, for this airplane and the other aircraft ventures of Bugatti (amongst others; airplane engines in WW1); the Bugatti Aircraft Association, see; www.BugattiPage.com. Several RC models have been built and are flown, the biggest one is a 1:3 model (wing span about three meters) by Les Furnell in Australia. All of these models fly exceptionally well, though of course most are simplified, without counterrotating props, and with the engine further up front. The Keith Shaw electric one is the only one I know (at the moment) with counterrotating props, and two engines. He did, as he did many other things, amongst which surgical instruments which still are being used, a lot of manufacturing machines, sailing yachts, torpedo boats (construction started but interrupted by the war), speed boats (Built and held world record in it's class), 12.7 litre automobiles, 12.7 cc bike engines etc etc.... As for the vice; I tried one, and Bugatti built it because he was not happy with the ones that existed (yes guys, Ettore Bugatti built his first Bugatti brand automobile, after designing cars for others, with his own hands. There still is hope for you!). With a regular vice, after the jaws touch, you need about a quarter of a turn to really tighen it. The Bugatti vice has almost no play, and is very stiff, after the jaws touch, you can only turn it for 5 - 10 degrees! As for the airplane, the association not only gathers information about all the aspects of the airplane, there are serious plans for building a flying replica, probably using modern materials. At this moment, a French university studies the real behaviour of the airplane, using modern simulation software and windtunnel tests.
jjhorst... www.BugattiPage.com there went my day... edit: how cool is this? http://www.bugattipage.com/voitures/bugatti/howet59.jpg
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