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Bowlus & Nelson Bumble Bee powered glider questions
I have a 16mm home movie showing a test flight of the Bumble Bee at
Rosamond Dry Lake in 1945. I need help with 2 things: 1) I would imagine that Bowlus and Nelson are part of this movie but I can't find a photograph of either of these guys so that I can ID them. Does anyone know where there is a picture online? 2) There is a female pilot. Does anyone know of a woman who flew for Nelson Aircraft Co.? Thanks in advance, John Schag BuffaloInFlames.com- Vintage Firemen Photos |
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Bowlus & Nelson Bumble Bee powered glider questions
Any chance of getting the film converted to digital so we can all see?
Here is an extract I saved, can't remember where from Nelson Hummingbird - (scanned - 1997) Ted Nelson sought to enhance performance of 1946 Dragonfly design. Improved engine, adding horsepower and making retractable within rear fuselage, sealed by doors. Hawley Bowlus no longer with project; most of the engineering fell to Harry Perl, with Don Mitchell helping. First version had new metal cantilever wings with solid styrofoam in D- tube and fabric aft of spar. Fuselage and tail were wood, with anti- servo-tab flying stabilizer. BB-1 pod used originally with side-by- side seating, retractable tricycle landing gear, and wide aft fuselage tapering to empennage. Quickly replaced by sleek tandem fuselage design (also wood), with 2-wheel gear (main and steerable nose) balanced during taxiing by wing tip outriggers. Production versions had similar configuration, but all wood replaced with metal except for rudder which had a radio antenna built in. Wing fabric replaced with thin magnesium sheet. Aircraft performed well but was priced considerably above existing 2-place aircraft, thus never sold well enough to proceed with volume production and certification. 2 Hummingbirds in National Soaring Museum collection. Charles Rhodes bought the aircraft and engine rights from Nelson and marketed 48 hp version of engine designated H-63 for light aircraft and helicopter use. |
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