Between the wars, home builders were looking for an affordable engine to build an aircraft around. It was generally thought that a car engine would be too heavy and underpowered but Bernie Pietenpol tested the Ford Model A in 1928 and built this parasol type two seater around it. The engine was mounted backwards, that is the propeller replaced the flywheel on the end of the crankshaft. The radiator was mounted up in the airflow, right in the pilots view. The forty or so horsepower was enough to move two people through the air at about 60 mph. The company is still around today.
No comments:
Post a Comment