Whatsit??

[TD McCoy]

I'm also looking into the idea that this is a lashup. for a movie. Stage set and all that.
That prop and engine are driving me nuts...
Then again it's a short drive...

[Wildchild]

Whatever it is looks to be a monoplane... Look at the landing gears.

Edit: Fokker F VII?

[WallyB]

Not a Fokker I think. The wing being above and not joined to the cabin is a rare configuration which I can't place. I wish somebody would put me out of my misery

[Harry Fenton]

This is not a complete answer, but the Knoll KN-1 shares some superficial resemblance to the mystery plane. The KN-1 has a much thicker airfoil, and the center struts mount to different structural locations on the fuselage. But, maybe an offshoot, an earlier variation, or a plane the inspired the Knoll?




http://www.aerofiles.com/knollkn1.jpg

[Harry Fenton]

Here’s a partial answer to identifying this mystery plane. The engine looks like a Bristol engine, probably a Jupiter or Mercury minus the front exhaust collector. The overall size of the engine, the 9 cylinders, valve pushrods running along the front of the cylinder, and the distinctive extended nose case between the engine and propeller hub all point to the Bristol Jupiter.

The propeller is another story. I have found a propeller mounted to a Bristol Jupiter engine, and the propeller looks to be the same shape, design, and same pitch as the one mounted to the mystery plane. I found a photo of this kind of propeller, mounted to a Bristol Jupiter engine, ultimately mounted to a Handley Page HP42.

Given that the engine is uniquely British, and this is a photo in America, I’m willing to bet that that this engine/propeller combination is a rarity is a rarity in the US. So, I’ve been searching for old news or press releases on the Bristol engine from the 1920’s, 1930’s to see if I can find something.

Ultimately, this may just be a bunch of parts bolted together, but I am not sure. The airfame and engine look too engineered to be a simple assembly of parts. Another clue is that the Jupiter engine and doubled up four blade propeller are contemporary to the 1920-1930 timeframe. The thin, undercambered airfoil on this plane also points to a 1920-1930 design. So- hmmmm, still looking-

http://www.enginehistory.org/G%26jJBrossett/Coventry/Bristol%20Jupiter%20at%20an%20angle.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Mercury_RAFM_.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Handley_Page_H.P.42_Hanno.3.jpg

Last edited by Harry Fenton on Sun Jan 26, 2014 12:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Harry Fenton]

I have the photos put together side by side, but I have to figure out how to post on this website. It makes it easier to see the similarities when posted side by side.

Harry