JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post
- "A shop 25 by 35 feet will do"
It is extraordinary that from the time of the Wright Brothers' first powered flight in 1903 that just 15 years later a casual reader could find an article on how to construct your own airplane at home, which is a long leap from a first-in-history to building-your-own-in-the-garage. And that's really not fifteen years--development was rather incremental until about 1908 or so, so the tremendous growth period was probably about a decade. Of course, developments in aviation were accelerated during the war, and that in general revolutions in thought were occurring within nearly every discipline (in that magical period of 1895-1920), but still, it stopped me to see this five-page article ("A Scout Monoplane, Built in the Home Workshop" by George D. White) in the pages of Popular Mechanics for June, 1918.
The article starts off with a very useful dictum, announcing one of the "prime necessities" for building any type of airplane is "first, the greatest simplicity without weakness". which can be applied over many areas. Then in short order the author gives instructions on construction for a 35 h.p., 575-pound load aircraft 10' long with a 30' wingspan.
Here's the full text--time to get to work.
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