*** Vintage Wings ***
Phillips Multiplane - 1904
Horatio F. Phillips Multiplane of 1904 put into full-size practice his theory of the venetian-blind arrangement of superimposed wings of very narrow chord which had been demonstrated on his steam-driven model of 1893. Twenty unstaggered surfaces formed the wings of the machine, which was fitted with a cruciform tail unit, the whole being mounted on an undercarriage of three wheels. The engine was of 22 Hp. driving a tractor propeller.
This version was tested on fields at Mitcham, and although able to perform a short flight at around 35 mph. was found to be longitudinally very unstable, forcing Phillips to redesign the aircraft.
His next flying machine fitted nothing less than 200 airfoils and no tail, and allowed the british constructor to fly a distance of 500 ft. in 1907, giving Horatio Phillips the honour of being the first person to make a flight under power in Great Britain.
However, the "venetian-blind" models showed a very poor performance compared to more conventional contemporary designs, leading Phillips to end his attempts at manned flight.
A replica of this machine was specially made for the 1965 film Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines.
*** All aircraft can be seen inworld in my shop ***
See item in Second Life
Another classic from the Vintage Wings collection
If you're looking for a collection of Vintage aircraft or just want to try something different for a change look no further. The Vintage Wings Collection of aircraft are detailed, fun to fly and highly affordable.
