Nelson BB-1 Dragonfly
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Nelson BB-1 Dragonfly
The Bowlus/Nelson BB-1 Dragonfly is an American, two seat, strut-braced, high-wing motor glider that was developed from the Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross glider by Hawley Bowlus.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 118. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920 Design and development The development of the Dragonfly was sponsored by the Nelson Engine Company to promote the use of their H-44 four cylinder two-stroke engine. The engine was mounted in the rear of the fuselage pod, in pusher configuration, with the wooden two bladed propeller below the metal tail boom. The fuel tank holds , enough for self-launching, but not for cross-country powered flight. The Dragonfly shares the Baby Albatross's molded plywood fuselage pod, aluminium tube tail boom and strut-braced double spar wooden wing, covered in aircraft fabric aft of the spar. The leading edge is a plywood D-cell. The aircraft features dual controls and a retractable ...
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WikiProject Aircraft
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ...
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Aircraft Fabric
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are the pioneering all-wood monocoque fuselages of certain World War I German aircraft like the LFG Roland C.II in its wrapped ''Wickelrumpf'' plywood strip and fabric covering. Early aircraft used organic materials such as cotton and cellulose nitrate dope; modern fabric-covered designs usually use synthetic materials such as Dacron and butyrate dope for adhesive. Modern methods are often used in the restoration of older types that were originally covered using traditional methods. Purpose/requirements The purposes of the fabric covering of an aircraft are: * To provide a light airproof skin for lifting and control surfaces. * To provide structural strength to otherwise weak structures. * To cover other non-lifting parts of an aircra ...
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Bowlus Aircraft
Bowlus is an American luxury Caravan (towed trailer), travel trailer with a front door, aerodynamic shape and polished Aluminium, aluminum body. Hawley Bowlus designed and built the travel trailer using his knowledge of aircraft construction. Aspects of the design were used on the first aluminum-body Airstream trailers, the Airstream Clipper. Bowlus stopped producing the trailers in 1936. Production of a modernized, enlarged travel trailer resumed in 2013 in Oxnard, California. History Founding and early years The first Bowlus was designed and built by Hawley Bowlus in 1934. Bowlus was a designer, aerospace engineer and the builder of the Spirit of St. Louis aircraft. From 1934 to 1936, over eighty Bowlus were built at Bowlus’ family ranch in San Fernando, California. In 1936, Wally Byam who founded Airstream adapted the design for the Airstream Clipper after selling Bowlus trailers. In November 1936, Bowlus stopped building travel trailers and did not transfer assets to ...
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1940s United States Sailplanes
Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 194 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus and Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Caesar become Roman Consuls. * Battle of Issus: Septimius Severus marches with his army (12 legions) to Cilicia, and defeats Pescennius Niger, Roman governor of Syria. Pescennius retreats to Antioch, and is executed by Severus' troops. * Septimius Severus besieges Byzantium (194–196); the city walls suffer extensive damage. Asia * Battle of Yan Province: Warlords Cao Cao and Lü Bu fight for control over Yan Province; the battle lasts for over 100 days ...
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List Of Gliders
This is a list of gliders/sailplanes of the world, (this reference lists all gliders with references, where available) Note: Any aircraft can glide for a short time, but gliders are designed to glide for longer. By nationality *List of American gliders *List of Argentine gliders * List of Australian gliders *List of Austrian gliders *List of Belgian gliders *List of Brazilian gliders *List of British gliders * List of Bulgarian gliders *List of Canadian gliders *List of Chinese gliders *List of Czechoslovak gliders *List of Danish gliders *List of Dutch gliders * List of Estonian gliders *List of Finnish gliders *List of French gliders *List of German gliders *List of Greek gliders *List of Hungarian gliders *List of Indian gliders *List of Iranian gliders *List of Irish gliders *List of Italian gliders *List of Japanese gliders *List of Latvian gliders *List of Lithuanian gliders *List of New Zealand gliders *List of Philippines gliders *List of Polish gliders *List of Portugu ...
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Two Stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of the crankshaft. A four-stroke engine requires four strokes of the piston to complete a power cycle during two crankshaft revolutions. In a two-stroke engine, the end of the combustion stroke and the beginning of the compression stroke happen simultaneously, with the intake and exhaust (or scavenging) functions occurring at the same time. Two-stroke engines often have a high power-to-weight ratio, power being available in a narrow range of rotational speeds called the power band. Two-stroke engines have fewer moving parts than four-stroke engines. History The first commercial two-stroke engine involving cylinder compression is attributed to Scottish engineer Dugald Clerk, who patented his design in 1881. However, unlike most later two-st ...
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Canadian Museum Of Flight
The Canadian Museum of Flight (formally the Canadian Museum of Flight Association since 1998) is an aviation museum at the Langley Regional Airport in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. The museum has over 25 civilian and military jets, piston driven engine aircraft, gliders, and helicopters on display, six of which have been restored to flying condition. Other displays include an aviation art gallery and aviation artifacts. Hampden bomber The museum's Handley Page Hampden is the last of its type in existence. The aircraft was used in coastal patrol on the BC coast in World War II and crashed offshore in 1942. It was recovered in 1985 and was restored over a twenty-year period. The rare aircraft is stored outdoors, and on 26 December 2008, an especially heavy snowfall broke the left wing spars. This caused the wing to separate from the fuselage. Collection Airplanes Helicopters Affiliations The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada. See ...
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National Soaring Museum
The National Soaring Museum (NSM) is an aviation museum whose stated aim is to preserve the history of motorless flight. It is located on top of Harris Hill near Elmira, New York, United States. The NSM is the Soaring Society of America's official repository. In 1975, the SSA Board of Directors transferred the Soaring Hall of Fame to the National Soaring Museum. The museum features a large collection of vintage and historical gliders. The museum also administers the National Landmark of Soaring program to recognize people, places and events which are significant in the history of motorless aviation. History Elmira and Harris Hill have long been associated with soaring in the USA. The establishment of the nation's most prolific glider manufacturer, Schweizer Aircraft in Elmira and the holding of first 13 National Soaring Contests at the site between 1930 and 1946 guaranteed its stature as a location. During the US National Soaring Contests in the 1950s competitors and organizer ...
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Nelson Hummingbird PG-185B
The Nelson Hummingbird PG-185B is an American, tandem two seat, mid-wing motor glider that was developed by Nelson Aircraft after discontinuing the Nelson Dragonfly.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 123. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920 Design and development In 1949, Nelson began the design of another self-launching glider, but this time, he teamed-up with Harry Perl and Don Mitchell. They called this new design the ''Hummingbird''. Introduced in 1953, the Hummingbird was an attempt to improve upon the marginal performance of the Dragonfly, of which only seven were produced. The resulting design is a mid-wing glider built predominantly from wood, with the wing leading edge filled with styrofoam and doped aircraft fabric used on the aft portion of the wing, the tail and the rudder. After the first two were completed the remainder were built from metal in place of wood. The design features an all-flying stabilator with an an ...
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Nelson H-49
The Nelson H-44 is an American single ignition, four-cylinder, horizontally opposed, direct drive, two-stroke aircraft engine that was developed by the Nelson Engine Company for use in motorgliders. Design and development The H-44 was designed in the period following the Second World War and a specially designed motor glider was created by Hawley Bowlus to utilize the engine, the Bowlus/Nelson Dragonfly. The engine was not certified. Under the CAR 5 regulations then in place in the US for gliders, a certified ''auxiliary power glider'' could be flown with a non-certified engine and propeller. The engine is instead described on the Dragonfly type certificate. The four-cylinder engine runs on a 12:1 mixture of 80 octane gasoline and SAE 30 oil. It is equipped with a single Carter WA1 carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fu ...
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Nelson Aircraft Corporation
The Nelson Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1945 by sailplane pilot Ted Nelson and sailplane designer William Hawley Bowlus in San Fernando, California. Bowlus and Nelson formed the Nelson Aircraft Corporation to build a two-seat, motor glider version of the popular Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross. The designers nicknamed this design the ''Bumblebee'' but they sold the powered glider under the official moniker, ''Dragonfly''. Designs The first Nelson-Bowlus glider was the Nelson Bumblebee with a pod-and-boom fuselage two-seat powered sailplane X1955 The Bumblebee in 1945-46 was built with a Righter O-45 16-hp four-cylinder engine. The prototype Bumblebee had a fully retractable tricycle landing gear, operated manually by the pilot. The nose gear was steerable with miniature shimmy dampeners and a lock. The rear wheels had a special cam action so that they could be tucked away in the fuselage at the proper angle. The rear wheels also had independent internally expanding bra ...
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Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic management, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports, and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles. Powers over neighboring international waters were delegated to the FAA by authority of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Created in , the FAA replaced the former Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and later became an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Major functions The FAA's roles include: *Regulating U.S. commercial space transportation *Regulating air navigation facilities' geometric and flight inspection standards *Encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology *Issuing, suspending, or revoking ...
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