''The Last Laugh'' was a prototype tailless dart-shaped aircraft built in 1929 by Roy Scroggs in the US. Designed as a

lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage wi ...

, it was based on an earlier 1917 delta-winged patent. It underwent flight testing but the design was not developed further.

Origin

Roy Scroggs was a tailor living in Eugene, Oregon, US. He sought to develop an airplane that would bring safety, economy and

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

performance to everyday flying, and patented his first low-aspect-ratio delta design in 1917. His unconventional ideas were rejected by aeronautical experts and he received much ridicule for his persistence. When he finally built a full-size machine in 1929, his chosen name, ''The Last Laugh'', reflected his faith in his invention.''Eugene Guard'', 1929. The

Handley Page HP.115 The Handley Page HP.115 was a experimental delta wing aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It was built to test the low-speed handling characteristics to be expected from the slender delta configu ...

of 1961, designed to test the

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

wing plan at low speeds, had a very similar Delta leading edge angle of swept.

Design

Shaped like a long, narrow delta with the nose cut off, the aircraft was conceived as a

, having a deep trapezoidal kite-section fuselage which tapered in proportion to the high-mounted, low aspect ratio wing. The fuselage thus formed a deep keel which provided both lift and directional stability. The original delta-winged design of 1917 proved impractical and the nose had to be drastically cut back to provide adequate mounting for an engine and propeller.US Patent 1,848,578
The structure was primarily of welded metal tubing with fabric covering. Twin main undercarriage wheels were located on struts immediately behind the engine, lifting the forward fuselage well clear of the ground. With the wings level the rear fuselage almost reached the ground and was fitted with a small tailskid. The aircraft was powered by a 90 hp

Curtiss OX-5 The Curtiss OX-5 was an early V-8 American liquid-cooled aircraft engine built by Curtiss. It was the first American-designed aircraft engine to enter mass production, although it was considered obsolete when it did so in 1917.Smith, 1981, pa ...

engine driving a two-bladed propeller.Photo GN4700
Lane County History Museum, US. (Retrieved 6 July 2018) The enclosed cockpit was located well aft in the wider part of the fuselage and initially had only two small side windows for vision. These were much increased in size before flight testing began. Aft of it the fuselage tapered more sharply to an angular tail with no separate fin. A split rudder was fitted for lateral control, with each half attached to the fuselage at its widest and deepest point.

Elevon Elevons or tailerons are aircraft control surfaces that combine the functions of the elevator (used for pitch control) and the aileron (used for roll control), hence the name. They are frequently used on tailless aircraft such as flying wings. ...

control surfaces were also fitted on the wing trailing edge. Modifications during flight testing included the addition of twin rudder surfaces, mounted aft of the fuselage on short strut

Career

''The Last Laugh'' was registered in the US as NC10648. It is claimed to have risen to about 10 ft (3 m) in flight. Following initial flight tests he filed for a new patent on its design in July 1930. The machine was damaged during attempted flight trials at Eugene Municipal Airport when it missed the taxiway and tipped over. Its registration was cancelled in 1934.Number 10648
FAA Registry.

Specifications

References

Notes

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Bibliography

* "Revolutionary Type of Aircraft Constructed by Roy Scroggs, Local Man", ''Eugene Guard'', 28 August 1929, p.12
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Lifting bodies Homebuilt aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Tailless aircraft 1920s United States experimental aircraft Conventional landing gear