Skyways
No. 78. April 2006
By Tracy Hancock
After waiting what seemed like an eternity, the latest Skyways appeared
in my mailbox a few weeks ago; another great issue, but these quarterly
issue waits are hard to get used to!
Ted Williams’ wraparound cover painting of a Macchi M.39 and Curtiss
R3C-4 battling for the honors at the 1926 Schneider Cup Races sets the
tone for the issue. Inside you find a brief article on the subjects of
this painting which reveals, among other things, that there was a long-winged
trainer version of the Macchi which was not completely red and that the
M.39s flown in the Schneider Cup competition most likely had silver ailerons!
Continuing the Italian theme, there is a short article on New York to
Boston shuttle flights using two Savoia Marchetti SM 55P flying boats.
Warren Eberspacher’s excellent Stinson four part Model ‘A’
Trimotor opus concludes in this issue, but if I am reading the “coming
attractions” correctly, another Tri-Motor feature is on the way.
The Gee Bee R6H is covered fairly extensively in this issue, including
plans. This exciting aircraft flew in the Bendix Races, the MacRobertson
England-to-Australia race, and the Thompson Trophy Race, as well as the
record breaking flight from Mexico City to New York by Francisco Sarabia.
I hope that more research is done on this aircraft in future issues!
Another exciting aircraft covered in this issue is the Herrick Convertaplane,
an aircraft that was part biplane and part autogiro; taking off as a normal
airplane and able to land as an autogiro, with the symetrical top ‘wing’
rotating. This excellent article offers a nice plan with color callouts,
perfect for the scratchbuilder.
This month’s cockpit photo feature is on the Boeing Model 40,
a very handy reference for the forthcoming re-tool of the Czech Master
Resin kit.
Also making a brief appearance in this issue is the Boeing P-26, although
I am not sure if this aircraft is a restored example or a replica.
A tour of the Historic Air restorations Museum in Creve Coeur, Missouri
will have you planning your next family vacation. Their collection of
Waco’s is outstanding, as well as their Monocoupes and a Fairchild
24.
ID UNK headscratchers and other monthly bits round out another great
issue.
As I’ve said before, if any of this stuff sounds like your cup
of tea, then you owe it to yourself to subscribe to this fine journal.
More information on subscribing, as well as sample articles can be found
at: www.skywaysjournal.org
|
|