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Flights of Fantasy (2013)

JANUARY 2, 2013
The New Year is here and the studio calendar is out so it is time to think about the new series “Flights of Fantasy”
Day dreaming ,doodling and I have been working with some of my own imagery
Humphrey’s Egg a single seat steamer used in aerial balloon defense, although oddly shaped this strange little machine had reasonable performance when in flight. Easy to handle and simple to produce this flying machine designed by “Sir Hennery Humphrey” was a favored machine by royal federation pilots.
The British single seat “Templer” rushed into production to address the nightly attacks over London by the federation zeppelins that were prowling the midnight skies. Although thought to have been a good design for he time the “Templer” proved to be a major disappoint for the British Royal Wing Command. She took almost four hours to get up enough steam for take off requirements, once underway she was very hard to maneuver and almost imbossible to land. Only twelve “Templers”were manufactured, but despite her disappointments the “Templer” marked a first in single seat steam powered Royal Fighters.
“The Clarkston Pigeon” was an early rocket plane of sorts this strange little craft was fueled by a combination of compressed air and baking soda. An oddity or its day it appeared to hop through the sky in a bird like mannor as it flew above the small towns. The Clarkston Pigeon was built in France in 1914 and flown over the English Channel to England during the summer of 1914 by her designer.
“The Benetton Buzzer” a British high altitude experimental night fighter with a turbine blower for increased horsepower. “The Benetton Buzzer” also had the first pressured cabin for high altitude test flights, which proved very successful. Several records were broken over the winter of ninety forty-two over the midnight skies of Bristol.
The Perellie Pusher designed by Anthony Perellie while working at the Russian Aero works in Kiev, Ukraine. Although originally designed as a pusher plane after several re- designs and other modifications the Perellie Pusher was converted into one of the world’s first helicopters and later refitted by Igor Sikorsky. The pilot in this print is actually a very young Anthony Fokker.
A rare sketch of the blue print for the “British Finster” Rocket Plane, constructed England during the February of 1945
“The Finster Rocket 1945” shown here conducting rocket engine throttle tests, the Finster used a volatile mix of turpentine and alcohol. The main problem was getting the engine to throttle up and down; it just wanted to burn at a constant speed once fired up. The Finster Rocket was a first for British Aviation with the employment of a rocket engine attached to a small fighter body design.
© 2024 Chris Spollen