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Post by tempest1944 on May 12, 2008 4:17:57 GMT
Officially the world's smallest plane, apparently. Its...kinda scary, to me...that the FAA would've certified this thing to fly. It looks rather like a toy! Bumble BeeAirliners.net photo gallery |
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Post by LaFille on May 12, 2008 4:24:08 GMT
It's cool... I wouldn't want to crash with that though! Wonder how long it can fly on one tank? And how long a way it takes for it to take flight/land?
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 12, 2008 15:57:58 GMT
Wow that thing's tiny! Wings look too short for stability, too. Wouldn't fancy my chances of survival at all...
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Post by tempest1944 on May 12, 2008 17:35:33 GMT
WING SPAN: 5' 6"
LENGTH: 8' 10"
CRUISING SPEED: 150 mph
TOP SPEED: 190 mph
STALLING SPEED: 75 kts
EMPTY WEIGHT: 396 lbs
ENGINE: C-85
FUEL CAPACITY: 3 gals
"Aerodynamics engineers told me: 'Good God, man, that thing can't fly,' " says Robert, 71, who lives and builds his flying visions at his Mesa, Arizona home.
They have a point. Like the insect, the wings of this Bumble Bee don't appear large enough to make it fly.
"No one ever told that to the little insect," says Robert, "so he goes ahead and flies, anyway!"
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Post by tempest1944 on May 12, 2008 17:41:18 GMT
I'm not sure how far you can get on 3 gallons of fuel, unless its a REALLY efficient engine...but yaa, I'm not sure I'd wanna be up in one. Its rate of roll would be really good, I suppose...but not stability.
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 12, 2008 17:45:05 GMT
Really efficient engine or not, I don't see it flying more than test runs. It's an interesting exercise in aeronautics, but I like gyrocopters better. They actually seem like they'd be marginally safe. I'm impressed this thing even flies!
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Post by tempest1944 on May 12, 2008 18:18:33 GMT
"Mr. Starr is available for presentations. Model Plans are now available for the Bumblee II."
I'm not sure if that means people can make their own Bumble Bees or not, but if so...I'm scared!!!!! He crashed in the Bumble Bee II....it almost killed him; not surprisingly, the plane was a wreck.
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 12, 2008 18:30:25 GMT
Might mean he's looking for financial backing. I can't think that anyone could just knock one up in their garden shed. It might be small, but I bet it's not cheap.
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Post by tempest1944 on May 12, 2008 19:26:11 GMT
Maybe...I knew a guy in the village I grew up in, that was building a plane the size of your average Cessna...heh so anything's possible.
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Post by LaFille on May 13, 2008 2:06:50 GMT
I used to see two building their tiny plane in their house garage everytime I walked my dog; I have no idea what kind of planes these were though... I find it a cool thing to do for those who are able (and have the guts) to.
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