An aeroplane that's always intrigued me, even though it never lived up to its promise, is the Bell Airacuda. Only 13 were ever built, all unceremoniously scrapped in 1942, after having been showcased extensively around the country at air shows, the '39-40 New York World's Fair, in theatre newsreels, newspapers, magazines and model kits. The eccentric design, intended as a bomber formation interceptor with two 37-mm canons in the engine nacelles, was already obsolete by the time it went into limited production. And it suffered from too many insurmountable aerodynamic and mechanical flaws to catalogue here. Still, the Airacuda was a bold attempt by a fledgling manufacturer, and probably paid for itself in design experience, Air Force publicity and public relations.
Excellent project. What scale is it?
Louis
1:83 by my calculation. From a British Skyleada plan.
Thank you
Great job on a unique airplane! I don't know much about that plane, but were the guns manned? Is that why there is glass on the front of the nacelles?
Thanks for sharing your project!
Jordan:
The canons were in fact manned by individual gunners and could be fired independently, but they normally were supposed to be operated remotely by a fire control officer seated behind the pilot. The "gunners'" primary job was to feed magazines to the guns. The retractable turret atop the fuselage also was supposed to carry a single .50 cal. for stern defense, manned by another gunner who supposedly could jump to .30-cal guns in the waist windows or the ventral position.
Thank goodness it never had to be tried in actual combat!
And that's not even to mention the issue of the canon gunners trying to bail out with those propellers spinning right at their backs!
All in all, a design that maybe never should have moved off the drawing board!
Wow, that does seem overly complex. Thanks for the info. Great model! What wood do you use for those thin gun barrels?
Not wood. Cut-down hypodermic needle inserted into small brass tubing. Undercarriage, radio antenna, propeller blades and exhaust stacks were made from toothpicks, though. Propeller spinners were made from birch dowels and shaped in a pocket pencil sharpener. Fuselage and nacelles were made from leftover scraps of maple laminated together. Wings, tail feathers and wheels were basswood.
Great info, thank you!
Where do you get the hypodermic needles? That's a great idea.
I don't remember exactly. But they're quite affordable and available for sale online. Just Google it and you'll find any number of vendors.