Shapley Kittiwake

[Oceaneer99]

Dave,

Nice work on that drawing.  When I was a boy, I always loved the Vought Corsair because of its inverted gull wings.  It's neat to see other planes with interesting wing dihedral.

Garet

[dave_t]

Thanks Garet. There are quite a few gull-winged aircraft, but not with the low wing arrangement. I can think of three at the moment and they were all one-offs, Koolhoven, Lanier and the Shapley. The inverted type makes more sense really.

[cliff strachan]

I, or indeed my knowledgeable acquaintances, have never heard of these aircraft. I hesitate to ask what that makes me but perhaps you could provide a bit more history of some of the more unique and possibly remote or less renown aircraft.

Cliff.

[dave_t]

The Lanier "Paraplane" was a concept aircraft involving a complicated set of adjustable slots, slats and recesses in the wings meant to provide slow/short takeoffs and landings. I think it was supposed to be stall-proof too. It got a lot of press in the 1940s and 50s in the USA, but never went anywhere. Koolhoven was a 1930s Dutch manufacturer. They designed many odd aircraft but I think most everything related to the company was destroyed by the Nazis. The FK-53 "Junior" was a light sport plane.

Koolhoven http://www.alexdenouden.nl/artikelen/koolhoven06.htm
Lanier http://www.rexresearch.com/lanier2/lanier2.htm

[cliff strachan]

Thanks a lot, Dave for the links and all the information regarding the Shapley Kittiwake and similar aircraft that I will enjoy reading more about.
Cliff.

[Falsemuzzle]

 These are neat! I really love these oddball planes, and I'd never heard of them either. One of my favorites (but mass produced) is the PZL P.11. Such a cool looking aircraft.