| Histoire résumée | Daniel PERKINS, who had built several inflatable HPA which had not flown, (see above), met with success with his design of the Reluctant Phoenix, the first inflatable to fly. This plane was designed to fly very low, so that the height was a fraction of the chord of the wing, (see ground-effect in Glossary). Perkins had made some tests, and found a symetrical aerofoil to be appropriate. To quote Frederick To (Aerospace June/July 1985) and (Society of Automotive Engineers Inc) :- "The aircraft was a delta flying-wing with a wingspan of 31 feet (9.5 m) and an empty weight of 39 lb (17.7 Kg). The envelope of the wing was made of polyurethane-coated nylon fabric. Due to the high power requirement for cruise, the aircraft was limited to short hops under man-power as it was being flight tested inside an 800 ft (244 m) long airship hangar. About 90 flights were made. Reluctant Phoenix was successful in that it could be folded away and transported in the back of a small station wagon. It also survived many crashes without requiring repairs as the aircraft merely bounced when in collision with the ground. Shortly after Perkins's death the Reluctant Phoenix was handed over [to Frederick To], who immediately recognised the advantages of the system". This author visited Fred To and heard him praise the neatness of the design of the Reluctant Phoenix. The seat-frame was similar to the chassis of a recumbent road HPV, the pilot's control bar being below the knees. See Phoenix. |
