Convair XFY 1 Pogo, 138649, Naval Auxilliary Air Station, Brown Field California USA 1954.
1/72 Kovozavody, I modified the propellers, pitot tube and seat, finished in MM metalizers and enamels with MM metalizer sealer over kit decals. built in 2007.
It's great, Allan. Excuse my ignorance, but how did they land these things?
Thanks George, refer to Josh and Bernard for the answer to this question or look it up on wiki !
George, short answer, with great difficulty! That's why it never went anywhere. Nothing like landing backwards in a gimbeled seat! Sign me up! I remember a TV program on it when I was a youngster, the test pilot was a guy named "Skeets" Coleman.
Thanks, Bernard.
They landed exactly how you see it sitting George. The pilot backed it down onto its tail looking over his shoulder. The canopy was open and the seat lifted up and tilted forward slightly so the pilot wasn't flat on his back. Not the best arrangement but it worked and it was pretty fast in horizontal flight!
Thanks Josh.
Thanks for that, Josh.
Nice job and nice to see! Did the old Lindberg kit some years ago.
Thanks Robert, do you still have yours ?
Looks good, Allan...form looking at your schematic, I assume you "modified the propellers" by allowing them to spin freely?
Thanks Craig, they don't quite spin in the breeze but are independent of the other bits.
George, very carefully! That was the problem. They figured that they could put them on fleet auxiliaries, and take off from the fantail. All well and good, but then you'd have to land it backwards on a moving ship and possibly a pitching deck. Worked after a fashion on a landing strip, but... Of the two designs, this one is prettier. What I think of as bright ideas, #___ (in a continuing series)
Nice job on a neat looking plane and an obscure concept. I like the Triebflugel, too.
Thanks Bernard, is the other design you refer to the Lockheed XFV 1 ? and is the Triebflugel the Ford F1 ?
Allan, yeah, the Lockheed "Salmon" (picture that) was the other one, squarish looking compared to the Convair. Aurora had a 1/48thish one, way back in the 50s Rivets galore! Bet an unbuilt one is real expensive. Lindbergs Pogo is refined, in comparison. Lately, whoever bought their molds has been reissuing the Lindberg catalogue.
The Triebflugel was this Luftwaffe science fiction looking VTOL that had ramjets on the rotors. Wild looking! I don't know if it ever flew. Huma (short run German outfit) had a 1/72nd kit of it, never saw one built. I'm just drawn to the wild and wierd designs, and VTOL aircraft.
Thanks Bernard.
I didn't know there was a 72 scale version of the Pogo - I may have to hunt around for one of these! Nice job on it.
Thanks Greg, I have seen them on the net at times !
Very nice, my friend! You don't see THAT plane represented many places! Great job, Allan.
Thanks Jeffry.
Allen, Looks really good, and interesting, kind of falls into that "what were they thinking" category !
Thanks Terry, they were thinking of all sorts of strange things in those times !
Allen, Nicely done-cool looking model of the "utimate tail sitter" ?
Thanks Erich.
Hello Allan,
Interesting subject. Nice build.
Regards, Dirk / The Netherlands.
Thanks Dirk.
Her it is an intersting film about the poco, where can be seen take off and landing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9pxxu1muyQ
...Pogo, sorry...
Thanks for that Roberto.
Very neat model Allan! What goes up, must come (straight?) down! 🙂
Thanks Gary, eventually !
Simply amazing Allan. I don't ever recall seeing one of these built. Looks great my friend.
Thank you Louis.