THE AVANA GARDENS SCRAP YARD OF THE ERSTWHILE MADRAS PRESIDENCY CONTINUES TO BE MY FAVORITE DE STRESS BUSTER ZONE.
ON 10.01.2012..I SPOTTED THIS TELEVISION TOWER LOOKING TUBULAR SCRAP.FOR SOME VAGUE REASON I THOUGHT OF THE CHETTIAR AVIATORS.INSCIDENTALLY THIS YARD WAS ONCE OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE GREAT AVADIAPPAN...THE 19 YEAR OLD BOY,ONE OF THE PIONEER AVIATOR OF THE EARLY 19OOs.
MY HUNCH WAS RIGHT .I WAS RESTING ON AN HISTORICAL AIRCRAFT.
TAKE A LOOK AT HISTORY...THE CHETTIAR AVIATORS.SAA.ANNAMALAI CHETTIAR,AVADIAPAN CHETTIAR AND SOLAYAPPAN CHETTIAR MADE THE FLYNG TRIO AND THE GOOD DR.RANGACHARY WAS CHRISTENED THE FLYING DOCTOR.
HARD CONVINCING AND LIENIENT NEGOTIATION GAVE ME THE OWNERSHIP OF YET ANOTHER PIECE OF HISTORY.TODAY THE BIRD SITS IN THE COSERVATION LABOROTARY OF THE STEVE BORGIA INDIAN HERITAGE MUSEUM AT INDECO HOTEL SWAMIMALAI,THE 1896 TANJORE VILLAGE.AWAITING RESTORATION.HERE ARE SOME DETAILS ON THE AIRCRAFT.
INTERESTINGLY,THE VILLAGE COMMUNITY WAKES UP.AN OLD CAR MECHANIC OF YESTER YEARS,CLAIMS TO GET THE ENGINE ROARING.WORK BEGINS.THE ENGINE IS NOW OPENED.
WE HAVE COME THIS FAR AND THIS SOON .FRIENDS FROM ALL OVER ARE EXCITED AS MUCH AS THOSE FROM THE VILLAGE.MY EXCITEMENT IS LIMITED TO GETTING IT OFF THE PITCH HERE AND LANDING IT ON THE TARMAC IN KANADUKATHAN...A TARMAC THAT WAS BUILT FOR THIS AIRCRAFT BY THE CHETTIAR AVIATORS.WELL EVEN IF IT DOES NOT FLY WE WILL CARRY IT ON ROAD AND PUT IT THERE TO COMMEMORATE THE DAY WHEN CHETTINAD WILL BE NOMINATED AS AN UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE.
Highlights:
· A three-seater monoplane designed and developed in the U.K. between 1929 and 1933
· Known for its fuel economy, which made it a popular choice for attempts to break long-distance records
· Used by pioneering aviators Hebert John Louis "Bert" Hinkler, James Allan "Jim" Mollison, Amy Johnson and Neville Vincent to perform record-breaking flights in the 1930s
· Designed with an inverted engine (unlike previous Moths) to increase the pilot's visibility over the nose and to reduce the amount of oil blown onto the windscreen
· First flight was in September 1929
This Puss Moth was manufactured in England in 1931 and transferred to a U.S. naval attaché in London that same year. It served with the RAF in the Second World War, then flew with various U.K. civilian operators before RCAF Chaplain Father John MacGillivray brought it to Canada in 1969. MacGillivray arranged for this aircraft to be registered with the letters CF-PEI as a tribute to the first Puss Moth to have been stationed on Prince Edward Island, which had been bought and flown by aviation pioneer Mrs. Louise Jenkins in the 1930s. MacGillivray operated CF-PEI in Prince Edward Island until 1976, when he retired from the RCAF, and sold the aircraft to the Museum. When the Museum acquired it, this Puss Moth was one of eight known to exist worldwide and the only one licensed and flying in Canada.
This model was designed to win that meet, which it eventually did in 1956. The original model flown in 1955 was a complete flop, because it was built strictly to scale and weighed in at about 12 or 13 ounces. It was not pre-flighted until the day of the meet. However, the second model, which is the one shown in this article, proved itself with flying colors. On a 30-second engine run, the model did 1:09 sec in very windy weather, and scored 92 scale points out of a possible 100. It will ROG just like the full-sized aircraft, and turn in flights of thrilling performance, climbing in large left circles under power and descending in large right circles in the glide.
Factory drawings were supplied by the DeHavilland Aircraft Company Ltd, and the builder may rest assured our drawings are as accurate as humanly possible. The drawings also have been double-checked by the enlarging process.
Construction is strictly conventional except for several small details, and an explanation follows:
Being a shoulder-wing model, careful consideration was given to the wing mounting. The method used herein has proved very satisfactory and also makes for ease of transportation, since both wings are detachable. Follow the construction on the plans and use ample cement to glue the wing supports to the fuselage members. (Note that the wire wing mounts are bent upward and rearward to accommodate the dihedral and sweepback.)
When the stabilizer is dry and sanded to shape, pin it in place atop the fuselage, and on the underside only, cement to each side of each center rib a piece of 1/16 x 1/8 balsa flush with the top longerons. This not only acts as a placing guide for the stabilizer on the fuselage, but will form the lower stabilizer to which the tissue covering is attached.
Dress snaps, approximately 3/8 in diameter, are used to hold the wing struts in place. Bend the male section of the snap to a 'U' shape and bind it with wire to rib M. The other section of the snap is embedded in the streamlined section of the wing struts. A rubber-band pulled through the 1/4 in aluminum tube, and hooked to the wing hook, holds the lower part of the wing struts in place. The gas tank was especially designed to eliminate cowl removal for refueling, and it holds approximately 4cc. of fuel which will give about a 45 second engine run.
Since the wing spars go through the ribs, it will be necessary to 'fill in' at the root rib, and cement to the underside of the spars, the leading edge and the trailing edge a piece of 1/8 hard sheet balsa, fitted and shaped to the root rib and the fuselage side. Not only does this piece act as a root reinforcement, but it also serves as an incidence guide for the two 3/32 aluminum tubes which are bound to the spars and the leading edge to hold the wing in place.
The cabin details consist of the following: instrument panel, stick and rudder bar. On his cross-ocean trip, Captain Mollison used a three-legged stool in place of a conventional seat, the heavy seats being removed to lighten the aircraft and provide extra gas-tank space for the trip.
All other details such as flap outline, aileron outline markings, etc, are shown full size on the plans. The wings, stabilizer and rudder are covered with 00 Silkspan and the fuselage covered with gas model Silkspan. Use fuel proof dope for painting.
The only deviations from scale outline are the following: increased stabilizer area; wing section airfoil; increased dihedral.
Any .049 engine can be used. Our model had an Atwood .049 Cadet for power. Be sure to provide an outside glow-plug connection for starting in order to eliminate constant cowl removal."
RC Scale Aircraft's DeHavilland DH80-A Puss Moth
The DeHavilland DH-80A Puss Moth was a three-person civil aircraft produced in the late 1920s and was
a high performance plane for its time, capable of cruising at 124 mph, quite notable performance. The 42" span model by Peter Holland and with free plans included in the Oct 1996 issue of British magazine RC Scale Aircraft, was designed to compete in the r/c scale/duration event organized by the Society of Antique Modelers (SAM). The key design aspects for SAM flying were an unthrottled 049 engine (Cox "Texaco" reed valve shown on the plans) and only two control surface functions - rudder and elevator. Peter Holland's Puss Moth would be an excellent choice for r/c sport flying: construction is straightforward and optional ailerons are shown on the plans, and electric propulsion would be the perfect propulsion for all around fun-flying!
