Argentinians are very creative people. They have a knack for
food, dances and…aviation.
Being myself originally from Argentina, let this be an homage to
those pioneers that far away from the then centers of development nevertheless
dared to dream.
Mr. Federico Correa, an engineer, was one of the many
pioneers that nurtured and propelled aviation in the country from the early days. Of
his innovative design only one photo seems to be available, which I saw
published in the AAHS (American Aviation Historical Society) Journal (Thanks, Mr. Christos Psarras!). Some
helpful data there provided the basic core for the reproduction presented here.
The creation that resembled a boat on top of a carriage
roofed by an overstretched empanada (the typical, yummy, Argentinean turnover)
never –that we know of- took to the air, but was enthusiastically taxied at the
historical airstrip of El Palomar.
The model started getting what was already made: the
Aeroclub engine and prop to represent the Gnome Omega rotary engine. The prop
in this case goes behind the engine. Four photoetched wheels were set apart
too. The main elements were made of styrene of adequate thicknesses according
to their function. The “wing” required a special approach depicted in the
images, were a bed of styrene was prepared and engraved and then painted to
represent the supporting structure of the original. Some additional elements
-as per the photo of the real plane- were fabricated in diverse materials to
populate the Jules Verne-like apparatus. Then I realized that I had to make
1,816 struts, all different of course. Tricky little thing. My consolation laid
in the fact that no decals would be needed.
The diverse tanks were made of brass. One wonders why would
you need so many tanks, but then you speculate that one was for the gasoline,
one for the oil, one more may have been for the soup and the other for drinking
water (in the event the plane may remain indefinitely suspended in the air).
It becomes apparent that aviators of that time period seemed
to believe that Mr. Louis Bleriot achieved success in his renowned Across the
Channel Flight only thanks to the aerodynamic properties of his beret and
moustache, since every photo of the era shows wanna-be pilots so groomed.
Equally apt to navigate at “El Tigre” river delta given its
canoe-shaped fuselage, have a tea under the “umbrella wing” at the Palermo
Woods or cruise elegantly on the supporting undercarriage at the 9 de Julio Avenue
in Buenos Aires,
it is surely a loss to us all that gravity stubbornly kept it firmly attached to the
ground.
No comments:
Post a Comment