Now there you have an idea: make a super-sized dart-like paper airplane, bolt-on a Curtiss OX-5 engine and climb on board. Crazy? Well, in 1930 Mr. Scroggs, a tailor, test flew such thing at a height of 10 feet!
The way he christened the machine, “The Last Laugh”, surely
says something about the lesson he taught to the incredulous bystanders.
For the curious here is a link to Aerofiles, scroll down to
Scroggs, The Last Laugh:
Hey, I just looked at it and knew I was in love. In the
photo sequence you will appreciate the basic simplicity of the construction,
further simplified thanks to my suspicious building methods, but preserving the
spirit of the original. Even so, the engine alone took more than 40 parts.
Miscellaneous bits were made basically from styrene, and a few wires here and
there. Aeroclub etched spoke wheels were used and a tiny home-made “The Last
Laugh” decal completed the list, together with the wood hand carved prop and an
etched boss.
Don’t you love those tiny windows?
I can still hear Scroggs laughter!
Many thanks to (the late) Jon Noble and Jim Schubert from the Wings of
Peace forum for their kindness and knowledge.
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