Scratchbuilt 1/72 Gnosspelius Gull

From the archive (2009):

For earlier airplane designers to think that the shape of their machines should resemble that of a bird seemed natural, in the true sense of the word. Among many others following this trend you may visualize the Etrich Taube.

It is a known fact that some of these pioneers even glued feathers to their structures to confer to them flying abilities. 

Mr. Gnosspelius, following the bird-like path, created a remarkable plane that was able to perform efficiently with the only help of the 16 hp provided by a twin-cylinder Blackburne Tomtit.

Although the Gosspelius name may conjure images of an alchemist from the Middle Ages, the fact is that he was a civil engineer that collaborated in a number of Short Bros. projects.

The Gull was a sound design that falls in the category of what we would call today a motorglider. The engine was semi-enclosed on the wing and transferred power via chains to two shafts with pusher propellers, a bit like the Wright’s Flyer.

Given the date, we may consider the Gull a “modern” design, with features like a monocoque fuselage, control wires and torque rods running inside the structure, and a very interesting feature regarding the airfoil: it had a “step” about the CG area on top of the wing -supposedly proven in the wind tunnel- that acted more or less as a turbulator, attaching the boundary layer to the airfoil. 

Two machines were built, one registered as G-EBGN and other that remained unregistered. In some images they can be seen with the #2 and #19 “contest” numbers respectively. The front tip of the fuselage, or “beak” was an aluminum cone. The second machine (#19) had a slightly larger fin that met the rudder at the apex. The very small wheels of the original where soon changed for slightly bigger ones to improve ground clearance and increase alpha on take off, but the track remained narrow.

Since there is no color description, color is speculative. The second machine -depicted here- seems to have a white rudder with black numbers and a color that is uniform through the whole plane (whatever it is on a wood surface or a fabric-covered one), hence the assumption that it was indeed painted. While in some photos that color appears light, in some others is darker, perhaps as a result of a change of film type (Panchro or Ortho). The colors that vary in that way are most noticeably light blue and yellow; therefore I picked light blue as the likely one to have been applied to the second machine, since a few machines of the time were that color, and seems more consistent with the “gull” theme.

Regarding the model, you know the drill: Sculpey-made fuselage plug and Mattel-produced shells, being the rest styrene sheet, rod and wire. The Blackburne Tomtit was made of modified engine leftovers and bits. Wheels –which are partially recessed in the fuselage- are aftermarket items. The wing step was replicated via the process you can see in the accompanying photos. The props are hand-carved little pieces of Popsicle wood as per images. Very little mind you. The transmission was also replicated using varied metal bits and the “chains” were solved with cyaned black thread. Some interior, structure and locating tabs were added to the shells before closing. The adjustment of the wing to the fuselage needed some cuts again as per photos. The other cuts on the fuselage clear the cockpit area and the wheels recesses.

The bird-like shape of the Gosspelius makes for a more normal appearance than my usual oddballs; that should give you readers a –perhaps welcome- break from the bizarre scarecrows that normally populate my articles.

Note

A late acknowledgment of the passing away of K.O. Eckland, “Aerofiles” soul and owner. To him we owe the wealth of information that was generously displayed on his website.

 The "turbulator" surface step difference is clearly seen here: