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Thread: Waldo Waterman

  1. #1

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    Waldo Waterman

    I never heard of the name Waldo Waterman till I researched the first nose wheel airplane and his name came up . The plane is in the Smithsonian . He also made an airplane that had a detachable wing that you could drive like a car . Google his name - interesting read !

  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by skyranger View Post
    I never heard of the name Waldo Waterman till I researched the first nose wheel airplane and his name came up . The plane is in the Smithsonian . He also made an airplane that had a detachable wing that you could drive like a car . Google his name - interesting read !
    If you are talking about his 1929 model there were tricycle aircraft long before that.

  3. #3
    BusyLittleShop's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Stadt View Post
    If you are talking about his 1929 model there were tricycle aircraft long before that.

    True... one of the early tricycle equipped flying machines was the 1908 Curtiss June Bug...

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  4. #4
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    Busy Little Shop, you beat me to the punch- good get. Curtiss's June Bug predates Waterman's Arrowbile by almost 30 years so I don't know why there is any confusion about first tricycle geared aircraft.

  5. #5

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    Thanks for the information . I wonder why the tail-wheel aircraft stuck around for so long ?

  6. #6
    DaleB's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by skyranger View Post
    Thanks for the information . I wonder why the tail-wheel aircraft stuck around for so long ?
    Because there are still male pilots?

    (ducks and runs for cover behind the tricycle-gear airplane...)
    Measure twice, cut once...
    scratch head, shrug, shim to fit.

    Flying an RV-12. I am building a Fisher Celebrity, slowly.

  7. #7
    lnuss's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by skyranger View Post
    Thanks for the information . I wonder why the tail-wheel aircraft stuck around for so long ?
    Well, consider that taildraggers have more prop clearance, and a nose wheel tends to be relatively fragile. Another factor may be that a LOT of those early aircraft had tail skids, instead of brakes, which wouldn't work as well on the nose. After all, most strips weren't paved.

    Larry N.

  8. #8
    Airmutt's Avatar
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    Waldo was a interesting guy. I think there is some confusion....Wikipedia states he was one of the first to incorporate a STEERABLE nose gear.
    The taildragger is still an excellent configuration for bush flying
    Dave Shaw
    EAA 67180 Lifetime
    Learn to Build, Build to Fly, Fly for Fun

  9. #9
    BusyLittleShop's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Airmutt View Post
    Wikipedia states he was one of the first to incorporate a STEERABLE nose gear.
    The taildragger is still an excellent configuration for bush flying
    Not only was Curtiss's 1908 June Bug nose wheel steerable but also incorporated a shimmy dampener...
    no doubt technology learned from his 1907 136 mph motorcycle experience...

    Quote Ladislao Pazmany book Landing Gear Design for Light Aircraft page 4 para 2

    "After three to four decades of tail skids and tail wheels, aircraft designers rediscovered
    the nose wheel which was originally used by Glenn Curtiss in 1908 (JuneBug) including
    steering and a shimmy damper"


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    Last edited by BusyLittleShop; 12-07-2019 at 02:14 PM.

  10. #10
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    Well pre WWII fields were pretty much that. Tail skids were great in dirt, grass and cinder. Tail wheels were just as happy. Once airfields evolved into designated hard surfaced runways things got interesting. Just watching some of the golden age biplanes try to handle the crosswinds at AV is cringeworthy. Once I had to land a Citabria in a 35 MPH Xwind and was sweating bullets but we survived. I give all credit to the plane, not me.
    Dave Shaw
    EAA 67180 Lifetime
    Learn to Build, Build to Fly, Fly for Fun

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