Waldo Waterman

[skyranger]

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 !

[Dave Stadt]

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.

[BusyLittleShop]

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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[Floatsflyer]

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.

[skyranger]

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

[DaleB]

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...)

[lnuss]

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.

[Airmutt]

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

[BusyLittleShop]

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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[Airmutt]

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.

[Mayhemxpc]

Because there are still male pilots?

(ducks and runs for cover behind the tricycle-gear airplane...)

Ya know, there reached a point where I decided that I could get a car with an automatic transmission, and then, more recently, a red dot sight for my rifle. Like those things, a nose wheel on my plane (e.g., O-2 vs O-1) just makes life easier.
;)

[FlyingRon]

I was always a fan of the Waterman Aerobile since I first caught a glimpse of it jammed in the corner of one of the Garber facility hangars. Fortunately, it's been cleaned up, reassembled, and is now hanging at the Udvar-Hazy Center.

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[Ronald Franck]

If you are talking about his 1929 model there were tricycle aircraft long before that.
If y'all go back and re-read Skyranger's original post he does not make any claim that Waterman's aircraft was the first, just that the name came up during his research.

[Floatsflyer]

I never heard of the name Waldo Waterman till I researched the first nose wheel airplane and his name came up .

Ronald Franck, this is Skyrangers OP. I'm positive he says his was the first tricycle gear. Unless of course you're a subscriber to the new national sport of denying what's undeniably in front of you.

[rwanttaja]

Ronald Franck, this is Skyrangers OP. I'm positive he says his was the first tricycle gear. Unless of course you're a subscriber to the new national sport of denying what's undeniably in front of you.

Skyranger's comment could have been worded better, but I don't think his intent was to imply that Waterman was the first.

If I google "President George Washington" and Donald Trump's name is mentioned in one of the hits, that does not mean they are the same person.

Ron "But you never see them both in the room at the same time" Wanttaja

[Floatsflyer]

Skyranger's comment could have been worded better, but I don't think his intent was to imply that Waterman was the first.

All I know and respond to is what I see written in front of my eyes. You, nor I, nor anyone on the planet can comment on his "intent", meaning his state of mind at the time he wrote the OP.

Furthermore, Skyranger, has not written anything subsequent to his OP or offered up any clarification that would allow you to conclude or think anything different.

[LCORBIN]

Waldo was a very interesting fellow who made many contributions to aviation. He and his aircraft were well known in EAA circles back in the 60's and 70's having joined the Association in 1965. When his name was mentioned at early Oshkosh conventions, almost everyone knew who he was. If you can find one, read Waldo Pioneer Aviator, ISBN: 0-9600736-0-4

[gmatejcek]

Thinly veiled political commentary aside, it is worthy to note that Curtis ‘s nose dragged was also a pusher, and that The succeeding tail draggers were / are tractors.

[FlyingRon]

Thinly veiled political commentary aside, it is worthy to note that Curtis ‘s nose dragged was also a pusher, and that The succeeding tail draggers were / are tractors.
You'll note that while it has a nose gear, it doesn't have a steerable one. Not really worth the complexity back in its day. It was rather amusing when someone was flying a Curtiss replica into the Udvar-Hazy pilot day. Every time it got to a turn in the taxiway the pilot got out of the seat, went forward and picked up the nose and turned it. I was taxiing just behind. I would have liked to have heard what the conversation in the Dulles control tower was through all this.

[rwanttaja]

You'll note that while it has a nose gear, it doesn't have a steerable one. Not really worth the complexity back in its day. It was rather amusing when someone was flying a Curtiss replica into the Udvar-Hazy pilot day. Every time it got to a turn in the taxiway the pilot got out of the seat, went forward and picked up the nose and turned it. I was taxiing just behind. I would have liked to have heard what the conversation in the Dulles control tower was through all this.
Pete Bowers had a Curtiss replica at one point. He was not complimentary about the way the airplane flew, and did mention the problems trying to turn on the ground.

This is the most famous picture of Pete flying his Curtiss...
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/bowers/curtiss.jpg

...but there is a better one, of which I sadly just have a bad copy of a newspaper clipping. The 99s were starting their race from Seattle one year, and Pete started the race by flying the Curtiss down the runway.

While wearing a dress.

Ron Wanttaja

[Floatsflyer]

Pete Bowers had a Curtiss replica at one point. He was not complimentary about the way the airplane flew, and did mention the problems trying to turn on the ground.

This is the most famous picture of Pete flying his Curtiss...
http://www.bowersflybaby.com/bowers/curtiss.jpg

...but there is a better one, of which I sadly just have a bad copy of a newspaper clipping. The 99s were starting their race from Seattle one year, and Pete started the race by flying the Curtiss down the runway.

While wearing a dress.

Ron Wanttaja

This is a very compelling pic... With some serious wing tip vortices about to occur. :>)

[rwanttaja]

This is a very compelling pic... With some serious wing tip vortices about to occur. :>)

Pete was flying in formation for this photo...with a pickup truck. They tried to time their getaway to get a good shot of the Dash 80, and obviously succeeded. The truck was running on the right edge of the taxiway, with the Curtiss flying over the left edge. Pete had probably set the plane down before the vortices got close.

Ron Wanttaja