I've hand crafted quite a few RC planes just coming up with my own designs. But the most picky on CG mixed with the center of lift changing at different speeds due to the reflex needed for proper elevator trim, yet, when right, the delta is the most stable except for yaw. Nearly impossible to stall a wing. Kind of like a canard??? maybe but better???? I'm not sure that yaw scales up to the full size though. I doubt it because the wing loading of the smaller ones is much less. I've learned to appreciate a heavier wing loading for stability.
@@garrykennedy5484 RC planes scale up almost 1:1 to full size planes. If you can build RC version of something you can build a full size version of it, provided material science is right eg, you can easily build an RC ornathopter but a full size one is impossible to build due to lack of strong enough materials for 15ft flapping wings and the forces involved. IF an RC wing make 1KG of lift, then scaled up by 10x would more 10KG of lift or 100KG if 100x same with drag.
@@tbas8741 Thank you for your response. There has to be a way with recent CAD and such that could take these plans and optimize them? Seems to me that there's a LOT of over construction in the wing design limited by the lack of a spar! I don't know because I haven't looked into the full design. But I think this design should be revisited by someone that could make an honest attempt at doing this. I hope!
I knew John when I lived in Ohio. Not only a great mechanic, but a truly great person. I'm glad to see him getting recognition for his awesome airplane design.
Wow! I remember that like it was "yesterday" (lol). So I was 9 and into the space program while you guys were trying to build the worlds best small plane. Too bad they didn't make these things the standard. They were #1 for a while and there has to be a reason why NASA chose the Delta Wing Configuration for the Space Shuttle. That should tell you everything you need to know. If you guys could have gotten the funding, materials and engineering needed behind you I think you could have developed this configuration all the way to a launchable space vehicle that could reenter and fly back to it's destination.
@@Kyanzes yes, for a while. In High School I took 8 hours dual from a friend of my Dad's. He had his instructors license and I was his first pupil, at no charge. I only paid for gas and oil. Then, he moved to San Diego and that was the end of that. Never went any further.
I used to see him and that Delta over at Greene County Airport. Also, he hopped on my bicycle and rode it by sitting backward on the handlebars and riding it around like that, lol.
@@Kopie0830 maybe you're right, but he got 17 thumbs up so I don't know if those thumbs up are for being sarcastic or maybe people think 16 mi per gallon is "AMAZING ECONOMY". Of course what makes aircraft efficient is a slippery airframe and going point to point something that a car just doesn't have going for it. I've designed an LSA that gets over 30 miles per gallon at a cruise speed of 118 knots at 8000 ft. So good MPG is achievable, you just have to select the correct trade-offs. And yes back in 1966 I bet avgas was under $0.35 a gallon. 😆
I've known of the design for decades, but until just now, didn't realize it had folding wings! As a five time kitplane builder, I have MUCH RESPECT for anyone who scratch builds, and one who scratchs builds a completely new design is on a whole nother level!
This aircraft would be very easy to design and build using modern composite construction. I would say you could get it done in less than 700 hours. Also with the use of CNC machining all the complicated bits can be easily replicated with a much higher accuracy of construction.
After spending tons of time reworking the designs for your new materials to meet the same stresses & strengths & programming the machines. If the plan is to build 1 plane, it's probably more timely to just get started with the hacksaw and welder.
@@davidkottman3440Well it's pretty obvious that the design is a failure as it is not very popular because of the long build time. The way to do this is to announce that it will be a quick build kit, and builder assist will be available. Make it clear that you will launch the project if you got 50 people to sign up for the kit. Once you have 50 pilots signed up, they will need to put down a $500 refundable deposit. If you get 50 pilots to sign up I'm sure you'll be able to sell a 10 to 25% equity investment position in order to start building tools and developing the required infrastructure.
@@christophergagliano2051 it's a long build time because there's no parts you don't have to make yourself. Maybe if you'd take it upon yourself to make the kit 😜
@@Aristocrafied Well I'm currently involved with a new LSA design and I have made master tooling to include plugs, molds and parts made from the molds. The first task would be to create of a computer model of the aircraft's OML (outside mold line). From that you could machine from tooling foam the three plugs. One for the left wing and left fuselage, one for the right wing and right fuselage and one for the vertical fin. From the three plugs, you would make two molds from each plug so you would have a total of six molds. Six molds would make six actual aircraft parts that will be bonded together. This process is well known throughout the model airplane and full scale sailplane manufacturing community. The new lancer aircraft being manufactured in uvalde Texas also uses this technique, but they use carbon fiber in their construction and that makes it horrifically expensive to do. This design would not need much carbon fiber maybe some around the cabin door for added stiffness.
totally agree with you. Get a modern computer program to calculate the needed stability and use modern material (Carbon and Aluminum-alloy) to redesign the internal structure. It might get lighter and safer. I totally want such a plane... 🤩
No. It really doesn't. Modern CFD software vividly illustrates why so many delta-wing aircraft crashed. A delta-wing is extremely mushy to handle during any sort of stall recovery maneuver, very inefficient at sub-sonic velocities, and difficult to manage during the transonic realms. We can solve the instability issues with modern fly-by-wire, but physics still dictates a very inefficient aerofoil so we'll never see this sort of design in commercial small-body aircraft due to immense fuel consumption wrt available payload and, relatively-speaking, much longer take-off/landing runway requirements. At most, a revisit would yield a ramp-toy that's fun in a straight line speed-run, but horrid in any mandatory IFR conditions akin to a Rutan Long-EZ, but without its cruise efficiency.
@@liam3284 I want one half that size that's inflatable. And a detachable recombinant e-bike as the power supply. Nitinol wire bracing/morphing for control. Nvidia Jetson AI autopilot.
if this thing has such impressive performance with 50 years old technology, I can only imagine what can be now with 3d printing, carbon composites materials, new engine and so on...
I was just thinking weld the cage up from aluminum, and frame and skin it in carbon and kevlar, and a nice single-piece polycarbonate frozen turkey resistant windscreen. The windscreen seems the hardest piece to engineer, with my current skill-set. I'm trying to figure out how to make one float without the prop going under water, aside from having the prop above the canopy... Just a thought, but I like small amphibious planes.
The 50's was in my opinion, one of the most interesting era for aviation, military aircraft had litarelly days of service before becoming outdated in US at least, loads of odd shapes and just different ideas, everybody just wanted to do something new. Crazy times lol
Crazy in the sense of danger too, so many pilots lost as they pushed the boundaries beyond what the plane was capable of doing. But I agree the 50s/60s were the most exciting times in aviation, both military and civilian.
Danger maybe, but that’s the FUN!! Otherwise it’s boring!! Pushing the envelope being the best crew chief in the USAF is how one of many reasons I got a ride in the backseat of my F4E Phantom flew in the Edwards AFB and China Lake ranges did a Mach run thru Death Valley and took the controls pulling 7.5 +Gs -4 Gs and did acrobatics that almost made my own F4 pilot sick!!!! Fun times indeed!! Oh but that was in 1992 just before they closed George AFB Ca!
The kind of plane that is heirloom. Some lucky family member is bequeathed as pilot gets to old to fly. An amazing success story of a very talented gentleman! Thanx😊
In the early 2000s I was at Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville,Ga to take a flight in the B17 named Aluminum Overcast. Several GA planes flew in for an EAA event. One of the planes was a delta. It was likely one of these. The pilot said his father built it.
I'm sure it was, there's really nothing else like it. I've seen them at Oshkosh too a couple years back, the design was always in my mind (hence the video)
@@wickedcabinboy Very cool!!! Thank you for the no doubt many life saving and life changing things you've done for people in need!! I appreciate you!!! 😊
I built 9 Experimentals before Agent Orange took over my body in '08. The first was of wood - the Taylor Titch. Very fast on a VW engine. The last was a Bakeng Duce, which I named Deuces Wild. That one was featured in Sport Aviation in about June, 2008. Extremely fun to fly. Then, couldn't pass the flight physical - taking opioids for pain is a no-no. And the AO had caused a blowout in my left atrium. Thank the Lord for the VA! But that old bug is at it again, whispering in my ear to "just build one more..." And this delta-wing beauty just might be the one.
Sorry to hear what you're going through! But you sound like you've got the stuff to get it done! Contact John's daughter Linda, her email is in the video description and she can hook you up with plans.
I am actually kind of mad at John for not allowing his aircraft to become mainstream. It's more efficient, comfortable, faster, lighter smaller, everything a small plane should be, but can't cause he won't let it.
I don't know enough to say that he "wouldn't allow anyone", all I know is he didn't pursue manufacturing nor kit-building, and quite possibly no one really approached him to buy out the design. Keeping in mind also that in the 60s there were practically no kit-built planes either, so what he was selling was the norm for those times.
Intellectual property and decades of work is difficult to transfer to production contracts with license agreements. If you've ever tried to do this, you can understand why this may have stalled production. It's a fact of inventor/developers.
I’d never heard of the Delta before. What a fascinating video! It seems like it was ‘half way’ between the Nasa lifting bodies from the 1960s and a conventional aircraft.
Yes it had inspiration from the NASA H10 lifting body. I remember seeing the kit ads and articles in various mags as a kid and dreamed of building one, since my older brother was a certified Master Welder and both of us mechanically inclined unfortunately life got it the way as I was an USAF aircraft crew chief on Phantoms and he had his welding business. He is now working with the US Navy and Edison Welding Institute creating a new welding university to train and certify 300,000 new welders desperately needed over the next 5 years!! So if people want a very lucrative career opportunity they need to keep their ears open searching as this program is ramping up fast!!
Great video showcasing a really innovative and groundbreaking design. You’ve got to wonder if someone could take the concept but use composite or carbon fibre to make a new delta-wing homebuilt.
As a boy i Sweden I grew up seeing the deltawinged interceptor fighter SAAB Draken fly many times. So I know this is an awesome idea of an airplane concept.
@@JL-tm3rc There was contact information for the plans in the description under the video. Hope that helps. I got to fly in one of these, maybe even with the guy that invented it. I was a radio personality in Dayton, OH in the 80s. The station did a remote at an airshow somewhere near Dayton. I got to interview the man who built the plane, which was red, white and blue and looked just like one of the planes in the video. He offered to take me for a ride. It was fabulous. A Thank You God! moment.
I'm not a pilot but my dad was. He owned a Cessna 172 back in the mid 70's. Having spent many an afternoon at the airport washing and waxing, helping with the annuals, etc., I realized flying wasn't for me. Growing up in S Florida, boats were where I really wanted to spend my time, so much so that I ended up repairing and building boats for a living. When I saw that steel tube frame and the quoted number of hours to build, I thought about how much easier it would be to build in composites. Based on some of the comments I've read here, I guess others have the same thought. I'm kind of surprised nobody has tackled that project. As an aside, I wonder how many people really want or care about folding wings? I mean, would that be the deciding factor that would make or break the deal? Not having folding wings would probably knock off a significant cost in both time and money.
Hey, I'm from Fort Lauderdale, happen to love boating myself (own a Robalo 227). Agree on the composites comment, of course keeping in context that there were no composite aircraft back in the early 60s. But I agree it could be done today. Also agree the ability to tow is probably exclusive to a very small group of owners, by leaving that out it should simplify it quite a bit.
@aircraftadventures-vids I got an old firestar and refurbished it, I'm picking up a twinstar this week. You can see the custom trailer I built on my CH
So glad to see this video 😅 I really really like how it gets 50% of its lift from the fusilage, cause that's the high bit😮 a very long and tall curve, would love to build a RC model of this awesome plane😅every horizontal surface creates lift
I have no idea about aircraft design but to conceive of an experimental home built plane that can fly your family around the country is mind boggling. This is the same guy who put a propeller on the back of a bicycle!! He must have been a very unique individual.
Thanks for the inspiring video! As someone who is stubbornly persistent with trying to bring my own innovations to the world, it's encouraging to see a story about someone who never gave up and built something that was well loved. Even if he chose not to make it into a commercial success, he still saw it through and made his dream reality. A lovely story.
He also had a wife who was into it and tolerated him living in the garage when he wasn't working. Those are far and few between unless they are pilots themselves. I have the skills and equipment/money to build one of these, but 2,000 hours is one full year of 40 hour weeks in addition to your regular life, so for most people, the time required is prohibitive unless you can hire help. I think they quoted 6,000 hours to build this one.
Great presentation. When I first saw the design decades ago, it looked really beautiful. But one additional downside is that is requires a long runway. Some pilots got into trouble because they weren't expecting that.
@@Primus54 Maybe that’s pilot and a light fuel load? Seems like fully loaded that wing would have a relatively high stall speed and the angle of attack on retake off means a lot of drag trying to gain speed.
Wonder what would be needed to reduce the take off requirement, increase range and performance and maybe make it easier to build. If I had the resources I'd love to see this replace modern small planes.
@@tcav3556 Some carbon fiber or other composites might help. As the video mentioned, the builder would have to weld, weld, and weld. About the only ways to reduce stall speed would be to increase the wing area, but that might detract from the elegantly beautiful design, or reduce weight. Great idea though. What a marvelous design for the early 1960s.
The only man in my 40 years I know that could do something like that would have been my Papa. Not many men have the skill to build something as nice as that guy built that plane. That is the most impressive home built anything i've ever seen. Simply AMAZING. Where would the rich man be with out us blue collars? NO WHERE
I have to say that it's really a skill that's infinitely hard to find nowadays. I've read that at one point, Oshkosh was mostly plans-built planes. Nowadays you'll be very hard pressed to find any, mostly new kitplanes now.
@@aircraftadventures-vids My uncle traded some RC planes for a used, but long stored Ultra-Lite kit that was a home build. One day my uncle was at work and my grandpa told me to go in the garage and take the plane apart in as many pieces as I could and toss them in a box.....I didn' t know what he was doing at the time....BUt he was saving my uncles life. He knew he would never get that thing back together if me, a 10 year old, tore it down and tossed everything in a box, paying attention to nothjing. My uncle was not happy, but I am sure years later he understood. My grandpa knew he would get it "ready" and try to fly it like a kid jumping on a bicycle the first time. IDK why that memory just came back, but it did and Im glad it did. Thanks for triggering that! PS, I would LOVE to spend a few years building something like that. Either a bike, a hot rod, boat, something I myself could use with out pilot license.
This was great to watch. What a well thought out design! Last summer I was in Oshkosh for work and heard an airplane fly over and from below it looked like a fighter jet but it flew too slow and sounded like a piston engine. I'd wondered about that plane ever since. Now I know what it was and I am impressed.
What an innovative new design! To quote Tony Stark, "I want one." And I've never even piloted a plane! But some close friends of mine have. They'd love to fly it.
The stuff true artists are capable of... With enough creativity you can overcome any hurdle, and build something as beautiful and competitive like the JD... Mr. John, you are an Artist of magnificent qualities... Thank you for this inspiring video...
I am surprised that there is not a small aircraft manufacturer company not purchase the rights to build these. Imagine them with modern materials, powerplants, and avionics. I cannot imagine that there would not be a market for this.
There are HUGE legal/ government hurdles to certify a non-orthodox aircraft like this. No company would touch it. Look up the story of the Beechcraft Starship and what happened to that plane.
Never seen this plane before. I love it! I can see many ways it can be updated, and most of the welding eliminated, probably even save some weight by using composites.
I got my first piece of a.... tail... under one of these in my dad's barn/hanger. It was a lot of fun to fly too... maybe that's what got that young lady interested. Like any delta wing, it has some interesting stall behavior. That's how my father got ahold of it... it was stalled on threshold final and pancaked into the runway hard enough to drive the nose wheel straight up into the airframe. I helped him rebuild it. Lots of fun.
The older I get, the more I realize that the generation before us was not only full of pilots, but full of private plane owners… This fills me with regret, and a deep sadness that I cannot convey. Why was my generation denied the skies? I've wanted to fly my entire life… And to suddenly find out, that it was such a real, and tangible thing for the generation before me… Honestly is heartbreaking. I wish this world had told me that I was capable of more, when I was a younger man... but I am very thankful that the generation before me got to experience what they did. God bless them all-
While I do think it would have been a nice homage, I don't think the connection is more than the word Delta. The writers probably took delta from the series itself as Voyager was stuck in the Delta Quadrant.
Thank you for this video, I really appreciated the effort put on history telling! This reminds me of the WainFan Facetmobile, Stout Batwing Limousine, Arup S4, Westland Dreadnought, Baker Delta Kitten, Verhees Deltaplane, Vought 173 Flying Pancake, and let's not forget about the Nemeth Parasol!
Thank you! And that list brought to mind another crazy looking postwar twin but the name eludes me. It was an odd design built from a Cessna Bobcat, that Howard Hughes tried and failed to buy, so he sued the designer. Ugh, can't remember the name now.
I just wanted to drop in a comment to apologize for my lack of clarity in defining what the "wing stubs" were, those were part of the folding wing mechanism. I guess I glossed that over so it's seems reasonable that many wouldn't have got that part.
What an awesome little plane, that's some good old fashioned American ingenuity right there! Modern design, manufacturing & materials could make it a lot more accessible nowadays.👍👍
When I was doing flight training for my private at 52A in Madison, GA there was a Delta doing touch and go's. My instructor and I were both astonished at how fast it was.
My Brother took me up in his ultralight. (Hang glider with lawnmower engine attached.) Nowdays I would be a little scared to jump in a go-cart. Funny how it changed as I got older. This looks like fun but way too dangerous and difficult for me now. Thanks for the videos.
I never really liked light commercial airplanes, I was always in love with military aircraft, with the exception of this aircraft. I always wanted one of these
Didn't know this existed. Supercool, like a bat. Sleek and stealthy. Love it. Thanks for the education. Would love to see this updated with a small jet engine and get 1500 miles of range.
find it and let me know, I am willing to have a look into it and re engineer it for modern tools like TIG, 3D printing and similar, and yes, I am old too... lol
@@severpop8699 I have reached out to the family in hopes of purchasing the plans. Not sure where you are located but check my earlier post in here. I would enjoy collaborating on such a project as I will be building one... in one form or another.
The subject reminds me of the days when people just did things, DIY, like Popular Mechanics and Popular Science showed us. You know, the 70s. Also, I enjoy your delivery very much. This video has the best mix of A-roll and B-roll footage I have seen in a very, very long time. I would be quite surprised if you auto-produced this video with AI. Thank you (and your team?) for the serious work that went into this. Couldn't help but subscribe.
Hey Chip, thanks! Means a lot to me. I put a ton of time in production, and honestly I kept tweaking the thing to death over the past few weeks, so obviously still wasn't 100% happy with the final product (but I never am, lol). My "team" is me and myself, I'm self-taught in production and still learning (the curve is super steep too). Really no ai involved, just old fashioned research and writing. Guess I'm a relic in that way.
Oh wow that is so cool! I’ve never heard of this little aircraft but I could tell just by looking at it that it would be fast and stable. What a great story, too. I wonder if more people will build them.
Wow. I've been an aviation enthusiast for over half a century, yet I have never seen this before. Perhaps this video will renew interest in this fascinating machine. Imagine such a design as a kit but using high-tech materials such as carbon composites, CNC, glass cockpit, etc.
@@HarmonRAB-hp4nk You would indeed need modern materials to increase the speed, but that's simple to do as this was designed in a garage way before the era of even personal computers. A monocoque body would easily be doable with modern materials, as would simulating a wind tunnel and various ways to strengthen the design. CNC milling and fabrication could result in assembly times for a kit in the order of a few hundred hours, if that. I'm personally intrigued by a modern re-design of this idea.
That one is the prototype John flew 50 some years, 2000 plus hours, and no telling how many rides. I have pictures of several of us together with John and the prototype in the museum
@@aircraftadventures-vids I had to do a double take as we have an airforce base near us as well. Seeing a deltawing aircraft, but hearing a propeller had me very confused at first!
A very inspiration story and a very inspirational plane. The main reason we don't see delta-wing planes in small and relatively low-speed aircraft is the very difficult recovery from stall/spin issues, relatively higher stall speeds, and the delta wing's low lift efficiency at low speeds resulting in longer take-offs and landings. This plane is very stable--until it isn't. There's little room for error and recovery from that error is fraught with knife-edge maneuvering windows with very "mushy" control authority. To use an analogy, it's the akin to the handling differences between a traditional front-engine rear-drive car and a mid-engined layout.
9:06 I’m surprised no one has made a factory to mass produce these. Imagine having air taxis that could fly you short distances between cities that would be faster than driving, and cheaper than regular air travel.
Very good, I'm very fortunate to have my Delta. And its nice to see them get the attention they deserve as well as John and the builders
Hoping this video provides them the exposure they deserve! Thanks for your time in sharing the info on your plane.
I've hand crafted quite a few RC planes just coming up with my own designs. But the most picky on CG mixed with the center of lift changing at different speeds due to the reflex needed for proper elevator trim, yet, when right, the delta is the most stable except for yaw. Nearly impossible to stall a wing. Kind of like a canard??? maybe but better???? I'm not sure that yaw scales up to the full size though. I doubt it because the wing loading of the smaller ones is much less. I've learned to appreciate a heavier wing loading for stability.
@@garrykennedy5484 RC planes scale up almost 1:1 to full size planes.
If you can build RC version of something you can build a full size version of it, provided material science is right eg, you can easily build an RC ornathopter but a full size one is impossible to build due to lack of strong enough materials for 15ft flapping wings and the forces involved.
IF an RC wing make 1KG of lift, then scaled up by 10x would more 10KG of lift or 100KG if 100x same with drag.
@@tbas8741what about 'the cube rule'?!!
@@tbas8741 Thank you for your response. There has to be a way with recent CAD and such that could take these plans and optimize them? Seems to me that there's a LOT of over construction in the wing design limited by the lack of a spar! I don't know because I haven't looked into the full design. But I think this design should be revisited by someone that could make an honest attempt at doing this. I hope!
What an absolute beauty! Carries 4 people, goes like stink, tows behind your car and fits in the garage. Wow.
fisher price fighter jet! lol
Too bad you gotten spend thousands on the pilots license....more than the cost of the delta
@@gregdowd939 - It's an "experimental" aircraft. You don't need a license to fly it.
@@AweHeckNah that is incorrect. Part 103 ultralights are the only aircraft that I know of that do not require a license in the US
@@gregdowd939 Funny thing, a medical degree is more expensive than a stethoscope!
I knew John when I lived in Ohio. Not only a great mechanic, but a truly great person. I'm glad to see him getting recognition for his awesome airplane design.
That's a young me, at 10:00 mark, giving my U-control JD-2 model to John at Rockford in 1967.
That's cool!
Wow! I remember that like it was "yesterday" (lol). So I was 9 and into the space program while you guys were trying to build the worlds best small plane. Too bad they didn't make these things the standard. They were #1 for a while and there has to be a reason why NASA chose the Delta Wing Configuration for the Space Shuttle. That should tell you everything you need to know. If you guys could have gotten the funding, materials and engineering needed behind you I think you could have developed this configuration all the way to a launchable space vehicle that could reenter and fly back to it's destination.
Something special about that time , same age and also into design and build of planes and speedboats.
Those were the days.
Great! Did you pursue flying at all?
@@Kyanzes yes, for a while. In High School I took 8 hours dual from a friend of my Dad's. He had his instructors license and I was his first pupil, at no charge. I only paid for gas and oil. Then, he moved to San Diego and that was the end of that. Never went any further.
I used to see him and that Delta over at Greene County Airport. Also, he hopped on my bicycle and rode it by sitting backward on the handlebars and riding it around like that, lol.
bro 45 gallons for 740 miles is actually AMMAAAZZING ECONOMY for a flight!!
Well I don't think 16 mi per gallon is very good. But apparently if your time is more valuable than fuel savings it could be considered acceptable.
@@christophergagliano2051 I think he was being sarcastic, I'm not sure though lol
@@Kopie0830 maybe you're right, but he got 17 thumbs up so I don't know if those thumbs up are for being sarcastic or maybe people think 16 mi per gallon is "AMAZING ECONOMY". Of course what makes aircraft efficient is a slippery airframe and going point to point something that a car just doesn't have going for it. I've designed an LSA that gets over 30 miles per gallon at a cruise speed of 118 knots at 8000 ft. So good MPG is achievable, you just have to select the correct trade-offs. And yes back in 1966 I bet avgas was under $0.35 a gallon. 😆
@@christophergagliano2051 Crazy how time flies.
@@Kopie0830 i dont think he's being sarcastic guys. Boeing 747 is 5 gallons per mile! A Chevy Tahoe is 15mpg and Cessna all get 11-15 mpg.
I've known of the design for decades, but until just now, didn't realize it had folding wings! As a five time kitplane builder, I have MUCH RESPECT for anyone who scratch builds, and one who scratchs builds a completely new design is on a whole nother level!
Wow he built a tiny delta wing plane with a 180hp engine from scratch. Absolutely amazing.
Right?!
Lift to drag must be great, almost looked more diamond shape kinda ...
This aircraft would be very easy to design and build using modern composite construction. I would say you could get it done in less than 700 hours. Also with the use of CNC machining all the complicated bits can be easily replicated with a much higher accuracy of construction.
After spending tons of time reworking the designs for your new materials to meet the same stresses & strengths & programming the machines. If the plan is to build 1 plane, it's probably more timely to just get started with the hacksaw and welder.
@@davidkottman3440Well it's pretty obvious that the design is a failure as it is not very popular because of the long build time. The way to do this is to announce that it will be a quick build kit, and builder assist will be available. Make it clear that you will launch the project if you got 50 people to sign up for the kit. Once you have 50 pilots signed up, they will need to put down a $500 refundable deposit. If you get 50 pilots to sign up I'm sure you'll be able to sell a 10 to 25% equity investment position in order to start building tools and developing the required infrastructure.
@@christophergagliano2051 it's a long build time because there's no parts you don't have to make yourself. Maybe if you'd take it upon yourself to make the kit 😜
@@Aristocrafied Well I'm currently involved with a new LSA design and I have made master tooling to include plugs, molds and parts made from the molds.
The first task would be to create of a computer model of the aircraft's OML (outside mold line). From that you could machine from tooling foam the three plugs. One for the left wing and left fuselage, one for the right wing and right fuselage and one for the vertical fin.
From the three plugs, you would make two molds from each plug so you would have a total of six molds.
Six molds would make six actual aircraft parts that will be bonded together.
This process is well known throughout the model airplane and full scale sailplane manufacturing community. The new lancer aircraft being manufactured in uvalde Texas also uses this technique, but they use carbon fiber in their construction and that makes it horrifically expensive to do. This design would not need much carbon fiber maybe some around the cabin door for added stiffness.
totally agree with you. Get a modern computer program to calculate the needed stability and use modern material (Carbon and Aluminum-alloy) to redesign the internal structure. It might get lighter and safer. I totally want such a plane... 🤩
This design desperately needs a re-visit with modern technology and manufacturing taken into account
Agreed! (and many others here in the comments think so too)
that would be freedom we don't have that anymore
No. It really doesn't. Modern CFD software vividly illustrates why so many delta-wing aircraft crashed. A delta-wing is extremely mushy to handle during any sort of stall recovery maneuver, very inefficient at sub-sonic velocities, and difficult to manage during the transonic realms. We can solve the instability issues with modern fly-by-wire, but physics still dictates a very inefficient aerofoil so we'll never see this sort of design in commercial small-body aircraft due to immense fuel consumption wrt available payload and, relatively-speaking, much longer take-off/landing runway requirements. At most, a revisit would yield a ramp-toy that's fun in a straight line speed-run, but horrid in any mandatory IFR conditions akin to a Rutan Long-EZ, but without its cruise efficiency.
This cruises at 150 knots, certainly subsonic. Though given the body produces lift, it is more like a flying wing.
@@liam3284 I want one half that size that's inflatable. And a detachable recombinant e-bike as the power supply. Nitinol wire bracing/morphing for control. Nvidia Jetson AI autopilot.
if this thing has such impressive performance with 50 years old technology, I can only imagine what can be now with 3d printing, carbon composites materials, new engine and so on...
W O W ‼️‼️‼️YEAH‼️‼️‼️want the UP GRADED plans🥰
You don't have to imagine: Airbus Maveric
I was just thinking weld the cage up from aluminum, and frame and skin it in carbon and kevlar, and a nice single-piece polycarbonate frozen turkey resistant windscreen. The windscreen seems the hardest piece to engineer, with my current skill-set.
I'm trying to figure out how to make one float without the prop going under water, aside from having the prop above the canopy... Just a thought, but I like small amphibious planes.
@@cave.dweller.mediocrates As for the polycarbonate windscreen, heat up sheet until malmble then vacuum form over old.
I noticed another, probably the real reason, why the plane is slanted upwards. Not for take off, but to give ground clearance for the prop.
Inspirational people come along once in a while that just make their ideas work and let the professionals scratching their head in awe..
The 50's was in my opinion, one of the most interesting era for aviation, military aircraft had litarelly days of service before becoming outdated in US at least, loads of odd shapes and just different ideas, everybody just wanted to do something new. Crazy times lol
Crazy in the sense of danger too, so many pilots lost as they pushed the boundaries beyond what the plane was capable of doing. But I agree the 50s/60s were the most exciting times in aviation, both military and civilian.
Moneymen had cash to spend. And The Complex was in situ.
Crazy times indeed, but I wasn't laughing out loud.
Danger maybe, but that’s the FUN!! Otherwise it’s boring!! Pushing the envelope being the best crew chief in the USAF is how one of many reasons I got a ride in the backseat of my F4E Phantom flew in the Edwards AFB and China Lake ranges did a Mach run thru Death Valley and took the controls pulling 7.5 +Gs -4 Gs and did acrobatics that almost made my own F4 pilot sick!!!! Fun times indeed!! Oh but that was in 1992 just before they closed George AFB Ca!
Then the lawyers and politicians destroyed the industry, and innovation.
Think Hotel chains trying to destroy AirBnB.
What an awesome aircraft. The landing gear is perfection, no stuck gear ever
The kind of plane that is heirloom. Some lucky family member is bequeathed as pilot gets to old to fly. An amazing success story of a very talented gentleman!
Thanx😊
Every now and then you see something amazing, this is one of them . Only drawback I can see is access to the cab .
It's a little awkward but how much worse can it be then a Mooney or Piper (with its single door)
designed to carry the family but takes 39 years to build life is such a catch 22 ....looks like a nice plane...
In the early 2000s I was at Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville,Ga to take a flight in the B17 named Aluminum Overcast. Several GA planes flew in for an EAA event. One of the planes was a delta. It was likely one of these. The pilot said his father built it.
I'm sure it was, there's really nothing else like it. I've seen them at Oshkosh too a couple years back, the design was always in my mind (hence the video)
I live next to briscoe field!
@@T.Watts89 - I flew out of Brisco Field many times as a flight nurse.
@@wickedcabinboy Very cool!!! Thank you for the no doubt many life saving and life changing things you've done for people in need!! I appreciate you!!! 😊
it's gorgeously functional even though it doesn't look like it at first glance. what an achievement
I built 9 Experimentals before Agent Orange took over my body in '08. The first was of wood - the Taylor Titch. Very fast on a VW engine. The last was a Bakeng Duce, which I named Deuces Wild. That one was featured in Sport Aviation in about June, 2008. Extremely fun to fly.
Then, couldn't pass the flight physical - taking opioids for pain is a no-no. And the AO had caused a blowout in my left atrium. Thank the Lord for the VA!
But that old bug is at it again, whispering in my ear to "just build one more..." And this delta-wing beauty just might be the one.
Sorry to hear what you're going through! But you sound like you've got the stuff to get it done! Contact John's daughter Linda, her email is in the video description and she can hook you up with plans.
Your Deuce was a work of art, even the photos in Sport Aviation didn't do it justice.
VA is treating vets for Agent Orange exposure now, Google the PACT Act
I remember this aircraft! But then, I'm now 73. (I also went into Soaring with a 15 meter wing span. (50 ft) with oxygen onboard).
Damn! I did some soaring myself when I was young but not that high!
@@aircraftadventures-vids 21, 200 feet over Minden Nevada was pretty sweet. (H-301 Libelle).
I remember seeing this plane in Dayton as a boy, 13, circa 1966! I grew up there, in Trotwood ohio.
I am actually kind of mad at John for not allowing his aircraft to become mainstream. It's more efficient, comfortable, faster, lighter smaller, everything a small plane should be, but can't cause he won't let it.
I don't know enough to say that he "wouldn't allow anyone", all I know is he didn't pursue manufacturing nor kit-building, and quite possibly no one really approached him to buy out the design. Keeping in mind also that in the 60s there were practically no kit-built planes either, so what he was selling was the norm for those times.
And why hasn’t velocity become more popular either? That’d be an excellent instrument trainer. No wing stall
Intellectual property and decades of work is difficult to transfer to production contracts with license agreements. If you've ever tried to do this, you can understand why this may have stalled production. It's a fact of inventor/developers.
I’d never heard of the Delta before. What a fascinating video! It seems like it was ‘half way’ between the Nasa lifting bodies from the 1960s and a conventional aircraft.
That certainly was the idea. Thanks for watching!
Yes it had inspiration from the NASA H10 lifting body. I remember seeing the kit ads and articles in various mags as a kid and dreamed of building one, since my older brother was a certified Master Welder and both of us mechanically inclined unfortunately life got it the way as I was an USAF aircraft crew chief on Phantoms and he had his welding business. He is now working with the US Navy and Edison Welding Institute creating a new welding university to train and certify 300,000 new welders desperately needed over the next 5 years!! So if people want a very lucrative career opportunity they need to keep their ears open searching as this program is ramping up fast!!
Great video showcasing a really innovative and groundbreaking design. You’ve got to wonder if someone could take the concept but use composite or carbon fibre to make a new delta-wing homebuilt.
Absolutely! I've spoken to someone recently who discussed launching that concept. (not sure how far they are from that)
Excellent video on a lesser known plane!! The Delta is super high on my photography list!
Hope you get to see one!
As a boy i Sweden I grew up seeing the deltawinged interceptor fighter SAAB Draken fly many times. So I know this is an awesome idea of an airplane concept.
I have a set of plans for this little beauty. My retirement project!
Let me know when it's done!
Where’d you get the plans?
I’ve got some interest as well.
Wow do you know where i can also get a blueprint
@@JL-tm3rc might still be available from John or his family, Fairborn OH
@@JL-tm3rc There was contact information for the plans in the description under the video. Hope that helps. I got to fly in one of these, maybe even with the guy that invented it. I was a radio personality in Dayton, OH in the 80s. The station did a remote at an airshow somewhere near Dayton. I got to interview the man who built the plane, which was red, white and blue and looked just like one of the planes in the video. He offered to take me for a ride. It was fabulous. A Thank You God! moment.
In today's drones and autonomous systems, I hope we'll see resurgences in personal travel designs like this, but updated with modern manufacturing.
Its hard not to love delta wings, they make so much lift!
what an amazing design , and such a cute aircraft.
I knew Gary, John's son. But lost track of Gary after he went into the navy. Remember seeing the plane sitting in the driveway(Fairborn, Ohio).
I'm not a pilot but my dad was. He owned a Cessna 172 back in the mid 70's. Having spent many an afternoon at the airport washing and waxing, helping with the annuals, etc., I realized flying wasn't for me. Growing up in S Florida, boats were where I really wanted to spend my time, so much so that I ended up repairing and building boats for a living. When I saw that steel tube frame and the quoted number of hours to build, I thought about how much easier it would be to build in composites. Based on some of the comments I've read here, I guess others have the same thought. I'm kind of surprised nobody has tackled that project.
As an aside, I wonder how many people really want or care about folding wings? I mean, would that be the deciding factor that would make or break the deal? Not having folding wings would probably knock off a significant cost in both time and money.
Hey, I'm from Fort Lauderdale, happen to love boating myself (own a Robalo 227). Agree on the composites comment, of course keeping in context that there were no composite aircraft back in the early 60s. But I agree it could be done today. Also agree the ability to tow is probably exclusive to a very small group of owners, by leaving that out it should simplify it quite a bit.
@@aircraftadventures-vidscheck hangar prices lately, that's if you can get one. That's why I fly kolb with folding wings
@@FourthWayRanch That's awesome, been seeing a lot of Kolb videos in my feed lately! (is someone trying to tell me something?!)
@aircraftadventures-vids I got an old firestar and refurbished it, I'm picking up a twinstar this week. You can see the custom trailer I built on my CH
So glad to see this video 😅 I really really like how it gets 50% of its lift from the fusilage, cause that's the high bit😮 a very long and tall curve, would love to build a RC model of this awesome plane😅every horizontal surface creates lift
I have no idea about aircraft design but to conceive of an experimental home built plane that can fly your family around the country is mind boggling. This is the same guy who put a propeller on the back of a bicycle!! He must have been a very unique individual.
Still is! Spoke to him a few months ago
Thanks for the inspiring video! As someone who is stubbornly persistent with trying to bring my own innovations to the world, it's encouraging to see a story about someone who never gave up and built something that was well loved. Even if he chose not to make it into a commercial success, he still saw it through and made his dream reality. A lovely story.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
He also had a wife who was into it and tolerated him living in the garage when he wasn't working. Those are far and few between unless they are pilots themselves. I have the skills and equipment/money to build one of these, but 2,000 hours is one full year of 40 hour weeks in addition to your regular life, so for most people, the time required is prohibitive unless you can hire help. I think they quoted 6,000 hours to build this one.
What a remarkable man and remarkable aeroplane! It genuinely looks like a delight to fly.
Great presentation. When I first saw the design decades ago, it looked really beautiful. But one additional downside is that is requires a long runway. Some pilots got into trouble because they weren't expecting that.
Yeah, it truly has to be handled like a little fighter plane. You wouldn't want to take a dassault mirage into tiny strip either.
I thought the video said 1,000 ft takeoff roll?
@@Primus54 Maybe that’s pilot and a light fuel load? Seems like fully loaded that wing would have a relatively high stall speed and the angle of attack on retake off means a lot of drag trying to gain speed.
Wonder what would be needed to reduce the take off requirement, increase range and performance and maybe make it easier to build. If I had the resources I'd love to see this replace modern small planes.
@@tcav3556 Some carbon fiber or other composites might help. As the video mentioned, the builder would have to weld, weld, and weld. About the only ways to reduce stall speed would be to increase the wing area, but that might detract from the elegantly beautiful design, or reduce weight. Great idea though. What a marvelous design for the early 1960s.
The only man in my 40 years I know that could do something like that would have been my Papa. Not many men have the skill to build something as nice as that guy built that plane. That is the most impressive home built anything i've ever seen. Simply AMAZING.
Where would the rich man be with out us blue collars? NO WHERE
I have to say that it's really a skill that's infinitely hard to find nowadays. I've read that at one point, Oshkosh was mostly plans-built planes. Nowadays you'll be very hard pressed to find any, mostly new kitplanes now.
@@aircraftadventures-vids My uncle traded some RC planes for a used, but long stored Ultra-Lite kit that was a home build.
One day my uncle was at work and my grandpa told me to go in the garage and take the plane apart in as many pieces as I could and toss them in a box.....I didn'
t know what he was doing at the time....BUt he was saving my uncles life. He knew he would never get that thing back together if me, a 10 year old, tore it down and tossed everything in a box, paying attention to nothjing. My uncle was not happy, but I am sure years later he understood. My grandpa knew he would get it "ready" and try to fly it like a kid jumping on a bicycle the first time.
IDK why that memory just came back, but it did and Im glad it did. Thanks for triggering that!
PS, I would LOVE to spend a few years building something like that. Either a bike, a hot rod, boat, something I myself could use with out pilot license.
What a fantastic airplane! Kudos for perseverance to John and kudos to @aircraftadventures for the amazing and enthralling video!
Thank you Frank! Means a lot
This was great to watch. What a well thought out design! Last summer I was in Oshkosh for work and heard an airplane fly over and from below it looked like a fighter jet but it flew too slow and sounded like a piston engine. I'd wondered about that plane ever since. Now I know what it was and I am impressed.
Glad you enjoyed it!
What an innovative new design! To quote Tony Stark, "I want one." And I've never even piloted a plane! But some close friends of mine have. They'd love to fly it.
Finally saw one in the flesh this year at Oshkosh. Really captures the imagination!
Id love to build one!!! 4,000 hours… someone needs to make a kit!
Agreed
The stuff true artists are capable of... With enough creativity you can overcome any hurdle, and build something as beautiful and competitive like the JD... Mr. John, you are an Artist of magnificent qualities... Thank you for this inspiring video...
I agree 100%, and thank you for watching!
@@aircraftadventures-vids 🫡😁
I use to always see these at Oshkosh every year. I went every year 98-2018
I am surprised that there is not a small aircraft manufacturer company not purchase the rights to build these. Imagine them with modern materials, powerplants, and avionics. I cannot imagine that there would not be a market for this.
There are HUGE legal/ government hurdles to certify a non-orthodox aircraft like this. No company would touch it. Look up the story of the Beechcraft Starship and what happened to that plane.
You have filled a great number of dreams.outstanding job John.
Never seen this plane before. I love it! I can see many ways it can be updated, and most of the welding eliminated, probably even save some weight by using composites.
A lot of talk here in the comments on that, and I agree
I got my first piece of a.... tail... under one of these in my dad's barn/hanger. It was a lot of fun to fly too... maybe that's what got that young lady interested.
Like any delta wing, it has some interesting stall behavior. That's how my father got ahold of it... it was stalled on threshold final and pancaked into the runway hard enough to drive the nose wheel straight up into the airframe. I helped him rebuild it. Lots of fun.
Thanks for sharing your Delta story! (and whatever else that got you, lol)
The older I get, the more I realize that the generation before us was not only full of pilots, but full of private plane owners… This fills me with regret, and a deep sadness that I cannot convey. Why was my generation denied the skies? I've wanted to fly my entire life… And to suddenly find out, that it was such a real, and tangible thing for the generation before me… Honestly is heartbreaking. I wish this world had told me that I was capable of more, when I was a younger man... but I am very thankful that the generation before me got to experience what they did. God bless them all-
I guess this was what the whole Delta Flyer arc of ST:Voyager was about xD
While I do think it would have been a nice homage, I don't think the connection is more than the word Delta. The writers probably took delta from the series itself as Voyager was stuck in the Delta Quadrant.
Actually if you look at the Delta Flyer it does look very similar to this aircraft. So both statements may be true.
Been ages since seen STVoy but does seem to click together. Tom did enjoy flight & was the primary designer iirc.
Thank you for this video, I really appreciated the effort put on history telling!
This reminds me of the WainFan Facetmobile, Stout Batwing Limousine, Arup S4, Westland Dreadnought, Baker Delta Kitten, Verhees Deltaplane, Vought 173 Flying Pancake, and let's not forget about the Nemeth Parasol!
Thank you! And that list brought to mind another crazy looking postwar twin but the name eludes me. It was an odd design built from a Cessna Bobcat, that Howard Hughes tried and failed to buy, so he sued the designer. Ugh, can't remember the name now.
7:30 WHAT!!!?? that is Amazing!! I love this guy.
Thank you. If I hadn't read the title of this video, I would have had no idea whatsoever that this tiny plane design rocked the aviation world.
I just wanted to drop in a comment to apologize for my lack of clarity in defining what the "wing stubs" were, those were part of the folding wing mechanism. I guess I glossed that over so it's seems reasonable that many wouldn't have got that part.
compounded on my puzzlement was the _lack_ of stubs on some of those models.
Love the sound of the engine! That is, do it yourself good old fashion, American ingenuity, right there ladies and gentlemen👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
When built with the short stacks, they sound pretty sweet.
0:06 is not a mechanic's garage but a boat's engine room.
The cars and aircraft in the 50's were gorgeous and my mom would let me steer them as a child at 5yrs old. ❤
Thanks for sharing, great research work.
Glad you enjoyed it
What an awesome little plane, that's some good old fashioned American ingenuity right there! Modern design, manufacturing & materials could make it a lot more accessible nowadays.👍👍
Yes indeed! Hope someone can run this design once again.
Great presentation and well researched! Thanks for putting this together for us to enjoy.
Thank you! You've got a great channel too, love your content. One day I'll muster the courage to appear on camera too...maybe..
When I was doing flight training for my private at 52A in Madison, GA there was a Delta doing touch and go's. My instructor and I were both astonished at how fast it was.
They're pretty amazing to look at, for sure
What a fascinating story! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Not the first time I’ve fallen in love with one
Ah, they get you when you least expect it
Quirky looks? No. Cool looks! Love this plane!
My Brother took me up in his ultralight. (Hang glider with lawnmower engine attached.) Nowdays I would be a little scared to jump in a go-cart. Funny how it changed as I got older. This looks like fun but way too dangerous and difficult for me now. Thanks for the videos.
The guy was an inventor, not a businessman that's for sure 😊
i love the dudes appearing for a split second throughout the video
Yeah woopsy, that was a glitch in my video software (and only caught after the fact, for your viewing pleasure)
I never really liked light commercial airplanes, I was always in love with military aircraft, with the exception of this aircraft. I always wanted one of these
Didn't know this existed. Supercool, like a bat. Sleek and stealthy. Love it. Thanks for the education. Would love to see this updated with a small jet engine and get 1500 miles of range.
Thanks for the comment! Would never work as a jet, sadly.
What a brilliant guy and design
I crewed the F-102 for many years in the 60’s and 70’s-- great aircraft!
Wow!
Always one of my favorites to see at Oshkosh every year
Mine too! It was what inspired the idea for the video.
What a fantastic little plane. I have never heard of this before, but it looks ideal.
I have (or had) a set of those plans. Just don't know where they are. Loved the idea of that plane. Just knew I couldn't build one.
It's a longer commitment than a marriage! (almost)
@@aircraftadventures-vids Longer than any marriage I've had. And I'm old.
find it and let me know, I am willing to have a look into it and re engineer it for modern tools like TIG, 3D printing and similar, and yes, I am old too... lol
@@severpop8699 I have reached out to the family in hopes of purchasing the plans. Not sure where you are located but check my earlier post in here. I would enjoy collaborating on such a project as I will be building one... in one form or another.
Very Cool Plane that I've Never Heard of or seen .. Thanks so much for showing this
Thanks for making this video, Richard! 😊
My pleasure, and tx for checking it out!
as a younger avgeek, i didn't understand why this one dude i knew LOVED this plane. but now i get it. i hope he got to buy one one day.
The subject reminds me of the days when people just did things, DIY, like Popular Mechanics and Popular Science showed us. You know, the 70s. Also, I enjoy your delivery very much. This video has the best mix of A-roll and B-roll footage I have seen in a very, very long time. I would be quite surprised if you auto-produced this video with AI. Thank you (and your team?) for the serious work that went into this. Couldn't help but subscribe.
Hey Chip, thanks! Means a lot to me. I put a ton of time in production, and honestly I kept tweaking the thing to death over the past few weeks, so obviously still wasn't 100% happy with the final product (but I never am, lol). My "team" is me and myself, I'm self-taught in production and still learning (the curve is super steep too). Really no ai involved, just old fashioned research and writing. Guess I'm a relic in that way.
Oh wow that is so cool! I’ve never heard of this little aircraft but I could tell just by looking at it that it would be fast and stable.
What a great story, too. I wonder if more people will build them.
Thanks for watching! And I could only hope someone will build at least one more, but in this day and age of quick-build everything, not so sure.
The first and only homebuilt that I ever wanted.....And still do.
You need to check up on Bart Verhees' Delta 2 homebuild, caused quite a stir in Europe
The small lift-body is my perfect airplane. Maybe it harkens back to all those nights spent playing Uridium on my old Commodore C64 !
Look up a design called the "Facetmobile", it's another lost design I'm hoping is resurrected one day!
I am a delta wing fan myself. This plane is incredible.
Wow. I've been an aviation enthusiast for over half a century, yet I have never seen this before. Perhaps this video will renew interest in this fascinating machine. Imagine such a design as a kit but using high-tech materials such as carbon composites, CNC, glass cockpit, etc.
Glad you enjoyed it! And that was my intention, to bring this obscure design to light.
@@aircraftadventures-vids It would be wild if someone could put a turboprop on one of these bad boys 🤩
Delta my Beloved! Love you make such great vids on oddball planes, really sparks engineering inspiration!
Thank you! I've been on a hiatus for a while, but hoping to squeeze in another video soon before my june retreat. I love making these videos.
Wow, what a great video 👏👏 I've never heard about this airplane before I wish one day I could see one of those in person.
Thanks, Tato! They are pretty incredible, I saw one at Oshkosh a few years ago.
Fantastic design. I'd love to see a turboprop version.
Now you're talking! 😎
zoom zoom
the airframe's max speed is 200mph :-(
@@HarmonRAB-hp4nk huh! Of course, never thought of that.
@@HarmonRAB-hp4nk You would indeed need modern materials to increase the speed, but that's simple to do as this was designed in a garage way before the era of even personal computers. A monocoque body would easily be doable with modern materials, as would simulating a wind tunnel and various ways to strengthen the design. CNC milling and fabrication could result in assembly times for a kit in the order of a few hundred hours, if that. I'm personally intrigued by a modern re-design of this idea.
I saw one of these at the EAA Museum at Oshkosh. Awesome little thing! Great video
That one is the prototype John flew 50 some years, 2000 plus hours, and no telling how many rides. I have pictures of several of us together with John and the prototype in the museum
Got to see one of these fly over my house the other day, turns out there is an owner at my local airport.
Lucky you! I’d love to see on flying
@@aircraftadventures-vids I had to do a double take as we have an airforce base near us as well. Seeing a deltawing aircraft, but hearing a propeller had me very confused at first!
A very inspiration story and a very inspirational plane. The main reason we don't see delta-wing planes in small and relatively low-speed aircraft is the very difficult recovery from stall/spin issues, relatively higher stall speeds, and the delta wing's low lift efficiency at low speeds resulting in longer take-offs and landings. This plane is very stable--until it isn't. There's little room for error and recovery from that error is fraught with knife-edge maneuvering windows with very "mushy" control authority.
To use an analogy, it's the akin to the handling differences between a traditional front-engine rear-drive car and a mid-engined layout.
Certainly not a plane for the masses. An exclusive group for sure.
The man! Inspiring.. this is the america i use to love.
It's still out there, amidst all the noise with social media.
@@aircraftadventures-vidsGod I hope your rite
Very nice informative video about a great design. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
The SAAB Draken is inane looking. The Dyk is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing with us. Truly enjoyed this.
My pleasure! Both marvels of engineering.
Their also the best to carry candy across the border. Under the radar. Thanks for the delta 😊
What a beautiful lil plane, and a great vid!
Thanks a lot! Much appreciated
9:06 I’m surprised no one has made a factory to mass produce these. Imagine having air taxis that could fly you short distances between cities that would be faster than driving, and cheaper than regular air travel.
Back in the day you were allowed to dream......
superb channel. very pleased to have found it - the just right level of detail and running time for me. thanks!
Awesome, thank you!
A Perfect Electric Plane!
Wow, how did I miss this in my 60 years? I want one 😂