dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 The Planet Satellite was first exhibited at the 1948 Farnborough airshow. It was a revolutionary design with a sleek teardrop shaped fuselage housing a mid-mounted gipsy queen engine driving a pusher propellor. The fuselage was a magnesium alloy monocoque with no internal bracing save for a keel beam housing the undercarriage.It flew once in 1949 but the undercarriage collapsed upon landing. It was repaired and made a short hop but again suffered damage. examination showed that the fuselage was severely understressed and the CAA ordered a complete re-design before they would even consider a COA. It was decided not to proceed and the aircraft was scrapped. A second fuselage was used for a helicopter design but this too came to nothing. I cant help but think that if the design was resurected and built from composites and used modern engines then the aircraft would have been a hit......thankfully she survives in FS and we can give her the wings she deserved. The design of the Satellite was certainly futuristic looking, especially for 1948 Britain which was still recovering from WW2 and under rationing etc.....However.....40 years later....... In 1981 bill lear revealed what was to be his final design and sadly died before it was completed. Nonetheless his wife continued the project and the Lear Fan 2100 was built. Designed from modern composites and light alloys it was powered by 2 PT6 turboprops driving a single propellor. the sleek design had a top speed of 425 mph, a ceiling of 41,000ft and a range of nearly 2,000 miles. Early flights were promising although excessive wear was noticed in the gearbox where the two engines were joined. then the FAA stepped in and refused to grant it a COA as they were unhappy with only one prop on an aircraft of this class and the project was abandoned in 1985. Only 3 were built and all are now in museums. (now of course aircraft like the PC12 and Piper Malibu all fly with single engines!) Maybe the design will reappear in some years ahead? who knows........ Thanks for viewing, comments most welcome Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Interesting designs. Glad I stopped in for a look. Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 You sure dig 'em up, Al' - fascinatng, Mate - Thanks for sharing! Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Superb shots Alan - the Satellite is fun to fly! Link to post Share on other sites
charlie 6 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Great job as always Al. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Where do you find this stuff Alan! A history lesson right here on Mutley's. Fascinating and thanks for posting. Cheers, Joe Link to post Share on other sites
CSoul 182 Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 That aircraft looks futuristic, even today. I would go so far as to wonder whether, if you put it on static displays at an airshow, people would guess that the design is close to sixty years old. I reckon it would still turn heads. Great shots. Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 I can say for sure that the Planet is from Britsim - I got hold of a beta copy a day before release! Link to post Share on other sites
jankees 917 Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 cool stuff, but those passengers look a bit scared to me.... Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted October 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 I think I'd be scared knowing that I was flying in an aircraft with known structural defects!! Link to post Share on other sites
Kasper 14 Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Great shots and history lesson Alan. Most entertaining. I learned really quickly that I thought I knew a little bit about planes, but you guys will beat me in a quiz every single time. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now