fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 A build from 11 years ago: The Ford Company involvement in the aviation industry had some bizarre, lesser known sides than its proverbial trimotor. Of this obscure past almost nothing exists now, as if a stealthy hand had erased the trail of some strange ventures. Among those ventures are the Stout Dragonfly (a tandem amphibian design) and the subject of this article: the Ford 15P flying wing. These designs followed the same pattern of the Ford Flivver, aiming to provide an affordable ride to every-day people and in doing so supposedly replicate the success of the Ford automobile. Not many photos exist to document the 15P. There was a mock-up with a faked registration and then the real thing. The lines were very attractive; the engine was behind the two-seat side-by-side cockpit and transmitted power to the tractor propeller via a shaft. And in case you are asking yourself yes, the engine was indeed a Ford V-8 engine. For 1932 the design does really look futuristic, with those curvaceous, trousered landing gear legs and the tear-drop blended fuselage. The 15P flew quietly into oblivion, though. The model consists basically of one upper and one lower vacformed shells with the addition of wrap-around style styrene sheet wings. A succinct interior was provided and a few external details added. The gear legs, given its complex curvatures, provoked a bit of head-scratching during the construction process. The issue was finally solved using several pieces of styrene to determine the general shapes and then “rounding” with Milliput. MV Products lenses were used as landing lights. The originals look a lot like car headlights. Finally, the chubby although somehow racy shape of the 15P came to light and surely Humpty-Dumpty would not have been uncomfortable flying this plane and, like the character, it just makes you smile, doesn’t it? -I would like to thank Mike Fletcher and (the late) Jim Schubert for their help with this project. 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gween Weeder Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 That is cuter than Amanda Peet's overbite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I wondered where they got the idea of the B2 bomber from!!! Yet another interesting model from your very impressive collection. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 (edited) Flash Gordons daily driver! A first sight of the plane for me, and I'm a bit of a Ford fan. 1932 was the first year for the V8 and it wasn't a lightweight! Performance must have been marginal at best. Thanks for yet another fine model. Tony. Edit. A quick search gives 1935 as the year of first flight. That would explain the headlight looking pods. My moneys on them being the full pods from the 1936 Ford, the domed front glass would be cutting edge at that point. Edited February 13, 2019 by TonyW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HP42 Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Quite incredible and a fabulous model of it. Did the original actually fly? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 5 minutes ago, TonyW said: Flash Gordons daily driver! A first sight of the plane for me, and I'm a bit of a Ford fan. 1932 was the first year for the V8 and it wasn't a lightweight! Performance must have been marginal at best. Thanks for yet another fine model. Tony. Edit. A quick search gives 1935 as the year of first flight. That would explain the headlight looking pods. My moneys on them being the full pods from the 1936 Ford, the domed front glass would be cutting edge at that point. Hi Tony A special aluminium block was cast for this one, to make it as light as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Like! How could anybody not? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 4 minutes ago, HP42 said: Quite incredible and a fabulous model of it. Did the original actually fly? It did fly, not bad apparently, but I read somewhere that the controls were not as responsive as the pilot would have liked it. By the way, I absolutely LOVE the HP42 I hope one day to get my hands on the 1/72 vac kit of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Just now, Moa said: Hi Tony A special aluminium block was cast for this one, to make it as light as possible. An Aluminium Flathead! Now you have my attention! Can you point me towards any details? Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 8 minutes ago, TonyW said: A quick search gives 1935 as the year of first flight. That would explain the headlight looking pods. My moneys on them being the full pods from the 1936 Ford, the domed front glass would be cutting edge at that point. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 (edited) There's a thread on the plane here... https://oldmachinepress.com/2016/04/10/ford-15p-personal-aircraft/ Looks like I'm wrong about the light lenses. Possibly 1935 passenger car glass, but not the deco looking 1936 pods. This thread has made my day. 😁 Edited February 13, 2019 by TonyW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 28 minutes ago, TonyW said: There's a thread on the plane here... https://oldmachinepress.com/2016/04/10/ford-15p-personal-aircraft/ Looks like I'm wrong about the light lenses. Possibly 1935 passenger car glass, but not the deco looking 1936 pods. This thread has made my day. 😁 You found it, I was about to send it. Glad you enjoyed the post. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Well that is another real cutie Moa. Very interesting little design and concept. Beautiful little model. Cheers Malcolm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire man Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Like something from a Walt Disney cartoon ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 26 minutes ago, Yorkshire man said: Like something from a Walt Disney cartoon ! Yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HP42 Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 4 hours ago, Moa said: By the way, I absolutely LOVE the HP42 I hope one day to get my hands on the 1/72 vac kit of it. You and me both! I do hope somebody produces an injected kit at some point. I'm sure it would sell well for a company such as Valum or Mach 2. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 35 minutes ago, HP42 said: You and me both! I do hope somebody produces an injected kit at some point. I'm sure it would sell well for a company such as Valum or Mach 2. I have higher hopes: ICM, at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Great looking model. Very modern looking. As for an injected hp42, we can live in hope. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 What an odd but still aesthetically pleasing little aircraft. Completely new to me (surprised? no!), and very interesting background link. Thanks for posting. A 1/72 HP 42 would be an interesting kit to build - equally an intersting challenge to scratch build! P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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