Page 18 - Jan24T

As one walks around the outside of the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, they’ll first come across an example of Learjet’s 24D model from 1973. Serial number 281 logged a total of 7,330 airframe hours and 8,707 landings before coming to FoFM.
There are lots of airplanes inside the mu- seum, but of course, I am drawn to the weird ones first. According to the museum’s website:
The Chance Vought V-173 “Flying Pancake” is a one-of-a-kind aircraft that dates back to WWII. Designer Charles H. Zimmerman theorized that aircraft could fly at very slow speeds with an extremely low-aspect-ratio wing design. Zimmer- man minimized drag by placing large-diameter propellers at the end of the circular airfoil wingtips, maintaining a uniform flow of air over the flat pancake’s single wing.
Even though the proof-of-concept Chance Vought V-173 “Flying Pancake” exhibited unusual flight characteristics, the V-173 could almost hover, survived forced landings including a nose-over, and could be piloted effectively. Charles Lindbergh, the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, piloted the V-173 “Flying Pancake” on several oc- casions and found it very responsive. The V-173 “Flying Pancake” is believed to be responsible for several UFO sightings by the general public in the early 1940s.
Hanging appropriately from the center ceil- ing is a full-scale replica of the Wright brothers’ Wright Flyer (at left). I don’t want to spoil any- one’s visit to Dallas to see the rest of the mu- seum first-hand, so I’ll stop there. But before we depart the pattern, I’d like to bring you a photo from reader, Steven Busch (opposite page). He caught a beautiful Midwest sunset on his iPhone and sent it in. If you have a great photo that you think others will enjoy, send it my way.
“To me, photography
is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting
in an ordinary place...” – Elliott Erwitt
16 • TWIN & TURBINE / January 2024