round and round the rolling years
When I was a child, my plane-crazed father had a fat book of pre-war aeroplanes, which he had carted from London to Darwin, stored in a crate under the house, and then shifted to the bottom of his wardrobe in Adelaide. It went with the Arthur Mees history book which he gave to me, and made me feel vaguely displaced and inferior so far from that grand country where Alfred burnt the cakes and the crowds wept over the news of General Gordon’s death at Khartoum.
In amongst the endless pictures of British aeroplanes only good for exploding heathen tribals in places like Iraq, was one ridiculous picture which was surely too stupid to be possible. It was a circular monoplane.
I have carried this memory for nearly fifty years, never able to explain it, doubting my own internal slide show.
Tonight I found this blurred photograph recording a model of the very thing. It is called a Lee-Richards annular monoplane, and it flew fairly effectively from Shoreham aerodrome in 1914, before the program was cancelled with the war.
I feel vindicated.
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:32 am
David,
I have a set of Arthur Mees Encyclopedias if you ever need to consult it. My edition (undated but published sometime around 1930) has some fine pictures of aircraft, including some very grand looking flying-boats but sadly no circular winged craft.
By the way, I grew up reading Arthur Mees and felt ‘displaced and inferior’ and I had never left Australia!
November 23rd, 2006 at 3:40 am
Amazing….
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:50 pm
It looks like it should travel by spinning like a Frisbee does, or like something from the Moomba Birdman Event!
‘vindication’ – Oh what a feeling!
November 24th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
[...] Thanks to a mention of Arthur Mee in a piece in Barista, I found myself dragging out my old set of Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encyclopaedia for a wonderful stroll down the overgrown and winding track that is my childhood memory. [...]
November 26th, 2006 at 1:02 am
David and All:
Here in Australia, until its designer was killed in a low-flying accident with an experimental aircraft in 1987, we had a brilliant aircraft, the LIGETI STRATOS, which had a – well – diamond wing configuration I suppose you would call it. Haven’t heard of it? That’s hardly surprising. The world’s worst money managers, the Australian finance industry’s dingbats and boofheads, the nong-nongs who financed the White Shoe Brigade and similar corporate idiocy, were too thick to recognize a money making concept when they fell over it and so declined to put their clients’ money into it. The concept and the design didn’t just vanish into thin air when the designer was killed. No, patent-busters around the world took a very keen interest in it. Sooner or later, the stupid Australians will be able to buy slightly modified versions of that technology off-the-shelf ….. at grossly inflated prices, of course.
Haven’t we heard similar versions of this sad story before?
March 17th, 2008 at 9:04 am
The Ligeti Stratos will fly again. Happily, not at grossly inflated prices, but as an Open Source plans or kit built light sport aircraft. Interesting you should mention diamond wing. The Stratos design may have been borrowed from an aircraft called the “Diamante” originally conceived in Argentina. I’m writing a book on Joined Wing aircraft, anyone with first-hand information about the Ligeti Stratos or others is welcome to contact me to set the record straight.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I have chosen not to open source the Stratos design engineering currently for various reasons. I do not know of a “Diamante”. After I refused to release the engineering data to Chris, he now mentions this “new aircraft”, the Stratos was never borrowed it was simply invented built and flown in Australia.
The Ligeti Stratos has now been back engineered, it is in the latest CAD format also used by major aerospace companies. It can provide great outsourcing and supply chain solutions to make the Stratos viable in a production environment with possible expansion into other variants. I am employed as an aerospace industry professional that has experienced and learned the full – design to production cycle.
Graham if you are serious about wanting Australian technology developed, then please put me in contact with relevant institutions so I can devote my time and knowledge to it, it has a fighting chance to happen if allowed.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Good to hear the Stratos isn’t a dead idea. Also good to find some news about the project. The most recent press release on the ligeti-stratos website is from 2006! I am sure that I am not alone when I say that it would be nice to have the website updated…
I came across the stratos in an Australian aviation video and have wanted one ever since (about 7 years). The Stratos is the essence of what sport aircraft should be. Small, fast, strong, efficient and safe with the ballistic recovery system.
I am an engineering graduate so understand that there may not yet be solid plans for the production of the aircraft yet, but do you have any idea as to when the new aircraft will be flying?
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:14 am
Was thrilled to hear the Stratos is not dead, am saddened to see that it lies faltering. I only just came across the open source project a week ago, after a 2 decades of wondering what became of the aircraft. Ron, please do not allow your father’s amazing creation flounder into obscurity. Organizing a company on a relatively small market and with the less common composite construction may be very difficult, especially in your spare time. However, if you have reverse engineered the original design, sales of plans, as are offered for many other airplanes and gliders, might provide a footing to begin in earnest. Additionally, it would certainly improve the Ligeti Stratos’ familiarity and in all liklihood create clubs and fly-ins. Would you at least consider near-term sale of plans information? My background is BS general engineering emphasis mechanics, ~400 hours air training including multiengine turbojet land, 3 years USAF acquisitions and program management, and now wind energy management; if I can help recreate this aircraft in any way, I would like to help.
January 12th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Hi Sam, thanks for the positive feedback, I’m going to line up a workshop mid this year – construction will commence then.
Hi Mathew, thanks for your offer of help. I am building up the CAD in preparation of construction. Construction needs to be done verify the drawings before any sales. The CAD model is built in a way that enables me to change the design with modifiers and automate the engineering for future variants. I am now focused on preparation to build, i wasted too much time fluffing around in getting support and other things. I’m not sure how you can help? Right now the help i need is someone who knows CatiaV5 and experienced in relational design or Knowledge Based Engineering, or an expert in the latest fast composite fabrication techniques. A workshop is number one on my list.
I just need something to demonstrate.
Some other Aircraft i worked on- F35 three variants, F18C/D, Eurofighter, EH101, CH300, 777 and 787. Disciplines of Design, R+D, testing to manufacture.
I saw what some windmill guys are doing – there is some advanced design and fabrication going on there.
here is a link to a stratos specific forum
http://www.recreationalflying.com.au/forum/general-discussion/9436-ligeti-stratos.html