O'Neill "PeaPod"

Jemiba

Jemiba

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Shown in "Der Flieger", August 1964 (mentioned in Flight, too : http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%202274.html)
probably had chances of being one of the smallest manned aircraft ever flown ... if it actually flew ! In Flight it is still remarked as "not yet flown".
Span 2.44 m, length 2.74 m, powered by a 35 hp boat engine, built for about 800,- US $.
 

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What an intriguing little design! I'd have to guess that it never quite made it into the air - I haven't done the maths but guessing at the likely wing loading and the power, coupled with the low efficiency layout, the augeries aren't favourable...

What was the old Capt. Eric Brown quote? "Prone is a great position... but not for flying an aeroplane"? Something like that?
 
Found another Peapod image here: http://www.nestofdragons.net/weird-airplanes/proned-pilots/
Data on Peapod available here: http://www.aerofiles.com/_o.html
Terrence O'Neill, Ft Wayne IN.
Aristocraft II 1963 = 4pChwM; 200hp Lycoming IO-360. Built from parts of the original Waco Aristocraft including the wings, struts, and horizontal tail. Twin fins were retained, but the engine was moved to the nose. Taildragger configuration. POP: 1 [N34219].
Model W 1968 = 6pChwM; 200hp Lycoming IO-360; span: 37'6" length: 26'0" v: 127/109/47 range: 870. A rebuild of Aristocraft II with a single fin and tricycle gear. POP: 1 [N34219]. A more powerful version with a 350hp Page radial engine was planned.

Pea Pod 1963 = 1pCmwM canard; 35hp Kiekhaefer O-4-35 mounted inside the vertical fin; span: 8'0" length: 9'0" load: 220# v (est): 132/115/55 range (est): 350. This odd ship might best be described as a flying barn door with its angular wing of 1.6 aspect ratio. The pilot had a prone position, with most of his body inside the wing. The plane could be carried atop the family auto. Taxi tests were performed, but it reportedly never flew. POP: 1 [N10T].
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On the subject of *small* aircraft: http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,12801.msg126282.html#msg126282

<edit> Found a very small Peapod image with google, but its origin http://virtualultralightmuseum.com/ seems to be offline.
 

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Thanks for those photos, Arjen, shows, that O'Neill obviously was tinkering with the engine installation. With
the prop shown in the colour photo, it looks more like a speed boat, than an aircraft !
BTW, the site you linked is still online, but the only photo is actually in that low res.
 
Jemiba said:
BTW, the site you linked is still online, but the only photo is actually in that low res.
Click to expand...
A minimalist site, that. Nicely in step with its subject :)
 
Looks more like a WIGE than a 'proper' aircraft. If it flew, how? Like a lead duck?
 
topspeed3 said:
Did it fly or not ?
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O'Neil never flew his Pea Pod.

He was competing with Ray Stitts and Robert H. Starr to fly the world's smallest airplane.
Stitts and Starr co-operated in building three tiny airplanes.

SA-1A Junior was a conventional, low-wing monoplane with short wing span
Stitts Sky Baby was a conventional biplane with a mere 2.18 meter wing-span.
Stitts' DS-1 Baby Bird was a conventional, high-wing monoplane with a wing span of only 1.91 meters that flew in 1984.

Starr had helped Stitts build both of his tiny biplanes, but still believed that he could build an even smaller airplane. Starr's Bumble Bee II had three surfaces and a wing-span of only 1.68 meters. The configuration was a negative-staggered biplane with a T-tail. Bumble Bee II flew a few times during 1988 and earned the Guinness World Record for smallest airplane.
 
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What if you are challenged to design a successor to the world's smallest, man-carrying airplane?

You can use any configuration as long as wing span is smaller than (previous record) 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 meters), length 8' 10" (2.69 m) and height 3' 1" (1.2 m). Weight and horsepower are unlimited. It must be able to operate from a 2,000 foot (650 meters), hard-surfaced runway. You only need to accommodate an SAE 5th percentile female pilot.

My bias is for some sort of delta with winglets to help "cheat" the wingspan. I also hope that an 8 foot long wing root chord will help with tiny Reynolds numbers (ala. Facetmobile).

What are your suggestions?
 
Rocket propulsion-wings for looks. An ejection seat with a nano membrane rogallo wing is as bare bones as I can think of. In a lunar lava tube filled with air-you might flap your arms in a fabric suit. There or Ceres.
 
We have been discussing the world's smallest airplane over on www.homebuiltairplanes.com.
Ray Stitts built three "world's smallest" and he was assisted by a friend who later built the Bumble Bee II which holds the record, but is now on display in museum.
A Mr. Trotter built an even smaller delta biplane Tiny Trotter, but after it threw a propeller blade - during its first attempted take-off - he repaired it but never tried to fly again. We do not have exact dimensions for the Tiny Trotter.
 

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