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The Ongoing Mystery Aircraft Thread Part Deux.

It is Friday. Lefty has been in the pub sampling real ales with his pals. Lefty is fast asleep.........:sleeping: Pray continue with the midgets and wake me when it's over...
 
Do gliders still qualify?
This experimental one was best for pilots with feet last.
 

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Hi fabulousfour:very_drunk:
Youthink right. Seen it called PL-2 on at least one site. Any idea?
For those interested, see wikipedia on this pronepiloted test aircraft (N44J)

Your turn, sir!
 
This one did fly. It had a tractor prop in the front compartment (not seen in this photo).

nvsmLtD.jpg
 
From a famous stable and from a time where aircraft designs gradually evolved from “type” to “type” (better “individual”). The peculiar craft is somewhat ill-documented in the monographs, but according to a later source must have existed as such and also flown. I know of two alternative type designations, so any of the three will do, unless somebody else knows it better.
 
Looks like one of the early Short pushers, Uli. Maybe the S.27 or a variant of it ?

The rear end doesn't look right, but maybe that is because the photo seems to show the two rudder sections pointing in different directions !
 
I also thought Short but discounted the early pusher biplanes because all the photographs I've seen suggest their rudder comprises two square sections and in Uli's photograph the upper rudder section appears to be tapered to the rear. But that might just be perspective! And furthermore, neither does the float arrangement match any of those photographs.
 
Found another photo of Francis McClean's 'S.40', which looks right. The Putnam Short book lists all of McClean's Shorts, but the S.40 doesn't get a mention at all ! Now I find reference to the Short-Sommer #10.......

It seems Frank McClean was a busy boy.

Let's stick to French designations........
 
All right Mike!! :ernaehrung004: Here is what I found. Early days in aviation are difficult in hindsight.
Alternatively, I thought S.33 (as a seaplane version of S.27) would do, or S.58 because Goodall & Tagg wrote that S.40 was not completed but rebuilt as S58.
 

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