Gentlemen, I find myself upon the horns of a dilemma, since not one, not two, but three different schemes have occurred to me as possible means of unconventional locomotion for the same basic body, and I therefore beg your attention and informed opinion as to the merits and pitfalls of all three.
Firstly, we have the ornithopter as originally conceived. The wings of the finished article would be made from those of an Airfix Tiger Moth, but have here been substituted with stout card for the sake of expediency. They would be double-articulated, with hinges at the root and at mid-span. The drive to the flapping mechanisms, via a central shaft and the De Dietrich's original chain drives is also shown, although only one of the 'flapping boxes' is represented, together with token operating arms. I must reiterate that these items are only intended to demonstrate the layout, and do not represent the finished articles in any way.
(I apologise for the narrow depth of field in these electro-daguerreotypes, a failing for which I must take all responsibility, having failed to adjust my camera settings from those used for a previous task. I believe that my intent is still clear from them, however.)
I feel that this design is most in the spirit of true Victorian flying-machine fantasies, but I must confess that I find it a little unsatisfactory in that it conceals to a fair degree the shape of the central cabin, which I feel, quite by accident it is true, evokes rather well the spirit of the early real-world helicopters, specifically the Sikorsky R-4. it is also somewhat complicated in it's construction and I fear the mid-project loss of enthusiasm which experience has taught me to expect in such circumstances.
With this thought in mind, allow me to present the second possible method of completion, namely, the Victorian Helicopter:
This would have the advantages of simplicity and shapeliness, but would be rather more pedestrian in it's concept. The rotor blades would be co-axial and contra-rotating in operation, and would be made from the lower wings of two Revell Nieuport 17c fighters, which feature a suitably narrow chord and the unrealistically short span so typical of Victorian projects. The craft may also feature an unfeasibly small tractor or pusher airscrew of some kind.
The third concept is not illustrated as it is, again, most complex, and I feared that to attempt it would result only in my breaking my promise to post at least something this morning. It might best be described as an aerial rowing boat or 'flaptor'. As in the first scheme, two longitudinal tubes would sit to either side of the craft, but they would be elevated much further above the ground, and would contain shafts that rotate about their axis, driven by the chain gears. Each shaft would support two rotors, front and rear, whose circular blades would behave in a manner somewhat akin to that of a rowing boat's oars, in that they would turn parallel to the ground on the downward side of their travel, in order to push air downwards and thereby generate lift, but would then turn perpendicular to the ground on the upward side of their orbit, thereby avoiding pushing air upwards in a counterproductive manner. Once again, conventional airscrews could be fitted to the ends of these shafts to provide forward motion.
This third idea keeps the Victorian eccentricity of the first concept while preserving the visibility of the cockpit shape from the second. It promises to be as equally complex as the first to construct however.
As you can see, our sturdy pilot is equipped with a fine moustache a most suitable and stylish tweed cap for his aeronautical endeavours.
