Pre 1920??

First flight 1921.

is it the "Verville-Sperry M-1 Messenger" ?

It is most certainly the Messenger.

56 has the thread.

1921 was the critical clue .... never heard of it but they built 50................. and modified it to an early "flying bomb"

I've had a fair few recently so OH

A quick one if I may - I don't know what the answer is, but I think it's Eastern European, engine cowling looks very similar to Yak 52 - seen on Google Map Street View at Camarillo:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.2088...7i16384!8i8192

I've tried various combinations of what the registration appears to be, N8MZ, etc - no luck!

Any ideas?

(I was actually looking to see if the Avtek 400 was still on the airport - not visibly so!)

Now this I like - no bloody biplanes for a start - in fact no wings at all.

OK Google Earth Street views are blocked by the fence/hedge and there are no pictures posted of the ramp. The wingless wonder does look however like some of the other aircraft (with wings) parked up nearby. Theat part of the airport appears to be used by Ventura Skydiving Center & (maybe) Skydiving Coastal Califonia. Neither of their websites show any decent pictures of aircraft.

A Facebook search leads one to showing a 94 year old lady doing a dual jump out of N9450E - a 1984 Cessna 182R Skylane in 2018 but the windows look wrong - especially the rear square one


Square windows remind me of Gipps GA8 tho'

Reminds me of a Max Holste Broussard.

Found a picture now, N6HZ I think. Known to have been at Camarillo.

On GE street view, there is an image which shows what looks like a radial-engine cowling.

Treaders, it does look like the Avtek 400 has finally gone.
Here's a picture of it in 2015, looking very sorry for itself:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5cd54b3d98.jpg


Edit: I see ea200 posted while I was searching!

Ah, a Broussard, of course! Well done and thanks ea200! It was niggling me last night!

The Avtek was looking better than that when I visited in 1999 - I went to see the Connies which later flew out :) and was surprised by the Avtek, a number of CAF warbirds and a Prentice!

I was also surprised to see the Learfan at Reno; the OMAC 1 and Hustler would have made up the foursome of "what might have been" 1980s turbine execs, don't know if they still exist.

Thought it looked more like a Beaver....

Nicely done ea200.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2560341110.jpg

Well as the OP didn't know what it was anyway does the 24 hour rule apply? As the picture tells it's own story I will take the risk with this:


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....521b8a20d9.jpg

The absolutely unmistakable Vildebeest.

Or might it be an equally unmistakable Vincent?

Could well be - I didn't think of that one. :\

Guess where he cropped the image from...

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....0c14667e0d.jpg

If the Players artist got the reg correct (and I expect he did) it's K4687 - a Vincent that served with 47 Squadron

As 24 hours has passed I can now confirn that Jenkins has it with the Vincent. Obviously my recently found Players cards were not as unknown as I thought although
the Wildebeest/Vincent is pretty recognisable.

Jenkins has control.

Thanks, fuel tank the clincher. Once served on a squadron which not really many years previously had operated Vincents. Fewer years ago I saw the efforts at restoring a Vincebeest in a hangar at Wigram.

Regret waiting for wheels to an incarceration which for some time will restrict my recreational activity, so OH I fear.

You normally only serve a third of the sentence Jenkins ................ we'll come and visit you...............

What aircraft might this be a part of?


https://p15axq.am.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Some sort of dive bomber? Looks like the type of thing you saw on various ghastly naval types just before the start of WW2.................

Not WW2 and not naval.

https://cxulga.am.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Could this be a Sunderland - the weapon is not the usual DC, but it does look like the wind out rack!

Bomb/rocket `crutches` on the `Scruggs Wonderplane`...?

Possibly a BE2C.

None of the aircraft mentioned - although not sure what a "Scruggs Wonderplane" is.

and what on earth is going on here?

https://pomlig.am.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Taking the navigator for walkies.

its the bomb aimer - he walked out along the wing and used a screw driver to drop each bomb

some great answers here, keep it up :ok:

"This is left and this is right - got it ?"

"The new intercom system between navigator and pilot is tested before flight"

Jhieminga is very close.

I believe Chief Designer on the Scruggs Wonderplane project was none other than Roger Bacon...

I think Jhieminga is hot on the trail and this could be a sort of WW1 cavalier version of Bernie the Bolt - (left rein) left a bit, (right rein) right a bit, (both reins) DROP!

I like the Bernie the Bolt description.

Here it is in situ.
https://mndhag.am.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Now for the aircraft.

DH-4 would be my suggestion - which would please Roger Bacon no end...

The struts remind me of the DH-9, but cockpit proximity probably mean the DH-4.

edit:
"The US Mk5 bomb rack could carry 10 Mk II or II-A (22 lb; the II is high explosive and II-A is fragmentation)."