Aircraft type puzzle.....

[PilotHTR]

Sitting here with a few minutes up my sleeve, thought of a poser for others with time to ponder winged things.

Here's the question..........I have an interest in 3 aircraft. All VH-registered, all in Oz. Read the following list of components/features and see if you can figure out what the aircraft are....

3 Engines
19 Cylinders
2 Carbys
6 wings
5 discrete Horizontal stabs
4 Fins/Rudders
9 wheels
8 rudder pedals
5 brake pedals
10 seats
4 landing lights
115 years of age


**** UTR - you are prohibited entry to this challenge!!!

[UnderneathTheRadar]

Doh!


No fair!

[PilotHTR]

Hey UTR,
Dunno if you wanted to do any formation this w/e - the Wx looks pretty ****e.
I may go for some aeros in the Friday am if cloud permits.

All the rest of you, you can deduct the components of a PA-32R Lance from the equation.

However, even with that clue, I bet NOBODY will get both of the remaining aircraft correct.....

[witwiw]

Stearman should be there.
having the odd cylinders, surely got to have the sound of round!

if its not the Stearman, it bloody well should be

[PilotHTR]

OK, there is indeed a radial engine in there (hence the odd number of cyls).

The real test is in reconciling the vertical fin/rudder brake/rudder pedal numbers.

Work that out and you'll have your answer

[gsf]

PilotHTR: it is just as well you told us it was the vertical fin, otherwise the less knowledgeable among us might have assumed it was the horizontal one.

[chimbu warrior]

I'll take a stab in the dark here and suggest that one of the aircraft is an Aircoupe. Unique features of this design are :

• dual fins and rudders
• no rudder pedals (rudder was controlled through a steering-wheel type yoke)
  

Thus the two other types would share the 8 rudder pedals (4 each assuming they each have dual controls) and 2 fins (1 each).

I can't recall the braking arrangement in the Aircoupe, but as it had no rudder pedals, it is quite possible that it had a single brake pedal.

Am I getting close?

[PilotHTR]

Chimbu Warrior takes the points.................bloody good effort considering it is the only one on the Aus register. It's a 1946 ERCO 415-D. There is a Forney Aircoupe somewhere around, but it's a much later model.

The ERCOupe has dual fins (VERTICAL no less gsf), no rudder pedals (linked to ailerons) and a single brake pedal:



That leaves the Nanchang CJ-6A (9 cyl radial, full dual controls).

Well done. If I did not own the plane I'd never have worked it out.