Boeing BW 1916 (oz6769)

About this Plan

Boeing B&W 1916. Scale model float biplane for radio control, with 60 power.

Quote: "This 60-powered R/C version of Boeing's first aircraft is convertible float/land plane. And it's aerobatic! Boeing B&W 1916, by Francis Reynolds.

THE Boeing Company has a brand-new airplane flying around Seattle these days. So what's new about that? A glance at the specifications tells the story: Wing span 52 ft, length 27 ft 6 in, wing area 580 sq ft, gross weight 3,200 lb, top speed, 78 mph, cruise 67 mph; range 120 miles.

It's a flying replica, built in 1966 to modern standards, of the original Boeing airplane which first flew in 1916. Two were made then - and sold to the New Zealand Flying School - but the new one isn't for sale. It was built to commemorate the 50 years of progress which have seen Boeing grow from 21 men working in an old boathouse on Lake Union in Seattle, to the world's Largest aerospace firm.

And it flies. Oh, man, does it fly! The Federal Aviation Agency attests the fact - they've licensed it for experimental exhibition use, within glide range of water. The first two were not FAA certificated because there wasn't any FAA then.

When, over 50 years ago. William E Boeing became interested in 'aeroplanes' he teamed up with a man named Westerveldt and they designed and built the 'Boeing and Westerveldt.' This B&W was the first Boeing airplane.

The Seattle area has many lakes and bays, and the Boeing 'factory' was on Lake Union in those days, so a seaplane was a natural. It flew in a number of air shows since, and now rests in the Seattle Aeronautical Museum.

My objective was to make a rugged, practical, good-performing model, with scale appearance a secondary goal. I had no particular thoughts of competing in scale events, so I made a number of moderate changes. Since completing the model, however, I have entered it in three competitions and won a first, a third and a second in spite of the deviations from scale.

If you are a purist or a scale competitor you may wish to revert to the original lines shown in the small three-view drawing. I know it flies well as presented. I don't know how it would fly if built to the scale lines, so you are on your own. You would certainly have to weight the nose to keep the CG forward if you go to scale nose-moment arm.

The nature and approximate magnitude of the deviations from true 1/8 scale follow: Wing spans and area, reduced 10%; stab span, increased 10%; fin height, increased 17%; nose-moment arm, increased 27%; airfoil changed from RAF No.6 to 17% symmetrical; floats, lines changed slightly to make them easier to build, and float length increased 3%.

Boeing's 1966 replica of the B&W used small wheels attached to the floats for field use, but the 1916 B&W had floats only. The short nose of the B&W combined with a far-forward CG requirement presents a problem..."

Quote: "Steve, Sorry for the low-rez here, it's scanned from the magazine which is white line on black back. Thanks to Irfanview for the tool to invert the scan to black on white. It's a nice plane by Francis Reynolds, who later did an interesting column for Model Builder Magazine. The foam floats were somewhat forward thinking on his part. Scale RC biplane, .60 power, 72in span, 1/8 scale, 7-8 pounds all up weight. It's historical in that it was Boeing's first aircraft. 2 were built and a replica was built in the late 60s to mark the 50th anniversary. So now we double that and near the 100 year mark. She has a decidedly 'Jenny-ish' look about her. Francis designed a few interesting aircraft, but they were published in MB so you will have to get them from the AMA."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 09/05/2016: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy at 400 dpi, thanks to JJ.

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