Is it a plane...?

[obdl3945]

Hi, folks...

Found this in Ed West's recent posting. Mere curiosity, but can anyone identify the 'aircraft' in the bottom left corner, if that is indeed what I'm seeing a part of? Or are my eyes playing tricks...

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...m=160114958241

[edwest]

Indeed, this engine is unlike any I've seen. Could it be a jet engine?



Ed

[obdl3945]

Hi, Ed...

Presumably this photo was taken from the cockpit or dorsal position of the aircraft, so unless we are viewing the scene from a 'pusher-propellor' machine, then we must be seeing the view from a position in 'front' of 'the wing', although I see no wing as such. If this is a power plant, then perhaps it is situated at the extremity of a very stubby wing, yet whether or not it is jet or piston in design, that central 'spinner' looks decidedly dangerous, given its upward slant. The apparent spare piece of unattached tubing is rather alarming too... ( <- this 'Smiley' apparently rejoices in the name of 'Eek'... one would imagine with an exclamation mark following on hurriedly behind it - somewhat appropriate under the circumstances, I surmise). Until I know anything more accurate, I will entitle the scene as UFO over Görlitz...

By the way, thanks for all the interesting pics and the trouble you take to provide them for all of us... (<- This is 'Grin', a more contented relative of 'Eek')

Regards

[edwest]

Going out on a limb, it reminds me of the engine for the Horten, Go-229. Any thoughts?



Ed

[cproyston]

Reminds me more of the kind of stub wing or sponson you see on helicopters,
Chris

[obdl3945]

Hi...

Yes, I thought of a Horten as well. If viewing the engine, the photo would presumably have been taken from the cockpit. However, that's not possible as the Horten's engines were embedded into the wing immediately beside the cockpit, and their intakes extended past the line of the cockpit, so it wouldn't have been possible to see into the front aperture of the engine from the cockpit.

Strangely, I had though of a post-war Dornier design, the Dornier Do31E - a swivel-wing jet with pods at the wingtips. However, its engines were underslung on the wing between the fuselage and the pod and I imagine they would have been visible on this aircraft judging from the angle of this photo, and I don't think this photo reflects that general design layout anyway.

Another post-war swivel-design that is a good deal closer, was the EWR-Sud VJ 101C. This design also had an engine which could be raised to a 90 degree position at the extremity of each wing, but the 'spinner'-like item in the inlet is much sharper and less oblique in its appearance and positioning than in the photo we're discussing.

The only other option I can imagine, is that what the photos shows is actually a post-war aircraft wrongly captioned as being from WW2. I have noticed that some of the captions are a little inaccurate... Bf 109s turning out to be Fw190s in reality etc. I'm still open to other people's thoughts, though... it has certainly created a talking point...

Chris... just a question, your avatar... a long-nosed Dora. I like the look of the colour scheme with the yellow nose-band... is this part of an authentic colour scheme, and if so, where can I find the rest of it, or can you provide same...? Thanks.

Regards

[edwest]

Here are some VJ 101 phtos:

http://www.tomtom-net.de/resources/vj101/vj101_i1.htm


I guess this will remain a mystery.




Ed

[robert_schulte]

Hello to all,
assuming that the photo is post-war and shows really Görlitz, the possibility that the plane is a West-German design like the Dornier 31 or the EWR-Süd 101 is nil, since Görlitz was situated in the former GDR until the reunification in 1990 . So it is most probable that the photo shows some kind of "eastern" design.
A long shot, but it might be that the photo shows the testbed Ilyushin Il 28R with an attached Pirna 014 engine. That engine should have been used in the Baade 152, a projected East-German passenger jet plane of the late 1950s.
An image of the engine can be seen here:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Im...Baade_B-12.jpg

Best wishes
Robert

[richardb]

Hello !
Sorry ,forget the IL 28 !
I think it's a 30' or 40' photo ,looking like a motor mockup...
The sponson puzzles me , and , does the plane fly to the left or the right ?
I will look at lighter than air too ...

[obdl3945]

Robert...

Oops... ! Sorry, my geography was somewhat inaccurate and I hadn't thought of the point you made. Of course Görlitz was in the GDR...!

Your suggestion of the Pirna engine certainly looks more in line with the 'engine' shown in the photo.

Richard... yes, I would tend to agree with you about it not being an IL28. There would appear to be no outer wing portion beyond the 'engine' in the photo. I always liked the IL28 - I think it looks both functional and aesthetic at the same time...

Regards