THE CENTENNIAL
OF NAVAL AVIATION
The 100th anniversary of naval aviation will
be observed at officially sanctioned ceremonies
around the United States in 2011. More than
200 Navy-themed events and 34 Tier 1, or
major, events are planned. Air Venture 2011
is one of the Tier 1 events. In addition to the
Curtiss-Ely Pusher, the Navy will be bringing
to Oshkosh several modern aircraft sporting
historic naval paint schemes and squadron
insignias, like the T- 45 Goshawk above.
For event schedules and information, visit the
official CoNA website:
www.Public.Navy.mil/airfor/centennial
During the first flight Bob found a
problem with the modern aileron con-
trol he designed: “I discovered the ailerons
appeared to be stuck in concrete. I had never
flown anything which took so much force
to roll into a bank.” He kept his turns shal-
low, concerned about how much strength it
would take to recover from a banked turn,
and maneuvered back to the airport, per-
forming a flyby and a practice low approach
before making “a pretty good landing.”
Bob and Andrew made 10 flights over
the next two days. Andrew designed a new
cable and pulley routing system for the
ailerons that tripled the pilot’s turning
leverage, while other control issues also
were dealt with. “It is a difficult airplane to
fly, and we are now making a few changes
to tame that portion,” Bob wrote in an
e-mail update to project followers.
“We are actually getting used to this
very peculiar airplane—in no way comfort-
able, but at least used to it,” a later missive
from Bob stated. “This Curtiss has consid-
erable control authority limitations. The
rudder is the closest to modern airplanes in
feel and function. Pitch remains the wild
card. Flight in all but smooth air remains a
continuous series of upset recoveries. You
have to fight the upset first and yourself
next, to avoid over-controlling the recover-
ies. Eventually, you wrestle to a draw and
continue to the next round.”
Descents are made at just under cruise
power; describing what happens if power
is pulled back farther, Bob said, “It comes
down like a brick.” In the event of a power
loss in flight, he said, “You’re landing in
whatever patch is directly below you.
There is no glide to stretch.”
Landings are in level attitude, power on,
“because the front comes down immedi-
ately due to the gear geometry and weight
distribution,” Bob noted. “Flaring into a full
stall landing would be a disaster. It has no
suspension, so if you plunk it on you’re
going to break the airplane, and you’re
going to have parts and the engine coming
at you from behind.”
After 40 hours of shakedown flying and
design modifications, NX44VY made its first
cross-country, a 150-mile, two-day, four-leg
hop over the Shenandoah Mountains to NAS
Norfolk. Bob and Andrew traded legs, with
photographer Steve Roth’s C-172 serving as
chase plane. The temperature at altitudes up
to 4,800 feet, the strength required to keep the
aircraft stable, and the limited comforts inher-
ent in the design made it anything but a
pleasure trip.
NAVAL AVIATION DEMONSTRATIONS COMMENCE
The Coolbaugh Pusher made its premiere
performance from NAS Norfolk with the
port’s mothball fleet of naval vessels watching silently. Bob said he flew over “gray
waters as cold and uninviting as they must
have looked to Eugene Ely 100 years ago,”
and around Willoughby Spit, where Ely’s
flight ended. Any doubts about the wisdom of
his investment in the project (about 6,500
hours and $35,000) evaporated. “The
The Curtiss waits until you get 2 feet above the
ground to scare the pants off you. It takes complete
relearning; anybody who’s flown a modern airplane
has to discard everything and start all over again.
