Etrich Taube

Most aircraft built and flown use flaps (ailerons) to turn, rise and drop.  This is not always the case - some modern designs are being tested by CERN and NASA of aircraft with wing surfaces that morph to give the craft better control in high speed situations.

Some of the earliest aircraft or designs also used this type of approach to give stability in extremely low speed situations.  Some of Da Vinci's wings also used this approach.  In the case of designs and actual aircraft, instead of flaps, wings or part of a wing were warped through ropes and pulleys - sometimes with mixed results.

One of the more successful European designs was the Etrich Taube (Dove) which was produced in large numbers before the first world war in Germany and Austria.

I first bumped into the Taube when studying trademark law - it is a classic case of how a designer can loose control of intellectual property.  But it is also an example of what can happen to a market when it is freed from the constraints of paying unproductive licence fees.

I loved this design from the first moment I first saw it.  In 2012 I put aside a couple of weeks to build a replica from local timber.

I didn't want to hide the construction detain behind a silk cover - so covered it with a light mesh instead.

Etrich Taube - 2 seater - Cockpit and engine

The final form hangs in my study, gently turning in the breeze :)  Look closely, and you will find a repurposed teaspoon, a factor overlooked in the germinal study of teaspoon disappearance.

Etrich Taube - 2 seater (front)

Peter Quinton
Palerang
February 2014