Driggs-Johnson DJ-1 Bumblebee

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DJ-1 Bumblebee
DJ-1 Bumblebee.png
RoleSingle seat sport aircraft
National origin US
ManufacturerJohnson Airplane & Supply Co, Dayton
Designer Ivan H. Driggs
First flight1924
Number builtat least 2, about 20 including later variants
Variants Driggs Dart

The Driggs-Johnson DJ-1 Bumblebee was a single engine, low power, single seat, parasol wing sports monoplane built in the US in 1924. It and its immediate development the Driggs Dart 1 had some competition successes; the design was further developed into two seat sesquiplanes known as the Driggs Dart 2 and Skylark. In all, about twenty were built.

Monoplane Fixed-wing aircraft with a single main wing plane

A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with a single main wing plane, in contrast to a biplane or other multiplane, each of which has multiple planes.

Contents

Design and development

The Bumblebee was designed by Ivan Driggs and built by the Johnson Airplane Company. It had advanced features: cantilever monoplanes were uncommon in the 1920s, steel tube framed lightplanes novel and enclosed cockpits rare. [1] Its parasol wing had two spars of laminated spruce, the number of laminations decreasing outboard, and a 0.0625 in (1.59 mm) birch skin from the leading edge to the rear spar. Behind this the wing was fabric covered, as were the steel framed ailerons. In plan the wing was tapered with rounded tips. [1]

Cantilever beam anchored at only one end

A cantilever is a rigid structural element, such as a beam or a plate, anchored at one end to a support from which it protrudes; this connection could also be perpendicular to a flat, vertical surface such as a wall. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs. When subjected to a structural load, the cantilever carries the load to the support where it is forced against by a moment and shear stress.

Spruce genus of plants

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea, a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. Spruces are large trees, from about 20–60 m tall when mature, and have whorled branches and conical form. They can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needles (leaves), which are four-sided and attached singly to small persistent peg-like structures on the branches, and by their cones, which hang downwards after they are pollinated. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pegs. In other similar genera, the branches are fairly smooth.

Leading edge

The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air; alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil section. The first is an aerodynamic definition, the second a structural one. As an example of the distinction, during a tailslide, from an aerodynamic point of view, the trailing edge becomes the leading edge and vice versa but from a structural point of view the leading edge remains unchanged.

The wing was attached to the fuselage with four cabane struts on each side, plus one sloping downwards aft centrally. The Bumblebee was powered by a 28 hp (21 kW) Henderson four cylinder engine, carefully cowled with a cooling air inlet beneath the drive shaft of the two blade propeller. The fuselage was built from internally wire braced welded steel tubes, a method user by Fokker aircraft but unfamiliar on light planes. The forward fuselage including engine, cockpit and wing mounting was rectangular in cross-section, becoming triangular, vertex up, aft. The pilot sat under the forward part of the wing not in an open cockpit as usual at the time but surrounded by curved celluloid sheet, attached to the cabane struts, which extended upwards vertically from the fuselage to the wing underside but sloping aft. There was a celluloid window in the wing over his head to provide upward vision. Access to the cockpit was via a port side door. [2]

Fuselage aircraft main body which is the primary carrier of crew, passengers, and payload

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, and cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, as well, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage, which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.

Fokker Dutch defunct aircraft manufacturer

Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919.

Cockpit area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft or vehicle

A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft.

The empennage of the Bumblebee was, like the fuselage, steel framed. Its straight edged, braced tailplane and split elevators were mounted on top of the fuselage; the fin had a curved leading edge, the rudder moving in an elevator cut-out. The undercarriage was of the fixed, conventional type, with mainwheels on a single axle, each side attached to the fuselage by a single streamlined strut. [2]

Tailplane small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes

A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes. Not all fixed-wing aircraft have tailplanes. Canards, tailless and flying wing aircraft have no separate tailplane, while in V-tail aircraft the vertical stabiliser, rudder, and the tail-plane and elevator are combined to form two diagonal surfaces in a V layout.

Fin flight control surface

A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fins are also used to increase surface areas for heat transfer purposes, or simply as ornamentation.

Rudder Control surface for fluid-dynamic steering in the yaw axis

A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other conveyance that moves through a fluid medium. On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull (watercraft) or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the craft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern, tail, or after end. Often rudders are shaped so as to minimize hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag. On simple watercraft, a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole acting as a lever arm—may be attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, cables, pushrods, or hydraulics may be used to link rudders to steering wheels. In typical aircraft, the rudder is operated by pedals via mechanical linkages or hydraulics.

The first DJ-1 flew in 1924, with the Henderson engine. [2] Some images show it without its cockpit transparencies. [3] On its earliest outings it was referred to as the Driggs-Johnson Jimmie. [2] A developed version, the Driggs Dart 1, was flown in 1926; powered by a 35 hp (26 kW) Anzani engine, this had a maximum speed of 95 mph (153 km/h), though it was later fitted with a 28 hp (21 kW) Wright-Morehouse engine.

Driggs Dart

The Driggs Dart was an American-built light sporting aircraft of the late 1920s.

Anzani

Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.

Operational history

At least two DJ-1s were built. The first of these won the race sponsored by the Dayton Daily News in early October 1924 and came second in both the speed and efficiency competition and a cross country race for the Rickenbacker trophy. [1] [2] The second was sold to the US Army and was fitted with slots and flaps. [3] The Wright-Morehouse powered Dart 1 received a lightplane prize in the 1926 Ford Air Tour, [4] despite failing to complete the course, as it was the only lightplane competing.

Ford National Reliability Air Tour

The Ford Reliability Tour, properly called "The National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy", was a series of Aerial Tours sponsored in part by Ford from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford Reliability Trophy. Henry and Edsel Ford were shareholders in the Stout Engineering Company. In August 1925, they purchased the entire company, making it the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company. Their product, the Stout 2-AT Pullman, was a featured plane. The plane was also used by their new airline the Ford Air Transport Service, which started regular flights in April. The Flights out of Ford Airport (Dearborn) cross-marketed, and showcased Ford's new interest in aviation.

Variants

Driggs-Johnson DJ-1
1924 prototype. [1]
Driggs Dart 1
1926 development powered by 35 hp (26 kW) Anzani engine, later by a 28 hp (21 kW) Wright-Morehouse. [3] Revised undercarriage with three struts per side. [4]

Specifications (DJ-1)

Data from Flight 13 November 1924, p.722 [1]

General characteristics

Performance

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Driggs-Johnson light monoplane". Flight . XVI (45): 721–2. 13 November 1924.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Light 'plane and glider notes". Flight . XVI (44): 696–7. 30 October 1924.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Driggs-Johnson" . Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  4. 1 2 Forden, Lesley (1972). The Ford Air Tours 1925-31 (PDF). Nottingham Press. pp. 33, 40.
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