I guess what I'm trying to determine,...is when it comes to machinery, is there a cut off date to what would class as 'Pulp' or not, and if so, what is it and what therefore qualifies? Or is it just the look of the thing that determines it. What would qualify as a Pulp aircraft in the pics below? And if there is a distinction between what qualifies and what doesn't based on a cut off date, does the aircraft depicted by the model (Pic 5) get in, and if it doesn't, would it still get in on it's look ?
Prof, for me it's gotta pass the Ol' Mk I Eyeball Exam:
Look right, probably
IS right.
In my mind's eye that's a
BROAD curve, a few
LATE Great War up to some 1942~ish ones... so basically Interwar designs.
WW I aircraft were built for a lifespan of weeks, months at most, kinda like the vaunted WW II Jeep!!
This is NOT to say they were poorly, or improperly constructed, some soldiered on for years. a few still fly today.
Aviation was in its infancy, training brief at best, crashes frequent, design flaws discovered daily, improvements constant, engines got bigger, & more reliable, fabric & cladding stuck on better,
AND folks were shooting at you!!
The Douglas World Cruiser (#7) used floats or wheels depending on the leg it was flying.
It's cutting edge 1924 technology, streets ahead of WW I, but eclipsed as soon as it made history.
The '50s stuff, like your Cessna (#1) doesn't work for me, too close to NOW.
Gotta realize though, that throughout this 25ish year period, aviation's Golden Age, there were vast design differences from tried n'true to sleek n'swift to Holy Crap!! The latter encompasses both positive & negative instances of genius &/or folly.
BIG ROUND ENGINES-always popular for Pulp, sadly now a mere memory, or a restoration.
Many, many engines, & push-pull configurations = highly Pulpy, Your Cant (#8) works very nicely!!
BIG engines, BIG control surfaces, low payloads hallmark our Pulp technology.
Your Norseman (#5) is
Spot ON , as I'd hoped my earlier, facetious comments would indicate.
Pointy turbo engines are a nogo, jets & rockets are sci-fi highly experimental jobs, fantasy really.
Propellers are 2 bladed for the vast majority of kites, mostly wood, some metal, 3 & 4 blades uncommon, but not absent.
Open cockpits, not a requirement, but a good indicator. Open cockpit + enclosed passenger cabin Oh Yeah!!
Cabin capacity from 2-12 pretty much the limit, 20 passenger or more planes are BIG, & New.
Seaplanes & floatplanes-much more useful in our period when few paved runways existed in civilized countries.
Worlwide, water was the way to explore a country absent airfields from the air, since open, tree free level spots were sparse, & suspect.
Autogyros-ONLY existed for Pulp!! Like early helicopters they had trouble lifting themselves, much less a payload!
For landplanes, tail draggers virtually exclusively, tricycle gear requires prepared, manicured runways.
Grass airfields are the norm, paved or tarmac runways were uncommon until the rise of scheduled air transport in the 30's.
In your pictures there are several exceptions to Snappy's Rule: 1, 2, 4, & 6 are all clearly too modern, though they do posses floats. The turboprop engines are a dead giveaway on the Otter & Vikings, the Cessna is a post-war design still going strong today.
THIS is
PURE Pulp, to a
T!! Great find!!
Über Pulp!!
Hope these tips point you to better Pulpier air travel & Adventure worldwide!!
Valerik
Professor of Preposterous Physics
Adjunct Accredited Aerodynamatician
Dayton Institute of Applied Aeronautical Absurdity
Air Travel Agent for All The Cool Kids
17 August 2011, 02:49:57 PM