DreamBird Flies Out Of My Head!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 11:02PM 
DreamBird didn’t exist until a couple weeks ago, and it’s really just an exercise in aeronautical fantasy. I have these kinds of thoughts. A lot. And sometimes, a thought aches so bad that it has to crawl out of my head and be seen.
I think great aircraft design is really about stimulating the senses. If all we really want is an airborne conveyance to quickly and/or cheaply move our body from point A to point B, then I think we’ve missed the wonder of machines that can fly. Great airplanes get in your head and they don’t let go. Truly great airplanes demand a response from you. And they get it.
So, DreamBird is meant to be a mix of the past with the present. As I envision it, it’s a roomy two-seat side by side with a large baggage area. I have specifically designed it with the pilot’s eyes forward of the leading edge of the wing for greater visibility. There are challenges and trade-offs for sure to accomplish this, but the ultimate goal is not the maximum in efficiency, but rather the well-rounded, highly satisfying experience for the people inside.
And speaking of well rounded… a radial engine is a must. The Rotec 9 cylinder R3600 radial that makes 150hp would likely be well suited to the airframe. Flat engines are dandy, but I have never ever heard a flat engine sound soul-stirringly beautiful. Every round engine I’ve ever heard does sound that beautiful. Again, it’s about exciting the senses. Creating a machine and experience that you can’t take your mind off of.
I felt compelled to put this design out for others to see, largely cuz I’m interested to hear your response. I don’t have any serious plans to bring DreamBird to life, but if I happen to get rich anytime soon, well then maybe! So please, leave me a comment, tell me if it moves you like it moves me. And keep in mind that this is really just a napkin drawing that was thrown together quickly, it’s not meant to represent a lot of deep thinking thus far : )
Reader Comments (12)
I feel sorry for the passengers in the back, their windows are tiny!
It looks fast - but I bet those wings would be a real pain to build. But it'd be a nice plane to have. But why no flaps?
The love child of Cessna and de Havilland.
@Adam I have several unique ideas in mind (that may or may not be feasible) - I have an idea for a leading edge flap type mechanism that does away with the trailing edge flaps. It is called 'DreamBird' after all : )
@skydaddy There's a little of the de Havilland Mosquito in the DreamBird : )
Marrt, I will build you a quick prototype in X-plane if you would like, let me know if you are interested, a real basic model that YOU can fly In the sim. :)
@M_Lorenger That would be awesome for sure! I've recently become aware of the amazing things you can do in X-plane with testing one-of-a-kind designs, but I don't have the time or energy right now to learn how to make it happen. We will have to talk about this idea : )
DreamBird has great appeal in several ways including economy, functionality and
beauty. Reminds me of a C-34 Cessna built in the thirtys I once flew in 1960.
It was touted as the most efficient 4-place aircraft of that era. Reminds me also of a Stinson gull wing of the same era.
I interpret your write-up in an entirely different way, though, which many readers will feel is very weird. I had a little time and felt moved by my Soul Self to offer a more personal comment as follows:
Your story is like a night time dream. The DreamBird name is the clue. The emotional content of your story is quite high (2nd clue). You admit that you may never get it done
which is the 3rd clue that the whole deal is a communication from your Soul Self,
probably to get your attention.. The 4th clue is your choice of a radial engine, of how you love the sound.. I agree that their sound is special but I grew up with that sound and was disappointed when I first flew behind a radial engine as a pilot in command. Visibility is severely restricted especially taxi-ing a taildragger compared to a flat four Tri-Pacer for example.
Putting all this together, it is not too far fetched for me to guess that you were a pilot in a recent past life of the thirties or forties and you loved the aircraft that you were priviledged to fly. That Soul memory is so strong it is bleeding through to the current life. Perhaps you died in a crash of your loved aircraft thereby leaving such a strong impression on the mind of your Soul that it is comming through to your normal consciousness. World War II ? Perhaps.
In my experience, the prme purpose of this phenomena is that the Soul attempts to
initiate a contact with the new mind of the new body with the hope that the new person
will respond and try to develop a relationship between the two minds involved. When this happens the cooperative effort allows both minds to evolve much faster than normal where the outer mind ignores the inner (Soul) mind.
Of secondary importance is the offer of motivation by the Soul mind to get involvled in an aviation career and many do so and live a fairly satisfying life with its uaual limitations. No one tells them that they have within themselves the ability to go far beyond the usual limitations and so most do not.
Whether or not you choose some aviation activity is not crucial. The intended lesson
of yur story is to live a life more balanced than the average person by devoting a portion
of each day to developing a good and regular access to you Soul and its mind.
john zajic EAA 20338
Beautiful aircraft. Maybe a little more aileron tho.
Don- Thanx for the compliment of the look of the DreamBird... and I agree that it might need larger ailerons. Tho I will say that if I'm ever able to get serious about moving a design like this forward, I'd be planning to do some extensive poor man's wind tunnel work with a lot of emphasis on great aileron responsiveness (at all speeds) thru a variety of unique design elements. That kind of testing might also simply say that larger ailerons are needed : )
quote"
From: Martt Clupper
Subject: DreamBird...
John McGinnis mentioned you to me a while back. Sounds like you might have a classic looking taildragger design somewhat similar to what I have drawn in the DreamBird.
You can check out the DreamBird on my AirPigz blog.
Do you have any drawings/sketches? It's always fun to see what ideas people have : )
Thanx...
Martt
AirPigz
"end quote
I have photo's of the build ,.it is a tail dragger,.sorry no radial going on this bird ,..I want economy :) so I'm using a 2009 ford 2.0 DOHC EFI engine with a re-drive,.an IVO IFA 3 blade prop
The wing is like a hershey bar junker style with flaperons,..hopefully if things go as planned a 45 mph stall and 130 cruise.
I have 59 hours into the project ,..it's on it's wheels and the wings are 1/2 built. once the wings are mounted ,..the control system will be installed ,. then the seats ,..I'm using nascar racing seats for comfort ,strength,.and weight reduction,.made from 5052 aluminum,..18 inches wide 35.5 inches tall,..the same seat I had in my race car.
because of the short fuselage ,..i say short ..it's 23 foot long,.. and the large cabin compartment,..there is a movable ballast that is installed from just aft of the cabin towards the tail,..it's a ballast on 2 tube rails with a 12 volt motor driven screw to move the ballast fore or aft up to 4.5 foot of travel, to aquire perfect CG in any weight condition with in the cabin and with in the aircraft's limits.
I am building this plane mostly because "we" my self and my immediate family ,.have family all over the US and I'm really getting tired of driving :) ( as good of an excuse as any ) :) the cost of a GA airplane that can carry myself ,..my wife and 4 year old ,..plus maintaining it ,..well ..experimental win's that battle hands down ..and I am making it the way I want it :)
Chase
Hello Martt,
I'm new to your site and you share many of the interests I do. What you have written here has turned over my imagination a little. If your really interested on testing out this aircraft out I think it would be fun to construct a remote controlled scale aircraft of the DreamBird (Maybe a 40 to 50 inch wingspan). If you write up some basic blueprints and dimensions of the fuselage structure, eppenage, airfoil, and wing span, you can mail them right over and Ill start construction. I'd document the process, this would be a fun challenge for me on my spare time. Let me know if your interested.
You MUST have a look at the 1944 Howard DGA, similar wing, seats, plant, gear, etc. Different line of sight. Sweet plane, great taste.
out, Lee