Colonel Bowden

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Bill, I imagine he used traditional cotton and dope, but having seen photos of his models they were definitely functional rather than for show.

Thanks Rod!

Neil

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

As a pioneer of both free flight and, later, radio control I suspect Col Bowden's models underwent many, many repairs. They probably ended up looking like my models used to

Rod

[KEITH BEAUMONTParticipant @keithbeaumont45476]

Hi Neil,

That is is a very interesting clip of Col Bowden in 1932 ,flying a model that must have been very similar to what the RAF had full size at the time. One thing I noticed is that the engine was running clockwise and the propellor was carved for that direction.I have had model engines since about 1947 and they have all been designed to run anti-clockwise.

I would be interested in finding out when the change came about. As a two stroke will usually run either way and in those days everything was home made, including the prop, perhaps you made the decision of direction yourself.

My recent involvement with the 4 stroke Vee-twin involved me in looking up timing charts in the various books I have and I will admit to being puzzled by the fact that they show crankshaft timing rotating clockwise.

Keith

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I think the model in the clip was Kanga.

My dad once rebuilt the engine from a Reliant Robin. It took a few weeks of swearing before he realised it span the opposite way to most vehicle engines.

Neil

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Col. Bowden seems to have been a reader of Motor Sport magazine – there are a few letters by him in the archive **LINK**

This extract gives some more hints on his early military career:

…Hucks and his looping demo. fired my schoolboy imagination and not long afterwards as a youthful soldier I became seconded to the RFC, where I learnt to fly on the curious aeroplane known as the "Clutching Hand", which had everything "square" including all wingtips. From that I graduated to the lovely little single-seater Sopwith Pup. Everyone who flew one agreed it was the most beautiful aeroplane to fly of any aircraft. I ended up on the famous SE5A which was the fastest thing in the war at the time, at around 119 m.p.h. and climbed to 15,000 ft. in 8 minutes…

The Clutching hand was an Airco DH6 .He also mentions being a " kid subultarn in the DCLI" which was the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.

Cheers,

Rod

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Sopwith Pup AND SE5a – he was spoilt!

Neil

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Posted by KEITH BEAUMONT on 30/07/2016 10:45:19:

One thing I noticed is that the engine was running clockwise and the propellor was carved for that direction.I have had model engines since about 1947 and they have all been designed to run anti-clockwise.

I would be interested in finding out when the change came about. As a two stroke will usually run either way and in those days everything was home made, including the prop, perhaps you made the decision of direction yourself.

I seem to remember being told that, in general, full size British engines ran clockwise and American engines counter-clockwise. The big growth in model engine availability came with the glow plug engines from the US (then Japan) so presumably their direction of rotation became the standard.

Rod

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 30/07/2016 11:31:06:

Sopwith Pup AND SE5a – he was spoilt!

Since he seems to have been in it from the beginning he did rather well to survive – perhaps he wasn't on the western front.

Rod

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