Sparky Flapjack – Inspirations from the Vought 173
This presentation looks at four notional electric aircraft designs inspired by the Vought 173, the famous “Flying Flapjack.” With its incredible slow flight and short field capability, this 1940’s design it may point towards an aircraft ideal for the emerging Pocket Airport concept. The talk will include a brief history of the V173 and show several modern variants that could offer remarkable capabilities. One-seat, two-seat and 4 seat variants are explored, using electric propulsion, novel aerodynamics, and composite construction. Achieving ultra-low noise along with extreme short runway performance, while offering a top speed of 235 knots would appear to be achievable.