tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786764158320829279.post8026090996229477509..comments2024-03-26T12:44:30.308-07:00Comments on Blue Heron Blast: Geoffrey WatsonBlue Heronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13516946085702606491noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786764158320829279.post-81220728420513632752022-03-27T08:01:31.306-07:002022-03-27T08:01:31.306-07:00Ken is right it was originally a seaplane race but...Ken is right it was originally a seaplane race but as the planes get more powerful it became the only way the faster planes could have enough runway as the prototype of the spitfire as in picture would almost require 2 miles, that's over 10000 feet. No runways were that long back then and the variable pitch propeller was not perfected then. Its like having a bike race with a 10 speed and starting off in high gear, it would take a long time to get up to speed and use a lot of pavement, so thus they had to use floats , which incidentally caused a slower speed than they were capable of because of the drag of all the weight and non aerodynamic properties of floats, finally when the adjustable propellers became available the float race went way of ox cart.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786764158320829279.post-90206409060742134042022-03-24T17:42:38.532-07:002022-03-24T17:42:38.532-07:00Great story Robert! I love historical aircraft.
...Great story Robert! I love historical aircraft. <br /><br />Mr. Anonomous #4, the reason it was a seaplane because it was built for a "seaplane race" And it was the design that later led to the famous Spitfire, but it is not a Spitfire.Ken Sealshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04813240773920337414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786764158320829279.post-51752439710298146922022-03-24T12:23:37.629-07:002022-03-24T12:23:37.629-07:00Ah... this reminds me of when I sold Old Master pr...Ah... this reminds me of when I sold Old Master prints & drawings in my Philadelphia shop. Dealing with customers was necessary to make a living (I eventually had staff for that) but the research was the exciting part - pre- Internet, as well! Good on ya'!Wilbur Normanhttp://www.wilburnorman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786764158320829279.post-43732636498438010042022-03-24T12:14:39.816-07:002022-03-24T12:14:39.816-07:00Great article ,the reason the Supermarine is on fl...Great article ,the reason the Supermarine is on floats is because of short runways in those days , the propeller was a fixed one, so it took a lot of distance to get enough speed up before it could be airborne, thus water , but once it got going it was fast, it was the design that saved Britain from speaking German in ww2, the Spitfire!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786764158320829279.post-43085866430260385672022-03-24T11:42:42.802-07:002022-03-24T11:42:42.802-07:00Love the design and energy in the print… you can f...Love the design and energy in the print… you can feel the speed! And to have received such informative and beautifully written notes from the curators in England made the story so rich and a fun discovery! Hope they might acquire it for their collection.~LLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786764158320829279.post-90255033329251407012022-03-24T11:12:53.663-07:002022-03-24T11:12:53.663-07:00Nice!
Somethings that I'm always interested i...Nice! <br />Somethings that I'm always interested in: the print would have been done on copper and the image reversed - so was the painting done after the painting and since the "drawn" lines (in the sky) go from upper left to lower right (they would be reversed on the plate) was the artist left handed?<br /><br />DFAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8786764158320829279.post-40107580908185037822022-03-24T10:44:05.302-07:002022-03-24T10:44:05.302-07:00A beautiful etching, and a wonderful adventure fin...A beautiful etching, and a wonderful adventure finding out about it. ~ Diane OAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com