Close
Boeing Images
Cart (0)
Login / Register
0
Selected
Invert selection
Deselect all
Deselect all
Click here to refresh results
Click here to refresh results
Go to Login page
Hide details
Linked assets
Photo Upload
Conceptually similar
McDonnell Doodlebug in Flight
McDonnell Douglas YC-15 Landing
McDonnell FH-1 Phantom: First Jet-Propelled Carrier Takeoff
Qatar Emiri Air Force C-17 Taking Off
McDonnell Douglas YC-15 Landing in Desert
James S McDonnell Piloting his Doodlebug
Qatar Emiri Air Force C-17 Taking Off
747-8 Takes Off on First Flight
McDonnell Model 119 Lifts Off
James S McDonnell and Crew Pose by the Doodlebug
Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental Take Off
YC-15 Takes Off on First Flight
McDonnell Whirlaway leaders pose
McDonnell Model 79 Big Henry Rotorcraft
McDonnell ASSET Re-entry Vehicle
McDonnell Whirlaway in flight
McDonnell ASSET Re-entry Vehicle, Skin Removed
McDonnell XH-20 "Little Henry" In Flight
787-8 Dreamliner Number 1 Landing at Boeing Field
F3H-1N Demon First Flight, St. Louis, MO
Similar tones
View images with similar tones
McDonnell Doodlebug Takes Off
The Doodlebug was the first airplane James McDonnell both designed and built, but it was doomed by its timing -- it was produced just before the Great Depression.
The Doodlebug was a two-seat, low-wing monoplane that was pleasant to fly and fun to watch. It had spectacular takeoff and landing capabilities, and it seemed to have a good chance of winning McDonnell the stake he needed to start his aircraft-building business.
On April 20, 1927, the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics sponsored an International Safe Aircraft competition. The prize for the winning design that demonstrated a real advance in the safety of flying was $100,000.
James McDonnell and his two engineers, Constantine Zakhartchenko and James Cowling, entered and, despite a shortage of funds, built the Doodlebug in a hangar provided by the Hamilton Aero Manufacturing Co.
Lack of funds and bad luck slowed production. The Doodlebug missed the Oct. 21, 1929, deadline, but was granted an extension. However, during a test flight on Nov. 21, 1929, the horizontal tail of the Doodlebug folded, and the plane crashed. McDonnell rode the airplane to the ground and suffered severe damage to his back. But the airplane showed so much promise that it got a second extension. However, the engine failed as the Doodlebug was being ferried to New York for the competition, and the plane was damaged again. It never had the chance to compete for the Guggenheim purse.
McDonnell did not give up. He took the Doodlebug around the country, flying for various air shows. Then the Depression eliminated the private market, and nobody could afford to buy the airplane. Finally, in 1931, McDonnell sold the Doodlebug to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA -- now NASA), which used it as a test airplane. McDonnell would not get to produce another airplane of his own design until 1945.
Add to lightbox
Add to cart
Unique identifier
BI41978
Boeing ID
2d4-2452
Type
Image
Size
2838px × 2240px 6MB
License type
RM
Keywords
1920s
ailerons
airfields
airplanes
day
flaps
flying
full body views
ground shots
historic production status
historic significance
landing gears
monoplanes
one of a kind aircraft
propeller planes
runways
slats
takeoffs
wing struts
Restrictions