I liked planes. Like most people, I enjoyed seeing a 747 take off or land. But not until I was in my mid-50s did I ever consider not just flying but building my own RC.
It was early April 2006. I was surfing the Net, not really looking for anything in particular. I happened upon this site called aircrash.org. Something about lifting bodies, lifting fuselages, and a man named Burnelli. What I stumbled upon has profoundly changed the direction of my life.
Shortly after my discovery, I was inspired to start building Burnelli models. At first, they were static models. Then, I built an RC model of Burnelli’s last design before his death in 1964, the GB-888. It was said to be a supersonic airliner that could carry several hundred and get twice the fuel economy per passenger. My passion and curiosity led me to interview people wherever my travels took me and to tell anyone who had an interest in aviation about Burnelli and his Lifting Fuselage Configuration (LFC).
In 2007, I moved to the Austin, Texas area. In 2008, I took my RC to a local RC club. One of the members offered to fly my RC. Up to that point, I had not flown it. I did not know how to fly and actually had no clue what I was doing when building my first RC airplane.
All the older members were doubtful it would fly, but the pilot took it up, flew some patterns, and then brought it down in one piece. It flew very well. All the doubters were amazed that it flew so well and asked how I'd gotten the center of gravity and the center of lift. The plane has a wide, airfoil body (pictured), a main wing at the trailing edge, and a canard. I said, "I don't know, what's that?" My pilot said, "LARTM." "What's that?" I asked. "Looks about right to me," he replied. :^)
In 2011, I found out about the Central Texas Air Show held in Temple, Texas. I knew this to be the birthplace of Vincent Justus Burnelli, and it was just up the road! So, that year, I took my planes, pictures, and PowerPoint presentation to the air show in Temple. Almost everyone involved in making the show possible came to a dinner in the hangar where I was presenting.
Around 300 people passed through the food line only 10 feet from my presentation. I’d also talked to the Temple Daily Telegram before the show, explaining what I was doing. Incredibly, the story made the front page! Many who’d passed on my presentation but then read the story probably wished they’d have taken a closer look when they had the chance.
Since these early years, I've gotten to meet and discuss this design with people of note in the aviation industry, people from U.T. Austin, Northrop Grumman, NASA, and others. The first words from a man, Robert Sandusky, who patented the YF-23 ATF Stealth Fighter, retired from Northrop (before Grumman), and then became a consultant for NASA and DARPA were, "I'm impressed." I was honored and humbled by Mr. Sandusky's praise.
It's been quite the journey. In 2023, I was awarded a patent for this LFC airliner design. You can see it on Google Patents, D984,353. Now, all I have to do is convince the right people that it is worthy of competition with the soon-to-be-built BWB by JetZero and Northrop Grumman. All because I was inspired to build an RC of unusual design. I'm workin' on it.
Thank you for all you do at the AMA Foundation.
Versions of the patented body style from Create the Future contest 2021: https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/aerospace-and-defense/11150-0626-051527-change-the-way-we-fly-for-the-better
