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BlacktailFA — Warplane Disasters! Ep.12: The Bullet (Part 1/2)

#aero #aeroplane #aircraft #alfred #army #biplane #bullet #cantilever #christmas #company #continental #cuthbert #dr #durham #engine #exhibition #henry #james #justus #liberty #mills #sales #scout #senator #us #vincent #wadsworth #whitney #william #burnelli #6 #strutless #mccorey
Published: 2015-10-14 05:33:22 +0000 UTC; Views: 765; Favourites: 2; Downloads: 1
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Description The awkwardly-named Christmas Bullet is hailed by many as the worst aircraft ever built --- and it's tough to dispute that assertion, given how awful it was, and the bizarre nature of it's development.

It all started in 1918, when Dr. William Whitney Christmas convinced investors and government officials to help him develop an aircraft to kidnap Kaiser Wilhelm II with (starting to see where this is going?), dubbed the Bullet. It was a three-man biplane with only one seat, no wing bracing, a flexible tailplane that couldn't bend, a nearly non-existent vertical stabilizer, and an "all-steel" construction that was mostly comprised of wood.

Yeah, that couldn't POSSIBLY go horribly wrong. But as difficult as it is to fathom, it only gets crazier from there. You have to watch this presentation to see it for yourself (and this is only Part 1)!

As usual, Screbel edited this presentation for spelling and grammar. I'll include my internet sources in the description for Part 2, but for now I'll show you the blibliography...

"The World's Worst Aircraft", by Jim Winchester (Barnes & Noble, 2005)

"The World's Worst Aircraft", by Bill Yenne (Barnes & Noble, 1990)

"The World's Worst Aircraft", by James Gilbert (MJ Hobbs, 1975)

Note that not only are there THREE different books titled "The World's Worst Aircraft", but also that the Christmas Bullet is prominently featured in all of them!
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Comments: 8

AloDurry [2015-10-15 04:19:20 +0000 UTC]

You upload these to YT fairly quickly? Dumb question, I just hating missing info on these haha.

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BlacktailFA In reply to AloDurry [2015-10-15 09:48:12 +0000 UTC]

Unfortunately, no. It isn't really uploaded any faster than my DeviantArt gallery these days.

At my peak I was able to create and post about 3 videos a week, but a long back-log of other projects --- coupled with having a life outside of these studies (home maintenance, medical issues, family, and so on) --- can REALLY slow things down.

If I were able to get a break from all of that, I would be able to produce presentations much more rapidly. And also, the research that goes into this work takes quite a while, and the main reason I was able to create episodes for Failed Tanks, Warplane Disasters, and so on so quickly is because I'd amassed all of the information in advance.

There's still more to follow though, especially on DA. At some point, I may even be able to upload presentations to DA earlier and faster than to Youtube once again!

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AloDurry In reply to BlacktailFA [2015-10-18 01:22:46 +0000 UTC]

Gotcha haha. Well either way, keep up the good work! These are very good episodes of mistakes past... and present

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thormemeson [2015-10-14 13:53:52 +0000 UTC]

This kidnapping plot sounds a script pitch for Harold and Kumar 3 Kaiser kidnapping

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BlacktailFA In reply to thormemeson [2015-10-15 09:36:35 +0000 UTC]

That's not nearly as crazy as the stuff you'll find out about in Part 2. 

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thormemeson In reply to BlacktailFA [2015-10-15 14:31:27 +0000 UTC]

So there is crazier than making an all metal plane out of wood to kidnap a man with thousands of body gaurds with a plane that has no controllable stabilizer?

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BlacktailFA In reply to thormemeson [2015-10-16 09:01:21 +0000 UTC]

You forgot that it also lacked space for a passenger, and had no capacity to carry weapons.

And yes, the story DOES get crazier.

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thormemeson In reply to BlacktailFA [2015-10-16 12:33:44 +0000 UTC]

Maybe they time him to the wings?

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