Deadly firefly

Air Classics, Feb 2001 by O'Leary, Michael

WELCOME TO OUR NEW OCCASIONAL SERIES ON LITTLE-KNOW RACING AIRCRAFT THE MAJORITY OF AIRCRAFT WE WILL BE FEATURING WERE AMAZINGLY CREATIVE, SOMETIMES BUILT BY

ENTHUSIASTS WITH ONLY MINIMAL AERONAUTICAL SKILLS YET THESE WERE Of TEN AIRCRAFT WHICH OUTPERFORMED THE BEST THE MILITARY COULD OFFER

During the late 1930s, racing aircraft were becoming bore and more sophisticated often featuring he latest in, aerodynamic refinements. The prize money offered at the Cleveland National Air Races and other similar events was a strong enough incentive to inspire what seemed, to be an almost endless series of racing designs. Quite often, the designers of these usually one-off aircraft had just a modicum of aeronautical education. However, these were inspired individuals who exam. fined current-aircraft and read all they could on the theory of aerodynamics while.also monitoring what was going on in the international aviation industry.

Some of their creations were obviously really not flight-worthy but others were actually quite sublime and were world-class performers. By the late 1930s, the nation was slowly starting to emerge from the grip of the Great Depression and the money offered by the races was a very definitive motivation.

Some designers and pilots preferred finding the biggest radial engine they could and shoe-homing it into the smallest design possible. Others favored in-line engines because of the improved streamlining even though the radials of the period usually offered a bit more in horsepower.

Frank Haines of Detroit, Michigan, favored an in-line for his new creation. Using the tried-and-true method of steel tube with wooden formers and fabric covering, Haines built a slim fuselage that was fitted to a Menasco C6S six-cylinder of 260-hp. At the time, Menasco built a series of engines that were very popular with race pilots flying in the lower-horsepower categories. With minimal frontal area, the Menascos pumped out a lot of horsepower but were also a bit temperamental and required a skilled hand at tuning. The engine was enclosed in a finely-- made aluminum cowl and had a wooden fixed-pitch propeller (a bit of a throw-back, but a variable-pitch or adjustable prop, was probably not available or outside the designer's finances).

Since the racer would be subjected to considerable G forces, the wing was made as strong as possible. A scientific stress analysis was beyond the means of Haines, so the wing was constructed with a substantial built-up wooden spar with closely spaced wooden ribs. The wing was covered with plywood (tacked on with hundreds of brass nails) which was then fabric covered. As can be seen, Haines also installed a hand-cranked retractable landing gear.

The canopy had an odd reverse slope (somewhat resembling the unit fitted to the Boeing 247 as seen elsewhere in this issue) and it appears that visibility would not have been all that great. When completed, the racer designated the Haines H-3 and named Firefly was painted in a bright shade of copper with red trim. Given the restricted license of R91Y, the craft received race number 88.

The plane made its debut at the 1937 Greve Trophy,Race at Cleveland. Piloted by Haines, Race 88 placed fifth with a speed of 177.715 mph - not bad considering this was the first outing for the craft. Haines then took the racer to the Miami All-American Air Maneuvers with the intent of bettering his Cleveland performance. However, on 3 December 1937, the aircraft crashed while rounding the first pylon, possibly due to a high-speed stall. Haines was killed and the Firefly totally destroyed. AC