This short, silent film from the collection of Jeff Vilencia, shows the design and construction of the Dobson Convertiplane built by Franklin A. Dobson of Newport Beach, California. It likely dates to the early 1950s. Frank Dobson was an inventor with many ideas who also built and/or patented an anti-submarine warfare device known as “SCAT”, toys, and started a business selling hovercraft kits. At 1:15, one of his toys is shown — a flying wing aircraft with similarities in design to the Convertiplane, which could take off like a helicopter and fly like a plane. Dobson’s designs are shown in Aviation Week at 2:30, and People Magazine at 3:00. Construction of a prototype follows including at 3:56, construction of a geared hub, the airframe at 4:00, engine 5:20, and more. At 8:29 a prototype similar in design to the flying toy seen earlier is shown on the ground. At 10:02 what appear to be counter-rotating props are shown at the front of the aircraft. At 10:57 a ground test is shown of the counter-rotating propellers in a helicopter configuration. The film ends with tantalizing shots of a much more elaborate prototype being painted and at 12:23 displayed on the runway. At 12:49 the rotor is shifted from helicopter to airplane configuration. It’s unclear if this craft ever flew. FAA records indicate it was tail N89P, first registered in 1956.
According to sources, a convertiplane is defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI or World Air Sports Federation) as an aircraft which uses rotor power for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and converts to fixed-wing lift in normal flight. In the US it is further classified as a sub-type of powered lift.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
