I'm sorry, I can't find a forum for this question, so please be kind. I collect cribbage boards. I have one with a plane and what looks like a draped union jack flag, another flag and a maple leaf. I can chase the flags and insignia, but any input to the plane would be great. Thank you.
ID this plane please
- Thread starter kegaro
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SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Hi kegaro. I have no idea what it is but I'm looking forward to the replies from those who might.
Certainly a makey-uppy design (look at that tail), but even the most creative artists are inspired by everyday realities and things they have seen. Perhaps they had the:
De Havilland Albatross
or the De Havilland Flamingo in mind?
- Thread starter
- #6
Thank you for your input. The closest I could find was the DH ... so yes, it could be the result of an inventive cribbage board designer as it's also missing two propellers. It looks like a commemorative thing with the flags and maple leaf(?) but no other identification. The flags seem to be the Union Jack and the earlier Canadian Flag, so could be some sort of aerial liaison between the two countries. The search will continue - next stop DH Canada.
cherry blossom
Senior Airman
- 505
- Apr 23, 2007
Very hesitantly, could this be the Capelis XC-12? This was an obscure failure but was used as a prop for a variety of films according to Wikipedia Capelis XC-12 - Wikipedia so perhaps it also achieved immortality via a cribbage board.
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- #8
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
I first looked for the "biplane" tail. The Safety plane is one of the neat real/not real airplanes of the Flying Tigers movie. It wasn't until I wiki'd Wikipedia that I learned yes, it existed and was also most successfully used as a movie prop. It was a properly ridiculous aircraft.
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- #10
Thank you. Yes, have read up on the movie plane. Interesting read ... "The aircraft was funded by local Greek restaurateurs as a promotional aircraft, and constructed at the Alameda airport with help from University of California students. The funding, apparently, was insufficient for such an ambitious project, as Capelis ended up in debt. The local sheriff put a padlock on the hangar door and the plane was not to be moved until all bills had been paid. Story has it that Capelis "cut the lock one morning and before the sun was up, he took off for parts unknown". And after landing at Glendale's Grand Central Airport, the C.A.A. and the sheriff were there waiting for him... The XC12 was grounded for good by the C.A.A shortly after that." And then it became a movie star ...
I have looked further at the DH Flamingo - two propellers but again a different tail, and my plane looks to have an overhang over the cockpit like the Capelis. Maybe the artist just took bits off different aircraft.
I have looked further at the DH Flamingo - two propellers but again a different tail, and my plane looks to have an overhang over the cockpit like the Capelis. Maybe the artist just took bits off different aircraft.
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My immediate thought was the Capelis which had a short, sad life until it became an over exposed RKO movie prop. John Wayne made it famous.
It seemed everywhere in movies, early TV and models. I know of at least two balsa, one cast metal, and a couple early plastic toys, the latter appearing without the hard to mold biplane tail.
I'd bet that some game artist found one to guide his pen for the cribbage board.
btw - The Parker-Kalon self tapping screws were used in some pre-WWII gliders and Schweizer TG-2/LNS-1 as they required less skill than riveting, where a mistake could involve complicated rework. Many of these are still flying without any issue due to lack of vibration.
It seemed everywhere in movies, early TV and models. I know of at least two balsa, one cast metal, and a couple early plastic toys, the latter appearing without the hard to mold biplane tail.
I'd bet that some game artist found one to guide his pen for the cribbage board.
btw - The Parker-Kalon self tapping screws were used in some pre-WWII gliders and Schweizer TG-2/LNS-1 as they required less skill than riveting, where a mistake could involve complicated rework. Many of these are still flying without any issue due to lack of vibration.
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- #12
Found the model on ebay XC-12 Capelis Aircraft Desktop Replica Mahogany Kiln Dried Wood Model Small New | eBay. A range of aircraft shown - made in the Philippines. There are certainly similarities between this one and the original ... the flattened roof, the overhang of the cockpit, the props. I like your theory of copying a model without the complete tail. Or maybe the artist copied a picture that didn't show the complete tail - or maybe it was just artistic license. Which doesn't explain the flags - but that's another mystery for the chasing.
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- #14
special ed
1st Sergeant
- 4,862
- May 13, 2018
One account of the Capelis told of picking up the screws and reinstalling them after running engines or moving the plane for movies.
special ed
1st Sergeant
- 4,862
- May 13, 2018
Found it!
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- #17
A helluva read. Thank you. I just watched the first few minutes of 'Five Came Back', the passengers and crew entering the real plane and then the model Capelis juddering its way through the sky. It looked like it had lots of seat space and even had sleeping berths!
Barry Bromley
Airman
- 24
- Oct 22, 2016
Surely this is a commemorative plaque for some sort of England to Canada flight. Best guess at the aeroplane is a poorly illustrated Lockheed Electra
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- #19
Thank you, I didn't think of a commemoration for a flight. The Lockheed Electra is indeed similar - and more likely to be involved in such a flight than the poor old Capelis. That's the only one that turned up on a Google Image search. Just the problem with the tail to sort out - and looking again there's the other difference of the boxy cockpit window. Off on another hunt ... but I'm increasingly thinking somebody invented mine.
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I'm seeing something like the Armstrong Whitworth A W 23. The low wings, radial engines & tail fins surely look toward this for inspiration. Image from here
