Currently reading Canvas Falcons by Stephen Longstreet.
At one point he points out that planes of the era had>>>>
Unreliable motors which spat out large quantity's of Caster oil.
The most flammable liquid imaginable in a large tank right in front of you.
Cloth skin over wing spars coated with liquid explosive.
Now I'm not sure exactly what went into "dope" back then, but if it had any nitrocellulose in it as "gap filler" it would indeed burn with an unholy glee.
If you don't believe me take apart a shotgun shell, take the nitrocellulose powder out of the base, dissolve it in laqueor, paint it on silk, let it dry, then try igniting the stuff. Back in that era they used long strips of it as film media for the movie picture industry. Those reels would not quite explode if ignited.
but the speed at which it burns is a sight to behold.
Its not that it can't be done, because it has.
Its that there just doesn't seem to be enough demand by enough people to make it a paying proposition.
I used to split my time between warbirds and WWI flying sims.
Flew most of them at one time or another. Flying Circus had huge potential, but couldn't make it pay the bills. Red Baron, DOA, the list goes on & on.
But I just don't see the demand. We have kids coming up who want to fly jets, what do they care about wooden wings and wire?
