Soon I plan to deposit on this website the story of Isaac Machlin Laddon and his superb creation the
PBY Catalina flying boat.
In 1934 he obtained with this airplane form that was perfectly matched to function.
He was so happy with it (rightly so), that he patented its shape, like Coca Cola had done with its bottle. Especially pleasing to the eye was the mounting of the high parasol wing on the fish-like hull. An original supporting structure was used; its origin puzzled the experts.
Roscoe Creed wrote: “…Laddon’s choices were:
– to use struts to mount the wing as before,
– or resort to a deep hull with a shoulder-mounted wing,
– or a less deep hull with a gull-wing,
– or set the wing on a pylon…
Just how and when Laddon came up with the pylon idea nobody knows…”
The article that I will be posting shortly under ‘PBY CATALINA’ pretends to give the answer.
ritstaalman 