History of the Ultimate Biplane

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Which came first?

Did the design of the Ultimate begin with an RC model or a full-scale aircraft?

I started working on this site in response to a question in rec.models.rc.air. The question was which came first: the full-scale or the radio-control airplane? Gordon Price saw the first draft of these pages and sent me some notes and photos. Later on, Devin York contributed a whole folder full of information.

The design of the 10-100 came from Gordon's work on replacement parts for the Pitts. After designing the Ultimate wing kits, canopy, and fairings for the Pitts, Gordon decided to design his own fuselage as well. That was the genesis and birth of Ultimate Aircraft.

A letter from Don Lowe was published in the late R/C Report (Issue 239, June 2006, p. 38). It's part of "The Big Picture" by Dick Petit. I'm going to break Lowe's letter into pieces comment on each point individually.

"The Ultimate was developed by Gordon Price as an entirely new design that would profit from his experience with a modified Pitts and what he learned at the TOC's [Tournament of Champions] where he was a judge."

Lowe downplays what Gordon learned from building and flying two full-scale biplanes and emphasizes "what he [Gordon] learned at the TOC's when he was a judge." Gordon remembers things differently.

"I and others had many conversations with him about the design parameters of a really good bipe. With this and other knowledge, he laid out the first design."

Yes, Gordon had "other knowledge" besides what the RC guys think they taught him at the TOC.

"He, Bob Godfrey, and I met at my workshop in Florida to finalize a configuration, which Bob would build as a model, and Gordon would follow it with the first full scale airplane. We generated 3-views of a 1/3 scale model, which Bob built and I flew. Unfortunately, it crashed from control failure on the first flight. Bob then developed several sized Ultimates which were extremely successful at the TOC and other events."

The crash of the scale model is confirmed by Donald Sudbury's e-mail below. My impression is that this was a model of the 10-300, not the 10-100. It was the 10-300 that was kitted and sold.

"This biplane is unique in the fact that it evolved from a combination of full scale and model-design experience and has proven to be the best aerobatic bipe ever developed. The wing spacing, tail moment, tail areas, and vertical placement of the wing and stab all evolved from model experience. Even the raked LG evolved from a desire to mount the gear near the firewall for maximum strength. My good friend Bob Godfrey, who's no longer with us, must be given due credit for pioneering this model for all the modeling world to enjoy."

And no undue credit--that would be unjust to Gordon. I think Don has an inflated view of how much he and Bob contributed to the design of the 10-300.

Ask yourself exactly how much useful information could have been derived from one (1) test flight that ended in a crash. "Well, the model flew great, Gord! It took off just fine. After that, the elevator broke off and it crashed. If you can get your full-scale plane not to lose its elevator on the first flight, you'll be delighted with the outcome."

A true test program with models would require a control aircraft (to provide baseline data for the original design) and variations of that aircraft to test against the baseline. There would have to be some method of measuring results. One 'test flight' does not a program make.

I'll concede that Bob Godfrey pioneered "this model for all the modeling world to enjoy"--in the sense that he built the first RC model and provided the first RC kit. I deny that he pioneered the design of the Ultimate. I see that as Gordon's baby all the way.

"The full scale airplane proceeded with the setup we felt was best. Gordon Price flew the Pitts in competition and had developed an 'Ultimate' wing configuration, which he installed on his Pitts. That wing configuration was also used on the new airplane."

That's the point I've been making: Gordon's design work preceeded the RC model, not the other way around. Don seems to have no awareness that the 10-100 and 10-200 existed before the 10-300.

"The model history is outstanding since Bob's design was used to win the TOC."

Now we know for sure what we're talking about: Chip Hyde won the TOC in 1990 and 1991 with Bob's design. It was a model of the 10-300, not a model of the 10-100 or the 10-200.

Dick Petit ends this section by saying, "There you have it folks, straight from one of the original cast members. It was the full size Ultimate that was developed from a 1/3 scale model, not the other way around. Thanks, Don, for bringing us all up to speed."

I consider Gordon to be "one of the original cast members." He disagrees with the way Don and Dick tell the story. So do I.

---

Original Message --------

Subject: Full scale or model Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2009 16:54:43 -0400 From: Donald Sudbury <rcmodeler724...>

Hi Marty,

I wrote you sometime back about what I knew about the history between full scale and the model. I finally found the article that I was looking for in Model Airplane News, April 1991. A sidebar was included with a review of the Carl Goldberg Models Ultimate 10-300.

Bottom line, Don Lowe and Bob Godfrey had built a model based on the design drawings of Gordon Price. That model was to act as a test bed for some design changes they thought would improve stability and reduce control coupling. It crashed on the first flight when the elevator began to flutter. Supposedly, Gordon did incorporate some of the suggestions in the full scale, but there were no other models built before the full scale was completed and flying. A 30 % scale Ultimate was kitted by Godfrey's Precision Models after the full-size 10-300 had been completed.

Hope that helps to put the rumor to bed.

I don't have a subscription to that magazine anymore and can't say if they could provide you a back issue or just the article from the archives. I still have my copy and, if I can get it working again, could scan the article in and email.

Happy Landings

Don Sudbury