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Inventor Steven Nemeth was responsible for designing this aircraft called The Roundwing in 1934. The design was not a great success. via Bill Rose Enjoying an excellent STOL capability, the Roundwing could take-off in 63ft (19m) and land in 25ft (7.6m), although the aircraft failed to attract commercial interest. via Bill Rose moved to Harlem Airport and made a further one hundred short take-offs, followed by half a dozen attempts to fly a circuit of the field, which all resulted in hard landings and minor damage to the aircraft. Eventually Johnson managed two brief low-altitude flights after boosting the engine performance with higher-octane fuel. In the end however, the power-to-weight ratio was never adequate enough to make this design viable, despite the aircraft having plenty of lift. Three further accidents followed and in 1936, Johnson finally decided to call it a day, selling the air- craft to pay for his hangar facilities at the air- field. The fate of Uni-Plane is unknown, but it was probably broken up for scrap. The Roundwing Steven Paul Nemeth began designing circu- lar-winged aircraft in 1926 and eventually completed a large flying model, which dur- ing 1929 was wind tunnel tested at the Uni- versity of Michigan. The results were good enough to encourage him to design a full- sized aircraft, which was built as an experi- ment by students at Miami University (Ohio) and completed in 1934. The aircraft was called the Roundwing although, rather con- fusingly, it was also sometimes known as the Umbrellaplane. The Roundwing used a stretched Alliance Argo fuselage with a conventional tail and was powered by a forward-mounted 90hp (67kW) Lambert piston engine, which drove a two-bladed propeller. Overall length of the Roundwing was 20ft (6m) and the span of the circular wing was 16ft (4.8m). The aircraft was successfully flown at Curtiss Airport and progressively rebuilt over the next two years. Henri Coanda continued his studies at the Montefiore Insti- In 1936 it was fitted with a more powerful Henri Marie Coanda (1886-1973) was one of _ tute in Liege, Belgium. On his return to Roma- 120hp (89.5kW) Warner Scarab engine and _ the greatest aerodynamicists and inventors of _ nia, Coanda undertook a short term of service considerable work was carried out on the — the 20th century. He pioneered a form of jet with the military and then enrolled at the wing. It was said that the Roundwing could — engine long before the arrival of the gas tur- Superior Aeronautical School in Paris, gradu- take off in 63ft (19m) and land in 25ft (7.6m) _ bine and discovered a very significant airflow _ ating in 1909. at only 30mph (48km/h), which remains very phenomenon that became known as The In 1910, he built what is now regarded as impressive. Maximum speed was 140mph_ Coanda Effect. the world’s first jet aircraft, in Joachim (225km/h) and it was also very stable and Born to an academic Romanian middle- Caproni’s workshop, and gave it the rather apparently incapable of stalling. Nemeth class family, Coanda grew up in Bucharest — uninspiring name Coanda-1910. This aircraft hoped to manufacture the Roundwing for and eventually joined the School of Military — was not equipped with the instantly recognis- $1,400 per copy, but there were no takers and Artillery. After graduating as an artillery offi- able type of gas turbine we associate with the plan was finally abandoned. cer, he developed an interest in aviation and Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohain. The sys- Inventor Steven Nemeth was responsible for designing this aircraft called The Roundwing in 1934. The design was not a great success. via Bill Rose Enjoying an excellent STOL capability, the Roundwing could take-off in 63ft (19m) and land in 25ft (7.6m), although the aircraft failed to attract commercial interest. via Bill Rose 21 Early Circular-Winged Aircraft