The Tailless Airplanes of Bruce K. Hallock
Bruce K. Hallock became fascinated with tailless aircraft at an early age and remained an enthusiastic advocate of the configuration throughout his life. In addition to the aerodynamic advantages, Bruce recognized certain other practical benefits inherent in the concept. His designs addressed certain aeronautical-engineering challenges by taking full advantage of the tailless configuration's strong suits.
Sky Full of Dreams includes the complete story of each of Bruce K Hallock's tailless airplanes. Here is a brief description of each of his important designs, from models to the real thing.
Sky Full of Dreams includes the complete story of each of Bruce K Hallock's tailless airplanes. Here is a brief description of each of his important designs, from models to the real thing.
Bobtail Flying Model
The Bobtail represented the culmination of Bruce's pre-college tailless model-building efforts. It took first prize in the category of original design at the National Model Airplane Contest held in Akron, Ohio, in 1939.
 Hallock Bobtail |
Baffle Bird Flying Model
Built in 1942, the Baffle Bird was a large flying test model with wings spanning over eight feet. Featuring numerous realistic details, the model was an early manifestation of Bruce's desire to develop a simple and affordable four-place light plane. The Baffle Bird's design directly prefigured the full-scale HT-1 Road Wing.
 Hallock Baffle Bird model. |
HT-1 Road Wing
Bruce initiated development of the HT-1 Road Wing (originally called the Road-A-Plane) as an affordable, four-place light plane. Construction began in 1947, and the airplane finally flew in late 1957.
The concept of "roadability" was incorporated during the later design phase of the project, soon after construction began. Roadability is a feature that allows an airplane to be converted by its pilot for use on public roadways. In the 1950s many considered roadability the next big step in civil aviation. Bruce realized that the tailless configuration lent itself well to this type of conversion. The Road Wing's wings could be folded back by one person and pulled behind the fuselage. The original Road Wing now resides at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas. |
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HT-2 Caravan
The HT-2 Caravan was to be a twin-engine cargo plane. Conceived in 1960, it did not progress beyond the design-study stage. The model pictured here demonstrates how Bruce exploited the tailless configuration to easily accommodate bulky cargo through a large rear hatch that opened upward. Bruce envisioned the Caravan's main use as being "in areas where an inexpensive, rugged, and simple airplane is needed to operate from poor airports and compete with difficult ground transportation."
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Aero Wing
The Aero Wing (originally called the Aero King) was conceived in 1961 as an advanced business aircraft that would accommodate five to six people in a pressurized cabin. Drawing on his extensive experience as an executive pilot, Bruce stated that his design "emerged from the passenger compartment outward as opposed to a philosophy that begins with the final machine into which people are stuffed." The Aero Wing's roomy cabin would be easy to enter. The rear-mounted engine would help reduce noise. And the swept wings would allow exceptional visibility.
Over its lengthy development history, the Aero Wing underwent numerous design refinements. Retractable canard wings were added to the nose. And the rudders were moved inward from the wingtips to pods that extended rearward from the inner wing sections. The prototype never flew. Only the fuselage and certain other details were completed. The Aero Wing fuselage now resides at the Hidden Hangar Museum in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
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 Aero Wing artist concept by Don Hallock.  Aero Wing full-scale mockup.  Aero Wing fuselage under construction. |
Pterodactyl
The Pterodactyl was a side-by-side, two-place sport plane. The rear-mounted 150-hp engine, buried inside the fuselage behind the cabin, faced forward and drove two pusher propellers through a system of internal belts. The gull wings' short inboard sections swept forward and upward, and the main outboard sections swept back. Prop shafts protruded rearward from the wing bends. The Pterodactyl was entered by sliding forward the entire nose shell — including windshield, all the way back to mid cabin. The nose slid on tracks mounted beneath the cabin floor, which stayed put so the pilot and passenger could step in and out on either side without having to climb or duck.
 Unfinished Pterodactyl on display in 1974. |
  Begun in 1973, the Pterodactyl was to be marketed as a kit plane that enthusiasts could build from plans. By the time the project neared completion in the late 1970s, the world of kit airplanes had seen tremendous advances. A profusion of new designs and construction techniques had become available, and many of them made the Pterodactyl's mostly aluminum construction seem ill-suited to the market. The trend was toward composite materials and simple, easy-to-build designs. Aluminum was relatively heavy and expensive, and working with it required a degree of expertise that most kit builders did not possess. Furthermore, Bruce realized that the mechanics, especially the belt-driven propellers, were overly complex. So the project was shelved. The Pterodactyl now resides at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas.
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