West Coast Chopper's Airstream Bike + Pan American

[Distantdrummer]

Boy the guy that writes this introduction paragraph surely wanted to tax my mind. Word power made easy has failed me again.

Motorcycle, Sidecar, and Airstreams.
Didn't know that Hawley Bolus had designed the Spirit of St.Louis which is reputed to have spawned the monococque trailer look and style ??? Or is that a wayward and erronious factoid.

>>> http://www.horomundi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5047 <<<

[rluhr]

Yes, early Airstreams were based on a design concept usually credited to aircraft designer Hawley Bowlus. Bowlus produced the first aluminum semi-monococque trailers. Wally Byam brought this influence to the Curtis-Wright "Clipper" in 1946, and then to the Airstream "Clipper". We documented the "Curtis-Wright connection" extensively in our Spring 2008 issue.

[Ganaraska]

Recently I read a bio of Hawley Bolus on another website and he did indeed design the Spirit of St Louis. He also worked on the Lear Jet just before he died. But he was best known as a designer of record setting sailplanes and gliders.

His first experience of airplanes was at the big air show in Los Angeles in 1910. This sparked a lifetime interest in flying.

Quite a guy and quite a career.