6347 - the high-wing airplane

The Dove of Sakkara & Cargocult

From Pierluigi Peruzzi

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo exhibited the artefact with the catalogue number 6347. It is a wooden object. It was found in 1898 in a tomb in the necropolis of Sakkara. This object clearly represents a wooden model aircraft. I agree with Erich von Däniken, who was the first to make this model public. What makes it primarily an aeroplane, rather than a bird, is the vertical rudder. Birds have a horizontal rudder and elevator. In addition, birds are mid-deckers and not high-wing deckers. Among other things, there is a strong indication that the elevator has broken off, as the elevator bracket is still visible in the rear.

The high-wing deckers as aircraft

can fly slowly (up to "only" 70 - 100 km/h)

can carry heavy loads

is easy to control

the balance does not have to be perfect

Let's first make a comparison with today's model aircraft.

The red high-wing plane, above in the picture - which appears very similar in construction to the museum model - I assembled in the winter of 1980/81. The task of this model airplane was to get a 35 mm camera into the air. I.e. it was a slow flying load carrier. Together with the release mechanism of the camera there was quite some weight. I managed all this with a 5 cm³ - two-stroke engine. Picture above 1981.

More comparisons

Picture below from 1981: While my brother holds the plane, I am kneeling to "stuff" a Super 8 film camera. Unfortunately, the red model airplane above was too small to bring up such a heavy load. So I decided at that time to use the "Big Lift" to acquire in raw condition. As a high-wing airplane and with its 15 cm³ - Two-stroke, he managed this task with ease. However, this aircraft was designed for a different basic task. It should bring model gliders in Piggyback system to high altitude and then release them by remote control. Since it was a very robust model airplane, I decided at that time to build it and use it for my purposes. Satellite photos were not available at that time, so we had to help ourselves out. Picture below 1981.

Picture above from 1979. The construction of a large model airplane usually takes a whole winter. Then in the summer you let it fly and break it. Next winter you just build a new one. If you look at all the pictures of these different high wing airplanes, something strikes the aereonautical expert. All 3 have no ailerons on the wings. That is, the wings have no moving parts. On the Big Lift, the ailerons on the wings would also be in the way of putting a glider on it in a piggyback system.