Re Heston Phoenix
During the 1930’s several American aircraft manufacturers, both large and small, were encouraged to produce one-off prototypes for a small, affordable sports/touring plane suitable for the average man in the street. The only entry to the competition was Heston T Fudpucker III, the great grandson of a famous USA Confederate General and heir to the Fudpucker Peanut Oil Corporation of Arizona USA. Fudpucker’s design was named after his hometown of Phoenix, AZ and was developed and constructed in total secrecy because of the many new and innovative features, some of which are still held under lock and key by the US patent office. One of these secrets has this week been released by the USA government following its unsuccessful use in Iraq. Fudpuckers FLIPAROOL control system harnessed the virtues of reversed polarity, where up is down, left is right and front is back, this system necessitated the Phoenix’s most obvious recognition feature, a rearward facing cockpit, hidden beneath the tail. Heston’s master plan was also to use a cheap and renewable form of fuel, so as to replace the then hard to find and expensive aviation fuel. This consisted of 7 parts peanut oil, 3 parts brown sugar and a dash of Jack Daniel’s. Today marks the first flight of the Phoenix, when Fudpucker’s youngest son ‘Titch’ prepared the aircraft at Yougotakiddin Army Airfield, at what is now Phoenix International Airport. The flight was a complete success, during which it achieved several world records in height, speed and endurance, the aircraft also out performed the USAAF P12 Peashooter just entering service at that time. During this first and only flight the aircraft disappeared over the town of Roswell, New Mexico, allegedly abducted by aliens, this has never been proven and I believe it to be a cover up by the US government who did not wish the new technology to fall into the wrong hands. Also at this time Fudpucker himself is alleged to have been killed in an unfortunate incident involving a Peanut harvester. An interesting postscript to the Heston Phoenix was the sighting in late 1944 by German night fighter pilots of a strange high speed aircraft and the unauthorised release of project documents codes named LIPSTAR 1. The true story is yet to be told.
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