science

Scroggs The Last Laugh

Scroggs The Last Laugh is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Scroggs The Last Laugh rather than just read about it. In short: The Last Laugh was a prototype tailless dart-shaped aircraft built in 1929 by Roy Scroggs in the US. Designed as a lifting body, it was based on an earlier 1917 delta-winged patent.

Key takeaways

Scroggs The Last Laugh belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Scroggs The Last Laugh to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Scroggs The Last Laugh from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Last Laugh was a prototype tailless dart-shaped aircraft built in 1929 by Roy Scroggs in the US. Designed as a lifting body, it was based on an earlier 1917 delta-winged patent. It underwent flight testing but the design was not developed further.

Origin Roy Scroggs was a tailor living in Eugene, Oregon, US. He sought to develop an airplane that would bring safety, economy and STOL performance to everyday flying, and patented his first low-aspect-ratio delta design in 1917. His unconventional ideas were rejected by aeronautical experts and he received much ridicule for his persistence. When he finally built a full-size machine in 1929, his chosen name, The Last Laugh, reflected his faith in his invention. The Handley Page HP.115 of 1961, designed to test the Concorde wing plan at low speeds, had a very similar delta leading edge angle of sweep.

Design Shaped like a long, narrow delta with the nose cut off, the aircraft was conceived as a lifting body, having a deep trapezoidal kite-section fuselage which tapered in proportion to the high-mounted, low aspect ratio wing. The fuselage thus formed a deep keel which provided both lift and directional stability. The original delta-winged design of 1917 proved impractical and the nose had to be drastically cut back to provide adequate mounting for an engine and propeller. The structure was primarily of welded metal tubing with fabric covering. Twin main undercarriage wheels were located on struts immediately behind the engine, lifting the forward fuselage well clear of the ground. With the wings level the rear fuselage almost reached the ground and was fitted with a small tailskid. The aircraft was powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 engine driving a two-bladed propeller. The enclosed cockpit was located well aft in the wider part of the fuselage and initially had only two small side windows for vision. These were much increased in size before flight testing began. Aft of it the fuselage tapered more sharply to an angular tail with no separate fin. A split rudder was fitted for lateral control, with each half attached to the fuselage at its widest and deepest point. Elevon control surfaces were also fitted on the wing trailing edge. Modifications during flight testing included the addition of twin rudder surfaces, mounted aft of the fuselage on short struts.[1]

Career The Last Laugh was registered in the US as NC10648. It is claimed to have risen to about 10 ft (3 m) in flight. Following initial flight tests he filed for a new patent on its design in July 1930. The machine was damaged during attempted flight trials at Eugene Municipal Airport when it missed the taxiway and tipped over. Its registration was cancelled in 1934.

Specifications Data from Eugene Guard 1929, unless otherwise stated.General characteristics Length: 26 ft (7.9 m) Wingspan: 18 ft (5.5 m) Wing area: 350 sq ft (33 m2) Gross weight: 1,200 lb (544 kg) Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss OX-5 liquid-cooled V-8, 90 hp (67 kW) Propellers: 2-bladed, 10 ft (3.0 m) diameter (estimated) Performance

Wing loading: 3.5 lb/sq ft (17 kg/m2)

References

Notes

Bibliography "Revolutionary Type of Aircraft Constructed by Roy Scroggs, Local Man", Eugene Guard, 28 August 1929, p.12. (Pay download)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Scroggs The Last Laugh

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Scroggs The Last Laugh claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Scroggs The Last Laugh before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Scroggs The Last Laugh ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Scroggs The Last Laugh

In research: Scroggs The Last Laugh appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Scroggs The Last Laugh in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Scroggs The Last Laugh is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1920s United States experimental aircraft, Aircraft with conventional landing gear, High-wing aircraft, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Scroggs The Last Laugh outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Scroggs The Last Laugh in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Scroggs The Last Laugh means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Scroggs The Last Laugh out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Scroggs The Last Laugh in simple terms?

The Last Laugh was a prototype tailless dart-shaped aircraft built in 1929 by Roy Scroggs in the US. Designed as a lifting body, it was based on an earlier 1917 delta-winged patent.

Why does Scroggs The Last Laugh matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Scroggs The Last Laugh?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Scroggs The Last Laugh.