WW1 aircraft plans

VX927, A couple to wt your appertite:)

I just love the ‘urgent standby’ ground crew……….:D

VX927, A couple to wt your appertite:)

The April 2003 issue of Sport Aviation has an article on a fellow called Jack Kearbey would built a replica of an SE-5a using replicraft plans as a basis.

Lovely job, the article says he spent 11,900 hours building it and you can certainly see that.

Blue Max,

Thank you for the link. I have seen that, but unfortunately, I cant register with theaerodrome at the moment so I’m not able to contact the guy, nor can a search! Slightly irrelevant, but I’ve e-mailed their ‘webmaster’ so hopefully I’ll be able to register soon!

I’d be interested to see your pics!

Regards
927

There’s a chap building a Snipe here in Victoria with a radial engine. a Rotec engine would be another new practical radial option, but may have certification issues in the UK.

The chaps in the Scottish Aviation preservation society at East Fortune are using a Rotec 3600 radial engine in thier Sopwith Strutter replica.

http://www.apss.org.uk/projects/APSS_projects/Strutter/Status/index.htm

I for one would be interested in going this route at some time in the future, need to get a BE2 flying first!!
http://www.greatwarflyingmuseum.com/

Darn right we do!!!! :diablo:

Here’s a link to a Guy in the USA who was looking at producing a Steel tube fuselage kit for the SE5

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/replica-aircraft/31914-full-scale-se5a-kit-w-steel-tube-fuselage.html

I for one would be interested in going this route at some time in the future, need to get a BE2 flying first!!

If you search the Aerodrome forum you will find some good pics of this A/C, here is the link to the Canadian A/C. Theres is a Steel tube fuselage and powered by a ranger engine, i have some pics somewhere will try and dig em out!:) Apparently there fuselage is a modified Starduster Too, and when i had contact with them they were trying to find the drawings!! at that time the A/C has suffered a landing accident and needed repair so they needed some drawings as well!!

http://www.greatwarflyingmuseum.com/

Thank you all for the replies to this thread.

Blue max – Interesting what you said about fitting a Gipsy Queen to the SE5, as I had already thought about that myself! I’m more interested in building an aircraft that is practical, rather than one that is 100% accurate, although I wouldn’t want it to be changed to the point where it spoils the overall appearance of the aircraft. The work done by The Vintage Aviator in NZ is awe inspiring, but I have to say, I think the steel frame would be my preferred route. Do you know who in Canada has the plans for the steel frame that you mentioned?

The SE5 is the preferred option, and am continuing the research!

Thanks once again

It was one of them, anyway! :p

You might be thinking of Brian Lecomber entering one of the Leasure sport ones into an Aerobatic comp:eek:

Didn’t Tony Bianchi once enter it into an aerobatics comp? Or did I imagine that? :confused:

A great shame its not seen about a bit more!!:(

Camel is loverly, as seen in “The Great Waldo Peper”

Blimey, I forgot about that! 😮

Several WW1 replica’s Stateside have used the Russian MP4 Radials although they are kinda over kill but will swing a big prop!
As JDK has said the Aerodrome Forum is a wealth of knowledge but be carefull, the rules and regulation are very different here as to what you are allowed to do and what you are allowed to use.
Camel is loverly, as seen in “The Great Waldo Peper”

Strange, i thought we were actually DOING stuff right here:confused: …

My apologies, I meant you were doing stuff, but ‘like’ and ‘than’ got muddled!

I’m sure you’d agree there’s a bit more ‘hands-on’ experience there (Aerodrome) than here though?

G-BPOB – Scarab-powered Camel owned by Bianchi Aviation Film Services. Seen it up close a few times, and it is rather lovely!

(photo via CAA website)

As Blue Max says, though, practicality dictates what kind of engine you should use.

Mind you, I’m sure I recall reading of a Fokker Dr.1 with the engine from a YAK stuck under the cowling – and a Pup fitted up similarly…! 😮

There’s a chap building a Snipe here in Victoria with a radial engine. a Rotec engine would be another new practical radial option, but may have certification issues in the UK.

The Camel in NZ has a steel frame fuselage and a rotary engine.

I’d suggest a Camel would be a very challenging aircraft to fly even with a radial/flat four.

If you have a look through the Aerodrome forum (particularly the constructors sub-forum) you’ll find many of your questions will already have been answered; and if not, there’s a LOT more people there who live, breathe and do this stuff – rather than the couple here (like Max & Slow) and jokers like me who write about it.

Good luck on the research phase.

Strange, i thought we were actually DOING stuff right here:confused: Seem to remember spending alot of time in the workshop and flying a Triplane this summer, must be dreaming:diablo:

There’s a chap building a Snipe here in Victoria with a radial engine. a Rotec engine would be another new practical radial option, but may have certification issues in the UK.

The Camel in NZ has a steel frame fuselage and a rotary engine.

I’d suggest a Camel would be a very challenging aircraft to fly even with a radial/flat four.

If you have a look through the Aerodrome forum (particularly the constructors sub-forum) you’ll find many of your questions will already have been answered; and if not, there’s a LOT more people there who live, breathe and do this stuff – rather like the couple here (like Max & Slow) and jokers like me who write about it.

Good luck on the research phase.

Replicraft do plans for both the SE5 and the Camel.

http://www.replicraft.us.fm/

Going for an original engine may be a nice thought but if you want a practicle and affordable aircraft then i would advise against! The three SE5’s in NZ are powered by new build Hispano enngine’s not original one’s. Just shows what can be done when money is no object!!!

Camels have flown with Warner scarabs in them and it make no change to the outside appearance. They are hard to get and expensive to opperate, if i were doing a camel i would put a Flat four Lycoming under the cowl with a dummy engine to disguise it. Paul Ford did a great job of this on his DR1 and to be honest a Camel would be easier to make look convincing! (See pic)
I have always wanted to, and some day will build a full size SE5, the one in France was started here in the UK by the way! All recent ones have used the replicraft drawings. In the sixties two were made by Miles Aircraft for the Blue Max Film, they were powered by Gipsy Queens and were built using original drawings but had steel tube fuselages.(see pic) There are some drawings available in Canada for a steel tube fuselage and this i feel is the way to go for a practicle working aeroplane. There is one flying in Canada with a ranger engine, and one in california with a I0 360 Lycoming, other than that there is one in the USA with a Steel tube fuselage and a modified Chevy engine!

Alot depends what you want, practicle flying aircraft that looks right but under the skin is easier to construct, or 100% original. Most of the replicas that are flown regularly at displays and for films are the former. There is also a cost and your budget to be considered!!
Also to consider is flying it, i dont know what your flying skils are but these replica’s, even the ones that are 100% acurate but are still full size, do not behave like your modern Cessna or Piper! Paul Ford who had lots of time on Tiger Moths and the like got quite a shock the first time he flew the Triplane!

Good Luck:)

I dunno if anyone’s built a full-scale flying S.E. in the UK. There’s THREE in New Zealand (as related in one of Dave Homewood’s threads recently) as well as one in France, but all have original engines I believe.

As for radial engines, I think the Warner Scarab would probably be the best bet to power your Sopwith replica. I can’t think of any replicas flying with one, though – anyone else? I know several Fokker Dr1s are powered by them.