There was a Gotha Replica being built in the USA a few years back, not sure how far its got! Two Rumpler replica’s were built for “Biggles Sweeps The Skies” along with our BE2, they are still flying in the USA.

Thanks to “BaldEagle”, whose father was responsible for the conservation of the remains of our BE-2 after its crash in the USA in the 1970s, here’s some pictures of one of the Rumpler replicas; “Brunhilde”.

A cost-related factor may be insurance (in a public display context?) I know the Shuttleworth Hind does not display with a passenger, possibly for this reason, neither the Brisfit (or the LVG when it was at Old Warden). Although transit flights may carry human ballast (form a queue!). I guess that might reduce the attractiveness for someone wanting to display a 2-seater, perhaps.

Wasn’t the RE8 supposed to be a bit of a handful for pilots? Go the whole hog and build a HP 0/100 or /400!

You’re spot-on on both counts. Plus, following the Biggin Hill Invader accident, the HAA advised and the CAA mandated that only essential flight crew are carried during a display.

Both the Bristol F2B and if one were to fly again, an RE8 require ballast to be placed in an unoccupied rear cockpit to keep the centre of gravity in limits. Obviously for safety’s sake it is bolted in these days, so offering a back seat ride is more than the work of a moment.

When the RE8 entered service, it seems to have suffered from a lack of fin area and that combined with a higher wing loading than the BE2 it replaced led to a number of aircraft “spinning in” during climb-out or low-speed manouevering.

Among the drawings in our archive is a ‘field modification’ allowing the larger fin from late model BE2s to be fitted to RE8s, obviously in an attempt to cure the flaw.

(Its full size, so sorry I can’t fit it on my scanner!)

Thanks John. Thanks Wiesso.

According to Wikipedia, an I-12 participated in in the 1937 Thanet Air Race. It was part of an international tour which also took in Paris and ended with a nine hour non-stop flight from London to Riga.

A nine-hour endurance and a 140mph cruising speed on a 90-hp Blackburn Cirrus engine would make it a pretty desirable light aircraft today!

Dont forget that Blue Max and Low and Slow are restoring their BE2C.
Dave:)

You took the words right out of my mouth!

I think there are two reasons why people go for single-seat WW1 replicas.

One is that most two seaters are very big! That size alone means that hangarage and ground handling becomes a significant issue.

It also means that you have to look for a bigger and (lot) more expensive engine and that in turn probably doubles running costs.

Also Sopwith Camel, Fokker Eindecker, Triplane or SE-5 replica are arguably, a little more ‘sexy’ than most two seaters.

Still though. I can’t wait to see the “Biggles Biplane” in the air once again!

Daily, when I say “fuselage”, “aileron” and occasionally even “pursuit…”

Have you ever heard an Englishman doing a bad American accent? :dev2::dev2:

Sadly yes!

If you mention Michael Caine, I’ll mention Dick van Dyke……:diablo:

Chim chimney……….

Scout was the term used during “The Kaisers War” to describe most single-seat fighting aircraft.

Fighter was a 1930s term. The Americans called their aeroplanes ‘persoots’ into the 1940s.

I guess if you were to get pedantic with the Anglo-German translations, we should call Jagdgeschwaders “Hunter Squadrons”! :diablo:

Anyway that wasn’t the reason for this posting.

If you want to see the REAL von Richthofen and his colleagues, check out these links from the Steven Spielberg Archive at the USHMM. They are genuine amateur film footage shot by Anthony Fokker!

http://resources.ushmm.org/film/display/main.php?search=simple&dquery=keyword(FOKKER+AIRCRAFT)&cache_file=uia_kzavhI&total_recs=2&page_len=25&page=1&rec=2&file_num=3354

http://resources.ushmm.org/film/display/main.php?search=simple&dquery=keyword%28RICHTHOFEN%2C+MANFRED+VON%29&cache_file=uia_kBWOOi&total_recs=2&page_len=25&page=1&rec=1&file_num=3353

A quick scan of the excellent Flight International archive site at http://www.flightglobal.com came up with the following gems from May 1909 publications:

Donovan Aeroplane Co., Ltd., 11, Church Street, West
Hartlepool.—Capital £2,000, in £1 shares. Formed to acquire
and construct flying machines and similar apparatus, and particularly
to acquire absolutely the Patent No. 21,618 for improvements in the
mode of and apparatus for flying machines, which is the invention
and sole property of Capt. Joseph Donovan, of West Hartlepool.
First directors, Richard James Blacklin, Thomas McCleod, and
Joseph Donovan.

An Aeroplane Company.

WHAT was probably the first of its kind appeared in
the public Press in the early part of this week in the
shape of a prospectus inviting public subscriptions to a
limited liability company formed to construct and develop
an aeroplane. The machine in question is the invention
of Capt. Joseph Donovan, of West Hartlepool, who has
met with a good deal of success in his experiments with
models.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/search.aspx?search=Joseph%20Donovan%20&page=1

According to an April 1909 copy of Flight, Donovan had displayed at Olympia a model which was “a helicopter aeroplane fitted with twin
lifting screws and a circular aeroplane surface”.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1909/1909%20-%200221.html

Beautiful images. If you have more, I’m sure many of us 1930s aviation junkies would love to see them.

Now I’ve got to get back to work, writing about the exploits of your compatriots, Messrs Kovalainen and Raikkonen! Congratulations!!