As much as I love the Merlin, Round Engines Rule! In my life I have owned 5 airplanes*; after the first, an Aeronca Champ, ALL the others have had radials. All have had sticks, 4/5 of them had tailwheels. Am I blessed (or nuts) or what? Aeronca Champ, SNJ-5, T-28A, Sopwith Camel, Sopwith Baby
Russ, this sure looks interesting and will be a lot of fun, I'm sure. I feel that the switch to the Baby was a good move. More vertical fin area, side by side seating , a strong radial engine, and possibly a seaplane rating.
Thanks Bob. Building planes is really a lot of fun, and the WW1 historical aspect, even though just an approximation, is very enjoyable and gives a real appreciation for the brave men that flew these early aircraft into combat under difficult environments. I do think I will be downsizing to one plane, though, as I get older. The T-28 and one of the Sopwiths, probably the two seat Baby, will hopefully find appreciative new owners. Will trade.
fabulous build there ...i love to see home builds, but this one being of such a vintage (WW1) makes it pretty special ....good luck man!
Well, I haven't been posting on this much, but we rolled the little two seat Sopwith Baby replica out. Still a lot to do, such as wiring and plumbing firewall forward and a lot of details. I did not go to the lengths I did with the Camel ( e.g. no Brunton streamline wires), but wanted a very simple fun little two seat to take friends around -so we have a 1915 two seat RNAS Baby landplane trainer. I will be adding a birchwood turtledeck and replace the current aluminum skids with the original ashwood - see poorboy MS Paint rendition at bottom photo. Still looking for a Lewis gun replica. I have also focused on making this airplane extremely easy to fly for anyone with any Cub/Champ time. Once I get the bugs worked out of this I am seriously thinking of putting it on floats. I am done with building for a while and want to concentrate on flying skills. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Russ- Looks beautiful. Bet she flies nicely, too, when completed. Those radials do a really good job of impersonating a rotary. Taz Terry Phillips
Taz - thanks. When you are at Dayton this Sept. or you come to San Antonio afterwards you have an open invitation to fly.
Russ- Many thanks. Will not be in Dayton, but will be in San Antonio in October for my Mom's 86th. In addition to it being her birthday, I like to be far away from Albuquerque during balloon fest. Taz Terry Phillips
What an adorable airplane - the name "Baby" does fit in this case! And it looks like you got the color just about perfect. Have fun flying it!
Through lots of real world distractions, finally finishing up the little two seater. FAA paperwork done, and now waiting to get her inspected. I did add a Lewis gun to the starboard side, and the birch turtle deck. I expect she will get inspected and fly when the weather clears a bit in early March. Still figuring out how to activate the brakes. While the original plan was to have her be a two seater, I am waffling a bit into keeping her a very comfortable one seat plane. It is ok for two regular sized people, say 5'11" and under, but at 6'2" it is tight using the original dimensions as we did. It is currently set up with dual pedals and a single central stick, which allows the larger me to sit in the middle and use the two outside pedals. When I try to use the pedals on just one side as I would with a passenger my legs are just too long. It is difficult to move the pedals forward much as nothing solid to attach them to (currently hinge off the spar). Will think on it some more - all ideas welcome. Other detail changes coming will be swapping out the current skid assembly for a nicer more correct ash wood set, the paint scheme will be changed to a more RNAS green/brown on the top surfaces of the wings and fuselage, and a more correct larger diameter wheel/tires will be used. I also have a nice Auster aeroscreen and will mount it once I figure out the two seat/one seat thing. And, if anybody would really like to give this plane a good home and hit the WW1 scene with a splash, I could easily be talked into selling it quite reasonably. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Awfully cute little airplane and I'm wondering if the two seat idea has gone the way of the present day size of the populace. People are larger now than when they were in 1916, I think. Kinda like the armor suits of the early days are too small for the average man nowadays. I have seen several of them and they are about the size of my wife or smaller.
The Airdrome Sopwith Baby landplane replica, N8184, is now about at the 95% point. Need to finalize the control system, then contact the DAR for inspection. Robert has been very tolerant of my many continued deviations from standard Airdrome builds, and is a tribute to his customer service. The Baby flight control system is an example, as not only will this airplane be one of his first official two seaters, it will also be the first with a wheel aileron control. The control system will be as on the Tabloid/Baby two seat trainers with a left sided set of controls, in keeping with my general issue of replicating the experience of flying the original as best as possible. With my big legs, the wheel allows full aileron throw better than sticks, especially when two side by side. We will use a left sided pilot and right seated observer/instructor. The concerns voiced have focused around aileron effort; Well, this is the original mechanics so the experience should be the same, which is the goal. So, for N8184, - Slow progress.... Sister ships Tabloid and Schneider will also be nearing completion, and Rob and Shelly's beautiful dual control Tabloid may actually make it first into the air. OBTW, my beloved Mondial is on its way to its new family in Chicago so I am Ferrariless for the first time having been the second owner for 16 years. Although not for a while, I think a 550 is a great car for the $ right now. I am hoping Rob does not throw me off for the interim Image Unavailable, Please Login
After many fits and starts, the Sopwith Hamble Baby Convert passed muster and received the airworthiness certificate today. Many detail changes since the project was first hatched. Historically, the last 70 Parnall-built Sopwith Babies were built as landplanes, and known as Hamble Baby Converts. Although a few were deployed forward, most were used as trainers. This Airdrome replica takes advantage of the base Tabloid aircraft wide fuselage to give an a WW1 scout that is very comfortable plane for larger (and older) modern pilots N8184 is marked as a 1917 operational Naval aircraft. The engine is a 110 Rotec with a Culver climb prop. Interestingly, the plane replicates the original wheel aileron control and has several original and reproduction cockpit. Still have a bit of detailing to do, but you get the idea. An experienced pilot who was trying out the cockpit smiled and said the controls felt like an old Stinson Gullwing or Cabin WACO. The system is however, pretty much 1913 Sopwith in basic layout as the original Baby. The Lewis gun is a reproduction, but accurate installation and placement. Cockpit - note wheel, original altimeter and compass, replica Tampier quadrant and ASI. More soon! Thanks to so many folks that made this possible! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hats off to you, Russ, for keeping the old predecessors alive. I love the wheel control. A hold over from the wing warping days, maybe.
it appears the "wheel" is a ford model t part circa 1912-15 [depending on the diameter]....mounted upside-down from the car app.
Ding! We have a winner!! From Snyder's, as a matter of fact. A lot of shared stuff with pre-war British automotive...
Ding! We have another winner! The Sopwith Baby line, although production ended in 1917, is based on the decidedly pre-war (the first one) Sopwith Tabloid/Schneider Trophy Winner with wing warping whose cockpit line tooling carried forth although ailerons were in use by early war (the first one again). Builder's note: a stick would have been about 1000 times easier to do but the wheel is the original experience. Same with pedals vs a rudder bar.
After many months of a difficult work schedule and other life events, the Sopwith Hamble Baby Convert flew this weekend. Harvey Cleveland, the test pilot, describes it as 'a big *****cat' that 'doesn't want to stop flying'. The goal was to make the easiest and safest flying WW1 replica possible, and I think we got close. This flying machine stalls at 38 - 39 mph and cruises about 75mph. She's flown 4 times so far, and Harvey put on quite a show with her. So, unless someone wants to buy her now, I'll start flying off the development time and move her to Ohio. Image Unavailable, Please Login
