Attention AvChat! My next plane will be a...

Russ, I know what you mean about the grass strips and basic flying. It's simple and great fun. I have flown most of the L Birds and I liked the L-3 the best because it was tough, heavy duty airframe, stabile, and honest. I thought that it was a very well designed airplane and the Aeronca guys said that it was designed for 6G pos and 4 1/2 G neg. That's more than I can take. When I examined the wreckage of my L-3 after it was destroyed in a mid-air I was terribly impressed by the way the fittings maintained their integrity. The spars were laminated of of continuous 1 inch square strips that were still sound. The strut terminals and fittings didn't fail but they pulled the wood out in large chunks at the bolt sites. It was slow with a 65 in it but a good 85 makes it a very nice airplane. Another one that I really like is an L-5. It is bigger and probably would work well for your size and weight and they are very nice flyers with flaps and stuff. Typical well designed and well built Stinson.
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I know it isn't a warbird, but the new Luscombe LSA-8 looks hot, especially with the radial!!

Is there a link for the Sopwith? I'd love to see that beauty.

 

Again, not a warbird, but I've always been a fan of the clipped wing cubs. With 85hp they're pretty fun aircraft -- and simple, too.

 

SNJ5,

I have a friend of mine whose husband (an aviation artist) was building a full scale DR-1 tri-plane replica with a Warner engine...it is complete with all parts and engine, the fuselage and wings are built but it has not been covered yet...all of the parts are there down to the wheels and tires. Unfortunately her husband passed away, so she is now selling the project. If you would be interested feel free to P.M. me....

 

Hey Russ

When I dropped by the CAF squadron out in Burnett last fall, there was some form of L-bird (Stintson maybe?) sitting in the corner. It was mostly disassembled and had apparently been there for years and years, owned by "formerly active members" per the guy I was talking to. I don't know if it's for sale, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

http://www.highlandlakessquadron.com/HLS1/Welcome.html

 

Russ, if you get an original Sopwith Camel you are my hero! What gorgeous and challenging airplane! It has to have a rotary or it simply isn't a Camel. It won't look like one and it certainly won't fly like one.
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This is probably too modern for you and it is not military, but I've always thought the Cessna 140a was a great, simple plane.
Plus, with the side-by-side seating, it is easy to share the experience with others.

Some day I hope to get tailwheel training and fly one.

Found this pic of one on the web.
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Have you flown a WWI airplane? I've heard that they are terrible to actually fly.

I've been thinking about a Citabria, myself.

 

I have not actually flown a WW1 airplane but I have helped to operate several and probably the best flying example would be the Sopwith Pup. handsome is as handsome does in this case with no nasty quirks like the Camel, very stabile and easy to handle. Another good one is the Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter which is an over-grown Pup with two seats. Good looking, well proportioned and again, stabile. That would be a good one for Russ as far as accommodating a large man. On the German side the Fok D-7 is fairly large as is the Albatross and they both could take the Fairchild Ranger for power.
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Checked through some photos from Burnett and found this in the background.
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From what I gathered in years past and many airshows, the Nieuport 17 as designed was a good and nice flying airplane. A bit small and tight , however. The past weekend I went to the Concrete, Wa. Fly-in and saw some wonderful airplanes; antiques, homebuilts and contemporary stuff. I thought of you, Russ, and wondered what you would have chosen. As soon as I get re-trained on the computer I will try to post some pictures.
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I agree that a D-7 would be very cool. Sorta like the P-51 of WWI... Years ago there was one on the ground at St Pete executive airport. It was surprised, it was a very healty sized airplane, not tiny as you expect a lot of WWI aircraft to be, more like a Stearman in stature, it really stood out in a line of Pipers and Cessna's...

As Bob noted a very faithful replica could be built with a Ranger for power. To me if you are going to do a replica, it has to be full scale, and it has to have some semblance of having the right engine in it. To me that means if it had a rotary, the replica should have one too. Otherwise you are just flying "something close" and that isn't what it is all about.

It does surprise me that, of all the homebuilts out there, there are very few D-7 replicas. It would be a very cool airplane, and not much more work than a lot of other tube and rag homebuilts...

I was at the Dayton WWI show about 5 years ago. There was a very faithful DR-1, with a LeRhone in it that was really cool. I did love the smell of castor oil as it turned away to take off, and we were in his propwash for a few moments... Problem is, it was a lot of work just to get ready to fly and it actually had a forced landing at the show when it lost power....

A D-7 or an Albatross with a Ranger would be a lot safer than a rotary...

 

Most of the later WW1 German aircraft were large and robust and well designed aerodynamically, the DR-1 would be an exception to the larger size and they were " busy thing to fly". The D-7 is a handsome piece of machinery, strong, and easy to fly. An inverted Ranger ( to upright) does not lengthen the nose and pretty much maintains the balance of the original. The Albatross had a molded laminated wooden fuselage and it would be a real job to duplicate that process. Talk about advanced technology in WW1 and the German's had it. The thin wing section was prone to leading edge failures on the early models but the D-7 had a nice thick high lift section on a multi-spar wing. No problems with that one ever.
I corresponded with a man 30 years ago who found an original D-7 in a barn in Florida . he said that they cranked up the Mercedes 6 cylinder engine after cleaning the plugs and putting in clean oil and " It spoke with authority!"
I would love to have heard that.
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No doubt... That engine was 901 cubic inches, and only turned 1600 rpm... That much displacement with a low compression ratio (to do a lot of expansion) would really let you know it was alive....

 

That appears to be a Stinson L-5 from the nostril intakes and th nose shape. I think that it would fly a lot better with the left wing installed.

 

The BMW was actually the better engine of the two and was the start of the BMW empire. Both were huge torquers and they could fly at extreme altitudes with the BMW out-doing the Mercedes at this too. Both very advanced for their time.
This thread has pumped me up and I wish that I had the money and time left to build a D-7 replica. I have enough drawings to do it. I have the configuration prints of the original SE5-A that look awfully good and possible to do too. One would have to use something other than the Hisso V8 I imagine.
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Russ- I have several friends who fly WW-I replicas. I would recommend you join the Great War Aircraft Association and attend the Dayton fly-in on the last week-end in September, IIRC, at the National Museum of the USAF.

http://www.gwaero.org/homeframeset.html

Also right up your alley (and location), the League of WW-I Aviation Historians is having their annual seminar in San Antonio from 25-27 October. One of the featured speakers will be Javier Arrango, who owns a very large fleet of WW-I aircraft. Fred Murrin, president of the GWAA, will also be there. I will be there, too, and can buy you and Lee a beer.

http://www.overthefront.com/downloads/OverTheFront_2009_SeminarInvite.pdf

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

What a beautiful shot of the Pup ! I believe that I posted my experiences with the Pup before but I will again. I helped to operate a Pup replica owned by fellow pilot, Bob Cansdale. It was part of the Abottsford Air Show in 1970 and after the daily activities we often had more fun with our own little air show flying other people's airplanes. A guest of the show happened to be a mutual friend and noted author and pilot, Ernest Gann . He was invited to fly the Pup and was up for over thirty minutes much to consternation of its owner. Gann climbed away , headed for the town and was out there cruising around in the late afternoon sun. He came back with a grin and reported that there were no enemy balloons in sight. His take off was about 40 yards long at most and the climb out was steep and strong. He played around with it a bit and disappeared. He absolutely loved it and couldn't stop talking about it and I have never read anything about the airplane that was uncomplimentary.
So Russ, I think that this is a winner and to sweeten the pot, I have the name of a gentleman who reportedly has a building with many many rotaries in it.
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