#36290 Gwaa June 11 - Great War Aeroplanes Association

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An
Events, Activities
& Projects Centered Organization
Volume 14, Issue 1
Summer 2011
THE ‘GREAT’ TIMES
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
SOME CHANGES
AT GWAA
Well, summer is in full swing and we
hope you are out
burning holes in the
sky
with
your
airplanes, or at least in
your dreams.
We are in the midst of
some changes at
GWAA of which I
thought you would be
interested to learn.
Our trusty newsletter editor for the
last……very long time……has decided
to retire for a variety of reasons. This will
be Rick Bennett’s last newsletter on
behalf of the GWAA and his publication
will be sorely missed. Rick took the bullby-the-horns in our hour of need when
our previous editor, Fred Jungclaus, had
to resign due to an increasing workload.
He has done an outstanding job over the
years and I’d like to recognize his efforts.
The newsletter is our voice to the
membership and it has been Rick who
was our mouthpiece. It is a thankless job,
and a volunteer position at that. No one
makes any money doing the newsletter, it
is just our passion for WW1 aviation and
bringing the news to you that keeps us
going.
Rick is not leaving GWAA fortunately,
he is just way too busy to continue as
editor and is understandably burned out.
He has three airplanes under
construction and a thriving sports car
restoration business to look after. I wish
him well and I’m sure he will breathe
easier having this weight from his
–Continued on Page 15
Attached wings and rigging for the first time, and rolled the Airdrome two seat Sopwith replica
out into the Missouri sun.; A lot left to do, but a major milestone. As always, much thanks to
Robert and the whole Airdrome family of builders... Russ Turner
Hello Airdrome Group
By Robert Baslee
Over the years there's been a lot of talk
about a two seat aircraft from Airdrome
Aeroplanes. Last week I addressed the
issues that I was facing: The spar, weight
and balance and a powerful enough
engine -- And yes, I'm now building a
prototype.
Several years ago while looking at a
Sopwith aircraft book I noticed a cute,
simple and elegant design: the 1914
Sopwith Tabloid. One very unique
feature is that it's a two place side by side
design. This started the wheels turning. If
I installed a single bench seat with a
center mount stick and dual rudder
pedals it could be flown from either side
However if someone wanted they could
sit in the middle and put there feet on
the outside rudder pedals and fly it as a
very roomy single seat machine that
would carry a very big guy very
comfortably. It could also be the basis for
the similar Sopwith Baby floatplane in
the future.
Russ and I struck a deal to start a
prototype after we completed his Camel.
We would work together and build the
structure then he would take over the
project and install the engine
instruments and cover the machine. By
the time he leaves we should have the
structure complete. If you have any
question about the Tabloid design history
Russ is happy to answer questions.
This may or may not interest you but the
following is an explanation of a few of
the technical problems faced:
The spar design was solved by removing
the inner sleeve stacking the tubes one
on top of the other then adding a shear
web on both front and rear. The
following two sections show below some
–Continued on Page 2
From Page 1–
Hello Airdrome
Group
interesting data. While this is only a snap
shot and means very little by its self , it's
great for comparing two items;
Section properties of the selected face of
our standard spar with 2" with inner
sleeve.
Area = 0.74 square inches.
Moments of inertia, of an area, at the
centroid: ( inches ^ 4 )
Lxx = 0.33 Lyy = 0.33 Lzz = 0.65
Polar moment of inertia, of an area, at
the centroid = 0.65 inches ^ 4
Principal moments of inertia, of an area,
at the centroid: ( inches ^ 4 )
Ix = 0.33
Iy = 0.33
A couple of thing that really mater here
is the area, this is weight, the second is
moments of inertia, this is a primary
factor for bending resistance.
Section properties of the selected face of
new spar design.
Area = 0.85 square inches
Moments of inertia, of an area, at the
centroid: ( inches ^ 4 )
Lxx = 1.14 Lyy = 0.45 Lzz = 1.58
Polar moment of inertia, of an area, at
the centroid = 1.58 inches ^ 4
Principal moments of inertia, of an area,
at the centroid: ( inches ^ 4 )
Ix = 0.45
Iy = 1.14
First lets look at the area (weight) .85 sq
in / .74 = an increase of 14.8 % in
weight the spars usually account for
around 35 pounds in our designs so this
will add around 4.90 lbs to a design.
Next lets look at bending resistant
moment of inertia 1.14 /. 33 = 3.454
times stronger in it's resistance to
bending.
The bottom line is this spar is 3.4 times
stronger and will weigh around 5 pounds
more.
After this I feel that this issue is solved.
The next issue is power to weight ratio
the answer here is the VW engine with
redrive were are using a 2232 cc it will
weigh under 200 lbs ready to run and will
produce as much thrust as the big radial
engines at 60 percent of the weight.
The third issue is weight and balance this
was solved by a side by side.
GWAA 2
The New Airdrome Sopwiths twins, but not identical
By Russ Turner
As most know, the new Airdrome two
place announced is the wonderful
Sopwith Tabloid. There are currently two
fuselages, one for Rob and Shelley of the
Great War Aerodrome, and one for me.
To add a little spice to the chili, Rob and
Shelley will take the lead on the Tabloid
project, while the second aircraft will
now evolve into the later but derived
Sopwith Baby. This will give Robert two
new two place aircraft this year.
Primarily a floatplane, the Sopwith Baby
also had provisions for landplane
wheeled gear. Once the landplane Baby
is debugged and flown for a while, then
we will look at putting it on floats.
Rob and Shelly have a really nice
development thread over at the
Aerodrome forum with terrific photos.
The Sopwith Baby will tag along, and I'll
put any updates that are any different
here, or will answer any questions.
I would like to say for any full size guys
like me out there worried about cockpit
size and/or egress, the Tabloid/Baby
cockpit is HUGE as a single seat version.
this is the plane for you (or a Camel,
actually).
Robert is terrific as always in tolerating
my extreme eccentricities in build
requirements and is great to work with.
Rob and Shelly's Tabloid is really looking
great, but will let them fill you in on the
details.
Airdrome Sopwith Baby
weight and balance
It's never a bad time in airplane
construction to start thinking about
weight, balance and performance. With
–Continued on Page 3
Nice photo of the Baby Convert by Rob Waring. The little Sopwith replica is turning out to be a nice, simple piece of kit and a genial 2 seat
compliment to the F.1. It will be nice to take folks for pleasant hops at fly-ins to share and kindle excitement of WW1 aviation history. As always,
many thanks to Robert and the Airdrome team.
From Page 2–
Sopwith Baby
Panel built up and test fit. Turned out better than I thought it might, still need to source an
bubble inclinometer, but may just use a modern ball one. After some serious discussions with
Robert and sitting in the plane - will move the single stick over to the left as on the original two
seat Baby, as well as a single rudder bar. The mission of this plane is a two seater, but not so
much to train but to give rides. So, will optimize for that and follow original Sopwith idea.
the Rotec Airdrome Baby, there are
aluminum R-2800 WW1 replicas that
help to start targeting where we want to
go. The best would be the Airdrome Pup,
but I do not have data for an example of
that. What I do have is the wt and
balance for the R-2800 GLee/Giles N-12
and the Airdrome/Thomas R-2800 N-28,
which near bracket the Sopwith in size.
The GLee/Giles N12 has an empty
weight of 780.44, while the N28 has an
empty weight of 829 pounds, so we can
estimate a weight about 800 pounds
empty if we are careful. We will
arbitrarily set our gross at 1320 for LSA.
Subtracting 120 pounds for 20 gallons of
fuel, 1320-120-800 gives us an
approximate payload of 400 pounds to fly
within LSA criteria. It can probably carry
more, but we'll stick with this for a bit
–Continued on Page 4
GWAA 3
From Page 3–
Sopwith Baby
and look at heavier loadings later. Also,
we'll need to look at moments and
%MAC to determine how much can be
loaded without exceeding the rear limit
of 32% MAC.
So, hopefully the seat station can take
one or two folks up to a 32% MAC
balance, but we'll know more about that
later. The moment arm to the seat is
pretty short, so that will help.
With a wing area of 240 sq feet, we can
approximate wing loading at AUW to be
about 5.5 lb/sq ft., and a power loading of
12 pounds per hp. (the original Baby had
a wing loading of 7.15 lbs/hp and 13
pounds per hp)
Right now the WAG is a 70 - 75 mph
cruise.
Rick Bennett's spruce cabane and interplane struts worked out beautifully. I am finishing up
the instrument panel and some other small pieces and will go up to Mizzou to install, plumb
and wire. Covering comes next.
Rob spent Wednesday and Thursday out at Robert’s. Main efort now is preparing the plane for covering. The primary result from Wed & Thur
work was covering the rudder, horizontal stab, elevator, and fin. Today I’ll apply Chip’s faux wood graining to the cockpit interior and prepare
the fuselage for covering. Fun stuff! Here are a couple of pictures from Wed.
GWAA 4
PROJECT PAGE
I just spent my first day at Robert's House
of Pain working on my Nieuport 17. It is
amazing to see a box of aluminum tubes
turn into a substantially framed out
fuselage. For those who have not met
Robert and his crew, they are a great
bunch to work with. I'll post some photos
tomorrow evening. I am worn out and
need to turn in (after rubbing down with
BenGay)
Day two:
Well, Rose and I are home from Robert's
House of Pain. We decided to quit after 2
days builder assist. Mostly because I was
pooped, but the weather didn't look good
for later departure, and we wanted to
start home some time Friday. We ended
up getting most all packed just before it
poured rain. Still got plenty wet. We got
home 11:45 pm last night(Saturday). We
got everything unpacked and inventoried
today. I am pooped again. Looking at the
news reports, it looks like a good thing
we left when we did. Back to the build,
Robert and his merry men, Jim, Darrel,
Ken, and Adam were wonderful to work
with. I learned more in 2 days than I
could have figured out on my own in
months. I even got a little lesson in
covering while they were working on
Russ' Baby. One thing for sure if you go
there to work on your project, you WILL
work. Thanks Robert, Jim, Darrel, Ken
and Adam for the assistance and
hospitality. We had a great trip. I posted
several photos under N-17 Florida Style.
Dale Calvin
AA Nieuport 17
GWAA 5
PROJECT PAGE
The Dawn Patrol’s newest addition!! Harvey’s Mariner
(AKA 1918 Curtis “Seagull” flying costal Patrol.)
GWAA 6
PROJECT PAGE
D7 Seat Mod
I haven't said much about this `cause I
haven't yet flown the plane with this
modification but here you go. In the
current D7 design, the elevator control
rod runs from the bottom of the control
stick rearward at an angle to the elevator.
At the area where the seat is located, the
vertical distance from the aileron torque
tube to the control tube is about 9
inches, thus the seat has to clear the
control tube, and hence the seat frame
work etc makes the seat a
little high. During my
flights the wind over the
top wing was atrocious and
beat my otherwise Adonis
like face to a pulp.
Additionally my Herculean
upper body stuck out in the
breeze
affecting
the
airspeed and longitudinal
stability (due to sooo much
muscle mass above the
center line - Russ has had
the same problem.), my
shoulders were at least 9
inches above the cockpit
coaming. Mark Hymer
solved this problem during
construction, by curving
the control tube. So with
Robert's guidance and
approval I did the
following:
Two bell cranks were
placed 1) at the base of the
control stick; the center of
the bell crank was the
pivot point of the stick.
The attach points are
approx 2" from center. 2)
The second was placed on
an added 3x3" aluminum
angle. This was added
between the upper and
lower Fuse cross pieces just
aft of the current
seat position. The
thickness and arm
length
of
the
aluminum angle
was determined to
eliminate any flex
of the bell crank. I
also paid the buck for an
authentic A/C Spruce bell crank
bearing. The vertical location of
the bell crank was determined by
the location (rise) of the of the
elevator control tube. The control
tube was then cut, and using the
original fitting from the stick
attach, the bell crank arm was attached,
then the pivot point was located and a
3/8 bolt used. The bell cranks are coupled
with Teleflex cables (similar to those
used in the ailerons but a "push me/pull
you' arrangement). This then allows the
seat to be just above the aileron torque
tube. Now my god-like (Buddha) body is
lower in the cockpit. My shoulders are
just an inch or so above the coaming. I'm
not telling you about the exhaust driven
Framashan turbine to regenerate the
newly discovered prop wash reservoir.
Cheers
Butch Witlock
GWAA 7
Wings Over Wairarapa Air Show, Master
Three beautiful S.E.5a reproductions fly over Hood Aerodrome during the Wings Over
Wairarapa air show. These three machines were recently produced by The Vintage Aviator
Ltd. using a combination of Replicraft and original Royal Aircraft Factory drawings.
Above: This machine was the first of the three airworthy S.E.5a reproductions built by the
Vintage Aviator Ltd. The aircraft is painted to represent ìpresentationî plane F5690, which
was originally produced by Vickers Weybridge and powered with a geared Hispano-Suiza 220
hp engine. This aircraft made its maiden flight on March 26, 2007. Below: Pilot Tim Sullivan
at the controls of a Fokker Dr.1 painted in the colors of a machine flown by Ltn. Hans Weiss
while serving as Commanding Officer of Jasta 11 in April 1918.
GWAA 8
By Tom Doherty
Several Fokker Triplanes are spotted flying low
over the horizon. The aerodrome pilots
quickly dash over to a trio of flight-ready
S.E.5a machines lined up on the rain-soaked
field. Within seconds, each pilot mounts his
respective "crate" and is bellowing "contact"
to his mechanic. Propellers are given a good
strong heave, as Hisso engines sputter, then
roar to life.
The signal is given for the wheel chocks to be
removed, and the S.E.5a aircraft lumber down
the field. Throttles are increased, and the
aeroplanes bounce, and then leap into the
misty skies, heading over to engage the
Triplanes in aerial combat... Is this a scene
Above: A Fokker Triplane reproduction appearing in t
This beautiful Fokker D.VII reproduction was origina
The aircraft was painstakingly restored by the staff at T
removing over 400 lbs of excess weight in the process
Queen engine, and appears in the colors of the D.VII
rton, New Zealand, January 21-23, 2011
Photos: Tom Doherty
from the Western Front, in the Spring of
1918?....No! It's a sequence from the "Wings
Over Wairarapa" air show, held at Hood
Aerodrome in Masterton, New Zealand, this
past January.
Periods of drizzle and rain were not able to
dampen the spirits of the spectators that
attended the Friday & Saturday show. The
major air shows in New Zealand have quickly
established themselves as the world's leading
venues to see a sizable collection of full scale,
rather exacting WW1 reproduction and
original aircraft take to the skies. This show
being no exception.
Besides the three S.E.5as that graced the skies
–Continued on Page 16
Above and Below: Additional views of the three S.E.5a machines taking part in the Wings
Over Wairarapa air show. These reproductions were built using the same materials and
processes that were utilized in the original design, including Irish linen for covering and original
AGS hardware. Each machine is also powered with an original Hispano-Suiza Direct drive
180 hp engine.
the colors of Lothar von Richthofenís machine. Below:
ally built in France for the 1966 film ìThe Blue Maxî.
TVAL, who gave it a more accurate appearance, while
s. The machine is powered by a de Havilland Gypsy
flown by Johann Janzen of Jasta 6.
Above: This original B.E.2f, serial A1325, was acquired by the New Zealand based 1914-18
Aviation Heritage Trust after the aircraft was offered for sale in WW1 Aero #156. The
original RAF1a engine which came with the aircraft was in poor condition, so the TVAL team
scratch built a reproduction of the engine using the original as a pattern.
GWAA 9
PROJECT PAGE
Airdrome Camel flying
characteristics compared
to the original
Some folks have asked me how the
Sopwith flies other than the left wing
heaviness. Interestingly enough, it flies
like original Camels were described to fly
reading books written by their pilots,
excepting the engine torque effect on
turns (although the 90" prop sure seems
to have an effect),
The cockpit is deep and comfortable.
When the power is brought up, there is a
definite strong swinging tendency that
requires some footwork. Once the tail is
up there is solid directional control, but
requiring right rudder. Again, this how
the original was described. Once off the
ground she accellerates quite quickly
climbing to 80+ mph with a climb like a
172. I have not pulled the nose up
anymore yet, but I imagine it will climb
at a much steeper angle and quicker.
Due to the left wing heaviness which is
somewhat proportional to speed and
power, I am powering way back and
showing 83 mph or so on 1/2 throttle in
level flight. Exactly as written by many
WW 1 Camel pilots, she is sensitive in
pitch and a bit stiff on the ailerons,
although quite responsive. I think once I
am able to trim to cruise, at about 70%
should be hopefully about 88 - 90 mph,
maybe more. This is also similar to
Camel pilots describing off throttle
cruises at about 90 mph.
Landing, so far in nice weather, has been
very straightforward. I have been using
70 mph, but it acts like it would be ok
nearer 65. She has a lot of wing
compared to other airplanes I have
GWAA 10
Here's a picture of your faithful servant driving around the ramp at Castroville.
flown, and she wants to balloon a bit
(another hint that I am fast), but in three
point attitude she wafts and with a little
bump, you're down. The landings have
all been in grass, so once down the
tailwheel steering is very positive, and
she hasn't been squirrelly at all on rollout
so far. Of course, again, the wind and
weather have been very good for the test
flights.
So while it is a bit early, I think the
Airdrome Camel is going to fly very
similarly to the original in most phases of
flight, which I think is quite cool. I won't
be doing any flick rolls (a noted Camel
specialty), but this is one fun plane to fly
thinking about the brave folks that flew
these in the Great War.
Continued Camel flight testing/rigging:
The initial left wing heaviness is slowly
being tweaked out by the usual way by
twisting the wings slightly around the
front spars by shortening/lengthening the
flying/landing wires to modify the lateral
angle of incidence. Good progress on
todays flight, so left the power up a little
and verified the 90 - 93 mph IAS cruise
at 1750-1800 prop rpm ( 2625 - 2700 rpm
engine) at a density altitude of about
3500 feet. this is about 70% power on the
engine. I will say that she feels a bit
happier loafing along at 85. I know some
of you are wondering if she will do 100 if
pushed - I don't think so but will expand
the envelope gradually as the wing issue
is resolved.
Take-off is very straightforward - I've
found initially keeping the tail down for
a moment helps directional control, then
bring it up once you have just a bit of
speed is no problem. She settles in for a
nice 70 mph climb.
As said before, so far, approach behavior
is exactly like an Aeronca Champ with
similar
descent
rate/speed/power
relationships. Once in transition, just
close the throttle, put it in a three point
attitude pointed the direction you want
to go and wait. She'll waft down about 40
- 45 mph, take a little bounce, land and
track the direction she was pointed and
slowpretty quickly without brake. In the
grass, the steerable tail wheel is quite
effective.. The temptation is to make it
harder than it really is. In summart, it is a
bit easier than a Champ to three point,
you just have to be comfortable not
seeing over the nose.
Spent this afternoon chasing oil leaks,
tweaked the wings a bit more, and added
gap seals to the bottom ailerons. I used
the Rick Bennett "inverted "U" fabric
type. Will check tomorrow - if look good,
will do the top ailerons.
PROJECT PAGE
7/8 scale Dh.2
by Rick Bennett
I should have had my head examined...
What has 59 main, 46 false ribs and 17
struts all of wood? An Airdrome
Airplanes kit of course....
I don't care how good your dust collector
is when you cut wood inside your shop
you WILL make a mess. I normally only
do metal working in my shop and cut
wood out in the driveway to keep the
shop clean. The problem is when you live
in NE Ohio and it is January, you don't
do much outside but blow snow. The
problem was that the annual Gardner
Fly-In was only six months away and
there was no waiting for warmer weather.
This story really starts at the first Virginia
Beach WW1 Air Show last fall. I had
attended the show with my Nieuport and
had a great time flying over the coastline
and looking down over the Atlantic
ocean. Another attendee in Virginia was
Robert Baslee of Airdrome Airplanes,
WW1 kit plane supplier. As the show
ended the two of us found ourselves back
at the motel and hungry.
We decided to go to dinner and as usual
the topic was airplanes. I mentioned that
I some day I wanted to build a 7/8 scale
Dh2 and had started working on a set of
plans. That was all Robert needed to
hear. He offered me a deal I couldn't
refuse and I offered to try to have the
prototype at Gardner in June. I should
have had my head examined.
The big bunch of tubing arrived in
November and I cleared off the work
bench. As with any new project I needed
some time to look things over and didn't
get started cutting out parts until January
1. Sometime later during a phone call to
Robert, he informed me that he would
like to try wood wing ribs on one of his
next projects. I had also given this some
thought and had built a Nieuport rib, and
surprisingly it weighed less than a tube
rib. I aggreed to be the test subject.
Again, I should have had my head
examined.
Not only did this change the wing rib
design, it also changed all the strut
sockets and tangs that I had already
made. I had a bunch of 3 mm ply in stock
and cap strips made up for a Hanriot I
have been working on. I glued up stacks
of five sheets each and started cutting out
lightning holes on the drill press. Some
of the ribs required 14 holes! A hole saw
will only cut thru one layer and then
becomes plugged and needs to have the
blank pushed out. That is a bunch of
holes, I should have had my head
examined. The next problem was how to
glue on the cap strips. I tried a bunch of
clamps but they would not keep the strip
at 90 degrees to the rib. After some
thought I came up with a neat little jig
that uses cams and rubber bands. Because
of having to wait for the glue to dry, I
could only do 3 ribs a day in the jig. My
Nieuport has wood struts and I wanted to
do this on the Dh2. I planed down and
glued up the 17 struts and 5 landing gear
laminations. The perimeter was band
sawed and then I cut away as much as I
could on the table saw to bring the
blanks to airfoil shape. This still
leaves a whole bunch of hand work with
a block plane and sander to finish off
these parts.
When not cutting wood I managed to
make up the strut sockets, tangs, boom
fittings and wheels. Last weekend I layed
out the tub sides and started cutting out
tubing. One day, one side. With Gardner
only four weeks away, let's just say I don't
watch much TV.
GWAA 11
PROJECT PAGE
The Airco Dh.2
The Dh.2 project began with
a need for a project to keep
some of the habitual builders
occupied
after
the
completion of our Indy Flyer.
By May of 2010 the plan had
been developed; build five
full size replicas of the Airco
Dh.2 using modern materials.
The intrepid builders are
Bruce
Rose,
Gary
McCormick, Paul Sieber,
Mike Pongracz, and Ernie
Moreno! Check out the
progress on this project Google: EAA 292
Pics of how we did the capstrips. A little overkill, but
it worked for all the ribs.
Finished upper and lower right wings. On to the lefts.
Will start construction on Friday after left wing jig is
completed.
GWAA 12
PROJECT PAGE
Hanriot Hd.1
Rick good morning,
The turtleneck panels are done now. It was not laser cut
so I made a lot of dust in my warehouse but they are
accurate to the original Macchi drawings and Pythagore.
The picture does not show N8 and N10 which are flat
40mm wide strips, I am calculating their length today to
cut them approximately; these will have to be adjusted
on site. Panel N1-N3 are 5mm Finn birch and the
remainders in 4mm. When I have time, I will rig them
as on the Macchi side drawings (sheet 21) to see if they
all come true.
...After finishing and sending you my turtleneck pieces,
I opened the "surprise box" of the new Kigger drawings
to compare. In general form we concur in our
measurement, sometime +/-1 or 2mm which is not a
major problem once installed.
What I realized is the No.1 and No.2 (A & B in new
Kigger) are round side, because it receive a 3mm ply and
the Macchi drawing show a depression between the
stringers for fabric. I think Jim is correct, because below
there is a small oil tank, so I will redo these two panels.
Also Jim report 7mm thickness for "No.1/A", while the
Macchi give 5mm. I have enough 5mm left for "No.2/B"
but no 7mm for "No.1/A". Wicks only has up to 6mm in
Finnish Birch. Do you think it would be OK to use the
6mm instead.
I will rig the turtleneck later maybe this week end. If it
works and line-up good, I will cut accurate 6x12 slots for
the stringers and proper opening for the longeron at
each station.
...Hanriot turtleneck trial fit
I have finished and trial fit the turtleneck formers this
week. They all fit well except No.5 (E) and No.11 (L)
most likely because the width on the latest Kigger
drawings are short at these stations of 6mm and 5 mm
respectively. I posted and email to Jim about it with
reference to the Macchi drawings, his latest measure and
some pictures and am expecting his comment.
So it would be prudent not to make these transversal
members not too short. Beside that, the formers fitted
and lined pretty well, so they are good to go. I redid
No.2 (B) with round shape and am waiting from Wicks
to get the 6mm ply to remanufacture No.1 (A) with
circular shape to glue the side plywood. Spruce is also on
its way from Wicks and I will start working on the
tailplane in March at my return from France.
Eric Pinon
GWAA 13
Yesterday was
again a Nieuport
11 day in Oregon
By Larry Church
Some white, bouncy, puffy scattered
clouds at about 2,000 agl with crystal
blue sky above was beyond my resistance.
VW went nicely through it's chocked
warm up by first building a little ice in
the throats and then gradually warming
up and melting the ice. This is my
imagination but have listened to this
several times and believe that this is
essentially what is going on.
I also notice that when I start it and run
it in the winter with high humidity I get
tiny little black pimples or specks of
exhaust residue on the gear legs and
axle......obviously being spewed out by
the exhaust stacks. Would this or could
this be the result of the engine ingesting
some water (ice) during the warm up
cycle? I don't get these little specks in the
summer time.
Anyway, by the time I let it sit and warm
up and then taxi to the end of the runway
it was willing to give me my mandatory
2900 to 3000 rpm on a static full throttle
run......so off we went.
Was gonna just stay in the pattern but as
I climbed out the blue sky beckoned and
I began climbing for a big hole. Up and
through we went and found myself at
about 3,000 msl and above the playful
clouds. Picked out one that looked like a
Kraut and drilled a hole through it.
Circled another one with one wingtip in
and the other out until the cloud got
dizzy and surrendered then and agreed to
be herded back to our airdrome!
Visibility was extraordinary and looking
to the east I could see the stark white
shafts of the Three Sisters and Mt.
Dawn
Bachelor, then
going Patrol
north I could pick
out the peaksRendezvous
all the way to Mt. Hood.
And I again
experienced the
Posters
Dawn
Patrol
combination
fear/thrill
of suddenly
asking myself
what
the
hell
am I doing
Rendezvous
way up here in a non-airplane? By that I
mean that this thing,
in truth, is a joke of
Posters
an airplane. It probably should not be
taken much above 50' agl where one
could immediately be on the ground
should it decide to stop being an
airplane. But here I am at 3,000 above
clouds and the earth is way the hell down
there and then I begin to remember
GWAA 14
First flights of my Nieuport - Nov, 08 010
different stages of my assembly and the
things I decided to do "on my own" to
this and that and that it has a Beetle eng
and won't run without the battery and
my "home-made" carb linkage between
the webers and etc and etc. Do I need to
remind myself that one can drown just as
well in the kitchen sink as in the
Atlantic Ocean. After a few of these
reflections it suddenly seems like it is
time to get my butt out of the sky and
back into the comfortable airport pattern
where the runway is always "at my
elbow". But in truth the airframe and the
engine performed flawlessly and seems to
mock my lack of perspective.
It was so damn much fun I just may have
to go do it again today!
GWAA
OFFICERS & STAFF
President
FRED MURRIN
141 Conneaut Lake Rd., Greenville, PA 16125
(724) 588-7440
Treasurer
DAVE WATTS
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Membership Chairman/Secretary
MIKE DAY
2120 Richland Terrace, Quakertown, PA 18951
(215) 536-2911
[email protected]
Wings (Chapters) Chairman
MARVIN STORY
619-D 75 Circle, Kansas City KS 66112
(913) 788-5435
Editor
RICHARD BENNETT
15815 Thompson Road, Thompson, OH 44086
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Dues
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For One Year Membership to GWAA:
When membership fee to GWAA
has been
received
a membership
card Times
will be sent
(Includes
4 Issues
of The Great
enclose $15.00
in an envelope with your
MEMBERS.
TO
STAY
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address"UP
and mailTO
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CHECK YOUR RENEWAL DATE
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From Page 1–
President’s
Message
shoulders.
So…..who will be filling his shoes? It is
fortuitous that Fred Jungclaus has
decided to resume the duty as newsletter
editor since he has now found himself
with more time on his hands. Fred was
most recently an instructor at a local
(Indianapolis)university and has left that
position to scale back just a bit and would
like the challenge of resuming
involvement in something he and Bill
Christ gave birth to in 1995.
Fred brings to the position a great deal of
energy, knowledge and ideas and you will
see his enthusiasm with each issue of the
newsletter. Fred had earned his living as
a graphic artist for many years, running a
successful business doing a variety of
publishing, including the program for the
prestigious Indianapolis 500 for many
races.
I am excited about having Fred back as
the editor, and I think you will enjoy his
approach in bringing the latest in WW1
aviation events to you quarterly. You will
find his address elsewhere in this issue, so
please keep those cards and letters
coming, to Fred, so Rick can enjoy a
much needed rest. Thanks for your
continued interest and membership.
Fred Murrin
LETTERS
Blake and Sandy Thomas brought their
AA Nieuport 28 to a windy Kingsbury
today. It is about 3 years old and he has
over 120 hours on the plane with its
Rotec R-2800 seven cylinder 110 hp
engine and Culver 80 x 47 propeller. He
cruised over from Houston in 2 hours
doing about 75 mph at 1500 feet and
burned about 8 gal/hr.
This full size Nieuport 28 replica is just
amazing in person.
I had my hany little flip camera and put
together this poor-boy video of his
demonstration flight. Please forgive the
poor camera work, but I hope this is fun
for a few.
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DRAWINGS
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zvous REPLICRAFT
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ers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qen
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Newsletter
copy
needed!!
GWAA
polo
shirts
the
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white.
Posters
Hats and tee shirts are tan;
Plans sets of more than 8 WW I aircraft are
available from member Jim Kiger. The
intention is for the purchasers to use these to
build absolutely authentic reproductions and
are drawn to exact scale with all dimensions
listed as on the full size aircraft.
These plans were drawn using original
factory drawings and erection manuals and
personal research. Documentation Packs are
available for some aircraft and include 5
view drawings and color chips.
Prices range from $40 to $85 plus S&H. For
information write:
OTHER WW I AVIATION
PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS
Aviation History
Kitplanes
Military History
P.O. Box 420234
Palm Coast, FL 32142-0234
Cross & Cockade International
c/o Andrew Kemp
Lowe Cottage, Saltonstalls Lane
Luddenden Dene, Halifax,
West Yorkshire HX2&TR, GB
Midwest Chapter U.S.A. Cross & Cockade
Contact: Bob Sheldon,
14329 So. Calhoun Avenue,
Burnham, Illinois 60633,
Phone 708-862-1014
Military Trader
P.O. Box 1050
Dubuque, Iowa 52004-1050
Over The Front
RO. Box 2475
Rockford, IL 61132-2475
Replica Fighters Association
1528 S.KoeUer, Box 111
Oshkosh. WI 54901-6167
Vintage Airplane, Experimenter
EAA, RO. Box 3086,
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
W-W 1 Aero
P O Box 730
Red Hook, NY 12571
Phone 845-835-8121
War Birds International
P.O. Box 127
Blakesburg, Iowa 52536
Windsock International
10 Long View,
Beikhamsted, Herts, HP4 Iby, UK
Saint Louis Escadrille
www.aerodrome.org
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Sizes
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Hats
and S,
teeL,shirts
are tan;
enclose $15.00 in an envelope with your
photographs
to:white.
the polo shirtsthe
are
white.are
name and
and mail to:
For One
Membership
GWAA:
Send
ForYear
Oneaddress
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Membership to to
GWAA:
Hat andpolo
poloshirts
shirt GWAA
logo
Great
War
Aeroplanes
Assoc.
Dues
(Includes
4
Issues
of
The
Great
Times
(Includes
4
Issu
sues
of
The
Great
Times
Fred Junclaus
is embroidered;
ÍHere
2120 Richlandenclose
Terrace
Quakertown,
PAlope
18951
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Sizes S, L,
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1316 Dillman Rd
nameWhen
and address
and mail
to:GWAA
membership
fee to
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namehasGreat
and
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contact
Fred
Murrin:
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logo
Martinsville,
is embroidered;IN
tee46151
shirts are Great
2120War
RichlandAeroplanes
Terrace Quakertown,
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2120 Richland TO
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Quakertown,
18951 ÍHere
STAY
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Phone 724-588-7440
Jim Kiger
1400 gomes Rd.
Fremont, CA 94539
To [email protected]
contact Fred Murrin:
silk screened.
E-mail at [email protected]
PhoneMurrin:
724-588-7440
Fred
To order contact
E-mail at [email protected]
CHECK
RENEWAL
has beenYOUR
received a membership
card willDATE
be sent
ON YOUR MAILING LABEL!
When membership
fee to GWAA
MEMBERS.
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has been received a membershipSPEED"
cardGWAA
will be sent
15
CHECK YOUR RENEWAL DATE
ON YOUR MAILING LABEL!
Below: After acquiring the BE2f restoration project, TVAL decided to build two reproduction B.E.2c aircraft, representing both early and late
models. The early model shown below is powered by an original 80 hp Renault engine, and made its first flight on November 10, 2009.
From Page 9–
Wings Over
Wairarapa
over Masterton, two beautifully
constructed B.E.2s (one of these being a
restored B.E.2f) took to the air, to the
delight of those in attendance. Likewise,
the effortless agility of the Fokker D.VII,
which appeared in the movie, "The Blue
Max", was plain to see, as flown by
Gerry Chlsum.
WWII stalwarts, such as the P-40, P-51
Mustang and Corsair also provided fine
aerial demonstrations for the spectators.
Military vehicles were on display at
various locations across the sprawling
airfield, and numerous reenactors,
dressed in uniforms of the First and
Second World Wars, exhibited
equipment, some having military
encampments set up. Vendors sold
everything from aviation books and
artwork to locally grown, world-renown
New Zealand wines.... All in all, quite an
impressive Air Show..
GWAA 16
WW I Event at the Golden Age Air Museum - July 9/10, 2011
The Golden Age Air Museum, is holding thier first annual WW I themed event in July. The
Museum is mostly flyable aircraft including an Original (restored) 1918 Curtiss Jenny, a Sopwith
Pup and Fokker Triplane ( both still under construction) and a 7/8 scale Rumpler C.V. They also
have an outstanding collection of flying Golden Age aircraft (1920's and 1930's).
The museum is centrally located on I-78 in Bethel, Pa, about 30 miles east of Harrisburg and about
40 miles west of Allentown, Pa.
The annual Wings and Wheels Extravaganza has been focused on the Golden Age and WW II,
but a WW I theme is being added this year which will become it's own stand-alone event in the
future. For this year's event we will feature Fly-In - Classic and modern airplanes; WW I Airplanes - Flying and Static - Sopwith Pup, Fokker
Triplane,
Rumpler & Jenny; Vintage Cars - 1900 - 1977; Original (restored) WW I Ambulance; Reenactors - Both WW II and WW I; Original WW I Aviation Uniform Display; Original Aviation
Art Display; Models; Saturday evening Hangar Dance featuring the Lehigh Valley Swing Band;
And More events throughout the da on both Saturday and Sunday...
For more details and be sure to visit the museum website at www.goldenageair.org
<http://www.goldenageair.org/> for photos of the collection and news about other events this
year.
Ladies and Gents of the GWA,
As site director for living history at Chandler field/1799 Lazaretto in Essington, Pa and a Member
of the GWA I'd like to invite ALL GWA units for a weekend living history at my site. The event
is being held Friday - Sunday October 7-9 2011. This place still IS a WWI airfield, not much has
changed, the building even has signal corps graffitti from 1917 still on the wall. Please email me
back and let me know numbers. I will be trying to buyilit everyone in the historic building,
perfect event to bring out display and collection items, vehicals, MGs, and original stuff you
wouldnt dare take in the trenches. We are working on donations from the public to restore the
site to WWI condition. Hope You all can make if. For those who have them the site particular
impressions are 1917 US Army Signal corps, Pilot trainee, Navy Shore patrol. ALL other
impressions including CP are welcomed
Event info is 7-9 October 2011 - 99 Wannamaker Ave, Essington, Pa
Best Regards, "Franz" Rentschler, IR 120
Email: [email protected] for information