Sopwith F.1 Camel RFC - Page 2

JohnReid · 21 June 2008, 07:28 AM

Wow! nothing like having a gasoline tank literally strapped to your back.

karrart · 22 June 2008, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davecww1

Sorry miguel, unfortunately since I have moved 2 times in the last 3 years I have been unable to find many of my references (packed away in storage for the most part right now) but I know that robert karr and ken Foran have both done large scale Sopwith Camels recently - maybe a search for their builds will give you a better idea of how they should look.
Thanks,
Dave

As for any belts or harness, I'm not really sure of any particular Camel's arrangement. It's a problem. I don't know if any would've had a Sutton harness or any over-the-shoulder belt. Some later ones might have, some might not. Looking at gobs of references while working on my own Camel project, it seems the best solution might, maybe, possibly but not sure be nothing more than a wide lap belt. But I can't say for sure.
Robert Karr
OLD BIRDS STAYING ALIVE - THE AVIATION ART OF ROBERT KARR

Miguel1 · 10 July 2008, 03:28 AM

Hi all,

Here I leave the last advances of the Camel you.

The assembly of the fuselage and the painting of the low part of the planes and the dirtied one.

Cheers,

Miguel M.

"Junior" · 10 July 2008, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karrart

As for any belts or harness, I'm not really sure of any particular Camel's arrangement. It's a problem. I don't know if any would've had a Sutton harness or any over-the-shoulder belt. Some later ones might have, some might not. Looking at gobs of references while working on my own Camel project, it seems the best solution might, maybe, possibly but not sure be nothing more than a wide lap belt. But I can't say for sure.
Robert Karr
OLD BIRDS STAYING ALIVE - THE AVIATION ART OF ROBERT KARR

I am fairly certain that you are right here. A Camel would've simply had a lap belt. Complex shoulder and waist harnesses came into British use with the introduction of the initial Sutton harness pattern in the early '20s.

xken · 10 July 2008, 05:42 AM

Here is the Camel shoulder setup done from a drawing from the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The tube brace behind the seat acted as a track, the twisted wire functioned as a sizing guage for pilots to keep straps tight over shoulders. The rolling back and forth allowed for pilot movement back and forth in the cockpit.

Ken

Another view in cockpit; sorry this is the best picture I have of it.

xken · 10 July 2008, 06:01 AM

Not one tank, but two! The smaller (secondary tank ) was for ground start-up; this was the one the hand pump pressurized for starting the engine. Once the engine was running the mechanical pump on the back of the engine took over and pressurized the large main tank.

Ken

"Junior" · 10 July 2008, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xken

Here is the Camel shoulder setup done from a drawing from the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The tube brace behind the seat acted as a track, the twisted wire functioned as a sizing guage for pilots to keep straps tight over shoulders. The rolling back and forth allowed for pilot movement back and forth in the cockpit.

Ken

I stand corrected if that was a WWI era harness example. I had always thought that these were post WWI additions.

Strange as some Camel cockpit photos from the war show a lack of any type of shoulder harness arrangement.

xken · 11 July 2008, 10:30 AM

Here is a better picture of the real thing in a Sopwith Pup. Ken

Soakerman · 11 July 2008, 11:37 AM

nicely done

kynance · 12 July 2008, 08:16 AM

For info, I remember once reading a auto biography of a camel pilot, possibly

Norman Macmillan in which he describes the cockpit of his camel. I remember distinctly his mention of a simple wide lap harness. Maybe aircraft equipment and fits varied with manufacturer and/or improvements were made to aircraft harnesses due to increased capability and performance as the months went by. Anyway just a thought..

Kynance