What ever happened to the 85% SE5a replicas?

Lufbery · 25 September 2009, 09:00 PM

Hi all,

In the '80s and '90s, it seemed that the most common replica WWI fighter was an 85% scaled SE5a. I know a few of them are in museums now, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of buzz about them any more.

So:

Where did they come from; who made the plans?
Are there any enthusiasts building them now?
Where can I get more information about them?

I think the Fokkers and Nieuports being built right now look fantastic, but there's a quirky charm to those smaller scale SE5s.

Regards,

airknocker · 25 September 2009, 09:37 PM

Try this info:

Address 4366 Eckert St
City State Chilliwack BC
Postal Code V2R 5J5
Country Canada
Toll Free Phone
Phone 604-823-6428

sobrien · 25 September 2009, 10:01 PM

The plans were by Replica Plans in Canada. When I googled it the links to the old web site are broken. There was one flying at Dayton at the Dawn Patrol on Friday. They look good in the air.

Sean

airknocker · 25 September 2009, 10:14 PM

Here was a discussion on another forum.

WWI SE5 built from "Replica Plans"

sobrien · 25 September 2009, 10:32 PM

Here's a picture of the 7/8 SE5a that is at Dayton this weekend that I took earlier Friday.

jumpinjan · 26 September 2009, 03:56 AM

Those plans are hard to come by. I was looking 2 years to buy an old set and I finally found a set for about $100 (there are 30 blueprints).
The designer is dead and his widow gave the masters to an airplane museum in western Canada. I called that museum and they didn't seem to want to bother selling more plans, so I started looking around for a used set to buy.
Jan

sobrien · 26 September 2009, 07:38 AM

According to Lynn Williams, designer of the Flitzer biplane, the 7/8 SE5a was based on a 1930's English homebuilt called the Curry Wot. You might try to find a set of those plans and go from there.

Sean

Lufbery · 26 September 2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jumpinjan

The designer is dead and his widow gave the masters to an airplane museum in western Canada. I called that museum and they didn't seem to want to bother selling more plans, so I started looking around for a used set to buy.
Jan

Jan,

That explains things a bit more clearly. With the designer passed away, support for the design can be difficult to get. Something similar might have happened to the Graham Lee designs had Graham's son not decided to carry on the business.

I can also understand the museum not being too eager to sell the plans -- they'd probably have to be on the hook for builders' support.

Are you planning on building one of these SE5a replicas? Like I said, I think they're really neat looking, even if their proportions are off a little bit.

Regards,

StephenLawson · 26 September 2009, 06:25 PM

Originally they were called "Curry-Wots" or "Kurry-Wots" depending on your reference. The Lafayette Foundation owns 3 Curries. We now have a full sized SE 5a to work on as well. The 80%ters (as they are also called) were popular for various reasons. The types first were seen in "Darling Lili" in highly bizarre colour schemes. One even showed up on a "Fantasy Island" episode.

Major Larabee · 27 September 2009, 01:11 PM

The Replica Plans 7/8 SE5s and the curry Wot based Slingsby built SE5's that were built for "Darling Lili" are not the same A/C and should not be confused as such. Plans for the slingsby Type 56 SE5 replica's are belived to have been lost in a fire at the Slingby factory. The Replica plans SE5 appeared later, imsure as a result of there being a demand following the appearance of those in "Darling Lili"!!