Dream Airplanes

[baldeagle]

I'm deep into a Nieuport 28, but have a list of about 50 other airplanes I'll build if I win the lottery and live to be 300 years old.
What would be some good replica projects? What's on your list? Why aren't there more Hanriot HD-1s being built? How about an Ansaldo SVA.5? And we need some more two seaters, one of these days I swear I'm going to build a Salmson 2A2, steel tube fuselage, with a 220 Continental up front, 1st Aero Squadron, with that billowing American flag on the side...

[Brad]

Given the time and $$, my FIRST choice would be an Albatross DIII. For a 2 seater, the Roland CII has to be my favorite. A DH2 would be an interesting project, (although it's on the wrong side- too many of those pesky French and British replicas flying around!) and I'm still working with a group of 2 others to finalize the design of an ultralight Fokker EI. (We're actually planning to build 3 different aircraft- a Fokker EI, a Pfalz EI, and a Pfalz EV- they'll all be built from the same basic plans, with the appropriate modifications to suit each particular model.)

We were initially planning to do all Fokker EI versions, but the designs are so similar that it takes very little to do the other versions... so why not? The Pfalz uses a different rudder and landing gear. The wings on the Pfalz EI work out almost exactly the same, but the fuselage has to be shortened just a bit. The Pfalz EV uses essentially the same fuselage as the Fokker EI, but the wings are slightly longer and have 1 more set of wires. The rudder and landing gear are identical to the Pfalz EI. The EV uses an inline engine, our plans are to use a Geo Metro unit for that version, (which we have already obtained) and the 2 rotary engine versions will probably be VW powered, assuming we can keep the weight down enough. 2 strokes are a last resort on any/all depending on weight and balance issues.

For those of you out there who think designing one of these is a walk in the park, well, that's what I thought too. There are HUNDREDS of little details that will eat up your time! My hat's off to anyone who will even try it. We may be going a little overboard at this point, trying to simplify the building process as much as we can, and cut costs wherever possible (while still using aircraft hardware, etc!) but there have been a few moments where that lightbulb really comes on, and it is progressing nicely.

When this is all done, we're hoping (dare I say planning?) to have an airframe that could be built in a couple of weeks by anyone with basic sense and a few common tools, and on a VERY modest budget.

So far it looks like you need a drill and "tabletop" drill press, (one of those jigs for a hand drill would do it!) a paper cutter like you use in an office or school to cut stacks of paper,(hand shears would work, but you'd get tired of cutting all the gussets! The paper cutter is less effort by far!) a rivet puller, (for "cherrymax" pop rivets- a hand operated one would do it, but the pneumatic ones are very handy) a nicopress tool, (LOTS of cables, so the lever type is suggested!) a deburring tool, some files, a small bench vise, some spring clamps, and at the very least a hacksaw- but a powered saw for cutting the aluminum tubing would be nice. Also on the "nice to have" list would be one of those "joint jigger" tubing notcher rigs. Let's see... a foam cutter would be a good thing- you can build one out of a transformer, a rhetostat, and some steel wire... and some method to rip 1/16" ply into 1" wide strips. (a tablesaw would be good... but you could probably pay someone to do this and save some $$) Hmmm... a pair of good scissors, and a good iron for doing the fabric... wrenches for tightening bolts... a hammer to shape the ends of some tubes... a conduit bender from the local hardware store. That's all I can think of at this time.

Sorry that I strayed somewhat from the original topic, I'm just excited about our project(s).

Brad

For myself I am waist deep in a couple of related projects. Both dealing with a Full scale re-production ( more detail and historically accurately built as possible to original methods) of a Fokker D.VII. The first is the plane, the second for now is kind of a guarded secret... maybe in time ill share...

For me it would be the Pfalz D.III or D.IIIa, Nieuport 28 or 11, and the Fokker Dr.1







The Legend

[William]

Gentlemen,
Essentially postwar but one of my fantasies is the 1919 Sopwith Schneider entry. No drawings survive to my knowledge. It was later flown on wheels and did well until written off in a crash. Lots of other Sopwiths to build first though.
Best regards,
William

http://www.ivic.net/~spider/larry.html

[DavidErrol]

How about Lufbery's Nieuport 21? I think Ted Parsons flew one too. I think this could be built from Nie 17 drawings (Rosendaal) and accurately powered with a 80 hp LeRhone of which at least a few are still around. There was a Nie 21 project for sale in Michigan some years back but I never heard what became of it.

DE

I'm currently building a 3/4 scale Fokker D.VIII, and gathering documentation to build my dream WW I airplane, an Albatros D.Va.

Unfortunately, the more time and financial constraints creep in, the more it looks like my D.Va is going to wind up 7/8 scale with a composite (gasp!) fuselage. :-/

[baldeagle]

Nothing wrong with a composite fuselage, especially if that's what makes the aeroplane do-able. Do you think it will really be that much less work and expense to go to 7/8 scale? One of my goals is to end up knowing what it was like to walk up to the real thing, at least size wise. The reality of some machines is striking, did you ever stand next to a Stuka? You can't believe how big it is. And to sit in something, and see just how far the wings seem to stretch out, and how long the nose is.
I thought there would be more people wanting to go off the beaten path (I do like the Sopwith Schneider). A Hannover Cl.III with a 200 Ranger, perhaps (I know that the Ranger doesn't have the oomph that a Mercedes or Argus does, but there have been several Brisfit repros flown with them, so it ought to do for a Hannover, or Albatros C.III, maybe). I like Ron Kitchen's taste, he's out in Nevada and built and flies a Pfalz D.III repro, and is well along on a Halberstadt Cl.II, both with Rangers. Somebody down under needs to do an RE-8, simplify the structure like Swanson or Redfern would've done, steel tube fuselage, I think you could bolt a Lycoming IO-540 or even an IO-720 on the front, run it slower to put a big 4-blade prop on it and still get plenty of horsepower out of it, and with the gearing that was on the original engine if you did it right the thrust line would be pretty close. Run those chimney exhaust stacks and it would look enough like the right article.
I grew up at Rhinebeck, and one of our favorite airplanes there was the Sopwith Dolphin, what a brilliant choice. Cole considered building an SE-5a but decided he wanted something different (Not that I don't like SE-5s, great flying airplane). Ditto the FE-8 instead of a DH-2. How about a Vickers FB-5 Gunbus? Dolphin with a 454 Chevy up front?
I guess none of them are really common enough, except the Fokker Triplane, and I wouldn't mind having one of those either, when the lottery comes in. A lot of the better known designs are very desirable, I think everybody will agree on the Pfalz D.III and D.IIIa. I've been dreaming of that one since I was a kid, and still might have to start on one of those when the Nieuport is done. My real reason for starting on the N.28 is that a 160 Gnome came up for sale, still in its factory crate, with all accessories, even the m/g synchroniser. Buying it did require a partner, though, whom we now call "The Bank of Dad", very fortunate that he shares my interests.
Anyway, keep going with the ideas....


AK

* * Nothing wrong with a composite fuselage, especially if that's what makes the aeroplane do-able. *Do you think it will really be that much less work and expense to go to 7/8 scale?

My main reason for thinking 7/8 scale composite is to keep the weight as low as possible while maintaining a reasonable sized cockpit. If I can keep weight down, I don't have to buy as much horsepower!

[Michael Scheetz]

Mine is the FE.2b

It has been a dream for a couple of years, now it is a goal.

Reasons are significant:
1) Versatile as fighter, recon, bomber
2) 2 seater to share the fun
3) America's first WWI Ace, Frederick Libby, earned his reputation in it. (And he was from a ranch in my home state of Colorado )
4) Used a straight 6-cyl water cooled engine - high potential for an auto engine conversion.
5) Ugly as can be and therefore beautiful in it own right.
6) There isn't one in existence!


this is my first post