Britain - 1917 R.A.F. FE.9

Boldly Moving Forward Into the Past.

Life has been demanding of my free time. I hope my routine will settle down to normal chaos by the new year. It is good to be back. I need to post some of the work which has slipped through the cracks during the Fokker Dr.I renovation project. Today's post is one of the rare birds I have been working on.

Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9

Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9 S/n A 4818 - 1917

Brief Overview of the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9

The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9 was a prototype British two seat fighter-reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War. A single-engined pusher biplane of 1917, the F.E.9 had poor performance and handling, and only three were built.

In summer 1916, the Royal Aircraft Factory set out to design a replacement for its F.E.2b two-seat pusher fighter. The F.E.9 was of similar pusher configuration and therefore already obsolescent by the time it appeared in 1917. Although effective gun synchronizing gear was now available, which would allow a tractor design with superior performance to be designed, the factory chose to continue the pusher layout of the F.E.2 in its new two seat fighter, the F.E.9. Emphasis was placed in the design upon providing the gunner with a good field of fire and the pilot a good all-round view. Its nacelle extended well forward of the wings and was located high up in the wing gap to give a good field of fire for the observer, who was seated in the nose, ahead of the pilot, with dual controls fitted. It had unequal span, single-bay wings, with ailerons on the upper wing only with large horn balances (the amount of control surface forward of the hinge). It was powered by a 200 hp (149 kW) Hispano-Suiza 8 V8 engine, with the Royal Aircraft Factory having priority for this important and widely used engine.

Three prototypes and 24 production aircraft were ordered, with the first of three prototypes flying in April 1917. It was found to have a poor climb performance and handling, with the ailerons being overbalanced, which tended to force the aircraft onto its back in steep turns. In order to try and solve its handling problems it was fitted with various designs of aileron and rudders.

After service trials of the first prototype in France, Major General Hugh Trenchard recommended that development be stopped, despite this the second prototype flew in October 1917, with two-bay wings, which was passed to No. 78 Squadron based at Biggin Hill in the Home Defense role. The third prototype appeared in November 1917, and was used for trials at Farnborough until early 1918.

Although the 24 production aircraft were not completed, the F.E.9 did form the basis for the later N.E.1 night fighter and A.E.3 Ram ground attack aircraft.

References

• Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9 the Virtual Aircraft Museum Retrieved 07:24, November 17, 2010, from http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/raf_fe-9.php
• Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9. (2010, April 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07:24, November 17, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_Aircraft_Factory_F.E.9&oldid=358338309
• Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London:Putnam, 1957.
• Bruce, J.M. War Planes of the First World War: Volume Two Fighters. London:Macdonald, 1968. ISBN 0 356 01473 8.
• Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA:Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.

When Good Planes Go Bad

Fokker Dr.I Triplanes: When Good Planes Go Bad

Recently I had produced a lot of a Fokker triplane profiles. A recent count was 54 Dr.I profiles. I took break and worked on some new refined weapons, wing skids, high-light kit and assorted parts and While working adding newly finished parts upgrades to my Dr.I profiles based on an old but serviceable master file I noticed something was wrong. Not just wrong for one triplane, but for all of the current run of 54. I looked at the inverted V-strut and noticed it was on the wrong side of the machine guns. Finding the mistake does one thing, It lights a fire under me and gives me an excuse for a complete renovation . Here are a few of the new profiles from the Triplane Errata Project.

Fokker Dr.I Jasta 11 Manfred von Richthofen serial number 425/17 - 1918

This was the bird which started the dominoes falling. I have to confess I have put off doing the iconic red and white Triplane. So many people have done their own version. I was afraid of a swarm of cliches to start creeping into my collection. Someone talked me down off the edge and I added them for the sake of completion. In the end it was when I looked and saw what was wrong.

Fokker Dr.I Jasta 11 Lothar von Richthofen- 1917

Once I got the Red Barron sorted out and tucked away, I went looking for his next of kin. I've always liked his paint scheme better. Luckly I have my initial profile file to work from. Just add the new parts, tweak, save as a png to the drawings folder, save as thumbnail image resize, unsharpen mask, do some optimization to keep things snappy. To simplify I overwrite existing graphic with the new image so there is no need to change file calls in HTML. It helped sort out the steps to bare bones.

Fokker Dr.I JG.1 Jasta 11 1917

These are a couple of the new profiles from this week's crop. The easiest way to do this is working in batches. So far the count is a dozen in the can waiting to be turned into a pair of pngs. Baby steps, I'm still annoyd with the "I" struts. grrrrr. Ok that force me to to a refit sooner than later. Cheers I need a nap.

Fokker Dr.I Jasta14 Ltn. Hasso Wedel s/n 183/17 1917

An Apology and Explanation

Due to a series of accidents beyond my control I had experienced some down time on my domain. For the first time in 12 years of uninterrupted service All my sites were down due to a severe storm and the damage it wrought led to an 18 hour blackout. Because of an act of nature the graphic portion of this blog was unavailable.

Things are now back to normal and I hope it stays that way for the foreseeable future. Thank you for your patience and I hope there was a minimal amount of inconvenience. I will have a new post up as soon as possible.

Germany - 1918 - Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I

With a Little Help From my Friends!

One of the joys of illustrating the past is when friends set me down a new path to help bring rare birds to life. As stated previously I have been working on a project with a friend and fellow blogger, Gary C. Warne. He asked me if I had a profile for another plane flown in his new book, Bloodied Red Star. I checked and found I had started a master file for the plane. Rare was not good enough, Gary wanted an even rarer version of the prototype with the front mounted radiator. Luckily he had photos which made life easier. Once again we brought to life another rare bird.

If you have not read Gary's blog it is worth a visit. Follow his blog and read all about the latest developments and solid articles on Aviation.

The Shape of Things to Come: Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I

As the final months of World War One rolled on aviation development reached a new height. The last gasp race for military supremacy would establish a new vocabulary for aircraft design. The echos of this period influence the world of aviation design for decades to come.

Zeppelin-Lindau (Dornier) CS.I s/n 8502 - 1918

This is the prototype of the Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I. The drawing shows the fuselage mounted "ear-style" radiators. and bulbous engine fairing. The camouflage is a three color marine hexagonal scheme. The rudder shows the structure of the wooden framing used to provide rigidity.

Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I Front mounted radiator

This example shows the front mounted radiator version. The rounded engine fairing is gone and the radiator is similar to the type used on the Zeppelin-Lindau Dornier D.I The finishing scheme is the same as used on the prototype.

Short Overview of the Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I

This experimental two-seat seaplane was designed By Claude Dornier at Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH. Construction began in 1918. It was of all-metal construction except for the fabric-covered wing and cruciform tail surfaces. Ailerons were fitted with Flettner-type servos.

Armament consisted of 2 × forward-firing 0.312 in (7.92 mm) "Spandau" LMG 08/15 machine guns controlled by the pilot, and 1 × 0.312 in (7.92 mm) trainable Parabellum MG14 machine gun for observer. The machine was fitted with an Benz Bz IIIbo 8 cylinder liquid cooled V engine, 195 hp (145 kW). . The top speed of the Zeppelin-Lindau CS.I was 93.75 mph (150 kmh). Both nose and side radiator installations were tested.

References

1. Zeppelin-Lindau (Dornier) CS.I(2012, August 10). In Myflyingmachines. Retrieved 22:34, August 11, 2012, from http://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft30303.htm
2. Gray, Peter; Thetford, Owen (1962). German Aircraft of the First World War (First edition ed.). London: Putnam.

Germany - 1918 - LVG C.VI

Out With the Old and In With the New!

I am still busy working on a new series of existing profiles based on newly made master files. I have been alternating between German two seat and British pusher aircraft. Today I will continue with German aircraft, constructed by LVG.

The Long Lived LVG C.VI

As the war entered it's last days aviation design was becoming more science than art. Well tested designs which were meant for combat in the Great War fought for newly formed fledgling air corps over the skies of Eastern Europe. Many of these designs slowly made their way into the world of civil aviation and served well into the next decade.

Germany 1918

German LVG C.VI s/n 1510 - 1918

This example features a varnished wood fuselage and metal forward section. The wings and tail plane are covered in 5 color camouflage fabric. Dark on the top surfaces and light on the bottom surfaces. Balkan crosses are on the fuselage, rudder , the right and left sides of top upper wing surface and crosses on the bottom lower wing surface.A white stylized six-sided shooting star and the number 4 are located below the cockpit and observer position. The exhaust pipe is the curved split flow type.

Poland 1919

LVG CVI, Polish Air Force, 8 Squadron s/n 22 - 1919

This Polish LVG C.VI has been painted in a common two color pattern. The wings and tailplane is varnished linen on the lower surfaces. I am not sure about the upper wing surfaces. I assume the wings are the same brown used on the fuselage. The Polish are the bordered variety. They are positioned in the standard 2+2 pattern. There are several notable details. The observer's gun is is a ring mounted Lewis gun. The chimney-like exhaust pipe gives it a distinct look.

Lithuania 1919

LVG C.VI Oro Laivynas (Lithuanian Air Fleet) s/n 9092/18 Kaunas -1919.

Eight new C.VI's were supplied by Germans on 27th February 1919. This aircraft took part in combat along at Polish front in March of 1919. The aircraft was piloted by German mercenary.

A Short Overview of the LVG C.VI

LVG C.VI. (2012, July 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

LVG C.VI was a German two-seat reconnaissance and artillery spotting aircraft used during World War I.

The aircraft was designed by Willy Sabersky-Müssigbrodt and developed by Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (LVG) in 1917. The C.VI was a further development of the C.V, which Sabersky-Müssigbrodt had made for his former employer DFW. It was lighter, smaller and aerodynamically refined, although its fuselage seemed more bulky. It was a biplane of mixed, mostly wooden construction. It featured a semi-monocoque fuselage, plywood covered. Rectangular wings of wooden and metal construction, canvas covered. Upper wing of slightly greater span, shifted some 10 in (25 cm) towards front. Vertical fin plywood covered, rudder and elevators of metal frame canvas covered, stabilizers (tail planes) of wooden frame canvas covered. Straight uncovered engine in the fuselage nose, with a chimney-like exhaust pipe. Two-blade Benz wooden propeller, 9.45 ft (2.88 m) diameter. Flat water radiator in central section of upper wing. Fixed conventional landing gear, with a straight common axle and a rear skid. Aircraft were equipped with a radio (Morse send only); transmissions were by means of an antenna which could be lowered below the aircraft when needed. The crew had parachutes and heated flying suits. A total of 1,100 aircraft of the type were manufactured.

Most LVG C.VIs were used by the German military aviation in last operations of World War I, mostly on Western Front, for close reconnaissance and observation.

After the war, Deutsche Luft-Reederei (DLR) used several C.VIs to provide mail and passenger transport service. The Polish Air Force used several aircraft during Polish-Soviet war (the first was left by the Germans, another was completed from parts in 1920, and several were bought abroad). Suomen ilmailuliikenne Oy purchased two C.VIs from a Swedish airline in 1923. The company went bankrupt in 1922, but would be a predecessor to Aero O/Y, in turn a predecessor of Finnair. The Finnish Air Force purchased two aircraft. One was destroyed in a spin in Santahamina in 1923. The other was used until the end of 1924. Several (at least eight) were used by Lithuania, two last ones survived until 1940. Three were used in Czechoslovakia, two in Switzerland (1920-1929), several in the USSR.

Today, there are three surviving C.VIs. One is on display at the RAF Museum in Hendon, one at the Brussels Air Museum in Belgium and the one at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris

References

1. LVG C.VI. (2012, July 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:20, July 16, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LVG_C.VI&oldid=500140488
2. Heinonen, Timo: Thulinista Hornetiin - Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseon julkaisuja 3, Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseo, 1992, ISBN 951-95688-2-4
3. Krzysztof Choloniewski, Wieslaw Baczkowski: Samoloty wojskowe obcych konstrukcji 1918-1939. Tomik 2 (Barwa w lotnictwie polskim no.7), WKiL, Warsaw 1987, ISBN 83-206-0728-0 (Polish language)
4. Lewis, Michael: 1914-18 Connections website. Restoration of Brussels Air Museum LVG CVI