Flying The Old Planes - Part 1: Nieuport 28

[markl 1]

One of my most treasured books is "Flying The Old Planes" by Frank Tallman. Published in 1973 Frank describes flying original WWI aircraft in marvellous detail. Given that not everyone would have read this book I thought I would reproduce sections that relate to our era of interest. This is the first of several posts.

 

Frank, who along with Paul Mantz fomed Tallmantz Aviation, was famous as a stunt pilot for Hollywood and a collector of rare and vintage aircraft. Paul was killed in 1965 on the film set for 'Flight of the Phoenix'. Frank died in 1978 while delivering a Piper Aztec. In bad weather, with a lowering ceiling and rain, he struck the side of Santiago Peak in the Santa Ana Mountains near Trabuco Canyon. RIP.

 

 

Certainly the loveliest racehorse lines of all the WWI aircraft belonged to the Nieuport 28, and like the beautiful thoroughbred it resembles, it also had real speed and agility.

 

Gustave Delage was the chief designer of the extensive series of Nieuport aircraft. Yet in spite of the efficient designs, many models had intrinsic weaknesses. The N.28 is no exception. The sewn cover seams on the wing lay so spanwise, approximately ten inches back on the upper surface of the wing. Even in those relatively early years of aviation the area's of life on a wing were known, and this major error in manufacturing, tied to an airplane quite capable of exceeding two hundred miles per hour in a dive, culminated in many an accident. Consequently the '28' series, good in so many other respects, was never as popular as the sturdy SPAD's.

 

The '28' was constructed with a real mix of materials; wood spars with built-up wood ribs, plywood leading edge, turn buckles by the barrowload, streamline tubing for the landing gear, 'I' beam steel tubing in the centresection, paired with light aluminum and wooden outer wing struts and a pressed-cardboard cover (tulip wood strips) from the engine cowling to the rear of the cockpit area.

 

After a general inspection we face the aircraft into the wind and chock it. The single lever controlling fuel air mixture is retarded while the gas is on and the propeller pulled through. The dual ignition switch is off, and the coupe (cut-out) button on the top of the stick is depressed for added safety. There is fair compression necessitating a strong mechanic to pull through the prop.

 

The 160h.p. Gnome starts without priming and with a real bark. With the appearance of spattered castor oil on the leading edge of the wing we know we re oiling and ready for takeoff. With the chocks pulled and the Gnome winding up it's like a Clydesdale pulling, so strong is the old engines power.

 

I know of no other aircraft except the Boeing F4B that has such complete and instant response. The tail is up in 15 feet of forward roll, and the rudder is needed to overcome torque, though the actual torque is nothing like the hair-raising fables of WWI-type pulp magazines.

 

With its short wingspan, it bounces off the surface in about 220 feet. Wow! The climb is spectacular, and a steep-climbing turn gives not the tiniest evidence of payoff. In flight, the most noticeable fact of the N.28 is that the big Gnome gives off heat like a cast-iron stove in a New England country winter. Great of you were flying over cold Europe, but hot as hell over sunny Cal.

 

Climb is in the order of 1,200 feet a minute, and stalls are straightforward unless one uses full back elevator.

 

Given the dubious seamstress work on the top wing, and in recognition of the aircraft's advanced age, most of my aerobatics are done with 'G' loads in the order of 2 to 3, and with some timidity on my part.

 

The N.28 loops beautifully, and with the exception of offset rudder at the top (to counteract torque), it might as well be on rails. I start the loop in a gentle dive of 120 mph, and there is an immense sense of thrust from the big Gnome as it pulls you up and over.

 

Slow rolls are smooth, and you don't need forward stick to hold the nose up, just unshakable faith, for the engine quits and doesn't come back again for about 15 seconds. With that short wingspan the N.28 excels in quick changes of direction, and that big positive rudder really swings the nose around in turns.

 

No other aerobatics were tried, but the plane picks up speed like a pig on a greased slope, and you can comfortably get 200 mph without too much of a dive.

 

Like almost all WWI planes a nose high forward slip with this plane can kill off speed and yet give you some idea of clearance in your landing area. In the N.28 this is even more necessary, because with the Vickers guns in the staggered position your vision on the port side in a standard field pattern is quite limited.

 

With it's short wings the N.28 pays off fast, and you had better be close to the ground in nay three-point attitude. But thanks to the graceful and generous rudder, you don't have to make the rudder correction on landing that you do with the SPAD and the Fokker D.VII. The apparent touchdown speed is between 48 and 50 mph. The skid takes hold quickly, and drags to a stop in about 300 feet.

 

===================================================================

STATS: From "French Aircraft Of World War One", by Dr. James J. Davilla and Arthur M. Soltan.

 

Empty Weight: 456kg (1,005 lb)

Loaded Weight: 698kg (1,539 lb)

Max Speed: 198 km/h (123mph) @ 2,000m (6,560 feet)

Climb: 5.5 minutes to 2,000m (6,560 feet)

Ceiling: 5,180m (16,998 feet)

Endurance: 1 hour 30 minutes

Armament: two .303 Vickers mg's

No's Built: 310, of which 297 were delivered to the American Air Service.

 

Pips

 

--------------------

"Somewhere out there is page 6!"

"But Emillo you promised ....... it's postpone"

ASWWIAH Member

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the post.

Looking forward to some of the others.

 

Good historical information is hard to come by.

 

Cheers Markl

Edited July 5, 2009 by shredward

[DukeIronHand 8]

Thanks for the book quote.

 

I've have heard about this book many times over the years - might be time to start looking for a copy.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

You really should have this one on your book shelf Duke. I have read my copy many times and it's not only informative but entertaining as well.

 

Thanks for sharing markl for those who have never had access to Tallman's work before.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[RAF_Louvert 101]

BTW, if anyone else is interested in owning a copy there are many available on AbeBooks, and here is the link to the search I just ran:

AbeBook search for "Flying the Old Planes"

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Panama Red 22]

Thanks for the heads up, Amazon.com also carry's this book (from where I just ordered this book).

[Olham 164]

Thanks for this, markl

It seems to me, that the craft was better than it's reputation.

And that wing problem was solved soon, as far as I read. The craft seems to have become a victim

of decision already made and not taken back. I'd like to see it in BHaH one day, especially, as it

would be the first craft American aces flew. And who knows - maybe it would proof greater than the

difficult to handle SPAD?

[+Tailspin 3]

Hello Gentlemen. There were 6 known failures of the N28's upper wing fabric. All were early on and it appears this flaw could be overcome by diligence on the pilot's part when pulling out of a steep, power on dive. Here's an interesting read if you haven't seen it already.

 

http://www.airminded.net/n28/n28.html

[shredward 12]

Hi Guys,

I moved Pips post to the Archives, and copied it into Markl's post, but yep, these historical gems are courtesy of Pips. Just wanted to clear that up!

Cheers,

shredward

[Duce Lewis 3]

Hello Gentlemen. There were 6 known failures of the N28's upper wing fabric. All were early on and it appears this flaw could be overcome by diligence on the pilot's part when pulling out of a steep, power on dive. Here's an interesting read if you haven't seen it already.

 

http://www.airminded.net/n28/n28.html

The N.28 was a real performer

I just watched Dawn Patrol last night

The Brits were flying 28's and the German's Pfalz's & DVII's

The lirtle Noop was making sweet li'l tight turns

Combine that with excellent climb rate and good speed (123 mph), it's a mystery why she wasn't more popular

 

The earlier V-Strut Noops had a much more serious wing problem

Break a lower wing off and you're in big trouble

Even so, these crates were much beloved by their pilots

 

The N.28 could lose it's upper wing canvas but it was still controllable

Must have been some hot debate at the time

Even the USAS 1st Pursit Group was split over her