It's Time To Play,"What's My Plane" !

[Olham 164]

The manoeuvre is (I hope) called "High turn", the French call it "Chandelle" (candle).

[RAF_Louvert 101]

No Olham, sorry Sir, that is incorrect. Better luck next time.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Dej 17]

It's the original Immelmann. Called a Renversement by the French and it's nearest modern equivalent is the Wingover or Hammerhead turn. The illustration is from Pratcial Flying (1918) by E. L. Ford, an RNAS pilot.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Absolutely right Dej, in all regards, including the source of the illustration. An original 1918 first edition of Flight Commander McMinnies' highly informative work has resided on my WW1 bookshelf for many years now, and Flight Lt. Ford's illustrations sprinkled throughout the book are outstanding. IMHO, "Practical Flying" should be a must read for all WW1 combat flight simmers.

 

Two more points to you Dej. Well done.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[RAF_Louvert 101]

For those interested, here is a link to the e-version of the above cited book:

 

"Practical Flying", by W.G. McMinnies

 

You can save this to your computer library directly from the link if you like, and if you choose the PDF format option you will have all of Ford's illustrations as well. BTW, many WW1-related books of the same era are now in the public domain and are therefore often found online in their entirety at places like Project Gutenberg.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

 

 

 

 

[Duce Lewis 3]

Not sure if it's me and my bad eyesight

...but is the topmost AC illistraion drawn backwards?

[Olham 164]

First I saw it the same way, Duce. The coming plane (1) is in the background.

When it makes the turn, it turns to the left, towards the foreground.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Duce, I too thought that the first time I saw the drawing, but Olham is correct. Look at where you are to have the rudder bar and control stick at that point; the plane is rolling to port as you pull back on the stick in order to get it to stall and then slip to port, and as it falls back it initiates the dive. Go and try it in your favorite OFF plane. It works very well after a bit of practice.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Duce Lewis 3]

Yep, controls at the bottom back you up on that

There's a hard left rudder at that point

Thx,

 

Edit: I agree Lou, as we were simo-posting

Edited August 25, 2009 by Duce Lewis

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Yuppers uncleal, I have checked that one out numerous times. Very helpful indeed.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Dej 17]

HomeBoy made a video of a hammerhead turn in OFF, which I found helpful...

 

[Duce Lewis 3]

#17 is a JN-4 Curtiss Jenny

 

The Curtiss "Jenny" America's most famous World War I airplane, was developed by combining the best features of the Curtiss "J" and "N" models. A 1915 version, the JN-3, was used in 1916 during Pershing's Punitive Expedition into Mexico. Its poor performance, however, made it unsuited for field operations. The JN-3 was modified in 1916 to improve its performance and redesignated the JN-4.With America's entry into World War I on April 6, 1917, the Signal Corps began ordering large quantities of JN-4s, and by the time production was terminated after the Armistice, more than 6,000 had been delivered, the majority of them JN-4D.

 

The Jenny was generally used for primary flight training, but some were equipped with machine guns and bomb racks for advanced training. After World War I, hundreds were sold on the civilian market. The airplane soon became the mainstay of the "Barnstormer" of the 1920s, and some Jennies were still being flown in the 1930s. The JN-4D now on display was obtained from Mr. Robert Pfeil of Taylor, Texas in 1956.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS

 

Span: 43 ft. 7 in.

 

Length: 27 ft. 4 in.

 

Height: 9 ft. 10 in.

 

Weight: 1,430 lbs.

 

Armament: Usually none

 

Engine: Curtiss OX-5 of 90 hp.

 

Cost: $5,465

 

PERFORMANCE

 

Maximum Speed: 75 mph.

 

Maximum Endurance: 2 1/2 hrs.

 

 

 

[Red-Dog 3]

Hi chap's, i belive that No 17 is a ..................Sikorsky S-VX1 two seat escort fighter built in 1915.

It was desgined to escort the Ilya Mourometz bomber but lacked enough power to do the job due to it's 80hp Gnome engine.

Sikorsky S-XVI plane, was created by I.I. Sikorsky in 1915. It was designed for escorting air ships "Ilya Muromets" and protecting their airfields from the enemy planes. The first three planes were tested successfully in the Fleet of air ships and the Russian-Baltic Car Plant received a contract, for the production of 18 S-XVI planes on September 24, 1915. In the beginning of 1916 the Fleet received the first 6 planes, a total of 34 planes was delivered later. Sikorsky S-XVI became one of the long-livers of Russian aviation: it was in use till 1923.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Dej, thanks for sharing HomeBoy's video. Very neat.

 

Sorry Duce, it is not the USA's iconic Jenny.

 

Red-Dog...you are correct Sir! It is the Sikorsky S-16, the first Russian fighter actually built in Russia, and the first in their fleet to feature a synchronized gun firing through the prop arc. I noticed you mentioned it was a two-place but I have no such reference anywhere, and if you have evidence that a 2-seater version of this was built please share it. But even if this is a small error on your part it will be overlooked as the rest of your info is quite correct. BTW, the plane shown in the photo is a reproduction built from the original plans by the Sikorsky firm about ten years ago, and currently is on display at the New England Air Museum. That was a tougher one. Two more points to you Red-Dog.

 

Here are the current standings after photo set #5 and the last Wild Card:

 

Dej, 11 points

Olham, 11 points

Rickitycrate, 6 points

Bullethead, 5 points

Luftace, 4 points

Red-Dog, 4 points

Duce Lewis, 3 points

rhythalion, 2 points

JohnGresham, 1 point

Shrikehawk, 1 point

TonyO, 1 point

 

 

Well done folks, the info you are all providing, even with an incorrect guess, is to be highly commended. Keep brushing up on your Great War aircraft. I will be travelling for business until late Friday evening, and won't be posting the next photo set until I return that night. This will give you all a chance to catch your breath and get in some more stick time, but be watchful come about 4:00am GMT this coming Saturday.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Red-Dog 3]

Hi Lou, you were right about it's a hard one. If you goto this address and read page 19 you will read about the two seater variant .http://books.google....page&q=&f=false

Hope this helps.

Edited August 26, 2009 by Red-Dog

[Dej 17]

Lou,

 

Here's what I'd have posted if Red-Dog hadn't the correct answer. I too found indications of the first batch of S-16s being two-seaters.

 

Three two-seat S-16s were built as trainers for bomber crews of the Squadron of Flying Ships in 1915, followed by about twenty-four more as two-seat S-16-2 and single-seat S-16-3 bomber escort and reconnaissance scouts with 80hp Gnome engines in 1916-17. A machine-gun was mounted under the top wing, firing clear of the propeller, until Engineer Lavrov invented an interrupter gear for a fuselage-mounted gun.

 

For winter operation, a number of S-16s were flown on skis in place of the standard four-wheel landing gear; at least one was fitted with twin floats in 1916. Contemporary accounts show that pilots enjoyed the stability, manoeuvrability and delicate controls of the S-16s, but they were outclassed by German fighters of the time.

 

Source: http://aviastar.org/air/russia/sik_s-16.php

 

Type: Fighter Scout

Year: 1915

Engine: 1 x "Gnome" 80 hrs.pwr.

Wingspan: 8.00 m

Length: 5.90 m

Weight: 407 kg/675 kg

Max. speed: 120 km/h

Ceiling : 3500 m

Crew: 1

Armament: 1 machinegun

 

Source: http://www.wwiaviation.com/russia1915.html

[Rugbyfan1972 1]

Hi Uncleal,i belive that the other reason we had to fly the BE2 was because it was a goverment backed design so they had to show support and bulit too many?

 

Uncleal & Red DOg,

 

Reading No Parachute by Arthur Lee Gould, in the last paragraph he discusses the reason the BE2 line were in front line usage for so long, from memory it is that someone on the air board at the government was also a director at the Royal Aircraft Factory (it is nice to know that some things never change).

 

Thanks

Rugbyfan1972

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Well I'm back from my business travels and am just about to go and catch up on some much-needed sleep. But before I do I will post the next set of photos for the contest. BTW, thanks to Dej and Red-Dog for the links on the two-place Sikorsky S-16, I have added the info to my library.

 

Here you go folks. Remember the rules and have fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Round 6 begins now. Let's play What's My Plane!

 

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Rickitycrate 10]

Pic #21 is the Hansa-Brandenburg KDW Seaplane. The nautical version of the D.1. fighter designed by Ernst Heinkel. The little KDW first appeared in 1916 was his first single seat seaplane and the only one to be built in any quantity. Fisrt craft of this design were fitted with the 150 h.p. Benz engine, fitted with car-type radiators. Interplane bracing was of the distintive "star" type then favored by Heinkel: constructed of steel tubing, they were streamlined with laminated wood fairings: no brace wires were needed. Cabane struts of the trestle type were fitted. The second series was comleted in Feb. 1917 and had the 160 h.p. Mercedes engines and radiators inset into their top wings to starboard of the centerline. Armament was twin Spanau machine gunsmounted along either side of the fuselage. The plan was difficult to handle as the rudder was small and blanketed by the deep fuselage.

 

Sources: Memory, Jane's and Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War by W. M. Lamberton

 

 

Edited August 29, 2009 by Rickitycrate

[Burning Beard 14]

Nr23 is a Nieuport 28.

 

Country: France

Manufacturer: Societe Anonyme des Etablissements Nieuport

Type: Fighter

First Introduced: 1917

Number Built: About 297

Engine(s): Gnôme Monosoupape 9N, 9 cylinder, air cooled rotary, 160 hp

Wing Span: 26 ft 9 in [8.15 m]

Length: 21 ft [6.40 m]

Height: 8 ft 1¾ in [2.5 m]

Empty Weight: 1,172 lb

Gross Weight: 1,627 lb [737 kg]

Max Speed: 122 mph [196 km/h]

Ceiling: 16,995 ft [5,180 m]

Endurance: 1½ hours

Crew: 1

 

I Believe the pilot is Raoul Lufbery and that would make it the 94th Hat in the Ring Squadron.

 

 

 

Beard

Edited August 29, 2009 by Burning Beard

[Red-Dog 3]

Hi Chaps i think No 22 is a Pfalz.DIIIa

 

Prior to World War I, Pfalz Flugzeugwerke produced Morane-Saulnier monoplane designs under license.^[1] These aircraft entered military service as the Pfalz A- and E-series. In September 1916, Pfalz began producing the first of 20 Roland D.I and 200 Roland D.II fighters under license.^[2]

 

In November 1916, Pfalz hired Rudolph Gehringer from Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen GmbH.^[3] As Pfalz’s new chief engineer, Gehringer immediately commenced work on an original fighter design. The resulting D.III emerged in April 1917. Like the Rolands, the D.III used a plywood monocoque fuselage. Two layers of thin plywood strips were placed over a mold to form one half of a fuselage shell.^[4] The fuselage halves were then glued together, covered with a layer of fabric, and doped. This Wickelrumpf method gave the fuselage great strength, light weight, and smooth contours compared to conventional construction techniques.^[4] However, it also proved to be more labor intensive and expensive. Furthermore, the D.III fuselage was prone to twisting or warping from side to side as it aged,^[5] a defect variously attributed to the use of insufficiently seasoned wood or to moisture absorption in damp conditions.

 

The wings were of conventional construction, with a flush Teeves and Braun radiator offset to the right side of the upper wing. The ailerons were of wooden construction, rather than the more conventional steel tube construction.^[6] The horizontal stabilizer had an inverted airfoil section, which facilitated dive recovery and permitted the use of an unbalanced elevator.^[6]

 

The Idflieg found the prototype promising. It directed Pfalz to halt production of the Roland D.III and to complete the balance of the contract, 70 aircraft, to the new design.^[3] After a Typenprüfung (type test) at Adlershof in May, the Idflieg ordered various modifications, including an enlarged rudder and horn-balanced ailerons.^[7] In June 1917, Pfalz received a second order for 300 aircraft.^[7]

Edited August 29, 2009 by Red-Dog

[Dej 17]

Sorry to do this to you Rickitycrate, but #21 is a Hansa-Brandenburg D1 'Star-Strutter'. It's not a seaplane. The original image is:

 

 

The aircraft was developed in Germany by Ernst Heinkel and was built in Austria-Hungary by companies Phönix Flugzeug-Werke AG and Ungarische Flugzeugfabrik AG. It was manufactured in 2 versions (depending on motor used). The D1 was not very stable in flight and the pilot had a limited field of vision. Its commissioning in autumn 1916 was accompanied by many accidents, which earned it the nickname "coffin". This did not prevent the the Austro-Hungarian airforce using the aircraft in large numbers until mid-1917.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Good Morning All,

 

After a few hours of sound sleep, and my second cup of early AM coffee, I am ready to roll.

 

Rickitycrate, sorry Sir, you missed the mark on #21. I made sure to leave a bit of the wheel showing in the photo so that this plane could be more readily identified as the D1 version of the Hansa-Brandenburg rather than the KDW model. But excellent info on the seaplane Sir.

 

Dej, you are correct Sir with spot on info and the matching photo. The two points for #21 are yours.

 

Burning Beard, welcome to the competition Sir. First-rate with all notes, including the ace in the photo being Raoul Lufbery. While the N28 had engine problems and the initial structual issue of the laminated edge of the top wing coming loose in a hard pull-out and peeling off the upper fabric, it was none-the-less a very capable plane. But the French air service passed on it and went directly to the Spad XIII, which is why the U.S. pursuit squadrons ended up with the N28's in large numbers as their first main aircraft, (they were available at the time and no one else wanted them). Two points to you BB.

 

Red-Dog, exactly right, #22 is the Pfalz D.IIIa. Also, you can tell it is definitely not a D.III by the fact that guns are mounted "in the clear" rather than buried under the cowling and inaccessible, (a complaint by pilots of the earlier model). Two more points to you Sir.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[Rickitycrate 10]

Wo bist diese Schwarzlose? I did have the plane right at first but the machine gun was not mounted on the upper wing. But then I was troubled about the possible appearance of the wheel. I took a shot and missed, no excuses. To Dej

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Yes Sir, that shot of the HB D.1 is sans gun and housing, as are about a third of the photos you run across of the bird. That's probably because the assmeblies had been removed and were being beaten on by the mechanicians in efforts to unjamb the touchy buggers.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou