Category: WW1 Era (1914-18)

Posted on by

Curtiss Jenny Project With “Many Original Parts” Offered For Sale

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

A Curtiss Jenny project is currently available for sale.

The aircraft was reportedly “rebuilt and improved structurally and mechanically in the Philippines” before being disassembled and brought to the US. The example is said to boast many original Jenny parts and is powered by “new 3.8 Ford motor.”

The Jenny, which currently “needs to be finished being put back together,” is located in Great Falls, Montana and is being offered for $39,999, although bids are also being accepted. Click here to check out the complete listing on eBay.

Please Note: This post contains an eBay affiliate link. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Posted on by

“The Flying Machine: Early Aero Quarterly” Summer 2018 Edition Now Available!

Aerodynamic Media, LLC is proud to announce the release of the eighth issue of The Flying Machine: Early Aero Quarterly.

Issue #8 Contents:

36 Pages – Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre’s B.E.2a Reproduction; Jerry May’s Fokker Dr.1 Project; Avro Type F Replica Moves to Woodford; NELSAM’s Morane-Saulnier N Project; News Briefs: Newly Restored de Havilland DH.4 Displayed at AirVenture 2018, Tom Kozura’s Sopwith Camel Project, Cardboard Curtiss Jenny; Products

The Flying Machine focuses exclusively on “aeroplanes” manufactured prior to 1920, as well as the current work of historians, builders, restorers, museums and collectors to preserve and promote interest in the early years of flight. Published in print and digital formats, The Flying Machine is offered on a pay-per-issue basis – no subscription required!

Join us as we pay tribute to early aircraft and the visionaries, geniuses and daredevils who conquered the air while producing some of the most fascinating, ingenious and beautiful machines in aviation’s short history.

Click here to purchase!

Posted on by

Curtiss Jenny Restoration Nears Completion, Events Planned

The restoration of Friends of Jenny’s Curtiss JN-4 reproduction 38262 is nearing completion and the machine is reportedly being readied for its “coming out” party in College Park, Maryland on August 9.

This particular Jenny was built by a team of workers over a 16-month period beginning in June 2012. Constructed from original drawings, it employs a GMC V8 engine rather than an OX5 or Hisso and had appeared at numerous events until performing an emergency landing in August 2017.

The aircraft is currently scheduled to participate in the Centennial Air Mail festivities at College Park Aviation Museum on August 10-11. Friends of Jenny’s event page notes that the machine will “reenact the original air mail route as it was first developed by the U.S. Postal Service between Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City,” with plans to depart College Park for Republic Field, NYC on August 12. Festivities will reportedly take place along the way including “N. Philadelphia and over flight of former Bustleton Field” followed by “New York aviation activities including Cradle of Aviation Museum” on August 13 and 14.

Click below to check out recent photos of the restoration progress.

Continue reading Curtiss Jenny Restoration Nears Completion, Events Planned

Posted on by

Fokker Dr.1 Reproduction OK-UAA 90 Offered For Sale

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

A Fokker Dr.1 reproduction bearing Czech registration OK-UAA 90 has reportedly hit the market.

The 125 hp Verner Scarlett 07-powered aircraft reportedly performed its maiden flight in 2015 and is said to have 160 flight hours. It is currently located in Praha, Czech Republic and is being offered for $70,000.

Click here to check out the complete listing.

(Photo: Wlodek k1Wlodek k1 from Wikimedia Commons Thanks, Pascal!)

Posted on by

USAF Museum Begins Restoration of Avro 504K [Video]

The USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio has begun restoration of its Avro 504K.

This particular example of the famous WW1 British trainer was originally constructed by the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Aircraft Maintenance & Development Unit in 1966-67 using original parts, including a 110 hp Le Rhone rotary engine. It arrived at the USAF Museum in 2003 and has since been on display in its Early Years Gallery wearing the colors of an aerobatic trainer of AEF No. 3 Instruction Center, based at Issoudun, France in 1918.

The aircraft was recently disassembled for transport to the restoration facility, a process that has been captured in the newly released video below. A time frame for completion and color / marking details have not yet been announced. Continue reading USAF Museum Begins Restoration of Avro 504K [Video]

Posted on by

Friends of Jenny Reveal Newly Restored de Havilland DH.4, Oshkosh Appearance Planned

The U.S.-based “Friends of Jenny” nonprofit organization has unveiled its newly restored de Havilland DH.4.

As previously reported, the machine, which is believed to be the last DH.4 airframe in North America, has been restored to airworthy condition in order to “honor the memory of the Americans who built her, who flew in her, and who died in her.”

The project saw the aircraft restored by “cadres of professionals and aficionados” and was endorsed by the WW1 Centennial Commission. The final product boasts a V-12 Liberty engine and markings representing DH.4 #6 of 50 Squadron, the machine flown by Lt. Harold E. Goettler and Lt. Erwin R. Bleckley when they gave their lives during a heroic mission on September 12, 1918, posthumously earning them both the Medal of Honor. Continue reading Friends of Jenny Reveal Newly Restored de Havilland DH.4, Oshkosh Appearance Planned

Posted on by

Preparing For Oshkosh Appearance, Kermit Weeks Documents Sopwith Snipe’s First Flight in Five Years [Video]

As Kermit Weeks prepares to bring four of his WW1 aircraft to the upcoming AirVenture Fly-in, he recently returned his Sopwith Snipe to the air for the first time in five years, documenting the event in a newly released video.

The aircraft was constructed by The Vintage Aviator, Ltd in New Zealand and is powered by a Bentley BR2 rotary engine. It represents the early incarnation of the Snipe, which employed a smaller rudder and lacked the large, balanced ailerons seen on later models. The markings represent E8102, flown by Maj. W.G. Barker during his lone encounter with 60 Fokker D.VIIs on October 27, 1918, during which he managed to shoot down four aircraft before crash landing over Allied lines with severe wounds. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions and the fuselage of his original machine is now preserved at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Continue reading Preparing For Oshkosh Appearance, Kermit Weeks Documents Sopwith Snipe’s First Flight in Five Years [Video]

Posted on by

Nieuport 17 Reproduction Built For “Flyboys” Movie Will Need New Home

While searching for Spitfire parts in a storage container, Gateguards – UK came upon a Nieuport 17 reproduction that has been deemed “surplus to requirements” and will require a new home.

The aircraft was reportedly built for the 2006 film Flyboys and is believed to be full-scale. It is said to employ wood and fabric construction and has been described as “quite well built and not just a backstage replica.”

It remains to be seen whether the reproduction will be offered for sale. Click below to check out the full announcement.

Continue reading Nieuport 17 Reproduction Built For “Flyboys” Movie Will Need New Home

Posted on by

On-Board Footage Captures Original SPAD XIII’s Flyby With Rafale Fighter [Video]

During the 2018 La Ferté-Alais airshow in France, spectators were treated to a flyby from Memorial Flight Association’s original SPAD XIII and a French Dassault Rafale – an event that encapsulated a century of aeronautical development.

This particular SPAD XIII is the oldest known example of the type in existence, as well as the only original example flying in the world. The aircraft was built in February 1918 by Société Kellner Frères Constructeurs as #4377 and was recovered from an attic in the 1970s by Jean Salis. Restoration began in the 1980s and was completed following its donation to the Memorial Flight Association in 1990. It returned to the air in 1991 and now wears the colors of the machine flown by Henri Trémeau of SPA 83.

The remarkable flight was captured from the ground as well as the air, and can be seen in the video below.

Continue reading On-Board Footage Captures Original SPAD XIII’s Flyby With Rafale Fighter [Video]

Posted on by

Kermit Weeks Plans to Bring Four WW1 Aircraft to AirVenture 2018 [Video]

Fantasy of Flight owner Kermit Weeks has announced plans to bring four of his WW1 aircraft reproductions to the 2018 AirVenture fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The machines include his TVAL-built Sopwith Snipe and Albatros D.Va, a newly restored Sopwith Pup which is currently undergoing repairs following an “unfortunate incident” during its maiden flight, and his new Fokker D.VII, which was recently completed by noted WW1 aircraft builder Fred Murrin.

It appears that the Snipe is the only machine that could take flight at the event, as the remaining aircraft have not yet amassed the required 10 hrs of flight time, or are currently involved in ongoing maintenance. Click below to check out the update.

Continue reading Kermit Weeks Plans to Bring Four WW1 Aircraft to AirVenture 2018 [Video]