Category: WW1 Era (1914-18)

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

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

Issue #7 Contents:

36 Pages – Wright Tour Guide: Examining Sites and Artifacts Connected to the Wright Brothers and the Birth of Powered Flight (Part 2); Tommy to Fly Again!: Restoration Nearly Completed, Our 100-Year-Old Airplane Will Soon Take to the Sky; Building a Reproduction 1913 Renault WB 70 hp V8 Aero Engine for a B.E.2a; News Briefs: Bastion in the Air Exhibition Opens at RAF Scampton, Memorial Flight Completes B.E.2f Reproduction, Darrin Covington’s ¼ Scale B.E.2c Project; 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!

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Wingnut Wings Releases New Tool 1/32 Junkers D.I Model Kit

Wingnut Wings has released their new tool model kit of the Junkers D.I monoplane, which was introduced in late WW1 and became the first all-metal fighter to enter service.

The new 1/32 kit reportedly includes 124 high-quality injection molded plastic parts, 11 photo-etched metal detail parts and Cartograf decals with markings options for five aircraft. It is said to authentically reproduce the D.I’s corrugated Duralumin surface details, lapped panels and hatches and raised rivets while also including a number of options, including fuselage spine corrugations, foot steps, propellers, Daimler-Mercedes 180 hp D IIIa and 200 hp D IIIau engine details and accommodation for a “wings removed” diorama display.

Product Page ($98.99)

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New Video Details Progress on Owls Head Fokker Dr.1 Restoration

Owls Head Transportation Museum of Owls Head, Maine has released a new video detailing the ongoing restoration of their Fokker Dr.1 reproduction.

The aircraft was built in the 1970s by Kenneth Cianchette and performed at museum events until 2014, when it was discovered that considerable repairs were needed. The museum ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to cover associated costs. As the video below shows, an overhauled Warner radial engine has been acquired and the fuselage is awaiting sandblasting, covering and painting. The wing panels have been shipped to upstate New York for covering by Brian Coughlin, who also covered the ailerons and tail surfaces.

It is hoped that the machine will return to the air by the end of the 2018 season.

Continue reading New Video Details Progress on Owls Head Fokker Dr.1 Restoration

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“Skies of Fury DX” Brings WW1 Aerial Combat to Nintendo Switch [Video]

Nintendo Switch users will soon have the opportunity to engage in “epic” WW1 aerial combat with the upcoming release of Skies of Fury DX.

The game, a version of which was previously released for Android and Apple mobile devices, was developed by Illumination Games and draws inspiration from the look of vintage comics. Players can reportedly fly through “stunning, hand-painted environments” in 10 distinctive WW1 aircraft, taking on the role of both British and German pilots and dogfighting through 100 different missions in single or multiplayer modes.

Additional features are said to include unlocakble upgrades for flying and combat abilities, hundreds of unlockable aircraft customizations and unlockable comics based on the real history of Bloody April.

The game is currently set for release on April 12. Click below to check out the trailer.

Continue reading “Skies of Fury DX” Brings WW1 Aerial Combat to Nintendo Switch [Video]

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Copper State Models Developing New Tool 1/32 Nieuport 17

Copper State Models has announced the development of a new tool Nieuport 17 model kit in 1/32 scale.

Few details have been reported about the upcoming kit, although a few renderings have been released. Click below to check out an additional example.

Continue reading Copper State Models Developing New Tool 1/32 Nieuport 17

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WW1 Aircraft to Commemorate Centennial at AirVenture 2018

This year’s EAA AirVenture fly-in will reportedly commemorate the final year of WW1 with period aircraft, flying displays and activities.

Related activities will reportedly take place throughout the week, with a special emphasis on Friday, July 27. Among the aircraft slated to appear at the event is a rare 1915 Bleriot reproduction in Royal Flying Corps colors, aircraft from the Kermit Weeks/Fantasy of Flight collection and a original Dayton-Wright DH.4 currently under restoration by the nonprofit “Friends of Jenny” along with Tennessee high school students.

The WWI programming will be primarily based in the vintage aircraft parking area on the AirVenture flightline. Along with the aircraft on display from the 1915-1918 era, there will be WWI re-enactors and static engine runs. In addition, WWI-era aircraft, aircraft owners, and historians will participate in forums and Vintage in Review session throughout the week. A number of the aircraft will also be displayed at various times on AirVenture’s showcase Boeing Plaza.

AirVenture 2018 is scheduled to take place from July 23-29 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Additional details will reportedly be announced as they are finalized.

(via EAA Top Photo: Kermit Weeks Hangar)

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Owls Head’s New Sopwith Pup Performs Engine Test [Video]

The Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine has performed the first engine test on their newly acquired Sopwith Pup reproduction.

The aircraft was assembled by Brian Coughlin and features a steel tube fuselage constructed by Dana Narkunas and restored wing panels originally built by noted WW1 aircraft builder Carl Swanson. Powered by an original Le Rhone rotary engine, the machine made its debut at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome last year.

The recent acquisition was made in a frame-for-frame trade for the museum’s previous Sopwith Pup, a reproduction built by Dick King in the 1960s which was a regular performer at Old Rhinebeck throughout the 1970s. Coughlin is now in the process of restoring this machine (see The Flying Machine #6 for additional details).

Owls Head retained the Le Rhone engine from the King Pup and installed it in this new example. It is expected to return to the air this year.

Click below to check out a video of the test.

Continue reading Owls Head’s New Sopwith Pup Performs Engine Test [Video]

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Kermit Weeks Provides Update on Fantasy of Flight Curtiss Jenny Restoration

Fantasy of Flight owner Kermit Weeks has provided an update on the restoration of his original Curtiss JN-4D Jenny.

The aircraft (S/N A5360 / C/N 2404) was damaged when Hurricane Andrew struck the Florida-based collection back in 1992. Since then, all damaged wood and metal components have been replaced, including all of the wing spars and fuselage longerons. Fabric work is also said to be just about complete, including the application of the same USAAS markings the machine wore while it was based at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh back in the 1980s.

Click below to check out the update.

Continue reading Kermit Weeks Provides Update on Fantasy of Flight Curtiss Jenny Restoration

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Kermit Weeks Provides Update on New Fokker D.VII [Video]

After being on the back burner for some time, Fantasy of Flight owner Kermit Weeks has provided an update on the current status of his recently completed Fokker D.VII.

The reproduction arrived at the museum in 2015 and had since undergone engine and taxi tests. However, there were a few concerns that needed to be sorted out, one of which was said to be an elevator cable that “looked a bit suspicious.” As a result, the strength of the cable was tested, a process that was captured in the video below.

The aircraft is fitted with an original, rebuilt Morell airspeed indicator, as well as an original Mercedes engine which was recently overhauled by The Vintage Aviator, Ltd. (TVAL) in New Zealand. The colors represent the machine flown by Ernst Udet of Jasta 4.

Continue reading Kermit Weeks Provides Update on New Fokker D.VII [Video]

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“Twilight Zone” Garland Lincoln Nieuport 28 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 Garland Lincoln Nieuport 28 that appeared in several Hollywood productions has hit the market.

The machine (N12237) was originally built in Van Nuys in the 1930s for film use and went on to appear in Hell in the Heavens (1934), Dawn Patrol (1938), and Men with Wings (1938). It is also the same machine that starred in a well-known episode of The Twilight Zone entitled “The Last Flight”.

the aircraft crashed during the filming of The Great Waldo Pepper in 1975, sending pilot Frank Tallman to the hospital. It was eventually acquired and restored by Kip Mone and is now owned by his son, Brent.

Check out the complete listing below.

Continue reading “Twilight Zone” Garland Lincoln Nieuport 28 Offered For Sale