Fokker Dr.1 Dreidecker Fatal, Frankston, TX, 5/26/26

Yes, it was a replica. I saw it once and it was very nice. It had a Rotec engine on it and he flew it often, even as far as Oshkosh in 2018.

Photo by Owen O'Rourke
48069919963_59735dbeb1_b.jpg
 
Look at that tiny rudder!

I have a close friend with one and two seat Nieuport replicas. He has flown all sorts of warbirds. He stopped flying his WWI aircraft because they were so unstable in yaw.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Look at that tiny rudder!

I have a close friend with one and two seat Nieuport replicas. He has flown all sorts of warbirds. He stopped flying his WWI aircraft because they were so unstable in yaw.
Click to expand...
At least this one has a radial engine. I've heard he ones with a rotary engine are even more brutal.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Look at that tiny rudder!

I have a close friend with one and two seat Nieuport replicas. He has flown all sorts of warbirds. He stopped flying his WWI aircraft because they were so unstable in yaw.
Click to expand...
The rudder's not that small, but there's no fixed vertical surface. Which means you have to pay attention to yaw continuously, as there's little self-correcting capability.

If you look at the Nieuport replica in the background of Jack's picture, you'll see a sort of "hoop" below the tail with fabric covering. This is the tailwheel support for the CIRCA replicas; a lot of owners cover it to gain some sort yaw stability.

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
The rudder's not that small, but there's no fixed vertical surface. Which means you have to pay attention to yaw continuously, as there's little self-correcting capability.

If you look at the Nieuport replica in the background of Jack's picture, you'll see a sort of "hoop" below the tail with fabric covering. This is the tailwheel support for the CIRCA replicas; a lot of owners cover it to gain some sort yaw stability.

Ron Wanttaja
Click to expand...
The "Dawn Patrol" Nieuports had an adjustable bungee cord stick holder to at least partially account for the "all rudder" design.
 
X3 Skier said:
Rotary = Crank fixed, Cylinders and Prop rotate

Radial = Cylinders fixed, Prop and Crank rotate
Click to expand...
Except for the Siemens-Halske Sh.III, a 1918, 11-cylinder rotary that powered the Siemens-Schuckert D.III and D.IV. fighters. It had a rear bevel gear mechanism so that while the case spun at 900 rpm in one direction the crankshaft and prop spun 900 rpm in the opposite direction, canceling out most of the torque.
 
AZEL said:
Except for the Siemens-Halske Sh.III, a 1918, 11-cylinder rotary that powered the Siemens-Schuckert D.III and D.IV. fighters. It had a rear bevel gear mechanism so that while the case spun at 900 rpm in one direction the crankshaft and prop spun 900 rpm in the opposite direction, canceling out most of the torque.
Click to expand...
This is the kind of wild knowledge that keeps me coming back to PoA.
 
AZEL said:
Except for the Siemens-Halske Sh.III, a 1918, 11-cylinder rotary that powered the Siemens-Schuckert D.III and D.IV. fighters. It had a rear bevel gear mechanism so that while the case spun at 900 rpm in one direction the crankshaft and prop spun 900 rpm in the opposite direction, canceling out most of the torque.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I will run and tell my wife this.
 
AZEL said:
Except for the Siemens-Halske Sh.III, a 1918, 11-cylinder rotary that powered the Siemens-Schuckert D.III and D.IV. fighters. It had a rear bevel gear mechanism so that while the case spun at 900 rpm in one direction the crankshaft and prop spun 900 rpm in the opposite direction, canceling out most of the torque.
Click to expand...

I'll bet that was super reliable and never broke.
 
Ed Haywood said:
I'll bet that was super reliable and never broke.
Click to expand...
Paradoxically, one real advantage of Rotary designs was simplicity. Fewer items that exist means fewer items that can break. Most of what I have read indicates that the inability to obtain castor beans, native to East Africa and India, due to the ongoing blockade, was central to many mechanical failures during the time it took German scientists to figure out how to formulate effective engine lubricants from petroleum bases.
 
AZEL said:
Except for the Siemens-Halske Sh.III, a 1918, 11-cylinder rotary that powered the Siemens-Schuckert D.III and D.IV. fighters. It had a rear bevel gear mechanism so that while the case spun at 900 rpm in one direction the crankshaft and prop spun 900 rpm in the opposite direction, canceling out most of the torque.
Click to expand...
Never heard of it so thanks. OTOH, the mass of 11 Cast Iron Cylinders and Steel Pistons and Rods going one way while the Wood Prop and Crank are going the other wouldn't, I suspect, have much of a cancelling effect on Gyro Moment. Still the whole Rube Goldberg arrangement did have a lower moment due the slower rotational speeds.

en.wikipedia.org

Siemens-Halske Sh.III - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top