Fokker D.VII -- December 15, 2016

When I was a kid, someone gave me a book about World War One airplanes.  I virtually memorized it. The coffin-nosed Fokker D.VII was one of the greatest fighters of the war.  Fokker engineer Reinhold Platz designed it.  In the Armistice, Germany was specifically ordered to surrender all D.VIIs.

In July, 2010, we visited the Museum of Flight near Seattle.   I took this photo in the Personal Courage Wing, which features airplanes, mostly fighters, from World War One and World War Two.  The museum's D.VII is a replica with an original engine and machine guns.  It is painted in the colors of ace Rudolf Berthold. 

Nieuport 24bis - October 20, 2016

When I was a kid, someone gave me a book about World War One airplanes.  I virtually memorized it. The Nieuport 24bis was one of a long series of sesquiplane (wing-and-a-half) fighters from the French Nieuport company.  The 24 was more aerodynamically clean than its predecessor, the Nieuport 17.  The original 24 had problems with its tail, so the company produced the 24bis, whith a tail based on the 17.  The 24bis was soon replaced as a front line fighter by the Spad 7, but continued to be used as an advanced trainer.  This example is a reproduction. 


Ace Paul Tarascon named his 24bis Zigomar, after a popular series of stories and movies about a a master criminal. 

Motography, 29-March-1913

In July, 2010, we visited the Museum of Flight near Seattle.   I took this photo in the Personal Courage Wing, which features airplanes, mostly fighters, from World War One and World War Two.

Albatros D.Va -- January 11, 2016

When I was a kid, someone gave me a book about World War One airplanes.  I virtually memorized it. The Albatros D.Va was one of a long series of fighters from the German Albatros company, but it was not a success.  The D.Va had sesquiplane wings which tended to shear off when diving too fast.  It looks pretty cool with the dragon on the side, but the plane was generally unpopular with German pilots.  This is a reproduction. 

In July, 2010, we visited the Museum of Flight near Seattle.   I took this photo in the Personal Courage Wing, which features airplanes, mostly fighters, from World War One and World War Two.

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a -- December 9, 2015

When I was a kid, someone gave me a book about World War One airplanes.  I virtually memorized it.  One of my favorite fighters was the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a.  It was easier to fly than the Sopwith Camel, but was just about as effective.  I thought the Lewis gun on the top wing was a nice visual feature.  This is a reproduction. 

In July, 2010, we visited the Museum of Flight near Seattle.   I took this photo in the Personal Courage Wing, which features airplanes, mostly fighters, from World War One and World War Two.

Sopwith Triplane -- November 5, 2015

A reproduction of a Sopwith Triplane, a nimble fighter flown mostly by Britain's Royal Naval Air Service.  The "B" Flight of Number 10 Naval Squadron was called The Black Flight because their planes were painted black and named things like "Black Prince" and "Black Death."  All the pilots of the flight were Canadians, and it produced some of Canada's greatest aces like Raymond Collishaw.

After they saw the Tripe, the Germans wanted their own triplane fighter.

In July, 2010, we visited the Museum of Flight near Seattle.   I took this photo in the Personal Courage Wing, which features airplanes, mostly fighters, from World War One and World War Two.

Synchronized Machine Gun -- July 1, 1915

100 years ago today, on 01-July-1915, German Leutnant Kurt Wintgens, flying an early model Fokker Eindecker shot down a French Morane-Saulnier Type L Parasol scout near Lunéville, France.  This was the first victory of an airplane filing a synchronized machine gun through the propeller arc.  The French observer fought back with a carbine, but could not hold off the better-armed German airplane. 

Wintgens later received the Pour le Mérite.  He was a rare fighter pilot who wore glasses.  He was killed in action on 25-September-1916. 

In July, 2010, we visited the Museum of Flight near Seattle.   I took this photo in the Personal Courage Wing, which features airplanes, mostly fighters, from World War One and World War Two. This is a reproduction of a Fokker E.III, a later model than Wintgens flew in 1915. 

Caproni Ca.20 -- August 1, 2010

Another highlight of our July, 2010 visit to Seattle was the Museum of Flight. It is an enormous collection that we were not able to finish going through in three hours. I took this photo in the Personal Courage Wing, which features airplanes, mostly fighters, from World War One and World War Two. This is the only Ca.20 built, which was saved in a barn by Gianni Caproni and his family. Built in 1914, the Ca.20 was one of the earliest airplanes designed as a fighter. The machine gun sits on the stand above the single wing so it can fire over the arc of the propeller. The propeller seemed too short to me, but perhaps that was to make it easier to fire over.