Our correspondent John Freedman takes us into the pilot’s seats of a unique collection of Great War aircraft, thanks to insights from The Vintage Aviator Limited’s aircrew.
In the predawn light, before the sun had risen over the hills surrounding the New Zealand town of Masterton, a group of enthusiastic pilots and support crew assembled on Saturday the 24 April 2010 for ANZAC airshow put on by The Vintage Aviator Limited (TVAL).
Before them was a remarkable cross-section of rare re-creations of the Great War era aircraft, from the lumbering F.E.2b, through to the diminutive Nieuport 11, Pfalz DIII, multiple Fokker Triplanes, and a D.VII, RAF S.E.5s, Sopwith Camel and Triplane, and Albatros DVa. There were also three original aircraft, a Bristol Fighter F.2b, Avro 504K, and B.E.2.
Even though many of the aircraft are reproductions, their engines are not. The Sopwith Camel has a Gnome rotary, the Nieuport 11 a Le Rhone, the S.E.5as by Hispano Suiza engines, and the F.E.2b powered by a rare Beardmore engine found in Uruguay. Their cockpits are exact replications too, with no radios fitted. All displays and formation flights are conducted after thorough briefings.
A highlight for many visitors was TVAL’s recent build, the massive F.E.2b. The ‘Fee’ is a type that has not been seen anywhere, not even in museums since the Great War. When viewed up close you can understand why cabinetmakers were pressed into service during W.W.I – it is a work of art.
The show included the British formations of the Fee leading the three S.E.5a fighters, and the Bristol Fighter leading the Sopwith Triplane. Sights like these have not been seen since the armistice of 1918 – particularly the ‘three on three’ mock battle between the Fokker Triplanes and the S.E.5a scouts.
In the hot seats
What is it like to fly these rare frail fighters?
“Each airplane has its own personality – that’s why I like aircraft from this time period so much,” states TVAL’s Gene De Marco, one of the most experienced pilots of Great War aircraft. “Earlier aircraft were a challenge and often very temperamental and sometime barely flew, but these W.W.I aircraft were machines designed with a mission in mind.”
So what draws pilots to fly these aircraft? Tim Sullivan explains: “I come from a background of flying older aircraft – Tiger Moths, Stearmans, AT6’s, Staggerwings and other World War II era machines. They were the dreams I pursued. About ten years ago I was privileged to enter the 1914-1918 world via a Fokker Dr I replica and I was hooked.”
Tim flies a different type of Fokker for a living – an F-27. He adds: “Since then I have acquired time and experience in many 1914-1918 machines, replica, reproduction and original, and it has been challenging as well a rewarding to experience aviation from the early days. A good foundation in other older aircraft, such as the Tiger Moth, enhances the understanding of the low energy and high drag nature of the machines. It isn’t rocket science; it is simply back to the absolute basics of managing the machine, proper handling and common sense.”
One of the most experienced pilots is retired RNZAF fighter pilot and ex-Wing Commander John Lanham, now General Manager of General Aviation in New Zealand’s CAA. He has flown W.W.I and W.W.II fighters through to supersonic jets.
“W.W.I aircraft are primitive and generally unstable in all three axes, as aerodynamics and stability were only just becoming understood. Accordingly, they must be flown with hands and feet all the time, as many cannot be trimmed – excepting sometimes in pitch. Engines, particularly rotary engines, are also primitive, requiring constant attention from the pilot. Take off and landing requires particular care, as the aircraft have only a tailskid and no brakes and must be kept absolutely straight to avoid mishaps. Once accustomed to the differences, however, an experienced pilot will find that the aircraft are challenging in the sense of engine and aircraft handling rather than in performance, as most operate in the range of 60-120 knots only."
Kerry Conner, a Masterton based flight instructor, the only female pilot in the group adds: “Great War aircraft are quite different to fly to modern ones. There are instrumentation and design features of today’s aircraft which are non existent in the W.W.I aircraft. For example the Pfalz does not have a turn indicator or turn coordinator, no artificial horizon, and no direction indicator. The Pfalz does not even have a balance indicator, so you have to fly these aircraft very much by the ‘seat of your pants’. You need to be able to feel when the aircraft wants to fly, when it wants to take off and know when it is ready to land. The basic skills of flying are required.”
The Avro 504K is a restored original that was used by the RNZAF as a trainer, and was flown by TVAL Flying Display Director Tim Sullivan. In rotary engines like that fitted to the Avro, the propeller and the entire engine rotate together, creating an interesting combination of torque and power.
Tim says: “Your power is controlled by a blip switch, located on the top of the control stick that when pressed removes the spark entirely from the mixture in the cylinders, or when released allows the engine to run. How hard can it be? Humbling! I found that flying the aircraft is the easy part. Developing the ‘ear’ and technique for managing the engine is an ongoing process, if not an art form.”
Gene De Marco is the highest time Sopwith Camel pilot in the world.
“Being at the controls of a Sopwith Camel is truly ‘seat of the pants’ flying. The pilot must use all of his senses to master this machine. There is no oil pressure gauge – you simply smell the oil and see the tiny oil droplets accumulating on the leading edges of the lower wing.
"Feeling a vibration may mean that one of the spark plugs has become oil fouled or the mixture is too rich; the wind on your cheek means the turn is not coordinated or the airplane is skidding. With its rotary engine, short fuselage and four ailerons, it is very maneuverable and due to the rotating engine it has some very unusual handling characteristics.
"Left turns are very easy and can be accomplished at any power setting. Right turns are the ones that get exciting. Straight and level flight requires some work, the pilot must constantly ‘blip’ the engine on and off or choose a position on the selector switch that will allow the engine to run at partial power or risk over-speeding.”
The S.E.5a formation was lead by John Lanham. He says: “The S.E.5a is a delightful aircraft to fly. It is easy to take off and land, well harmonised, stable and leaps into the air. The Hispano Suiza engine is reliable, responsive and throttlable over its range. The only aspect requiring some monitoring is engine cooling, as the engine is water-cooled and temperatures rise or fall quickly with power settings, speed and outside air temperature.
"The S.E.5a feels like a fighter, it is highly maneuverable and forgiving. W.W.I pilots found it a steady gun platform and not for nothing was it called ‘the ace maker’. It actually feels like a much more modern aircraft, perhaps from the thirties, and is easier to fly than many aircraft from that later era. I always wanted to fly one and I love it.”
John also flies the Nieuport 11 in the display: “Like later Nieuports, the Nieuport 11 C1 (affectionately known as the ‘Bebe’ French for ‘Baby’) is a sesquiplane in that the lower wing has much narrower chord than the top wing. This requires care on touch down as the configuration is prone to wing drop.
"The ‘Bebe’ is a brilliant performer compared with what was in use elsewhere at the time. It is very agile with good rate of climb and speed. Its Achilles heel is the fragility of the wing structure, in that the lower wing can flex during turns and dives and its rotary engine inhibits turning one way (in this aircraft, to the left) and a common rotary characteristic.
"As with all rotaries, the pilot spends as much time ‘managing’ the engine as he does flying the aircraft. Care is necessary when maneuvering at low speed, as the rotary engine torque and gyroscopic effects can overpower the aerodynamic controls. The aircraft is quite tiny, with a relatively cramped cockpit and seating position. But it is a delightful little machine to fly; to my mind, a 1916 Pitts Special.” states Lanham.
Flying the Pfalz DIII replica built for the 1966 motion picture ‘The Blue Max’ is Kerry Conner. What is it like to fly?
“The Pfalz is very similar to a Tiger Moth to fly (probably because it is made from two Tiger Moths!) but there are some noticeable differences. The first difference is the Pfalz is heavier in the controls than a Tiger and the aircraft itself is heavier than a Tiger. More rudder input is required in the Pfalz, and with no balance indicator, you establish if the aircraft is correctly balanced by the wind blowing on your face.
"Forward visibility is more limited in the Pfalz due to the cockpit and fuselage design with the six cylinder engine limiting visibility straight ahead. In a turn, however, the Pfalz has very good visibility as the pilot can easily look over the top wing.
“Landing the aircraft requires a little power to counteract any sink with the descent of the relatively heavy airframe, but a 3-point or wheel landing are both easily carried out without any problems. The ground roll on landing is short as the tail skid digs into the ground with the very heavy tail and helps pull the aircraft to a stop.” says Conner.
The Vintage Aviator puts on these shows to give something back to their local community. “We operate these wonderful aircraft and build them for collectors and museums all over the world, it is just a chance to let those closer to home see what we are capable of here in New Zealand and what TVAL does,” says Gene.
After hibernating for the winter, The Vintage Aviator planes and crews can be seen at Hood Aerodrome for the Remembrance Day show on the 13th November 2010, and again at the Wings Over Wairarapa 2011 on the 21st to 23rd January. See www.wings.org.nz or www.thevintageaviator.co.nz for more information.
Thanks to Gene De Marco, Tim Sullivan, Kerry Conner, The Vintage Aviator Ltd and all the pilots and crews.