Sopwith Triplane (oz1850)

About this Plan

Sopwith Triplane. Free flight scale model. April 1954 Aeromodeller.

Quote: "THE charm of the biplane needs no emphasis - add a wing and make it a triplane - the result is sheer fascination. Vic King's Sopwith Triplane augments the APS stable which already includes the 40 in Sopwith Pup (oz1570) and 42 in Sopwith Camel (oz873).

This is a sound reliable scale design, with pendulum rudder for auto stability and is a veteran of many flights using one of the older type Amco .87 diesels. Advised power is around .75 cc and since the area of the three wings tots up to no less than 417 square inches, the loading is reduced to a favourable 4 oz/sq ft.

The full-size Triplane arrived at a time when the German Air Force on the Western Front was being reinforced by the early types of Albatross single seaters, which were so vastly superior to the FE.2's, BE's and Sopwith One-and-a-half Strutter's, etc in service at that time in the RFC. In the hands of a pilot who understood the vices and virtues of the machine it was a potent weapon. It had an extremely good rate of climb and it was exceedingly manoeuvrable at heights up to and above 17,000 feet.

One of the most famous Squadrons to be equipped with this type of machine was Naval Squadron No. 8, commanded by the famous Canadian Ace of over 60 victories, Captain Ray Collishaw. The original model is finished in the latter Squadron colours.

Model detail. Since this is a scale model for the reasonably experienced modeller, constructional details do not require full description although the following points should be kept in mind.

Care should be taken to select only the hardest wood for the longerons. Ensure that the wire wing supports are well bound in. The wire tongues should be soldered carefully and accurately in place, and bent to the dihedral angle after soldering.

Use good hard stock for all the wing spars. Do not forget to put the small hooks in to take the flying wires and wing strut tensioners. Check the incidences for the middle and bottom wings relative to the top longeron, as this is parallel to the datum. Make sure that the wing tip struts are a good fit in their slots. When fitting the pendulum rudder, check that the amount of movement is greater to the right than to the left. Dope the fuselage well around the fire wall before covering and use a good grain filler on the cowling. The model may be coloured in the normal khaki and pale cream of the period with a black or polished alloy cowling..."

Update 12/06/2016: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy (mainly redrawn from scratch) thanks to TonyP.

Supplementary file notes

Article page, text and pic. Also, previous scan version.

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