Sopwith Tabloid (oz4066)
About this Plan
Sopwith Tabloid. Stand-off scale pre-WWI racer, biplane for 3 channel RC. Original had OS Max .20 engine, mounted inverted.
Direct submission to Outerzone.
Update 19/04/2020: Added article, thanks to Pit.
Quote: "Sopwith Tabloid, by Chris Moes. The author/designer of our popular Woody Pusher (Aug '74 MB) presents another interesting scale model, the plane on the cover. Three channel radio is perfect - there were no ailerons on early originals!
The 1913 Sopwith Tabloid was an entirely new conception in aircraft design. When one considers its contemporaries, it is truly a classic example of compact simplicity. Designed and developed before the first great war, it proved to be the shape of things to come during the war years.
The prototype flew in public for the first time at Hendon, England, in November 1913. With Harry Hawker as pilot, and one passenger, it achieved a level speed of 92 mph and climbed to 1200 ft in one minute. On April 20th 1914, Howard Pixton flew a float equipped version to victory in the Schneider Race for seaplanes at an average speed of 86.78 mph (nearly double the speed of the 1913 winner).
It was at about this time that Tabloids entered military production, retaining the wheel and skid landing gear of the prototype, but otherwise similar to the Schneider machine. Major JT McCudden VC recorded the arrival of the first pair of RFC Tabloids at St Quentin, France in August of 1914: They did not avail us much as fighting machines, in that they were not fitted in any way with firearms, but they could and did perform excellently from a scouting point of view.
Military production of Tabloids stopped at around forty. Most of these were equipped with Le Rhone 80 hp rotary engines, were covered in clear doped fabric, lacked ailerons (wing warping), and had the skid-wheel landing gear.
And so goes a brief history of this interesting, elegant, but not so well known aircraft. Now, let's look at the model. So why did I choose to build a model of the Tabloid?
First of all, I love biplanes. For those of you who have flown biplanes - well, you know what I'm talking about. For those who haven't, you're really missing something.
In my search for a suitable scale subject. I soon came across three-views of the Tabloid. It really has a great deal going for it; lots of area, simple yet attractive lines, and reasonable moments (which meant I shouldn't have to add any lead).
It also had landing skids to be contended with. Well, they were beneficial on the real one, so no reason why they shouldn't be on the model. In fact, because of the skids, the landing gear can be far enough back to eliminate ground looping without having to worry about nose overs.
But most important, my models (usually scale) have got to be a little different. The Tabloid fits this specification nicely. Aside from its landing gear, the model has a few other unique but advantageous characteristics. The fact that the fabric need only be clear doped helps keep the weight down, especially in the tail. Mine is under 3 lbs. wet.
The cable controlled surfaces are per-haps a bit more work to install, but are well worth the effort They are surprisingly direct in their action and look great.
When I designed the model, l was equipped with only a three channel radio, so the prototype's lack of ailerons looked very inviting. With the dihedral increased slightly (from scale), the mod-el is a marvelous performer with only REM controls.
I can already imagine people thinking, I know, I'll beef it up, add ailerons (later Tabloids did have them), and use that new .35. Well, please resist the temptation. Build light, use only enough power to safely fly it, and I can assure, you will be amply rewarded. Many pilots feel they should have a 'reserve' of power in scale planes. An excellent idea, but all too often, these pilots are using their reserve all the time, and totally destroy realism by the excess speed. A habit develops, and they've lost the technique of flying slow..."
Supplementary file notes
Article.
Corrections?
Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)?
That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction
-
(oz4066)
Sopwith Tabloid
by Chris Moes
from Model Builder
August 1975
42in span
Scale IC R/C Biplane Racer Civil
clean :)
all formers complete :)
got article :) -
Submitted: 25/02/2013
Filesize: 952KB
Format: • PDFbitmap
Credit*: theshadow
Downloads: 1631
-
Sopwith_Tabloid | help
see Wikipedia | search Outerzone
------------
Test link:
search RCLibrary 3views (opens in new window)
ScaleType: This (oz4066) is a scale plan. Where possible we link scale plans to Wikipedia, using a text string called ScaleType.
If we got this right, you now have a couple of direct links (above) to 1. see the Wikipedia page, and 2. search Oz for more plans of this type. If we didn't, then see below.
Notes:
ScaleType is formed from the last part of the Wikipedia page address, which here is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Tabloid
Wikipedia page addresses may well change over time.
For more obscure types, there currently will be no Wiki page found. We tag these cases as ScaleType = NotFound. These will change over time.
Corrections? Use the correction form to tell us the new/better ScaleType link we should be using. Thanks.
Do you have a photo you'd like to submit for this page? Then email admin@outerzone.co.uk
User comments
No comments yet for this plan. Got something to say about this one?Add a comment
- Sopwith Tabloid (oz4066)
- Plan File Filesize: 952KB Filename: Sopwith_Tabloid-MB-08-75_oz4066.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 3175KB Filename: Sopwith_Tabloid-MB-08-75_oz4066_article.pdf
- help with downloads
Notes
* Credit field
The Credit field in the Outerzone database is designed to recognise and credit the hard work done in scanning and digitally cleaning these vintage and old timer model aircraft plans to get them into a usable format. Currently, it is also used to credit people simply for uploading the plan to a forum on the internet. Which is not quite the same thing. This will change soon. Probably.
Scaling
This model plan (like all plans on Outerzone) is supposedly scaled correctly and supposedly will print out nicely at the right size. But that doesn't always happen. If you are about to start building a model plane using this free plan, you are strongly advised to check the scaling very, very carefully before cutting any balsa wood.
Terms of Use
© Outerzone, 2011-2024.
All content is free to download for personal use.
For non-personal use and/or publication: plans, photos, excerpts, links etc may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Outerzone with appropriate and specific direction to the original content i.e. a direct hyperlink back to the Outerzone source page.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's owner is strictly prohibited. If we discover that content is being stolen, we will consider filing a formal DMCA notice.