Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter (oz4142)

 

Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter (oz4142) by John Berryman 1994 - plan thumbnail

About this Plan

Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter. Peanut scale model.

Update 28/03/2020: Added article, thanks to Pit.

Quote: "Everyone likes biplanes - here's a Peanut version of a WWI favorite. BY JOHN BERRYMAN

The prototype 1-1/2 Strutter flew in December 1915, and the first production versions entered service in early 1916. Well liked by their crews and reliable by the standards of the day, the Sopwith soldiered on in various capacities (two-seat fighter, observation aircraft, light bomber, etc) until the end of the war. It was probably one of the first aircraft to feature 'dive brakes,' indicated by the dashed square panels at the roots of the lower wing. Later versions of the fighter were powered by a 130-hp Clerget rotary engine, and the ship could top 100 mph - fairly sprightly performance for a two-seater.

Sopwith's 1-1/2 Strutter (so called because of the cabane struts that reach out to mid-span on the upper wing) presents several features of interest to the Peanuteer. Unlike most WWI rotary-engined ships, the Sopwith actually has a bit of a nose moment. In addition, the tail surfaces are boxy enough to withstand some judicious enlarging via the office copier without appearing to be excessively non-scale (the surfaces shown on the plans are about 120 percent of scale).

Better still, the fuselage is also boxy enough to permit fairly light building techniques to be used - always a consideration when inherently clunky biplane subjects are considered. And finally, a substantial number of 1-1/2 Strutters (including my version) seem to have been built as unarmed aircraft. Avoiding the necessity of building itsy-bitsy Vickers and Lewis guns and associated Scarff rings and the like, reduces complexity and saves weight.

CONSTRUCTION: Wing: Not much really new here. Note that the dashed structural lines refer to differences between the upper and lower wing, and that the mounts for the jury struts are required only on the upper wing. Otherwise, the wings are identical. If you like an additional bit of insurance, you can certainly increase the dihedral from 3/8 to 1/2 in per panel..."

Supplementary file notes

Article.

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Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter (oz4142) by John Berryman 1994 - model pic

Datafile:
  • (oz4142)
    Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter
    by John Berryman
    from Model Builder
    June 1994 
    13in span
    Scale Rubber F/F Biplane Military
    clean :)
    all formers complete :)
    got article :)
  • Submitted: 19/03/2013
    Filesize: 177KB
    Format: • PDFbitmap
    Credit*: Pilgrim
    Downloads: 1415

ScaleType:
  • Sopwith_1½_Strutter | help
    see Wikipedia | search Outerzone
    ------------
    Test link:
    search RCLibrary 3views (opens in new window)


    ScaleType: This (oz4142) 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_1½_Strutter
    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.

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Notes

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Scaling

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