Sopwith Dove (oz7558)

 

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User comments

Just wondering did the pilot occupy the rear seat? Seems wrong.
SteveWMD - 25/03/2016
Pilot certainly did occupy the rear seat, passenger seat was near CG so no changes to balance at different pax weight.
GrahamG - 25/03/2016
Pilot in rear for better view of ground and student pilot in front seat.
dham - 25/03/2016
This bird was a Sopwith Pup with a passenger seat added in front of the pilot (where the gun usually lived). Even on tandem trainers where the student is often in front, a solo pilot would typically sit in the front seat for visibility and aircraft balance.
VinceL - 25/03/2016
Hi Steve and Mary. Some pictures of my Dove [see more pics 003-006]. The passenger sits in the cockpit closest to the design CG not to alter the actual CG position with or without passenger. Regards
Karsten - 25/03/2016
The Pilot is in the rear seat while this puts the passenger in the center of gravity. This means the balance does not change with or without passenger. Keep up the work on this fantastic site Steve.
Evert - 25/03/2016
Pilot Position: Not an error Steve, every two seats bipe is weight centered for single pilot seated on the rear in solo flight, because the more the eventual second occupant is near the CG the less is the tail trim correction for weight shifting. You can always see also today the first seats empty in solo flight.
Pit - 25/03/2016
I forget to say that every two Tandem seats plane is piloted by the rear seat in solo flight. Control stick is in both places, when there is a passanger the pilot seats in front position, he remains on the rear seat in case of training activity. This is the same for example in the famous Piper Cub, making more ridicolous the imagine of this plane Flying without a pilot.
Pit - 26/03/2016
Hi Mary and Steve. Please check this Foto of a fullsize Sopwith Dove Replica in flight ... www.airliners.net ... The Pilot is in the front seat
Pascal - 26/03/2016
Did Boddo do a bigger version of the Dove in AMI? I seem to remember a double plan done in two scales.
Marty - 01/08/2016
There was also a story that the reason the instructor sat in the back was that, in the event of a landing that was too heavy, the student would be the one who took the most damage and not the instructor
Daithi - 17/10/2016
Hi Steve, Both the de Havilland DH-94 Moth Minor and the Fairchild PT-19, PT-23 & PT-26, all two-seat trainers, were flown solo from the front seat. I owned both a PT-19 and a PT-26 and the only way that you could safely fly them solo was from the front seat. This was a requirement stated in the Pilot's Operating Manual due to CG issues. Keep up this GREAT website, and thanks.
rocketpilot - 27/03/2019
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