100 Years Ago today... the "Fighter" is born

[AER_DaddyO]

Hello All,

Just thought I would mention that 100 years ago today, July 1, 1915, marks the first time in history that an aircraft was shot down, by way of a machine gun synchronized to fire through a spinning propeller. Other aircraft had been destroyed before, by the use of make-shift devices being mounted on pre-WWI "sport" airplanes. Steel propeller deflectors, aerial bombs, grappling hooks, and even aerial ramming had been successful, albeit in a very limited capacity. However, this was the first time that an aircraft was destroyed by another aircraft, specifically designed and purpose built to accomplish the task. The aircraft involved, was an early version of the Fokker "Eindecker" monoplane, and it heralded the opening of a new chapter in aerial combat, the infamous "Fokker Scourge". The "Fighter", as we know it, was born.

Read about it in more detail here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Wintgens


A short Eindecker reproduction flight video, here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AdUfiYKePU

Salute! AER_DaddyO
"Don't just stand there... get one up!"

[Blood_Hawk23]

And so starts our obsession with military aircraft.

How goes the work on the Eindecker?

[AER_DaddyO]

John:

Yup...Obsessed would be an accurate description. In grade school, I read "They Fought For The Sky" , by Quentin Reynolds, and I was captivated with WWI aviation. It's funny how we can get involved with something in childhood, and it then expands into a lifetime interest. Here I am at 65, still challenged, exploring, and trying to learn all that I can about the aerial combat Pioneers and their "flying machines". Thank You, Mr. Reynolds.

The Eindecker: there were many versions, and the E.III was but the culmination of the many models that preceded it. There is still much debate among Historians as to the specs of the various types, so I have branched off a bit, and am now trying to find out how these planes flew from a pilot's perspective. As no original-flyable Eindeckers exist, thought I would see what was on UTube in the way of "reproduction" Eindeckers. Almost all of what I found there, were nice "sport" flyers that had ailerons and/or radial engines. Close, but no cigar. I found only one short video of an Eindecker that used wing warp AND employed a period rotary engine, and that's the one that I linked on my original post. Since then, I have dug some more. That video, as it turns out, was made at Orange County airport [now John Wayne Airport], in Santa Ana California, about 1963. The plane had been painstakingly researched and constructed by an Air Force career man, who wanted a "real" Eindecker. The plane [numbered 417/15] had just been sold to Hollywood stunt pilot Frank Tallman, for use at his facility, "Movieland of the Air", which was based at the airport. Further digging took me to Google Books, where there are archived copies of "Flying" magazine. Bingo. In the May, 1964 issue of "Flying", is Mr. Tallman's synopsis of how 417/15 actually flew. So, I am now getting a better insight into the Eindecker, both data wise and from a "stick and rudder" man's perspective. Of course, the challenge will be to transpose all of this info into an airfile set. Should be fun. After all, it's an obsession.

By the way: If you are not familiar with Frank Tallman, and his business partner, Paul Mantz, their aviation exploits are absolutely fascinating and worth a look see.

Gotta GO. AER_DaddyO

"Don't just stand there... get one up!"