Article: The Vintage Aviator - WW1 Airshow

[nigel watts]

Give yourself some credit Steve - there's nothing wrong with your photography and your images are terrific. Whats the story with these planes - are they locally owned? I presume they are replicas but are they full size or 3/4? Many years ago I went to visit an airshow of the Shuttleworth Collection at Biggleswade aerodrome in England. That too was a fascinating glimpse into the past.

[Steve Holmes]

Sopwith Triplane



Nieuport 11 Bebe. Paint scheme is based on the Italian Nieuport flown by Alvaro Leonardi, the monkey image is that of the "Happy Hooligan" comic strip character. Note the machine gun on top of the top wing which heavily disadvantaged this plane. By this stage the Germans had mastered the art of the interrupter gear, where the pilot could fire a machine through the spinning propeller blade without hitting the blade.