Author Topic: C.O.W Biplane 1912  (Read 6967 times)

Offline RLWP

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C.O.W Biplane 1912
« on: March 01, 2020, 03:27:27 AM »
Well, here we go again:



This was entrant No. 10 in the Military Aeroplane Competition of 1912: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912_British_Military_Aeroplane_Competition

The Coventry Ordnance Works put in two entries, 11 which failed due to engine problems, and 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COW_Biplane

I used to live near the Ordnance Works as a student, and live not far from Coventry now, so this aeroplane sparked my interest





Richard
« Last Edit: March 01, 2020, 03:31:53 AM by RLWP »
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Offline RLWP

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2020, 08:27:33 PM »
Not a bad days work. Fuselage basic box made:



And the engine in place:



That's a Gnome Omega Omega (two 7 cylinder Gnomes back-to-back) using the WNW kit. The engine in that form is in the Fokker E.IV, WNW thoughtfully include the correct front plate for the Gnome along with the Oberursel one. It's a lovely thing, these WNW Omegas/Oberursel engines are ideal for many early aeroplanes

I wanted to roughly mount the engine early to make sure it fitted the fuselage - the one on my Nieuport X fouls the sides. It also showed up inconsistencies in the drawings I found, one having the fuselage at 3' wide, another at 3'2"  - the latter is correct to fit the engine

So far, so good

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline RAGIII

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2020, 11:05:40 PM »
Great to see you working on another scratch build Richard! You have wasted No time on your start. Looks great to date!
RAGIII
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Offline kensar

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2020, 01:00:04 AM »
Quick progress, Richard.  In the picture, the engine looks off center to the fuse.  I trust it is centered.
I'll follow the COW - not too closely as I don't want to step in anything  :P

Offline RLWP

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2020, 01:16:19 AM »
Quick progress, Richard.  In the picture, the engine looks off center to the fuse.  I trust it is centered.
I'll follow the COW - not too closely as I don't want to step in anything  :P

It is balanced on top of a couple of bits of wood, just for show. So it could be siting almost anywhere at the moment

Just as well really, I have got the engine centreline too high and the side panels wrong - I forgot to check my drawings against photographs  :-[

I'm correcting that now

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline lone modeller

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2020, 06:40:40 AM »
This is a really interesting build and I will be following closely as usual. I do like these very early types - although this one is relatively simple by the standards of the time it is still a little known type and therefore has my full interest.

Stephen.

Offline Alexis

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2020, 11:05:31 AM »
Not the prettiest of aircraft , but it is interesting and different so I will follow along as well ( I don't want to be left out of the group you know  ;))

You are off to a cranking start so far Richard with the fuselage construction  :)


Terri
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Offline Dave Brewer

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2020, 04:43:45 PM »
These scratchbuilds of yours are fascinating Richard,an interesting subject,I'd not heard of this aircraft before.
Cheers,
Dave.

Offline bobs_buckles

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #8 on: March 04, 2020, 05:32:18 PM »
I like the look of this. I will be watching  8)

vB



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Offline RLWP

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2020, 07:26:26 PM »
This is a really interesting build and I will be following closely as usual. I do like these very early types - although this one is relatively simple by the standards of the time it is still a little known type and therefore has my full interest.

Stephen.

It does have some oddities about it that may come out as my build continues. Aeroplane 10 wasn't a success at the competition and went on to be rebuilt at Larkhill. The rebuild work was pretty extensive adding ailerons and increasing the wingspan quite a lot:



From: http://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft28648.htm

She eventually lost the geared propeller too.

These scratchbuilds of yours are fascinating Richard,an interesting subject,I'd not heard of this aircraft before.
Cheers,
Dave.

I guess I like to build aeroplanes that no-one else does, so a kit will have some unusual feature added, or a scratchbuild will be of something no-one in their right mind would make a kit of!

Not the prettiest of aircraft <snip>

Terri

What are you saying!  ;D

Here von Buckles might disagree (or not - depends what 'interesting' means)

Anyway, c'mon and shake your tail feathers:





She looks to have a lot of fixed tailplane and not a lot of elevator. The later rebuild added more surface area to these. I've just been rereading 'Sagittarius Rising' where Lewis refers to the all flying tailplane of the Morane Saulnier Parasol:



There was a lot of learning going on at that time. The Parasol was reportedly very lively to control, I guess number 10 was rather hard to disturb from whatever course it wanted to follow

Also, notice the full width fuselage running from engine to elevators, and the curious double headrest fairing for the side-by-side seating

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline bobs_buckles

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2020, 12:48:19 AM »
It was the backend that really tickled my attention - If you follow my meaning  :o

You seem to have hit the ground sprinting. Nice!

von B



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Offline RLWP

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2020, 04:51:58 AM »
It was the backend that really tickled my attention - If you follow my meaning  :o

You seem to have hit the ground sprinting. Nice!

von B

These big parts are relatively easy and quick to make. It will all slow down when I get around to the rigging, which appears to have been designed by a spider

For instance, the support wires on the elevators:



At least one more pair than usual

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline lone modeller

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2020, 07:51:43 AM »
It is the rigging that makes these early types so interesting at the end of the day. That and their shapes - as you write there was a great deal of learning going on at the time. Which makes me respect those early aviators and designers all the more.

Cracking model BTW!

Stephen

Offline RLWP

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #13 on: March 05, 2020, 06:47:01 PM »
It is the rigging that makes these early types so interesting at the end of the day.

The oddest feature is hard to find in photographs, this is the closest:



The struts have their own reinforcing wires. There is a horizontal king post on each side with a bracing wire running from the top, across the tip of the king post and back to the bottom of the strut.

You can make out the bottom of one of these bracing wires in this picture:



And that shows another unusual feature, the wing warping lines running through the bottom of the rear struts. There is a similar pair on the top of the wing

Strange stuff, reminds me of sheave blocks and bowsprits on sailing ships

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline RAGIII

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Re: C.O.W Biplane 1912
« Reply #14 on: March 05, 2020, 10:55:59 PM »
You have made quick work of the fuselage and tail surfaces and they look great! The rigging does look challenging but I am sure you ill manage!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler