Evening All,
Here are some pictures of the completed model - build thread is in the scratch-build section if you missed it.
Maurice Farman was one of two brothers who each established aviation companies in France in the first decade of the 20th century and who went on to become important pioneers in the years immediately before 1914. Maurice designed a number of machines before the successful pusher layout with a front elevator was adopted. Looking a little like the Wright brothers "Flyer" and its derivatives, Farman followed an idea that was fashionable at the time that connected front and rear elevators helped with horizontal stability. This was M. Farman's first truly successful design which gained a number of records including a distance record of 350 miles in a closed circuit in 1910, and successive duration records between 1911 and 1913. (The Bristol Boxkite was a copy of this design, built by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company from 1910 until 1914).
It was a robust, reliable machine which was relatively easy to fly and this, combined with its flying record meant that it was entered for the British Military aircraft trials held on Salisbury Plain in 1911. Following success in these trials a number of machines were ordered for the RFC and RNAS in 1911, and it was used for reconnaissance by 2, 4 and 6 squadrons RFC (where it was known as the S7), and training in the years leading to the First World War.
Following the outbreak of hostilities a few went to France where they were used for reconnaissance but they were quickly withdrawn and from then on only used for training. However at least one machine found its way to the middle east where it was used for reconnaissance in the campaign in Mesopotamia against the Turks that led to the siege at Kut in 1916.
The French continued to use the type for reconnaissance on the western front until mid-1915 when they too withdrew it from front line duties and used it for training purposes. Most machines were built in France and equipped with 70 hp Renault engines, but some were built under licence in Bradford which were powered by 100 hp Sunbeams, and 47 others built in the UK were powered by 75 hp Rolls Royce Hawks. One aircraft was sold to Norway and this survives in a museum in Oslo: other machines are preserved in Paris and Brussels.
Individual aircraft varied from each other as these were hand built, so the exhaust systems of the engines varied, and some later aircraft had fold-down extensions of the upper main-planes, while others had narrow chord lower planes. I have seen photographs of RFC machines with rudder stripes but have not found any with other markings except for the number 12 applied in chalk or white paint on the rudders of the machine at the trials in 1911.
I assume that serial numbers were carried on RFC and RNAS machines as was customary prior to August 1914 and possibly Union Jacks were carried on the underside of the lower wings on machines sent to France. However I have tried to represent a machine in early 1914 and because I could not find a photo of one with a serial I have omitted the latter detail. The model represents a "standard" RFC machine with a 70hp Renault engine with one of at least two exhaust systems for this engine. No armament was carried by MF 7's unless the pilot or observer took up a personal weapon.
It is said that riggers in the RFC and RNAS used to release a pigeon inside the airframe to see if it could escape - if it could a wire was missing! Has anyone got a 172 scale flying pigeon that I could use to see if I have missed any wires? There are just under 200 on this model - more even than the Etrich Taube!
Now we just need Bob Hallinger to build one in 1/32 scale: are you ready Bob?
