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#4034055 - 11/10/14 11:13 AM DR 1 or Camel  
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Which could turn tighter in real life? Which would be victorious in a 1 vs 1 ?

#4034061 - 11/10/14 12:09 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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I'm not the aircraft expert but from what little I've gathered over the years, I would say the following. Camel turns faster to the right, DR 1 is faster to the left. Either could win, depending on the pilots skill though due to it's slower speed, I imagine once the DR 1 did engage in combat it would be difficult to disengage. Perhaps it could out-climb the camel?


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#4034068 - 11/10/14 12:33 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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#4034069 - 11/10/14 12:42 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Olham Offline
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The aircraft alone is never victorious, JimBobb - German aces shot down Sopwith Camel
while flying only the Albatros D.V themselves.

But if it comes to simply comparing both aircrafts' abilities, here is a video.

Not sure if they mentioned the Fokker's "flat turn" in this film.
That was an ability the "instabile" aircraft had - it could turn 180° without banking at all.
Not sure how fast it did, but Werner Voss used it very well against the 5 S.E.5a he fought
in his last fight. He put holes into all of them, and the British aces were deeply impressed.

But a dogfight has so many unforeseeable elements, that no one would like to fight them in
real life. And Voss got killed in the end.



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#4034089 - 11/10/14 02:01 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Originally Posted By: JimBobb
Which could turn tighter in real life? Which would be victorious in a 1 vs 1 ?


Easy. Usually the guy who saw the other guy first and/or was never seen himself. However, I concede that was not an across-the-board guarantee. Look at Roy Brown’s failure to shoot down Richthofen during his surprise attack. (That’s right, folks: failure. The world is round and our solar system heliocentric, despite what we used to believe.)

Regarding turning, there are no flyable Dr.Is left. But Fred Murrin has a to-the-spec reproduction of one with an Oberursel, and he writes:

"It has long been accepted that the Dr.I could turn faster in one direction than in the opposite direction. I could not remember which way it was supposed to turn faster, so I decided to try it. After 16 years of flying the rotary Dr.I, I still can't tell which way it turns faster. It turns both ways equally fast and is not a function of the torque, rather the short fuselage and wings."

Other interesting first-hand comments from this knowledgeable man:

"The Dr.I has no dihedral in its wings and no vertical stabilizer, so a skidding turn was not difficult to make. The short fuselage and concentrated masses were also factors that helped with this unusual capability. The rotating engine, oddly enough, does little to inhibit the airplane's maneuverability. However, it does put a bending load on the crankshaft that could cause damage."

"Having attempted this flat turn in my own rotary Dr.I on several occasions, I can say the description that Voss 'threw his tail behind him' seems like a reasonable observation. When doing so, the airplane goes into buffeting caused by the obvious stall from the airflow going nearly span-wise across the wings. The nose doesn't drop, but the airplane is going very slow at this point. Given the marginal aileron performance and easy skidding qualities of the design, it is understandable that Voss and other pilots would find it expedient to turn with the rudder while fighting an airplane at the same altitude."

"Flying a rotary-powered Fokker Dr.I that is accurately built and with the same wing loading as an original [as does his] is not all that difficult, but landing it safely is the biggest challenge."

On the other side, Javier Arango has a just-as-accurate Camel reproduction with a Gnome rotary engine. Some of his comments:

“Flying the Sopwith Camel is a constant job. Its center of gravity is much farther back than that of our modern airplanes. This causes the Camel to be neutrally stable in pitch and yaw. The Camel does not naturally return to a stable flight speed. On the contrary, it tends to pick its own way, diverging at will with minimal warning to the pilot. One benefit is that control forces in pitch and yaw are minimal throughout its wide range of speeds. They are, in fact, so light that the airplane has no elevator trim. Our modern airplanes require constant use of a trim tab to adjust for control forces with a deviation of even 20 knots. The Camel can extend its speed through an envelope of 100 knots or more without use of a trim. On the other hand, the pilot must continuously fly the airplane, unable to let it go for long. This lack of positive stability is not a difficult thing to master. A moderately experienced pilot can easily learn to overcome this tendency. Bicycles are unstable too and yet we can all learn to ride them.”

“The Camel has poor control harmony; the elevators are very sensitive, the rudder has very little feel, and the ailerons are quite heavy. Managing the rotary engine is not as simple as operating a Hispano-Suiza, for example…When full power is selected, the Camel accelerates almost instantaneously, driven by its very large, efficient propeller, turning at low RPM, even at full power.”

“All these qualities may imply that the Camel is a difficult airplane to fly. It must have been to a pilot with very limited experience, mostly in underpowered, lumbering old planes. To such pilots, the immediate and aggressive acceleration of the Camel, combined with its light pitch forces, must have been startling, often leading to accidents. But the truth is that if one has the luxury of learning the ways of the Camel in peace, under good conditions, and with the benefit of experience, the airplane is a pleasure to fly. Pilots learn to adapt to the particular demands of the Camel very quickly. Within a few flights, the busy workload becomes second nature.”

#4034092 - 11/10/14 02:09 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Quote:
I can say the description that Voss 'threw his tail behind him' seems like a reasonable observation.


Wow amazing ! i have pictured this and now i want to do this in WOFF in a DR 1 smile

#4034103 - 11/10/14 02:35 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Great to see so much good knowledge from people who had the chance to fly these aircraft -
thanks for sharing, Jim!


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#4034105 - 11/10/14 02:36 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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When I compare both Planes in WOFF, I'd say the Dr1 would be far superior if... well, if there wouldn't be the Probability of the Top-Wing ripping apart in freaky maneuvers. This seemed to be a Problem in real life, also, as one can read here and there...

#4034106 - 11/10/14 02:37 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Hadn't seen that video before, good watch

#4034183 - 11/10/14 05:23 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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I have tried executing a flat turn in the DR1 in OFF but not in WOFF. It was possible in OFF but the execution is slow and I suspect not realistic.


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#4034193 - 11/10/14 05:43 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Yep, the Dr.I cannot perform that manoeuvre in WOFF.
I guess it is hard to achieve that ability in a sim FM - the RoF Fokker also cannot do it.
A pity...

Nietzsche, the top-wing was only a problem on the first batch of Fokkers.
The upper wing main box-type spar had been glued with a glue, that got loose
under the influence of moisture - which got trapped in the wing due to it's airfoil.
The Dr.I was withdrawn and restructured, and only saw service again in early 1918 (February, I think).


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#4034201 - 11/10/14 06:20 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Glued?!?
What did they use on the lower Wings? Scotch Tape?
skyisfalling

#4034272 - 11/10/14 09:20 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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It causes some form of reaction and when it dries the piece is basically one solid piece of wood.Top quality wood furniture is actually glued together by using wood glue or Elmers glue as they can be substituted.I built a piece of furniture for my dad once and when he found out I glued the top piece on only he threw a hissy fit.I still vividly remember him hanging off this extending piece of wood trying his hardest to break it off with no luck.

taz spartasign

Last edited by Wolfstriked; 11/10/14 09:21 PM.
#4034279 - 11/10/14 09:27 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: Nietzsche]  
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Olham Offline
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Originally Posted By: Nietzsche
Glued?!?
What did they use on the lower Wings? Scotch Tape?
skyisfalling


AFAIK, the panels were glued and nailed together.

The main spars of the lower wings were much shorter and maybe
didn't break up as easily as the upper one did.



Last edited by Olham; 11/10/14 09:30 PM.

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#4034555 - 11/11/14 12:54 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Wow... that really looks frighteningly fragile.
I guess that's the only way to achieve agility. If you build a plane solid as a brick - it sure flies like one...
@Wolf:
You are absolutely right. I'm shooting Hornbows in my Sparetime. They are made of multiple Layers, that are only glued toghether, too - with something, that essentially is boiled Fish-Slime...
I s just the way it sounds, that made me shiver: "No Problem. I fixed your Wings with a fresh tube of All-Purpose-Glue and a spool of iron wire." LOL

#4034563 - 11/11/14 01:17 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: Nietzsche]  
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Originally Posted By: Nietzsche
Wow... that really looks frighteningly fragile.

The Camel's framework is looking even more fragile to me.
I often wonder, how daring they were to climb into these kites and perform
the most stunning manoeuvres in them...



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#4034571 - 11/11/14 01:33 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Simply done. Don't tell 'em how they were built biggrin

#4034572 - 11/11/14 01:35 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: Nietzsche]  
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Originally Posted By: Nietzsche
Simply done. Don't tell 'em how they were built biggrin


Or just show them what the trenches look like... eek


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#4034597 - 11/11/14 02:33 PM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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Mmuahahahahaaa!!!


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#4034871 - 11/12/14 01:06 AM Re: DR 1 or Camel [Re: JimBobb]  
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The Dr1 can perform a skid turn in WOFF. It seems to go to the right better than the left (although that could be my imagination), but both directions are possible. With full rudder application you can change heading as much as 60 to 70 degrees in just a few seconds but it's impossible to maintain control more much longer than that. However if you don't apply as much rudder (maybe 50% or so, I haven't quantified it) you can accomplish a full 360*, and theortically continue indefinitely. It takes a considerable time...I didn't have a stopwatch but I gave up counting at 20 seconds and wasn't quite halfway around.


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