Miscellaneous French

Dorand AR.1 A2 by JOYSTICK MODELS 1/72 scale, Vacuform.

The AR types were designed to replace the older Farman 40's serving on the Western Front. The first planes were delivered in the spring, 1917 and servied until the end of the war. Eighteen French escadrilles were equipped with the AR1 and AR2 and five escadrilles served on the Italian front.

The AR type was slow but they were well armed and carried a useful bomb load. They were being withdrawn from active service toward the end of the war and were replaced by the Salmson.

This model depicits AR1 No.309 captured by the Germans and subject of a detailed technical report. This report is the only surviving detailed description of the AR.1. Reference material is found in Windsock Vol 6, No.5 Sept/Oct 1990 and Vol 7 No.1 Jan/Feb 1991.

Bleriot XI by NOVO AIR KITS 1/72 scale, Injection Mold.

On July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot made the first crossing of the English Channel. The 40 kilometers flight took 36 minutes 30 seconds at an altitude of 100m. The flight not only put an end to isolation of the British Isles but the military experts of the nations were forced to recognize the great improvements achieved in heavier-than-air flight.

This kit is a re-release of the FROG kit and is built OOB.

Dufaux Fighter by Scaleplanes/Libramodels. 1/72nd scale vacuform

Early in the Great War, prior to machine gun synchronization, many allied aircraft designer adopted some outlandish configurations in an attempt to overcome firing through the arc of the propeller. Designed by Armand Dufaux in the spring of 1916, a bizarre little two seat fighter appeared with its propeller amidships.

The 110 hp Le Rhone rotary engine was mounted within the forward fuselage, its position indicated by the blisters on the fuselage side. The propeller was placed some distance behind and above the engine, driven by a shaft and a gear transmission. The entire tail assembly was held on by the hollow 4" propeller shaft and two supports that ran from the tail skid to the undercarriage.

Ahead of the wings, the pilot and gunner shared the cockpit. The pilot sat on the left side and was slightly behind the right side seat of the gunner. The armament consisted of a single Lewis gun mounted on the cockpit floor.

The Dufaux scout was tested at Chateaufort in 1916. By the time it appeared, its structural complexities and perils were unnecessary. The Nieuport scout proved to be more than a match for the Fokker monoplane. The aircraft never went into production.

This kit is the first under the Scaleplanes name and was a basic vacuform. The kit provided a little strut material but there were no metal parts or decals which dates it prior to 1985 and Aeroclub. After 1985, almost all of the cottage industry vacuform companies used the white metal parts provided by Aeroclub.

This build has metal parts indicating it was built in the late 80's to the early 90's. My vacuform skills were still developing but I do not remember it to be a difficult kit to build. The lines are very simple and straight and I do not recall any problems with the kit. I do remember it to be a strange little plane and could not resist adding it to the collection.

Clerget 9B 130 hp Rotary Engine by Minicraft/Hasegawa 1/8 scale injection mold

In 1909, the Gnome Company of France developed the first practical air-cooled rotary engine for aircraft. Based on an American design, the engine had seven cylinders and produced 50 hp.

During World War One, France manufactured three nine cylinder rotary engines, the Le Rhone 80-100 hp; the Gnome Monosoupape 100 hp and the Clerget 9Z 100 hp. The rotary engine is unique in the fact that the entire engine revolves around the crankshaft, acting as its own flywheel. This developed considerable power compared to its light weight.

England, Germany, Italy and the United States used rotary engines in their newest fighters in the early stages of World War One. The Clerget (B 130 hp was an improved version of the 9Z originally designed by Clerget Blin & Cie, in Paris, and was produced under license at the Gwyness factory of Hammersmith Iron Works in London. The Clerget 9Z 110 hp and the 9F 130 hp were made in France and the modified 9BF 140 hp was British-French made.

This engine was made for the Hasegawa 1/8th scale Sopwith Camel kit and was boxed and sold as a separate kit. It is very well made, the instructions are clear and easy to follow. I built it to show what a WW1 engine looked like as most have never seen one. I'm going to guess I built it in the mid 90's but don't hold me to that.

Le Rhone 80hp 9 Cylinder Rotary Aircraft Engine by Williams Brothers 1/1/2 inch scale

The Le Rhone rotary engine's development began before World War 1 and was used in the early aeroplanes in the beginning days of aviation. The engine's construction was unique in that the crankshaft was mounted to the firewall and was part of the air and fuel intake system. Also, the crankcase, propeller shaft and the cylinders were very carefully balanced and revolved on the fixed crankshaft at a speed of approximately 1200 rpm, with or without a propeller.

The 80 hp engine saw service throughout the war in the early fighter aircraft and later in training aircraft. The 110 hp engine was used as power for the larger and heavier fighters. It was similar in appearance to the 80 hp engine except the push rods and intake pipes were moved to the back of the cylinders allowing a little more protection of those parts from enemy gun fire.

Williams Brothers had two offerings of the Le Rhone, a 1 1/2 inch and a 2 inch scale, mainly for radio control models. I do not remember any construction problems and the fit was excellent. It was built just to show one of the engines used by World War One aircraft. Paints used and building time have long been forgotten.