Here is what I have picked to paint my Comet Superstars Fokker DR1. I think the streaked front should be more of an olive drab as applied at the factory. Of course I am not going to paint the plane until after a test flight to make sure it will fly. No use wasting time painting a plane that won't fly. I did not build it to look at. If it flys, it gets painted and hangs with my other planes. If it does not fly it gets put into a sack until I deside what to do with the bones.

but of course!

I mentioned the video game, but I just realized, I posted that comment in another thread, so here it is...

another example of the abuse of history for the sake of art...

here is a video game, that is claiming the plane they feature, is a DR1...



what are they teaching our youth?

They're trying to revise history!!! Stop them now!!! All Dr1's were RED. Just look at the on-line catalogs.

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Good point F M. There's just one thing about the WW1 Pilots that seems so crazy. Not related to the color of the Dr1, but the fact that they thought it was unmanly to carry a parachute with them. They would rather go down in flames. To me, that is nuts. Why not live to fight another day?

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Pilots are cheaper to replace than planes.

But the planes going to go down with the pilot, so you lose both.

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FM wrote "..they might bail out of a "perfectly good, repairable airplane" instead of flying it back to base."

That was the way I always heard it.

Why don't passenger airliners have ejection seats though ????

Too expensive

I think passenger airlines is outside the scope of WWI, but...

They would have to have the top of the aircraft open like the bay doors on the shuttle, the weight and cost of this is prohibitive. Generally by the time a problem worth bailing from is discovered on an airliner, it's already falling apart, and heading for the ground so fast, you couldn't have a safe deployment of the passengers.

As long as they keep doing forced landings in one piece with no fatalities do we need ejection seats?

When the real finish of the Dr1 is looked at you can sort've see why everyone opts for straight red, the factory finish on the Dr1's was definately more streaky and colourful then olive drab and not easy to replicate. I like the all black mount of Jacobsen.

Steve

So surviving a burning up WWI plane with a 'chute has a higher survival probability than an airliner in flames?
Maybe I'll have to charter the tiger moth down the pike for my next trip:D

A single crash can have alot of fatalities. How many people have died in the "few" commercial crashes? How about hijackings? Everyone could bail out leaving the terrorist in an empty plane:)

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Jest aside, the commercial airliners are pretty safe. Most major accidents and fatalities are during take-off.
Looke here: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jan...8/life-travel/

I think that's a great scheme. It will look good. I like the way the streaked green is broken up by the other colors on the rear. Can't wait to see it.

Chris.

I painted my DVII mostly black after his DVII. I left the tail pink instead of painting it white.

I don't think parachutes were reliable enough in WW1 to think of them as a safety device. They just added weight to an airplane that needed all the help it could get just to fly. I haven't done any research but when did they add seat belts? I have driven an old racing car, early 30s, no seat belt but the back of the seat at the bottom was a tight fit and would hold you in place, course not if you crashed.

I was on an airliner back about 1960, we took off and had to land for engine work, took off again, land again and wait 8 hours while they changed an engine. I told the guy next to me that the stewards carried parachutes but he told me no, they had a room full of brooms. Needless to say we did not get the best service on that flight.

This Nieuport went up for the first time this weekend. Great flying plane. All of my planes are electric.

I remember my dad installing seatbelts in his '55 Chevy. They were from a Sikorsky helicopter!

Nice looking planes. What do you use for the scarfs on your pilots?

Ya know the bottom of a T-shirt where it is folded over and sewn??? Well I just cut it off right at the hem and slice the ends to make em look like they are old.

bladerunner, great looking planes and a great idea on how to make scarfs for the pilots. I've got a bunch of old t-shirts that my wife keeps telling me to quit wearing in public.:Q i like that knight in armor too. I've always wanted to put one of those in my house. They remind me of the old "spooky" 1930's movies.

Was he in HS-13? I remember one of the guys in the squadon installing belts out of a helo in his car. Don't remember the year of the car but it would have been in 1961 or 62. Used those seat belt several times but only in a helo.

He was head of ground support at Sikorsky Aircraft (Stratford,CT) from 1955 to 1980. Entered US Calvary in 30's. became an Air Corps cadet then yanked into the infantry for D-Day. Discharged after a 9 months hospitalization in Verdun 1945 from shoulder injury. He still carried a mess of shrapnel in his shoulder until the day he died.

I actualy have another suit akmost like the one you see in the picture that I fight in. Both are wearable and fit me like a glove.

bladerunner, I'm sure you've got some kind of story to tell us about fighting in that suit. Is it like mock battles?

Are you in the SCA?

Bladerunner

Thanks for showing your planes, love the detailing on them. Which is your favorite to fly?

Steve

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That's a great question, but I bet it's hard to answer!

all the planes i have when i can....... guess right now top of the list ah sorry for this EDF, but have the electrify DR-1 and D-VII great flyers by the way......DR-1 little squrilly :D

Sorry guys I didn't mean to get off subject,,,yep SCA. getting older now at 53 and fighting is starting to take a tole on my body. And my wife is only 5'1" maybe 103 pounds but she is not one to mess with. She has never said a word about the 50 plus airplanes I have,,,,I don't have any flyable airplane in the house, a couple 1/32 scale plastic models but nothing flyable. If your wife is happy everyone is happy.(but between you and me I think I could take her)

Bladerunner, were you ever to Pennsic? I had to drop because I became too jaded when I got my history degree. I started nitpicking and lost the fun aspect of it. It also lost some appeal when I got married too, couldn't get away with checking out bodices:$

Hey Bladerunner!!! If you would I'd really like to know about the triplane!! Motor, ESC, Battery, where the plane came from, etc.!!! Steve

Sure Steve no problem..It is an old Balsa USA kit I got from a guy down in Ocean Side Ca. I flew it way under powered with a AXI 4130/24 geared to 2 to 1 and got about 3500 RPM on 30,3300 NMH cells. I am now putting a 5330/24 on 10 cells and a 24/12 prop like on the Fokker D7. It flew but way to scale, when it got going it was really going but had no extra power. so I stuck it in the hanger till I got this 5330/24 AXI and a 99 amp Jeti opto ESC,,,NO BEC!!!!