Build a WW1 Fighter replica for less then the price of a sedan!

For the past year or so I have noticed a lot of WW1 planes flying around my local area and thought it was the CAF.

Well come to find out it is some locals who bought replica kits and put them together in their garage. You can't even tell they are kits. And they disassemble for travel on a trailer.

These kits uses modern materials and engines and are much safer and perform better then the originals, and depending on the type of engine you use, or whether you buy original gauges or use replicas, cost around $12k-$40k. They are considered LSA due to the weight so the license renewal is a lot easier.

The basic kits cost about $6k-$8k, the engine, depending on whether you go for a VW engine ($1-2k) or an expensive Rotec Radial really dictates the cost. They even sell the kits in stages so you can build a stage while saving for another.

There are some forums with lots of people taking pictures of their builds.

The Sopwith kit they have looks amazing.

Airdrome Aeroplanes ~ Holden, MO

[media]http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5065669/sopwith_camel_ww_1_replica_by_airdrome_aeroplanes/[/media]IMHO this beats buying a SUV any day!

Becareful, you may find yourself digging trenches in your back yard.

vtdeucedriver said:

Becareful, you may find yourself digging trenches in your back yard.

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Whats wrong with that? You never can be too prepaired!

WOW......That was really cool, Thanks for the post!

that is awesome...im speechless

I'm going to build a plane someday.
And then I'm going to die in a planecrash.

"as someone once told me: aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. it is however highly unforgiving to even the slightest of errors."

If you die in a plane crash then it was your fault. even if the engine or structure has multiple flaws, these things come to a head under scrutiny and inspection. PREFLIGHT PREFLIGHT PREFLIGHT. In fact, operator error is the #1 cause of crashes according to the NTSB. so as always, practice, examine, evaluate, re-examine, practice some more THEN fly.

Did I mention to preform preflight checks?

anyway, the Camel has long been in my favorites as a likely replica build. good find there. If you do decide to "punch out" and start the build, good luck, God speed, and happy flying!

any one building a p51 replica...?

I'm waiting for an XB-70 kit.

lindyp38 said:

any one building a p51 replica...?

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Yeah, a friend of mine did. It was ~3/4 scale and all metal and had very impressive flight characteristics. But he crashed it and was severely injured. Here are a couple of links to another of his efforts. Brokaw Bullet, BJ-520 Pilot Report and Brokaw Bullet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

lindyp38 said:

any one building a p51 replica...?

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There has been 1/2 , 3/4 and full scale P-51's. The 1/2 and 3/4 as a kit form. The Full scale was getting close to production as a kit but has been stalled when its creator was killed while flying the first one.

I wonder if these WW1 replicas are strong enough to do combat maneuvers. That would be a lot of fun. Ofcourse, they didn't do alot because of their low power.

there are kits still available from a company Called Titan Aircraft. the plane is a 3/4 scale LSA type P-51 called the Titan T-51. cool plane but probably outside of your sedan budget. I believe the last kit I saw raw between 45-50k depending on skill level.

-Tyler

http://www.titanaircraft.com/t-51.php