The Airdrome Eindecker E-III is a single-seat, mid-wing,
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
replica produced in
kit form by
Airdrome Aeroplanes
Airdrome Aeroplanes is an American aircraft manufacturer, founded by Robert Baslee, that offers a large selection of kit aircraft for amateur construction. The company is based in Holden, Missouri.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's ...
of
Holden, Missouri
Holden is a city in western Johnson County, Missouri, Johnson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,252 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
History
Holden was laid out in 1857. It was named for Major Nathaniel Holden, a ...
.
[Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-16. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ][Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 110. BAI Communications. ][Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 35. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851][Downey, Julia: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 39. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851][Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 40. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851][Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 92. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X]
The Airdrome Eindecker E-III is a 3/4 scale replica of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Fokker Eindecker E.III, the protagonist of the
Fokker Scourge of the summer of 1915 when, equipped with a single
synchronized Maxim machine gun
The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world.
The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian ...
, the Fokker E.III achieved
air superiority
Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
over the western front.
Development
The replica E-III was designed to give aircraft homebuilders the opportunity to construct a replica fighter and was intended to appeal to the pilot who is also a history buff. The aircraft fits into the US
FAR 103 ''Ultralight Vehicles'' category and has a standard empty weight of when equipped with the standard
Rotax 503
The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995.
As of 2011 the Ro ...
engine. Optionally a half
Volkswagen air-cooled engine
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and co ...
can be used, putting the aircraft in the US ''Experimental - Amateur-built'' category.
Several other engines in the power range can be fitted, including the
Solo Flight Solo 40,
Rotax 447
The Rotax 447 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995.
Design and development
...
and
Hirth F23.
Other engines fitted to aircraft on the UK register include the
Warner Scarab 145 and the
Continental C85-12
The Continental O-190 (Company designations C75 and C85) is a series of engines made by Continental Motors beginning in the 1940s. Of flat-four configuration, the engines produced 75 hp (56 kW) or 85 hp (63 kW) respectively. ...
.
The
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
is constructed from pre-welded
4130 steel
41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common ...
tube, along with
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
tubing that is bolted and riveted together. The wing is conventional aluminum construction, wire braced from a short
kingpost
A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above fro ...
and the whole aircraft is covered with
aircraft fabric
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...
. Unlike the original E-III, which utilized
wing-warping
Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite direc ...
, the replica has
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s. The
landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
is
bungee suspended. The
engine cowling
A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...
consists of a spun aluminum nose bowl with a sheet metal wrap-around.
The kits are supplied complete including paint and fabric, except for the engine, propeller and instruments. Of note, the kit does not include a replica machine gun. The factory estimates that an average builder can complete the aircraft kit in 300 hours.
The company claims that the aircraft kit can be assembled using "normal hand tools consisting of hacksaw, hand drill, file, pop rivet gun, wrenches, and hand nico press tool. Area required for construction should be approximate the size of a single car garage".
Operational history
Twenty one examples had been completed by December 2011.
Seven of these remained on the UK register in 2019.
[
]
Specifications (E-III)
See also
References
External links
*
Official webpage archives
on Archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
Photo of an Airdrome E-III
{{Airdrome Aeroplanes
1990s United States ultralight aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft