The Airdrome Sopwith Pup is an American

amateur-built aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

, designed and produced 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 ...

. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 41. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851 The aircraft is a full-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 ...

British

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristi ...

fighter. The replica is built from modern materials and powered by modern engines.

Design and development

The Airdrome Sopwith Pup features a

strut-braced In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

layout, a single-seat open cockpit, fixed

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 ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher c ...

. The aircraft

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 made from metal tubing, covered in doped

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 ...

. The Airdrome Sopwith Pup has a wingspan of and a wing area of . It can be equipped with engines ranging from . The standard engine used is the

four stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directi ...

Rotec R2800 The Rotec R2800 is a seven-cylinder 110 hp radial engine built by Rotec Aerosport Pty Ltd in Australia. The R2800 was Rotec's first (and only) engine offering when they first opened their doors in 2000. In 2005, Rotec released a more powerful ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

. Building time from the factory-supplied kit is estimated at 450 hours by the manufacturer.

Operational history

One example had been completed by December 2011. Another example completed its first flight in late May 2017.

Specifications (Sopwith Pup)

References

{{Airdrome Aeroplanes Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft