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Sopwith Tabloid
by Jim Pollard
December 12, 2004
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The Sopwith Tabloid design actually pre-dated WWI
as a racing and "sporting" machine. The
original design featured lateral control via wing-warping
and forward extending "skis" on the landing
gear, apparently to prevent nose-overs. It was a
significant advance over the open framework types
like the Curtiss Pushers, Farmans, and the like,
and the British Ministry of War began buying them
for the embryonic Royal Flying Corps even before
the war broke out.
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Later versions of the Tabloid featured 'V' strut
landing gear and ailerons. A number of armament
experiments seem to have been tried with the plane,
with machine guns bolted on in several different
positions. This was before the development of interrupter
gear, so none of these were really satisfatory.
Tabloids figured in on one of the first successful
bombing raids, being used for the destruction of
some German Zeppelin sheds. The aircraft were rapidly
overtaken by the advance of technology, and were
out of frontline service after 1915.
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I found a very nice 3-view of the "Scout"
version of the Tabloid in the February, 1992
issue of Scale R/C Modeler
(now defunct, I believe). Enlargement in a
photocopier yielded outlines over which I
could design the structure. Nothing here is
too sophisticated. The hardest part probably
being the nose cowling, carved, sanded, and
hollowed from balsa block. |
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Tissue was pre-shrunk on a rectangular frame, applied
to the structure, and shrunk again. This did NOT
remove all the wrinkles, but looks better, I think,
than un-shrunk tissue, and did not warp the lightweight
structure. The "aluminium" colored cowling
and forward fuselage is airbrushed Model
Master Metallizer Lacquer, with a clear
coat of sprayed Krylon on top.
The rest of the markings are cut from colored tissue
paper, except for a couple of access panel markings
and the "Sopwith Aviation" legend on the
vertical stab, which were drawn by hand with a Sharpie
pen.
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Tires are sanded to shape from styrofoam obtained
from some dark gray trays containing mushrooms
we got at the supermarket. The hubs are simple
paper cones. The "Lewis gun" is
scrap balsa, wire, a length of 1/8" OD
aluminum tubing, and some strips of paper.
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The original "paddle blade" prop blades
were formed from 1/64" plywood. I soon discarded
this for a plastic Sleek Streek
prop that seemed to work a little better and had
some of the nose weight the plane needed.
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There's about a gram of lead from a fishing sinker,
cut in half, glued inside the cowling to bring the
CG to about the point of the upper wing main spar.
I don't have a scale, so I have no idea what it
weighs. It's no 6-gram featherweight, but with all
that wing area it still floats along SLOWLY with
a motor of 1/8" rubber strip.
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