Airdrome Sopwith Camel Explained

The Airdrome Sopwith Camel is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed and produced by Airdrome Aeroplanes, of Holden, Missouri. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.^[1]

The aircraft is a full-scale replica of the First World War British Sopwith Camel fighter. The replica is built from modern materials and powered by modern engines.

Design and development

The Airdrome Sopwith Camel features a strut-braced biplane layout, a single-seat open cockpit, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft fuselage is made from welded 4130 steel tubing, covered in doped aircraft fabric. The Airdrome Sopwith Camel has a wingspan of 26.21NaN1 and a wing area of 195square feet. The standard engine used is the 1500NaN0 four stroke Rotec R3600 radial engine. Building time from the factory-supplied kit is estimated at 450 hours by the manufacturer.^[2]

Operational history

One example had been completed by December 2011.

Notes and References

1. Vandermeullen, Richard: 2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 41. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
2. Web site: Sopwith Camel . 24 September 2012. Airdrome Aeroplanes. n.d. . https://web.archive.org/web/20101213144321/http://airdromeairplanes.com/sopwithcamel.html . 13 December 2010.