Airdrome Sopwith Pup Explained

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

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

Design and development

The Airdrome Sopwith Pup 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 metal tubing, covered in doped aircraft fabric. The Airdrome Sopwith Pup has a wingspan of 271NaN1 and a wing area of 205square feet. It can be equipped with engines ranging from 110to. The standard engine used is the 1100NaN0 four stroke Rotec R2800 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. Another example completed its first flight in late May 2017.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 41. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
2. Web site: Sopwith Pup . 24 September 2012. Airdrome Aeroplanes. n.d. . https://web.archive.org/web/20101213143636/http://airdromeairplanes.com/sopwithpup.html . 13 December 2010.
3. Web site: Freeze. Christopher. First Flight of Sopwith Pup N1916Z - 24 May 2017 at 8T8. Youtube. 30 June 2017.