Dayton Ohio Dawn Patrol

[Flyboy]

This is coming up Oct 7-8. We've talked about a 30 year anniversary meetup so how perfect would this be?

http://ohio.org/festivals-and-events/events/dawn-patrol-rendezvous-wwi-fly-in

 

[Britchot]

That is quite possible for me.

[Flyboy]

Hawg is bringing his wife and father also from Puerto Rico. We should be able to arrange a tour at the Wilmington facility (about 45 min or less from the museum) which would include getting into a B-767 airplane and simulator. If we are really lucky we might even get to fly the sim a few minutes but it is usually booked pretty solid and if it happened would prob be in between sim sessions or during a break. Just need to get an idea of who would be interested.

[TedsOnMeds]

I will unfortunately be tied up with my lessons at the time, but thinking of this event for the past several months and was really excited to go if possible.

Hope everybody has fun, if we wanted to make a group Google Photos gallery of all the pictures/film people in attendance get, that may be a good idea to share everything in one place.

[Shadepiece]

I would really love to go, but I am not sure if I can make it that weekend. I'll have to follow up, because I am close and definitely would love to attend.

[Flyboy]

Schedule of activities and airplanes now up. We are going Friday and will post pics. 
 

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/WWI-Dawn-Patrol/

[Klaiber]

Have fun!

[Britchot]

Oh damn, that's this weekend! 

[Flyboy]

Very fun time today. Lots of planes and even more RC planes. Winds were a little strong and mostly crosswind so a lot of the pilots were hesitant to take their birds up. A few flew around the pattern in the morning but mostly RC airplanes in the afternoon. Got to talk to a couple of the pilots also. 

[Flyboy]

[Flyboy]

[Vonrd]

Outstanding! Thanks

[Etzel]

Great Impressions!!! thx 4 sharing!!

[Flyboy]

That Demoiselle (third to last pic) was actually a full sized RC airplane. The Demoiselle was the first airplane bought by Rolland Garros and the one he learned to fly in (1909). I just read a biography on him called “The First Fighter Pilot” and highly recommend. A lot of history on the events leading up to the war including the early pre war flying days. 
 

The last pic was a guy who makes and sells authentic WW1 flight controls for home PC sims. 
 

The D7 that has Julie on the top wing was significantly larger than the other D7’s that were there. I couldn’t find the pilot or staff to ask about it. Seemed unusually large. 

[TedsOnMeds]

Really enjoyable looking event. Shame about the weather. Hopefully the next one goes a little smoother. 

[Flyboy]

Someone took a video of this (probably flew the day after we were there). It is a full scale replica of a Santos Dumont Demoiselle airplane. This was the first airplane bought by and flown by Rolland Garros (WW1's "first fighter pilot") around 1909, with which he taught himself how to fly and used in for air races and traveling "flying circus" shows across Europe and America prior to WW1. The original used wing warping for roll control, but on the RC version there are two very small servo ailerons in the upper wing that you can just barely make out. It's amazing how these early pioneers of aviation put their lives at severe risk in these early days. Many died horribly and Garros himself crashed several times but survived. There were no seat belts early on because the early aviators thought it was better to be thrown clear of the crash so they wouldn't be burned in the fire. However, the risk of no seat belt was coming to a sudden and being thrown into the spinning propeller!

Garros later was the first to try the machine gun that was synchronized to shoot through the propeller which he successfully used to shoot down enemy airplanes. Shortly after developing, (weeks or a month?) he had engine problems and had to land behind enemy lines. He tried to set fire to the airplane but the German soldiers put it out and they captured the technology. He spent nearly three years as a POW before escaping. When he got back he insisted on rejoining his combat unit (imagine how the airplanes, technology and flying had drastically changed in those three years!). After only a few weeks he was shot down and killed about a month before the end of the war.

 

 

[Flyboy]

Here's some more footage of airplanes flying. Sadly this must have been the next day after we were there as the winds were pretty bad on Saturday. Check out how they are hand spinning the props to start them!

 

 

[Ludwig]

Quote

Garros later was the first to try the machine gun that was synchronized to shoot through the propeller which he successfully used to shoot down enemy airplanes. Shortly after developing, (weeks or a month?) he had engine problems and had to land behind enemy lines. 

I had read as a kid back in the 60's that Garros attached plates or wedges to the prop to deflect any bullet hits on the prop and went on to down several German aircraft using this method. Depending on which story you read, he shot his own prop off when the deflectors failed to do their job, or was hit by ground fire, or engine quit and he made a forced landing and simply failed to destroy the aircraft. When Anthony Fokker saw how crudely the trick had been done and the success that he had with it he got serious about the interuptor gear and made one that worked properly. 

 

I tend to believe the obvious one.... he shot his own prop off. All you needed to do was unbalance the prop and the rest will take care of itself. It cracked me up as coming from the home a German Engineer how disgusted Fokker would have been when he saw this hack workmanship. 

I hated flipping props but it was part of the job. Sometimes you have to move a plane with no one else around and you tied the tail to a tree.... THAT is bloody comforting let me tell you. The motor would catch if you primed it correctly and it was a royal pain in the ass not to mention if you had to go back and forth so many times. A bucket to stand on was mighty handy to reach into the cockpit and make adjustments. The one that scared me the most was one of those Rutan Long EZs and it had such a small prop I thought, oh this will be easy. I had never propped off a pusher before and when the blast of prop wash hit me when the engine caught it scared the crap out of me. I was always starting an engine and the blast went away from you, it was a real shock.