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The Australian Vintage Aviation Society’s (TAVAS) latest aircraft in their growing Queensland-based Great War collection is an accurate reproduction of Anthony Fokker’s famous 1915 E.III Eindecker. Editor Rob Fox talked with Andrew Carter, TAVAS founder and Eindecker pilot, about the first E.III in Australia.

Fokker’s E.III lays claim to being the world’s first true fighter aircraft due to its synchronised forward firing ma-chine gun. The Eindecker granted the

German Air Service a degree of air superior-ity, from July 1915 until early 1916, over the Allies’ scouts and observation aircraft. The unique gearing that allowed the Spandau Machinegun to fire through the arc of the propeller, and along the pilot’s line of sight, made it an incredibly successful fighter. De-spite the limitations of its manoeuvrability, its domination saw that deadly period of time termed the ‘Fokker Scourge’.

Apart from German operations over the Western Front, the Turks based E.IIIs at Beersheba in Palestine, with a number at Gallipoli, and others operating in Mesopota-mia during the Siege of Kut-al-Amara.

“It is imperative for TAVAS that our air-craft have a strong Australian connection”, said Andrew. “So we finished this aircraft as 345/16, an E.III which operated over Gal-

lipoli in early 1916.” The Eindeckers flew initially in German markings but, late in 1916, at Smyrna Airfield in Turkey, the black Maltese crosses were overpainted, to form a black square with a white border, and this became the Ottoman Turks’ insignia.

Hans Joachim Buddecke, a German offic-er flying in the Ottoman Aviation Services (Turks) who (amongst others) flew 345/16 at Gallipoli, is credited with thirteen victo-ries and became the third ace to earn the Blue Max (Pour le Mérite). One of these vic-tories was against the last Australian killed at Gallipoli, 22 year old Sub-Lieutenant Cec-il Brinsmead. Flying an RNAS Henri Far-man, two days after the final evacuation of the British from Cape Helles, Brinsmead was on a reconnaissance to report on the Turkish reaction to the evacuation.

Building the EindeckerThe TAVAS E.III project began at Achim En-gels’ workshop at Schorndorf in southern

Germany. Here Achim used many original drawings and replicated the period con-struction techniques and materials. The Eindecker is built as it would have come out of the factory in 1916. It is completed in a clear doped, unbleached, linen finish. “It ar-rived here as a bare shell – basically the fu-selage, wings and tails had been construct-ed with fuel tanks and control wires installed, but everything else needed to be done. The airframe is made as per the origi-nal with a welded mild steel fuselage. The wings are traditional wooden built struc-tures of Birch plywood ribs, spruce for the cap strips and spars are Adler Pine. The linen to cover it came from Belgium from the same family business that made fabric for these aircraft a century ago.”

The engine is a reverse engineered copy of the unique 100 hp (75 kW) Oberursel U.I rotary engine that powered the original. It was produced by Classic Aero Machining Services (CAMS) in New Zealand. “I had al-

GallipoliThe

Fighter

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Andrew Carter on an early test flight in the TAVAS Fokker Eindecker. The authentic reproduction of the Great War fighter is finished to represent 345/16 as it appeared over Gallipoli in early 1916, initially in German markings. This is the first E.III reproduction in

the Southern Hemisphere. The only other one in the world is in California. [David White]

LEFT: The British test report of a captured E.III stated it would be very tiring to fly in anything but the smoothest conditions. Andrew Carter agreed and added, “That,

combined with constant attention to the overly sensitive pitch and the air pressure in the tank, can be quite draining.” [David White]

The E.III is a stable aircraft with a powerful engine. There is, however, a lot of drag, so although it has a reasonable rate of

climb, it happens at a relatively low forward speed. [Natalie Gochel]

TAVAS’ impressive and growing Great War collection. The Fokker D.VIII, Bristol F2B Fighter, Fokker E.III and Fokker Dr.I Triplane. [TAVAS]

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ready ordered the first 100 hp rotary engine Tony Wytenburg at CAMS was making, with the intention of fitting it to our Fokker Dr.I Triplane. However as the engine was a copy of the exact type used in the E.III we decid-ed to use it in that instead.”

“So now we had an engine under construc-tion, we needed a machine gun, a propeller, instruments, a cowl and fabric covering. The large wooden propeller was manufactured lo-cally by Dieter Sedlbauer and was certainly the biggest he’d built. Although the instru-ments were sourced from various parts of the world, Dave Walsh here modified the inter-nals to get them working the way we wanted and the cockpit looks authentic.”

The Eindecker’s 3/4 aluminium cowl proved to be the biggest manufacturing prob-lem in the TAVAS reproduction. “The size of metal sheet was a non-standard size and hence hard to obtain. Trying to find someone who could spin it into shape proved to be the next problem. A die is made (from plywood) and the sheet is spun over that. This was dif-ficult with the first two cowls splitting before they could achieve the final shape.

One of the most satisfying days for me was when the first wing was covered with many TAVAS members participating.” One of the main objectives of TAVAS is education, not just of the public about the aircraft and the problems the designers, builders and pilots of the time faced, but to educate current builders, and potential builders, about the skills used in constructing these machines.

Flying the FokkerWith the weight and balance completed and all paperwork sent to the regulatory author-ity, time came to address the first flight. TA-VAS received official confirmation and per-mits just prior to sending the aircraft to the Australian International Airshow at Avalon in Victoria for its public debut. On return to Caboolture, preparations were made for the first flight which came about on 5 May.

Andrew describes this and his early im-pressions. “The early Gnome rotary engine is one of the simplest types. It has a single fuel lever, to control the amount of fuel go-ing into the crankcase, but [with] no throttle it runs at full power or nothing. The fuel tank sits at roughly the same level as the en-gine and there is a hand pump similar to an old fashioned push bike pump to pressurise it. Above this is the most important instru-ment, the air pressure gauge, and there are two rotary valves which I can turn to select either of the two fuel tanks.”

“With the chocks in place, the engine is rotated to have a cylinder with an open valve at the bottom, the fuel lever is opened for a second, until fuel runs out, then closed. With the switches off, the engine is turned over, priming the cylinders. Magnetos are switched to start, the prop is pulled through and it usually fires first time. I move the fuel lever forward until I get what sounds the best running (about 1,100 rpm).

“The oil pulsator shut off valve is opened, this little glass vial has castor oil pulsed to it

RIGHT: The E.III cockpit showing the engine management gauges and controls. On the right side is the hand pump and above it is the fuel

tank pressure gauge, two rotary valves to select either of the two fuel tanks, and the glass oil pulsator with its shut-off valve. [TAVAS]

“The E.III glides very well (although steeply because of all that drag). The landing is very easy, given the good design and forgiving undercarriage.” [Natalie Gochel]

from the engine oil pump and thus is propor-tional to engine revolutions, a poor man’s ta-cho. Experienced pilots could just look at the number of pulses and know that the rpm was right. I think it was 108 pulses per minute for 1,200 rpm, a little less than two per second.”

“I ‘blip’ the engine to as slow as possible and the chocks are removed.” Blipping is using a button on the control column that, when pressed and held in, stops all spark-ing and kills the engine momentarily. This is the limited power control these early en-gines had. As Andrew said, they run at full power or nothing.

“I release the button, the engine goes to full power and I am off. There is no feedback through the control column or rudder ped-als. You simply ease forward on the column,

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enough to get the skid off the ground and apply small rudder pressure to keep straight. You have to use visual clues as you don’t feel anything through the controls. In a very short distance (less than sixty feet) the aircraft breaks ground and climbs straight ahead. It is a stable aircraft with a powerful engine.

“The full flying stabilator is ridiculously, overly, sensitive, in fact at times, it is down-right scary! The Eindecker was fitted with a simple friction control lever at the base of the control column to overcome this control sensitivity. The well balanced rudder with-out a fixed fin is also incredibly effective.

“Wing warping, as expected, does work but is not the most effective form of roll con-trol. There is a fair amount of effort required (I have to use two hands on the stick) for a sluggish result. However, combined with rudder, balanced turns are easy to do and co-ordinate.

“It has been written that some pilots found turning right through 270 degrees was quicker than turning ninety degrees left! This is due to the gyroscopic effect of rotary engines, turns to the left are slower, and make the nose of the aircraft rise, and turns to the right, are quick but tended to pull the nose down.

“The high drag E.III cruises slowly (less than sixty knots), despite the 100 horse-power up front. To ensure smooth engine operation you need to keep the pressure in

the fuel tank fairly constant, at about one psi. Reports I had read stated this may mean pumping eight or more times per hour. So, understandably, the pressure gauge is the largest instrument in the cock-pit, although a change in note of the engine is the best indication that the pressure is low and needs attention. You have to be careful not to over-pressurise it as this can cause a rich mixture which is equally as detrimental as a lean one.

“The real challenge will be in moving fuel from the rear tank to the front tank and still keeping pressure to the engine constant. This is something I haven’t attempted yet, and will spend a lot of time doing it on the ground before I try it in flight.

“Like all good things, the flight comes to an end far too soon and I have to start de-scending. I tend to start blipping before I turn base. I hold the button in for quite a few seconds at a time before releasing it just for a second at a time. This ‘more off than on’ technique allows me to ease for-ward and descend quite comfortably. How-ever, anytime I need to steepen the angle of bank or exit the turn, I have to let off the button to get a burst of slipstream over the rudder and elevator which instantly ener-gises their effectiveness.

“It glides very well (although steeply). I tend to keep high and slightly fast and come in steep in case the engine fails altogether. I keep blipping the engine all the way into the

ABOVE: Andrew Carter sanding the propeller blank cut by Dieter Sedlbauer. This half a prop is used on the cutting machine to make a full prop with two identical blades. [Nathalie Gochel]

TOP: Andrew Carter and Bert Persson checking the fabric envelope on the E.III steel frame. The hand crafted aluminium sheet metal cheek cowls required a great deal of time and care due to the unusual shapes. [Nathalie Gochel]

ABOVE LEFT: Gordon Robinson, Dieter Sedlbauer and Dave, prepare the Eindecker’s all-wood wing for covering. [TAVAS]

flare. I find it the easiest and most control-lable way to do it. It allows me to control the engine and the aircraft very precisely all the way to landing which is very easy given the good design and forgiving undercarriage. I simply transition through the flare, letting off the blip switch momentarily every few seconds, and a smooth landing is assured.

“This is by far one of the most enjoyable aircraft I have flown but certainly not without its quirks and some serious issues. The British test report of a captured E.III stated it would be very tiring to fly in any-thing but the smoothest conditions. I agree with this completely.

“I don’t yet have quantitative figures for speed in climb and cruise and rate of climb but we will measure them against another aircraft once I get more experience in this.”