Sopwith Triplane

1916 British
fighter scout

Assembly Manual
for ARF stand-off scale model
in 1:5 scale.
Historical data and presentation.
Model design and drawing by
Göran Kalderén ©
2001-06-08

Sopwith Triplane ARF 1

The Sopwith Tripe in the Shuttleworth hangars. Note that the color looks brownish which is due to
the main illumination being fluorocent sodium coloured lights. A better colour rendition is found
overleaf.

Sopwith Triplane ARF 2

Sopwith Triplane ARF 3
On this page you find the Sopwith Tripe housed
at Hendon. Note the colour of the fabric covering.
Sopwith Triplane
Said to be the progenitor of the Fokker
Dr I Triplane — and therefore various other less
successful German Triplanes — the Sopwith
Triplane single-seat fighter was nicknamed
”Tripehound”. First flown in prototype form on 28
May 1916, it had been evolved as a faster-climb-
ing derivative of the Pup, with even better ma-
neuverability and improved vision for the pilot.
Wing span remained the same as for the Pup,
but each wing was of much narrower chord and
had an aileron fitted. than one kill every two days throughout June.
Initial production Triplanes, with the 110 He ended the war as the highest-scoring RNAS
hp Clerget rotary engine, had been ordered for pilot, with 60 victories.
the Royal Flying Corps. In the event they were The whole triplane era of World War
delivered to the Royal Navy Air Service, as were I only lasted a little more than a year, higher-pow-
later examples with the 130 hp Clergies engines ered Camels replacing RNAS Triplanes and the
fitted. The top exponent of the Triplane was Fokker Dr I’s career coming to an abrupt end
Raymond Collishaw, who commanded ’B’ Flight with the death of Richthofen in April, 1918.
of No. 10 (Naval) Squadron from April 1917 — a The exact number of Triplanes that
unit which received some of the first Triplanes. became operational with the RNAS is not clear.
Known as the ”Black Flight” because of the What is known is that the first prototype was fol-
colour of its Triplanes, and the names given to lowed by three more fitted with Clerget and
individual aircraft (Black Maria, Black Prince, Hispano-Suiza engines of 150 hp and 200 hp. A
etc.), it was composed exclusively of Canadian further 148 aircraft were built, of which five were
pilots, who accounted for 87 kills between May presented to France, another three were loaned
and July. Collishaw managed to average more and probably returned, and one went to Russia.
Sopwith Triplane ARF 4
Specification:
Wing span: 26 ft 6 in. Endurance: 2 hours, 45 minutes.
Length: 18 ft. 10 in. Engine: as above.
Max. Take-offweight: 1,541 Ib. Armament: one or two forward-firing
Ax level speed: 113 mph. Vickers machine-guns.

Sopwith Triplane ARF 5

Rigging details

1 5
1 4 2

6
2 5
4
8
7
3

3 9 11
11 10
12
10
1. Pylon crossbracing wires 7. Lower front drag wire
2. Front flying wires 8. Upper rear drag wires
3. Landing gear cross bracing wires 9. Lower rear drag wires
4. Front landing wire 10. Fin/stabilizer support wires
5. Aileron interconnecting rod 11. Stabilizer control wires
6. Upper front drag wire 12. Rudder control wires

Specifications:
The Model Wingspan: 77.2” (196 cm)
We have chosen the scale of 1:5 ren- Length: 51.6” (131 cm)
dering a model size that is easy to fly, but also Wing area: 1622 sq" (101.3 dm²)
relatively easy to transport. All wing panels can Weight: 11 Ibs (5000 g)
be removed for transport if necessary which Wing load: 16 oz/sq' (49 g/dm²)
gives very limited requirement for transportation Engine: .60 2-stroke -.90 4-stroke
sspace. The short wingspan of the Tripe makes
it however possible to transport assembled in Covering and finish
an ordinary van or 5 door passenger car. The model is covered with Solartex and
Rudder is controlled by pull-pull cables painted with Dutch Boy enamel from the factory.
from the rudder bar and the elevator by cables When you have made changes in the fire wall
from the control column. Lower wing ailerons and adapted the dummy engine to fit in line with
are controlled by torque rods, extending into the the engine, you will have to cover the open ar-
lower fuselage and the middle and upper aile- eas with fuel proof paint.
rons are coupled to the lower with adjustable link
rods. Installation of engine
The prototype was equipped with a Su- We recommend that you don’t overpower
per Tigre .60 2-stroke engine that gives ample this model. The engine mounts have been in-
power for this fighter. With this engine the air- stalled for the recommended size of engine. The
plane is capable of some advanced manoeuvers wedge behing the engine mounts gives a rec-
which you can demand from a WW1 triplane ommended 2° down and 2° right thrust of the
fighter. The moment arms are short and the rud- engine. Should you desire to install a 4-stroke
ders sensitive, so fly if you can, with a dual rate engine you may have to make an extension in
transmitter. the engine mount for the carburator.
The finished model is painted in the liv- 2. Drill the holes from the tank to the
ery of the Shuttleworth collection aircraft and carburator, pressure tap and the filling cap.
further detailing can be made as per documen- 3. Install the engine and connect the
tation. Other paint liveries can be had on special throttle servo.
order. 4. Make cut outs in the dummy engine
Sopwith Triplane ARF 6
so that this will fit in line with your engine. You tory and only disassembled for transportation.
may have to remove one complete cylinder to Rudder and wires are factory adjusted
allow for the cooling air to pass the engine head. but may need some tensioning adjustment after
This “surgery” is executed by removing a little at a while. For the elevator a push rod is connected
the time and checking. When you are satisfied to the control column. The aileron servos are
with the fit and openings, screw the dummy en- connected to one or two servos in the bottom of
gine onto the engine mount supports using #3 x the fuselage. Use ball links or clevices for this
25 mm screws and washers. connection as they have to be removed for lower
5. Re-install the engine cowl using 3 #2 wing removal.
sheet metal screws. The opening in the front of
the cowl should provide adequate cooling but in Assembly of the tail unit
case of insufficient air stream this hole may have 1. Fit the stabilizer to the fuselage with 3
to be be widened and enlarged, nylon screws and secure with stabilizer support
struts( 2 mm screw and nut in the fin and #2x½"
Installation of servos, tank, battery and re- screws in the stabilizer.
ceiver. 2. Fit the fin to the fuselage with 2 nylon
The aileron servo is installed in the lower screws and the bracket ot top of the fuselage.
part of the fuselage under the pilots chair. The 3. Attach the elevator with the hinge pins and
trottle servo elevator and the rudder servo are connect the elevator horn to the rod in the fuse-
installed in the servo tray. The tank is positioned lage.
below the tray at the side of these servos. Bat- 4. Attach the rudder with the hinge pins
tery pack and receiver are positioned in the up- and connect the rudder wires to the rudder horns.
per part of the tray. The switch can be mounted 5. Secure the fin and stabilizer with the
on the servo tray with extension rod or on the support wires.
instrument panel. 6. Check the throw of rudder (30° right
1. Attach a ball link head to joystickand and left) and elevator (20° up and down). Rud-
rudder bar in the appropriate holes. You may der is actuated by the rudder bar and the eleva-
have to enlarge the holes to take the screw from tor by the joystick.
the ball link (Dubro #189 set of 2).
2. Install the servos for rudder and eleva- Assembly of wing panels
tor and temporarily connect the servo arrns to 1. Move the aileron torque rod arm in to
the ball links. Neutral position for the elevator is the fuselage and push the lower wing halves into
in line with the stabilizer. Deflection for elevator the holes in the fuselage. Secure with the bracket
is 20° up and down and for rudder 30° right and under the wing.
left.. 2. Install the center wing pairs by push-
3. Install and connect the throttle servo ing the down on the wing pylon. Secure with 2
in the fashion you prefer. mm screws and nuts. Install the lower interplane
4. Install the tank in the available space struts and secure to the brackets with 2 mm
at the right side under the receiver. The flight screws and nuts.
pack in the battry tray next to the rudder and 3. Join the upper wing halves into the
throttle servos. holes in the wing cenetr section and secure the
5. Install the aileron servo in the servo wings with the brackets. Attach the flying
tray under the pilots char. Use nylon clevices to andllanding wires in place. See the rigging sketch
the aileron torque rods to avoid electrical noise. for details. To lead the wires through the holes in
Deflection of the ailerons should be 30° up and the center wings you have to remove the clevises
20 °down. The angle of the torque rods has been and the lock nuts.
prepaired for this differential throw. 4. Install the upper interplane struts and
6. Install the radio switch on the dash secure with 2 mm screws and nuts.
board. 5. Install the aileron interplane connect-
7. Place the receiver and the battery ing rods. Adjust so that all ailerons ar neutral.
pack in the upper part of the tray wrapped in 5. In the fuselage, connect the aileron
foam rubber and secure with rubber bands. torque rods to the servo and check the throw of
the ailerons (30° up and 20 °down). For ease in
Assembly of the Sopwith Triplane control, the servo arms are adjusted to give dif-
All parts have been assembled at the fac- ferential throw.
Sopwith Triplane ARF 7
Landing gear
Push the landing gear legs into the holes Lacing of bungee rubber
in the fuselage. The landing gear is held in place for the wheel shaft
by the cross support wires.
Install the wheels on the shaft and se-
cure with the stoppers. Lace rubber bands in
the fashion shown in the sketch.
This is a very efficient shock absorber.

Balancing
The C/G (center of gravity) or balancing
point should be no further back than approx. 12,5
cm (5”) measured from the center of the lead-
ing edge on the upper wing. Make adjustments
by adding wheight if necessary. If you desire a
more groovy and stable flight performance you
may move the C/G as much as 1" forward. should fly of the ground and not be pulled. Unlike
many other planes from this period this type has
Flying a lifting profile stabilizer that in theory should off-
Let the engine swing a 14"x6" propeller if pos- set the climbing tendency of the high lift wing
sible. This gives better thrust outside the big profile. Once airborne the aircraft is fully aero-
dummy engine and reduces sound to a more batic like all biplane fighters from WW 1. Re-
realistic level. member that all turns are made using rudder
Flying characteristic is that of a biplane from and elevator and compensated with aileron!
the WW-I period and it will fly happily on 3/4 The landing approach can be rather steep
throttle. Ground handling on a hard surface de- as per prototype but the flare out needs almost
mands a gentle hand but on grass surface, the full up elevator. Once on the ground keep the tail
tailskid provides enough directional stability. Dur- down to maintain directional stability. In case you
ing the initial take off run first keep full up eleva- have to make a dead stick landing, keep the nose
tor to keep the tail down. As the speed builds up, down and the speed up. The wires produce a lot
let go gradually of the up elevator and the tail of drag! It is always better to do a good landing
comes up. You have to compensate for the in a bad place than vice versa...
torque with right rudder but as the speed builds
up the rudder is returned to neutral. This model Happy landingsl

The compact
airframe of the
Tripe is obvious

Sopwith Triplane ARF 8

Center wing
attachment
screws
Dummy Clerget
engine fitted

Sopwith Triplane ARF 9

Bracket
for wing
strut
attachment.
3 2mm
screws
and nuts
used

Aileron
interconnecting
adjustable rods

Torque rods for Aileron

the ailerons interconnecting
adjustable rods

Rudder and Fin and

elevator stabilizer
control support cables
cables

Rudder
Rudder and
and elevator elevator
support cables control
cables
Sopwith Triplane ARF 10
Throttle servo
and fuel tank
are placed
2 mm
side by
screws
side
2 mm
nuts
12 oz
tank

Upper and
lower wing
strut Depending on
mounting carburator position,
with the throttle servo and tank can be switched
brackets
Aileron servo with ball link
connectors to aileron torque rods
Clevises

Ball links

Center wing
strut
mounting
with
brackets
Aileron torque
rods from lower
wing

2 mm
screws

Rudder and elevator servos connect

2 mm
nuts with ball links to the rudder bar and
the control column
Clevise
Ball links
The wing
struts are
attached to
the brackets
with 2 mm
screws and Note that
nuts the rudder
servo is mounted
inverted

Sopwith Triplane ARF 11

What is in the box:
The ARF kit contains the parts shown in the picture. wires are supplied in the correct lengths and need
All the parts are covered and painted. All the rigging only to be clipped to their positions.

14

13 12
13

9
12
11 4
6
1
7
10
3 2
5

1. Fuselage with wing cabane 8. Upper wing panels

2. Landing gear with scale function 9. Center wing panels
3. Scale wheels 10. Lower wing panels
4. Scale propeller 11. Interplane struts
5. Tail skid assy. 12. Aileron connecting rods
6. Fin with rudder 13. Rigging wires, connected at one point
7. Stabilizer / elevator 14. Assembly manual with scale documentation

P.O.Box 1229, Cebu City Centrl. Postoffice

K&W Cebu City 6000, Philippines
Visiting address:
3343 Gun-Ob, Kinalumsan,

Model
Lapu-Lapu City 6015, PHILIPPINES
Phone +63 32-340 0772, Cellular +63 917-3200 985

Airplanes Inc. Telefax +63 32-340 7131, E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.kwmairpl.com.ph
Sopwith Triplane ARF 12