The first plans this time is a Jerry Behren's Sopwith Triplane. And it's damned good set of plans, as all of Jerry's plans are. The fuselage is built up of quarter square pine, with quarter inch plywood box from the firewall to the rear of the cockpit. Besides the strength the ply box gives, it also keeps the weight in the front where it is needed, because of the extremely short nose movement, that was common to all rotary engined WW-I fighters. Jerry has done a beautiful job recessing the engine mount so the skid is built up from plywood, with steel fittings and steel shoe and is sprung internally. A very scale arrangement. This is one airplane that should have a one piece landing gear and it does. It is made from 3/16" wire and faired with balsa. So far no shock mounting, right? But wait, at the apex of the landing gear strut vee, there's a steel fitting, with a vertical slot for the axle to ride in and it is wrapped with bunge cord same as the original, and should work the same way.

The engine cowl is made from fiberglass and can be obtained from Fibreglass Master. See Advertisement... (We do have their new address, the company has moved). The empennage is built up from ply and balsa with laminated leading and trailing edges and tips. The whole empennage bolts on, and is adjustable for trim. The wings on this Tripe are a joy to behold, there are three of them but they are well built, with the front spar in each panel, built as a box, from spruce and ply. The rear spar is hard balsa. All wing panels plug in and are built for quick assembly. You are also given the choice of two airfoil sections, a section with under cambler and a semi-symmetrical section for sport scale. There are also six ailerons on this airplane. Ribs are from 1/8th inch balsa with two false ribs between each full rib. Interplane and cabane struts are made from 3/8th plywood with metal fittings. Jerry doesn't give a projected weight, but I would guess around twenty pounds, and with 2,325 inches of wing area, the wing loading comes out to about nineteen ounces. A very light airplane. A good set of plans that can be purchased from Behren's Plan Service, 31-27 Healy Avenue, Far Rockaway, New York 11619. Price is $21.95. A partial kit is also available for $110.00. There is also a very comprehensive instruction booklet with this plan set and every set of plans Jerry sells.