The Circa Reproductions Nieuports are a family of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

7/8 scale

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

sesquiplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

aircraft replicas designed by Graham Lee of

Lamont, Alberta Lamont is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located east of Edmonton at the junction of Highway 15 and Highway 831. History Settlement began in the 1880s. The area's location along the Victoria Trail, which was used by travellers bet ...

for amateur construction from plans sold by Lee's company Circa Reproductions. Leading Edge Air Foils of

Peyton, Colorado Peyton is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Peyton po ...

at one time also made construction kits available. Lee's Nieuports were among the earliest First World War replicas available and paved the way for later companies to produce plans and kits for a great variety of

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 100 ...

s.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 194. BAI Communications. Kitplanes Staff: ''1999 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 16, Number 1, January 1999, page 56. Primedia Publications. IPM 0462012Downey, Julia: ''2003 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 1, January 2003, page 18. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-43 Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 409-412. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 97. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X The aircraft's design was attributed to "the result of many years of affection for WWI type aircraft and a "too limited" flying budget."

Design and development

The Nieuport 11 was the first design in the family and is a 7/8 (87%) scale version of the original French

Nieuport 11 The Nieuport 11 (or Nieuport XI C.1 in contemporary sources), nicknamed the ''Bébé'', is a French World War I single seat sesquiplane fighter aircraft, designed by Gustave Delage. It was the primary aircraft that ended the Fokker Scourge in 1 ...

''Bebe'' fighter. The prototype, registered as a Canadian basic ultralight as C-IRCA, first flew in July 1984. The Nieuport 11 is constructed from 6061-T6 aluminum tubing, supported with 2024-T3 aluminum gussets, held together with blind rivets. At one point welded steel tube fuselages were also available. The wings, tail and fuselage are then covered with doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. Landing gear is conventional, with spoked mainwheels with bungee suspension. The original design calls for a

tailskid Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

, the same as the World War One original aircraft, but since the skid is impractical on hard surfaced runways, a

tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

is optional. The engine

cowling A cowling (or cowl) is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings ...

is a horseshoe shaped semi-circular design. Recommended engines for the aircraft include the

Rotax 447 The Rotax 447 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. Design and developme ...

, the

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke engine, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pp. 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1 ...

Volkswagen air-cooled engine The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an Air-cooled engine, air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinder (engine), cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankca ...

s and various

Hirth Hirth Engines GmbH is an engine manufacturer based in Benningen, Germany. It is currently a part of the UMS Aero Group. Hirth began manufacturing aero engines in the 1920s, was taken over by Heinkel in WWII to develop the Heinkel-Hirth jet en ...

engines. The designer estimated that the Nieuport 11 would take 400 hours to construct. The aircraft have been described as being "very easy to fly, even by novice pilots." By 2015 over 1200 sets of plans had been sold.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 104. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Operational history

The Nieuport 11 won ''Grand Champion Light Plane'' at Oshkosh in 1989 and the Nieuport 12 won ''Reserve Grand Champion'' at Oshkosh in 1990.

Variants

;Nieuport 11 :Single seat 7/8 scale reproduction of the

fighter of 1916. First flown in July 1984. Kits were available in ''ultralight'' and ''experimental'' versions to meet United States

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft exist outside of the United States. In most countries, ultralights are a class of aircraft. A completely different legal concept is valid within the USA. The FAA makes explicitly clear that ultralight vehicles are not air ...

and Experimental amateur-built regulations respectively. The ultralight version uses lighter tubing, engine and wheels to save weight. ;Nieuport 12 :Two seat 7/8 scale reproduction of the

Nieuport 12 The Nieuport 12 (or Nieuport XII in contemporary sources) was a French Biplane#Sesquiplane, sesquiplane reconnaissance, fighter aircraft and trainer used by France, Russia, United Kingdom, Great Britain and the United States during World War I. ...

WWI observation aircraft, first flown in 1989. The designer estimates construction time at 1400 hours. Aircraft has gross weight. Recommended engines include the

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke cycle, two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-ce ...

Continental A65 The Continental O-170 engine is the collective military designation for a family of small aircraft engines, known under the company designation of A50, A65, A75 and A80. The line was designed and built by Teledyne Continental Motors, Continental ...

Lycoming O-145 The Lycoming O-145 is a family of small, low-horsepower, four-cylinder, air-cooled engines. It was Lycoming Engines' first horizontally opposed aircraft engine and was produced from 1938 until the late 1940s. The family includes the reduction-ge ...

. ;Nieuport 17 :Single seat 7/8 scale reproduction of the

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) is a French sesquiplane fighter aircraft, fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little large ...

WWI fighter aircraft. This variant is similar to the Nieuport 11, but with a greater wingspan and a completely circular engine cowling. The designer estimates construction time at 400 hours.

Specifications (Nieuport 11 Bebe)

References

External links