The St Croix Sopwith Triplane is an American

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

that was designed and produced by St Croix Aircraft of

Corning, Iowa Corning is a city in Quincy Township, Adams County, Iowa, Quincy and Jasper Township, Adams County, Iowa, Jasper Townships, Adams County, Iowa, Adams County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,564 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit or in the form of plans for amateur construction. The aircraft is a full-size replica of the 1916

Sopwith Triplane The Sopwith Triplane is a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. It has the distinction of being the first military triplane to see operational service. The T ...

fighter aircraft.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 249. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

The aircraft features a cantilever strut-braced triplane layout, a single-seat, with an optional two-seats-in-tandem open cockpit, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration. The St Croix Sopwith Triplane differs from the original 1916 design in that it employs a welded steel tube fuselage, modern engine installation and other minor details. The Triplane is all covered in Aircraft dope, doped aircraft fabric. Its span wing uses strut and flying wires, cable-bracing and has a wing area of . The cabin width is . The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the Lycoming O-435 powerplant. The St Croix Sopwith Triplane has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot, passengers and baggage is . The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a engine is and the landing roll is . The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 4000 hours.

Operational history

By 1998 the company reported that 25 kits had been sold and 15 aircraft were completed and flying.

Specifications (St Croix Sopwith Triplane)

References

External links

* {{St Croix aircraft St Croix aircraft, Sopwith Triplane 1990s United States sport aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Triplanes Homebuilt aircraft Replica aircraft