Sopwith Triplane Reproduction - Seattle, WA - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

Located at the Museum of Flight are a large number of static aircraft on display. One of them is a Sopwith Triplane Reproduction. The Museum of Flight website contains a page devoted to this aircraft and it reads:

One can't look at the Sopwith Triplane without generating a whole list of questions. Though similar to the Pup, the Triplane, of course, has three wings. German flyers who encountered "Tripes" noted a few differences between the biplanes they were used to tangling with and these new "three-wingers." Triplanes could turn around -- and bring its gun to bear -- in a startlingly short amount of time. And if things got too rough for a Triplane flyer, he went up, and up, and up! And no one could follow him.

The "Tripehound's" small-cord wings offered a good field of vision compared to biplane fighters. Structurally, the Triplane was strong enough to not have the mess of rigging seen on many other airplanes of the time. And the Tripe's maneuverability was helped by the fact that each of the plane's wings was designed with an aileron.

The Museum's aircraft, built by Carl Swanson, with a Clerget, 110 h.p. rotary engine and one .303-inch Vickers machine gun. This plane carries the markings of Canadian ace Sub-Lieutenant Mel Alexander. He was part of the famous all-Canadian "Black Flight" Naval Squadron led by Flight Commander Raymond Collishaw. In June and July of 1917, Black Flight shot down 86 enemy aircraft and lost only three flyers of their own.

A nearby placard highlights this Sopwith Triplane Reproduction in more detail and reads:

Sopwith test pilot Harry Hawker was so pleased with the prototype Triplane that he looped it just three minutes into his flight. When the prototype went to the front for combat evaluation, it was in the air and on patrol within 15 minutes. Most of the approximately 140 Triplanes went to the Royal Naval Air Service.

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Sopwith Triplane Reproduction Tail Number: (S/N): N38057 Construction:: replica Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Museum of Flight - Personal Courage Wing - 2nd Floor inside / outside: inside Other Information:: Not listed Access restrictions: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/27/2022 r.e.s.t.seekers visited it 10/01/2018 Ulven7470 visited it

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