Pierre_
I Had A Dream .....


Back in the mid 70's, after a visit to the RAF Museum in Hendon (UK) and the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels (Belgium), I had this dream of building my own Sopwith Camel replica.

As a member of the Royal Dutch Aeronautical Association, I had access a huge collection of old vintage aircraft related magazines, some going back to the early 1900's. This however was years before the Internet became available!

I started to collect books, construction information and took as many pictures as possible in order to make my dream come true, and build a Sopwith Camel in my garage...... one day .......

Years later......., also inspired by the web publications of John Rinaldi's Sopwith Camel Project, I decided to start the project.

However, with all the Computer Graphics (CAD) capabilities available today, I didn't need all the materials, tools and workshop space required for such a huge project.

Because I had been professionally involved in many Architecture, Construction and Engineering Computer Aided Design (CAD) projects, I decided to use my 3D Computer Graphics skills to build a "virtual" model of the F6314 Sopwith Camel and the Clerget 9B rotary engine.






The in-depth studies, books, photographs and the original Sopwith factory drawings, as well as the drawings created by Replicraft, USA , made it possible to draw all the components and assemblies in 3-D and build this Full Scale Replica of the Sopwith Camel and Clerget 9B engine.

The Clerget 9B Engine
I was given the opportunity to measure a fully stripped 9B Clerget 9B engine in Perth (WA), owned by Chris Mawson. Watch the First test run movie

This allowed me to analyze and measure all engine parts, create the engineering drawings and all components in 3D for building the most accurate model of the Clerget 9B engine.
In addition, I had access to two engines and many spare parts at the Early Birds Foundation in Lelystad (Netherlands).

   You may want to have a look at the various related video's   that I've made on the Sopwith Camel and WW1 rotary engines.

During the course of these projects, I had tremendous help from several people who supported me with their technical and editorial skills.
I herewith express my sincere appreciation and thank them for their contribution.