The most famous Nieuport WW I fighter, the Nieuport 17 sesquiplane, appeared in early 1916. Powered by the 110hp Le Rhône rotary engine, the Nieuport 17 was a larger, stronger version of the popular Nieuport 11 Bebe. Later versions were equipped with the 130hp Clerget engine and were designated as “17 bis.”
The idea behind this 1/8-scale Nieuport was to build a simple 3-channel park flier for brushless motors. As with all of the short-nose WW I fighters, it’s absolutely essential that the tail be kept very light to avoid needing a lot of nose ballast to get the center of gravity in the right place. Because of this, my model uses a simple stick-framed fuselage and built-up tail surfaces. The wings use “egg-crate” construction to speed assembly. I also used a flat-bottom airfoil to keep covering simple and to improve its flying qualities.
AT A GLANCE
TYPE: 1⁄8-scale WW I biplane
WINGSPAN: 40 in. (top), 37.6 in. (bottom)
LENGTH: 28.5 in.
WEIGHT: 14 oz.
WING AREA: 372 sq. in.
WING LOADING: 5.42 oz./sq. ft.
MOTOR USED: Park 370 size
PROPELLER USED: GWS 9 X 5
BATTERY USED: 2S 740mAh or 2S 2100mAh LiPo
RADIO REQ’D: 3-channel (rudder, elevator, throttle)
CONSTRUCTION
All the parts can be cut out of standard balsa sheets using the provided patterns, or you can buy. Begin by cutting the rudder bow pattern out of artists’ foamboard. Soak two 1⁄16 x 1⁄8 x 21-inch balsa sticks in water for a few minutes and then pull them around foamboard pattern. Glue the sticks together with medium CA or carpenters’ wood glue, and tape them to the pattern piece. When they’ve dried, remove the finished rudder bow from the pattern. The vertical and horizontal stabilizers are built directly over the plans. Pin your precut parts into place and then the spars and ribs. When the glue has dried, remove the parts from the board and sand their edges round. Cut 5⁄32-inchwide hinges out of light CA hinge stock. Slot the spars and insert the hinges, but don’t glue them into place until after you’ve covered the plane.
