I am thinking about a major change in the composition and storyline for this shadow box diorama.
I am thinking about eliminating the DR1 completely and concentrating on the Camel .Two large aircraft in such a limited space bothers me especially because this is a shadow box type diorama with very limited viewing angles.Too much up front and the whole back wall would mostly be hidden eliminating the perception of depth that I am trying so hard to achieve.
Instead I would like to concentrate on this scene as being a research area, with wing load testing and wind tunnel experiments going on.
So now it is back to square on the composition.I will move things around a bit and see what I can come up with.
The DR.1 I'll let go for another day somewhere down the line, but at 73 it better not be too far down,I guess.I still have a Peregrine Falcon /Bleriot 11 sculpture to finish and a bunch of "Old West" shadowboxes to complete.
The title "The Contenders " still works but now it is more of a fight for aircraft design between Sopwith and Fokker.Like I said in the beginning nothing is written in stone when I am working and that's the way I like it.Now for a little research on wing loading and wind tunnels.

I have closed the other two threads and will consolidate them both into this one new thread as I found it too confusing ,as I bet you guys did too.
The two Camel threads will remain open if that is ok with Stephen.

Fokker was not a studious boy and did not complete his high school education but he showed an early interest in mechanics, and preferred making things, playing with model trains and steam engines and experimenting with model aeroplane designs.
Thomas Sopwith, a civil engineer was educated at Cottesmore School in Hove and at Seafield Park engineering college in Hill Head.(wikipedia)
Fokker sounds like my kind of guy !

You just never know where the genius is going to come from,creative play or formal education.

Isn't the creative though process a wonderful thing? Sandbags on rotor blades are still used, only the measuring equipment is more digital. Simple and effective. Balencing is with bubble scales. Talk about an educational diarama. WOW!

Captn Tommy

nother pic

I will be building a Dr.1 after all but this one will be in 1/72 scale and mounted as a test model inside the wind tunnel during the time when they were looking for the cause of wing structure failures in 1917.

On 29 October 1917, Leutnant der Reserve Heinrich Gontermann, Staffelführer of Jasta 15, was performing aerobatics when his triplane broke up.[20] Gontermann was fatally injured in the ensuing crash landing. Leutnant der Reserve Günther Pastor of Jasta 11 was killed two days later when his triplane broke up in level flight.[20] Inspection of the wrecked aircraft showed that the wings had been poorly constructed. Examination of other high-time triplanes confirmed these findings. On 2 November, Idflieg grounded all remaining triplanes pending an inquiry. Idflieg convened a Sturzkommission (crash commission) which concluded that poor construction and lack of waterproofing had allowed moisture to damage the wing structure.[21] This caused the wing ribs to disintegrate and the ailerons to break away in flight.[21]

In response to the crash investigation, Fokker improved quality control on the production line, particularly varnishing of the wing spars and ribs, to combat moisture. Fokker also strengthened the rib structures and the attachment of the auxiliary spars to the ribs.[22] Existing triplanes were repaired and modified at Fokker's expense.[23] After testing a modified wing at Adlershof, Idflieg authorized the triplane's return to service on 28 November 1917.[24] Production resumed in early December.
(Wikipedia)

The Wright brothers wind tunnel.

The Wright Wind Tunnel -the design they built themselves.

The Wrights had over 200 wing designs they wanted to try out quickly without having to build a full scale glider for each design – so they decided to use a wind tunnel.

A wind tunnel works by blowing air past a model of a wing or an aeroplane so that the designers can measure the aerodynamic performance of the model and compare the merits of different designs.

The advantage of a wind tunnel is that you can test a model in complete safety and at much less expense than building a full scale aeroplane.

While modern wind tunnels have become much larger and more powerful, the principle they use is the same. The designers build a model of an aeroplane, install it in a wind tunnel, blow air past it and measure the aerodynamic performance. They can then compare the merits of different designs and answer questions such as which design is more aerodynamic or which is easier to control.

The most important measurements for the Wrights were lift which keeps the aeroplane in the air and drag which is the air resistance the propellers and engines must overcome.

I presume that
Fokker must have had a wind tunnel similar to the Wrights design.I haven't been able to find any info on this so far but I am still working on it. I may be forced to use a little artistic license here, keeping in mind the technology of the day.

As far as I can find out there is no photographic evidence that Fokker ever used wind tunnels but then again there is no evidence that he did not.So in keeping with my usual historical standard of "if it could have happened in the time period that I am portraying" ,I will include a wind tunnel in the diorama for educational purposes.