Build 2: Rock the Casbah.

[proditor]

So, what if the Sultan of Brunei decided he wanted to see how his new personal toy did in REAL combat conditions?

I pose that question as I go about turning the Dewoitine D500 inot a one-off super biplane created right before the D500 was built.  The current plan is to give it another wing obviously, maybe set really low and slick looking with little to any regard to reality.    The rest of the plan is to follow the sotoolslinger school of aerial combat, and ADD MORE GUNS!!!!  

I have to admit, I agree with Ron, 4x.30 cal is NOT enough.  I'll probably add two more on top of the wing and call it a day.

[proditor]

Okay, thanks to the generosity of Sequoiaranger, (Thanks Craig!!) I've been able to realize my half-formed design.  I figure the plane is quite literally a one of a kind.  This is the Sultan of Brunei's personal fighter.  He doesn't fly it or anything, he has a hired mercenary pilot for all of that nastiness.  Sequoiaranger sent me a really nice Grumman Duck wing, and it was perfect.  Being a plane created at a highly transitional time, the plane has a full spar top and bottom.  Bracing s strong, and more of the industrial school of thought.  So, I cleaned up the wing tips a bit to make it look more "modern".    I did the same to the beautiful Dewoitine's wing; hackety-hack.  Then, I got so excited about fitting the thing together, that in a frenzy of glue and epoxy putty, i got her to mock up stage.  Hopefully y'all will enjoy it.

[sequoiaranger]

Glad my Duck wing is going to such a worthy project.

I can't tell in the photo, but do you have "airfoil" cross-section support struts, or are they round? If you "need" airfoil struts, I have mucho plenty of that stock, too!

So what is the Sultan's emblem going to be---an oil well with a diamond necklace draped around it??

[proditor]

They're round right now, which I sort of like, but if I decide otherwise, I'll absolutely give you a yell.  Thanks!

As for the emblem.  Heh, that's been nagging at me for a while.  Enough so that I cheated and went to work on the construction of my other 2 builds for the GB. 

[jcf]

Interesting airplane.

I am curious as to how a small British protectorate (1888 - 1984) on the north coast of Borneo becomes involved in the Spanish Civil War?
The then Sultan was 23 when the war started, 13 when the Seria oil field was found in 1926.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_of_Brunei

[proditor]

I figure it's the same way that half of the European ordinance got tested in the Civil War while the Neutrality Patrol was in effect.  The Sultan declares the plane as "sold" to the merc that is actually cladestinely in his employ, with the understanding that all information on the plane's performance, the opposing air forces and their tactics all goes back to France and England respectively.

[pyro-manic]

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me! Handsome little machine as well.

[proditor]

A couple of small "oops" along the way.

The big one: I sprayed the primer on.  And forgot to mask over the already completed cockpit.   

The plane took a header and one of the gear assemblies decided that this would be an awesome time to shatter. 

CA seems to have fixed it up, and it even has some good strength now.  Hopefully back on track soon.

[sequoiaranger]

>  And forgot to mask over the already completed cockpit. <

Was it still an open cockpit? I find the easiest way to "mask" a circular opening is to roll up a 3"x5" card and stick it in. The card will expand to the diameter of the hole and have a large "wall" that prevents paint from getting in.

I guess that is "closing the gate after the horse has left" in this case. Sometimes a quick wipe with some paint thinner on a "Q-tip" (cotton swab) will get the fresh paint off whilst leaving the cured paint alone.

Good luck!

[proditor]

Oh hey, that's an awesome idea!  Thanks!  It may be too late, but it's a great future tip! 

[proditor]

Small update, new pic with the lewis gun added, bringing the total to 5 MG's.  Now waiting for paint, which should be this week.  It's basically done, and just waiting for the final scheme.

[proditor]

Few remember the name of Boudewijn De Smet, or his contributions in the years before the second world war erupted.  To those few who do, he has gone down as a mercenary, a cad, and a thoroughly worthless pilot.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In 1937 as the Spanish Civil War raged, the loose confederation of potential allied nations realized that the ongoing support of the Nationalists by the resurgent Germany was little more then a test run of their latest technology and tactics.  Bound in large part by the ideals of the neutrality agreement, Britain and the other allies fretted that this advanced form of training and technological testing would give the Germans an almost unbeatable advantage.  What they needed was someone to give them insight into the workings of the Nationalist effort.

Along came one of the convoluted plots hatched by the ministry.  A Belgian national, Boudewijn De Smet, would serve as their agent in the theatre of operations.  To gain insight into the operational movement of the Fascist forces, he would act as battlefield reconnaissance in he latest and most maneuverable offering from the French firm of Dewotine.  Lastly, he would be put forth as a mercenary in the service of the young and rich Sultan of Brunei.  The British would officially denounce the Sultan for sending De Smet, but he would claim that the man was not leaving as instructed, and that me might be looking to sell out to the nationalist cause.

For 2 years the charade worked, with De Smet cruising as he wished in his very distinctive one-off Dewotine.  The 500X as it was called, was an attempt to marry the best features of the new monoplanes with the agility of the biplanes.  In many ways, it was a success, but it's meager armament of 4 7.5mm machine guns, and it's slow top speed  meant that it represented a technological dead end.

However for De Smet, the agility and sturdiness of the design allowed him to carry out his research from the sky, with a better than even chance of turning rings around anyone who jumped into the air with him. During the conflict, he was credited with 3 Nationalist, and 2 Republican kills; a dubious record indeed.  However, it just strengthened his already shaky reputation. 

By the end of 1940 as the war dragged on to yet another year of conflict, De Smet met up with a young German ace named Molders who unceremoniously cut him from the skies.  Broken and battered, the distinctive man and plane ended their mission for the allies.  No honor was attached to his name until the late eighties when the official records of his work was unsealed.  He was posthumously awarded the DFC in 1991.

[proditor]