Gary Samson Posted 2 August , 2004 Share Posted 2 August , 2004 Went to a local air display yesterday (Wings and Things, Woodchurch, Kent) and was surprised to see several replica WWI aircraft there. The programme included a dogfight between a Nieuport 17 Scout and a couple of Junkers fighters that unfortunately I didn't manage to capture all that well (should have switched my digital camera to manual focus much earlier). Of the few images that came out okay, here's one of the Nieuport in flight. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Samson Posted 2 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 2 August , 2004 And here's the same aircraft stationary alongside the edge of the airfield with one of the Junkers fighters to its immediate left. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Samson Posted 2 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 2 August , 2004 This is the information panel that was on display next to the Nieuport. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somme1916 Posted 2 August , 2004 Share Posted 2 August , 2004 Very nice! I'll keep your manual focus tip in mind next time I try to shoot something that's moving with my digital camera. I had the problem but never figured it out, until you revealed the answer. I guess I should have paid more attention to the instruction book. Cheers, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Samson Posted 2 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 2 August , 2004 Hi Jon, It took an embarrassingly long time to figure out that instead of worrying about the camera being able to auto focus on a moving object I could just set the manual focus to infinity then all I had to do was make sure the aircraft I wanted to photograph was somewhere in frame before pressing the shutter (something I always used to do when using a standard 35mm camera with zoom). I was shooting at 8 megapixels which meant that even after cropping out all the unwanted sky images of the aircraft themselves were still a good size. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 2 August , 2004 Share Posted 2 August , 2004 Gary, Did you pick up any info on future displays? Is the display at Woodchurch an annual event? Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pete Wood Posted 3 August , 2004 Share Posted 3 August , 2004 This Nieuport is a fabulous aeroplane. There was a great four page spread on the first flight of this aircraft in Pilot magazine (no more than four years ago, I recall). The builders went to extraordinary lengths to make it as authentic as possible. For example, the correct tyre size is only available from one manufacturer. The tread then had to be rubbed down to achieve the 'smooth' look of the original. This aeroplane is a 'properly built' craft, using wood (spruce). In America, where the laws are a joke - and you can fly just about ANYTHING as long as there is a plate saying it is 'experimental' - you can build a Nieuport XI or XII that is made of aluminium tube and is hauled by a motorcycle engine. Anyway, this aeroplane is part of The Great War Display team and you can see the dates for 2004 at http://www.gwdt.freeserve.co.uk/Where%20to%20see%20us.htm There is a nice, one page article on flying this Nieuport at http://www.airnews.co.za/showstory.asp?id=107 Remember the XVII is pretty much the same as a Nieuport XXIII, except for the gun positioning. Gary, which 8 MP camera are you using....?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 3 August , 2004 Share Posted 3 August , 2004 Gary Thank you very much for a couple of excellent photographs of a lovely aeroplane. Really appreciated. Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Samson Posted 3 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 3 August , 2004 Did you pick up any info on future displays? Is the display at Woodchurch an annual event? Jon, Wings & Things is an annual event, always staged around the beginning of August, and a great day out. There's a page on the Woodchurch Village Life Musem website with a bit more information about the show but as yet no date for next year: http://www.woodchurchmuseum.com/wings/wingshome.shtml The WWI aircraft have been regular visitors for the past three years or so. I've also just spoken on the phone to one of the pilots at yesterday's show and there's a chance to see these aircraft over the bank holiday weekend (28-29 August) at Shoreham Air Show down in Sussex where they plan to team up with a group of WWI re-enactors (anyone we know?). They're also appearing that same weekend at a show further up country in Little Gransden, Bedfordshire. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Samson Posted 3 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 3 August , 2004 Gary, which 8 MP camera are you using....?? I had with me an Olympus C-8080 WZ. It's a great prosumer camera for general photography, getting excellent reviews in the digital photography press at the moment, but not ideal for this kind of event as the lens is the 35mm equivalent of a 28-140mm zoom and it's useful at times to have the extra bit of reach of a longer lens. I haven't yet had a chance to try out any of the several digital SLRs available now, although there were a fair few around yesterday and it's pretty clear this is the way photography is going the more affordable these cameras become. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted 3 August , 2004 Share Posted 3 August , 2004 Hmmm - the RNAS did not use the Nieuport 17, so the info board could do with a re-write. The RNAS did use the Nieuport 17Bis which was a different kettle of fish altogether, and the so-called 17B which was in reality a Nieuport 21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 3 August , 2004 Share Posted 3 August , 2004 Gary and RT, Many thanks for the additional info. Now trying to change the diary so I can get to Shoreham at the end of this month! Otherwise Woodchurch next year. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkristof Posted 3 August , 2004 Share Posted 3 August , 2004 How can you contact those guys in those flying machines???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pete Wood Posted 3 August , 2004 Share Posted 3 August , 2004 There are three ways of contacting them: Look at the information board in the above photo which gives a mobile telephone number Click on the link I gave above to the Great War Display team website Click on this link which gives you their phone number, email address, and website http://www.gwdt.freeserve.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkristof Posted 3 August , 2004 Share Posted 3 August , 2004 thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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