Aeroplane Monthly

In the April issue of Aeroplane Monthly (page 608) we featured the Foo Fighter, a homebuilt reminiscent of British First World War aircraft types. On these pages we illustrate the White WW-1 Der Jager D.IX, another homebuilt, with distinctly Teutonic WW-1 ДальшеMore>>> lines. In fact, except for the rearward sweep of the tips, the wings are modelled on those of the Albatross D.Va, and the tail unit resembles that of the Fokker D.VII.
   Marshall White, a Californian engineer, designed and built his biplane in 1968, the first flight following on September 7, 1969. The wings are wooden with internal steel bracing and the fuselage is made up from tubular steel, as is the tail unit, the ribs being sheet metal. The aircraft is covered in Dacron and peppered with Germanic graffiti. Power in the prototype was originally supplied by a 115 h.p. Lycoming O-235-C1 four cylinder engine, but alternative engines, from the VW to the 150 h.p. Lycoming now in the first aircraft, are suitable.
   Der Jager is a single-seater and is equipped with two dummy machine guns mounted on top of the fuselage, forward of the cockpit. A dummy bomb nestles between the undercarriage legs and can be adapted as an oil tank or for producing smoke, presumably for mock dog fights.
   Vital statistics include a 20ft wing span, a length of 17ft and an all-up weight of 888lb. The maximum permissible speed in a dive is quoted at 175 m.p.h., and the maximum rate of climb an impressive 2,400ft/min.