12/15/2021. Remarks by
Johan Visschedijk: "The Squadron Aviation Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, USA, produced a range of three replica WW I fighters: the SPAD S.XIII from France, the R.A.F. S.E.2a from Britain and the Fokker D VII from Germany. All of them were scaled down to be ultralight legal and all of them shared the very same airframe.
S.E.5a replica airframe (
Johan Visschedijk Collection)
However, by making cosmetic changes to the engine cowling, wing tips and tail surfaces, and by faithfully reproducing the original color schemes, each had its own identity.
The single-seat single-engined biplane had an aluminum-alloy tube airframe, covered with Dracon polyester fabric, it had conventional controls, although the wings had spoilerons. The wings were braced by struts and transverse X-cables. The landing gear had two wheels without suspension and a castoring tailskid. Power plant was a 35 hp Cuyuna ULII-02 two-cylinder two-stroke engine with a 3:1 reduction drive to a two-blade wooden Ritz Superthrust propeller. Optional were appropriate replica machine guns for each machine, for the Fokker D VII twin Spandaus, for the SPAD S.XIII twin Vickers, and for the R.A.F. S.E.5a a single Vickers & Lewis, all equipped with battery-powered strobe lights in the gun nozzles.
The three aircraft made their public debut at the Sun n' Fun Fly-In of 1984 at Lakeland, Florida, where the SPAD S.XIII won the Outstanding Replica Award. After 1985 the replica types were sold to Loehle Aircraft of Wartrace, Tennessee, which produced the aircraft in pre-assembled kits.
The here pictured R.A.F. S.E.2a, marked D279, is often listed as a Loehle aircraft, which is incorrect, as it was built before Loehle took over the type."
