6 | FLIGHTPATHNews
A rare inter-war fighter, the Dewoitine
D-530 No.06 F-AJTE, has just been com-
pleted after several months of restoration
by the specialists in the workshop from
Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace [the French
National Aviation Museum] at le Bourget.
The D530 was the ultimate evolution of the
inter-war series of Dewoitine fighters, and
was equipped with a 500 hp (370kW) His-
pano Suiza 12 engine, and was built in the
Argenteuil factory in 1937 especially for
the notable French pilot Marcel Doret who
was the test pilot of Dewoitine at the time
and a world renowned acrobat pilot. The
Dewoitine was used for airshows before
W.W.II, then post war by Doret again until
their last flight on 12 April 1955. F-
AJTE was returned to Hall 10, the building
devoted to the inter-war period in July- Eric Janssonne
Le Bourget Dewoitine D530 Returns
Dewoitine D530 F-AJTE on show again at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, le Bourget. [Patrice Schaffhauser Via Eric Janssonne]Nick Caudwell made the first flight of his
scratch-built Sopwith Snipe, VH-SNP at Ty-
abb Airport in the early morning of 17 Octo-
ber 2014. He told Flightpath: “I was sur-
prised just how quickly it leapt off the ground
in a very short distance. By the time the tail
was up, a quick glance at the airspeed and
we’re already airborne and climbing like a
rocket. The rudder and elevator light and
quite effective although slightly mushy. The
ailerons, though, are very heavy and really
stiffen up once over 100 mph (160 km/h).
Tail down wheeler for landing and once the
skid is down it comes to a stop very quickly.”
Using original blueprints, the replica Great
War fighter was constructed from the ground
up, with the only deviation from originality
being a Continental W670 seven cylinder ra-
dial engine in place of the rare Bentley BR
rotary. (See Flightpath Vol.25 No.4) Nick
constructed his Snipe over the past nine and
a half years in the garage of his Mt Eliza
home and used numerous original Snipe
parts in the authentic reproduction, includ-
ing a gunsight and controls. Rob FoxGreat War Snipe Flies
ABOVE & BELOW: Nick Caudwell airborne in his Great War
Sopwith Snipe replica at Tyabb. The Snipe was built from
original blueprints and is finished in the colours of AFC
Ace ‘Bo’ King. [Michael Pover]BELOW RIGHT: A very happy Nick Caudwell after his first
flight at Tyabb. He has flown the Snipe, historically in the
centenary year of both the birth of the Australian air arm
and the Great War. [Darren Barnfield]