The Sopwith Camel was one of the most successful British fighter aircraft during the First World War. First entering service in June 1917, almost 5,500 examples of the type were built by the end of the war in November 1918.

This aircraft is powered by a 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape (single valve type) rotary engine This engine has no carburetor or throttle, and since most of its air supply was taken in through the exhaust valve, it could not be controlled by adjusting the air supply to the crankcase like other rotary engines of the time.

The engine is controlled by a 'blip switch' which cuts out the ignition when pressed. Some Monosoupapes are fitted with a selector switch which allows the pilot to cut out three or six cylinders instead of all nine (when hitting the switch), so each cylinder fired only once per three engine revolutions.

Rotary engines had to be precisely balanced, requiring precision machining of all parts. As a result, they were expensive to build, the 100 horsepower models costing $4,000 in 1916 (approx. $89,000 in 2017 US dollars).

The Wings Over Wairarapa Airshow (now 'Air Festival') has been held at Hood Aerodrome in Masterton (New Zealand) every two years, for over two decades.

For more details about the up and coming Air Festival, see: http://www.wings.org.nz



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