Blue-Max-Triplane

It looks hungry. ready to pounce

There have been some conversations about potentially doing a re-make of the film, The Blue Max, and Mr. Jackson has the ability to give that film some true justice.

After having a few chats, I found out that the 10 Lancaster replicas are fiberglass, and powered by electric motors for taxiing purposes only....Still an impressive thing....

It is a real freak. The top tube of the frame is actually the fuel tank. The French have a way of doing things that can confound a person, but sometimes the pure elegance of their methods can be a beautiful thing. This oddity lived in my living room up to the point recently where a local museum wanted it to be included in their display. In my mind, the point in having these things is for folks to see them, enjoy them, and perhaps find some inspiration as well.

Now that is going to be SPECTACULAR to see. Wow. The Tanks are one thing, but that many Lancs in one spot is stunning.

Hello Kufra Kiwi: I have been familiar with what Mr. Jackson's team has been doing for many years. They have invited me to participate in things there, and I was not able to make the Omaka airshow this year due to scheduling conflicts. They are a nice group of folks, and have plenty of experience with recreating things to exacting standards. Did you know that they totally re manufacture engines for these birds as well. Complete re manufacturing of engines that were otherwise impossible to find. Their group just built a complete flying Mosquito as well for Mr Gerald Yaegen from Virginia. As for your critiques of the aircraft in my collection- These are all movie props, and were never intended to be exact replicas. The value is that they are the actual stars of the very films that inspired Mr Peter Jackson to become a film maker to begin with. Without seeing the Blue Max as a child, Peter Jackson may never have entered the film business. That is from his mouth, not mine. I am collecting movie props, not copies. These are totally original as to what they were made to be- Movie props. The Triplane, just so you know, is an exact copy built from original Fokker Drawings in 1966. I have the drawings here in my office, and the aircraft right next door in the hanger. The only difference is the engine, (SH-14 built in 1923) and the fact that there is a deck behind the cockpit that accepted a movie camera. The Se5a (of which I have two) has an engine cowl that does in fact house a modern engine. It happens to be much smaller than the original Se5a engine, but you already know that. It is actually about half the size. Still though- it is exactly as it was originally built- and as it appeared on the screens that gave these specific airframes their fame- not like the other copies out there. These are original, and I will restore them to how they were seen on screen, in part driven by the same exacting standards as the folks in NZ. Peter Jackson has three of the former Blue Max Collection pieces. Two are the Pfalz replicas, and the other is one of the Russeau built Fokker D7. Of course, there are many other collectors there at OMAKA that have WWI aircraft, and Mr.Jackson has other birds in his own collection as well. I was talking about the three that he has that were part of my Families collection. Glad you are proud of things there. It is the best static museum display that I have ever seen, and the airshows are spectacular. I will surely be there flying sometime in the future, so perhaps you can see these "inaccurate" birds in person. The 2011 airshow at OMAKA had seven Dr.1 replicas flying formation (although not all are owned by Mr. Jackson)- the largest group in the air together since WWI. Having hundreds of millions of dollars helps.....

Tony is one of the god ones out there. Many of the birds are spread out all over the place, but Peter Jackson has 3, and I have gathered up three as well. Still though, there are others out there. I have leads on the Luciole as well- It is fully restored and sitting in a friends garage in the US. Others are in Belgium, South Africa, and I think there is a D7 in Atlanta Georgia USA.

Unusual is what usually draws my attention the most. Lately though, things have been more along the aviation end, but I am forever drawn to WWII wheeled machines. Oddly enough, I did find some civilian oddities in the years as well. Here is a Moto Narcisse from France. 125 cc 2 stroke engine and 3 speed gearbox, but it is also a 3 speed bicycle- tandem at that. How can anyone pass up the oddities? I sure do have a hard time with that one.

Hello to everyone here. I am an active military vehicle collector, and am interested in aviation as well. Over the years, I have searched long and hard for military vehicles, and have been blessed with sharing some quality time with quite a few. Lately though, I have been selling off most of the wheeled vehicles and motorcycles as I transition into WWI aviation. I will always keep a few of these WWII machines around, but the aircraft are starting to gain some attention, and we hope to get out to show them in an airshow tour in the future. For now though, I am finishing a few projects- A WWII BMW R-75, as well as a 1937 R-12. These are already spoken for in the sell-off, but I have a 41 Command Car, a Burma Jeep, and a few other bits. One that is staying here is the International Harvester M-3H4 Fire truck. I will post a few photos of ti in time.. Hopefully, there will be moments when I can ask a wee bit of advice, and even if possible, shed a bit as well. All the best; Patrick http://www.blue-max-triplane.org

I would like to share some photos of the Blue Max Triplane, as well as the other planes that it keeps hanger space with. The story of this Dr.1 is a deep one, filled with flying fame and intrigue as well. I have a site up as well http://www.blue-max-triplane.org Hopefully, this will bring a few smiles-