I was recently visiting the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond to meet Col. Bob Morgan (he of Memphis Belle fame), when I spied this SPAD sitting in a corner display by the gift shop.  Recognizing an opportunity thanks to the foresight of my friend Matt Saben (who brought his digital camera), I talked with the staff and received permission to shoot a full walkaround of this beautiful and SMALL aircraft.  How small?  The first picture of the cockpit was taken at eye level, looking down.  Now, I'm sure there are those folks who have *always* known this, but it was an eye-opener for me.

A brief history of this aircraft- it was originally built in 1916 in England to a British contract, but by the time it entered service, the Allies were re-equipping with the superior Spad XIII, so this aircraft was essentially superfluous.  It was used in various home assignments and then sold after the war.  It wound up in the groundbreaking 1921 silent movie "Wings", where it is seen crashing and flipping over (!!!).  At some point, the remains were split roughly 50/50, and there is a museum in Canada which has a Spad VII built from the rest of the remnants, even carrying the same serial number (B9913).  

The aircraft was restored to airworthy condition in approximately 1965, with original-style linen patterns, stitching, and rib tapes used.  A quick note about the rib tapes... the gentleman to whom I spoke pointed out the rib tapes were not cut with pinking shears, but rather had the outer edges "frayed".  So if doing a scale SPAD, don't use a zig-zag rib tape pattern.  The aircraft is in need of re-covering, but unfortunately the VAM is a publicly funded organization dependent upon the state government for operating capital, and the Commonwealth is being rather stingy with money lately... so this is how the aircraft will stay for the foreseeable future.  At least it is inside and well cared-for...

My heartfelt thanks go to the staff of the Virginia Aviation Museum for the opportunity to take these photographs, as well as to Matt Saben for allowing me to go nuts with his digicam.