1916 Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8 (representation)
This F.E.8 was built in California by Jack Gardiner and Robert Sebring. Gardiner then made an epic flight in it to Owls Head in 1980, taking 32 days. On arrival he donated the plane to the Museum. The F.E.8 was the first single-seat fighter to be designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory in England, and the last pusher single-seat fighter to see service in World War I.
Specifications: span 31 ft. 6 in.; length 23 ft. 8 in.; takeoff weight 1485 lbs.; engine 100 hp. Gnome Monosoupape nine-cylinder rotary air-cooled (original); 145 hp Continental air-cooled flat six (representation); cruising speed 80 mph. Armament one Lewis .303. cal. machine gun.
Accession no. 1980G19.
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