Our first freeware project at Plane Design takes us back around 25 years from our previous projects, to the dark days of the Great War, and Frank Barnwell's legendary Bristol F.2B "Fighter". The F.2A was designed in 1916 to replace the B.E.2, which was found to be inadequate against the German Imperial Air Service. Using the new Rolls Royce "Falcon" V-12, the Bristol and Colonial Aeroplane Company's chief designer Frank Barnwell designed an aircraft fitted with a forward firing Vickers machine gun and a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring to allow the aircraft to defend itself. The aircraft had an inauspicious start to its career, when on 5th April 1917, six Bristol Fighters of 48 Squadron were sent out on an offensive patrol. They had the misfortune to run into six Albatros D.IIIs of Jasta 11, led by Manfred von Richthofen, and only two of the six aircraft survived. The "Brisfit's" reputation was redeemed when some pilots experimented with a new technique. Rather than leaving the defence of the aircraft to the observer and his Lewis gun, they flew the aircraft as though it was a single seat fighter, and just left the observer to cover the tail. Once this strategy was adopted, the aircraft was incredibly successful. After the first 50 aircraft had been produced, there were revisions made to the tail surfaces and certain other areas, and the aircraft was given the new designation "F.2B". A demonstration of the success of the aircraft is that in July 1917, the Bristol Fighter was chosen as the aircraft with which all fighter-reconnaisance Squadrons should be equipped. This new model has been developed using Bristol engineering drawings. It is fully animated and will incorporate a full VC and 2d panel.