First Noseover Mars Effort; Nobody Hurt

ANN News-Spy Darren wanted us to follow up on this one.
Though it could have been a lot worse, the first flight of the first of the 13 Nieuport 7/8 replica fighters being built by EAA Chapter 292 of Independence, Oregon ("'Noon Patrol' Deploys at Arlington," 07-11-01, ANN) didn't go exactly as planned.

Taxi and fast taxi tests were fine; the takeoff was clean, and the flight envelope, though not "thoroughly explored," got opened a bit.
Then, about 25 minutes into the flight, the engine started going sour. Test pilot Jerry Stevens was too far from the airstrip to glide in (the little bipe's glide ratio being in the same class as the X-15's), and he landed short, "in the rough," so to speak.
The gear was designed to take just so much; and it wasn't enough: the lovely little replica tipped over, as Jerry said, "in slow motion." In a moment, it was on its nose, then its back.
Fortunately (aside from the embarrassment factor), there were over a hundred people watching, and they had Jerry out, uninjured, in half a minute. There was no fire, and the airplane was back upright, on its broken "legs," in less than half a minute more.
The airplane was substantially damaged, but will likely be rebuilt; the other 12 Nieuports under construction (nearing completion) in the squadron shouldn't be affected.
Jerry said the machine flew well.
The engine, Chapter-built and based on the VW 1835cc design that's been a favorite for decades, hasn't yielded all its secrets yet. Last year, in ANN's exclusive interview just before Arlington, where the group put on several forums, we were told, "We wanted an inexpensive, reliable powerplant, so we went to the Great Planes designs." Just how closely to the Great Plains design the group remained, or whether the engine itself (rather than any cooling, fuel, etc.) problems may have contributed, is still unknown.
Whether one or more of the other machines, also near completion, will fly at Arlington next month, is anybody's guess; but, with the determination this group has shown, we wouldn't bet against it.

**   Report created 06/13/2002   Record 2                                     **
IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 132DL        Make/Model: EXP      Description: NIEUPORT 11
  Date: 06/09/2002     Time: 1750
  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
  City: INDEPENDENCE   State: OR   Country: US
DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT LANDED SHORT OF RWY AND FLIPPED OVER, INDEPENDENCE, OR
INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
WEATHER: METAR KSLE 091722Z VRB05KT 10SM SCT022 BKN029 14/09 A3018 KSLE 091753Z
         15007KT 10SM BKN029 14/08 A3018
OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Landing      Operation: General Aviation
  Departed: UNKN                        Dep Date:    Dep. Time:
  Destination: UNKN                     Flt Plan: UNK          Wx Briefing: U
  Last Radio Cont: UNKN
  Last Clearance: UNKN
  FAA FSDO: PORTLAND, OR  (NM09)                  Entry date: 06/10/2002

FMI: http://eaa292.org/noon_patrol/first-flight.html