Meeting Fred Murrin, WW I Replica Airplane Builder and Author

Fred Murrin

Yesterday I had the unique pleasure of meeting Fred Murrin, plane builder, historian and published author of Greenville, PA who restores and builds replicas of WW I fighter planes.

It was a beautiful day for flying and we left the hangar at Meadville, Pennsylvania with no planned destination. Jeff flew us over the long expanse thirteen or so miles of Pymatuning Lake not far from our home. Jeff decided impulsively to fly to the little airport of Greenville, PA.

No one was there but the manager, Fred Murrin. The older gentleman greeted us warmly and Jeff asked him what his current projects were and Fred graciously led us back to his workshop. He, he said, dismantling and in the process of rebuilding a 100 year old airplane engine. There were tables of huge airplane engine parts strewn about. The men talked airplance engines while I scanned the many photos and drawings of old fighter planes. He said he'd collected them all. It felt like a museum inside.

Bristol Fb2 Fighter Plane restoration

The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol. First flight: 9 September 1916

A door with a half window led out to the hangar where four airplanes were in various stages of creation. Fred has been building plane replicas since he was a young man of 26. He showed us huge rolls of patterned linen used to build the planes and even offered me some when I remarked that once I owned a linen dress. They done use as much linen, these days on our clothes. This linen was used on British planes such as Fred creates. He can create everything, almost that goes into building his replicas. He welds metal tubing, woodworks the intricate wings with hundreds of small and large cuts of wood. He builds the steering assemblies and builds propellers. He makes the caning himself for authentic WW I pilots. He paints the logos and bodies of each plan. I was in awe of his myriad skills and his humble evidence of expert knowledge about planes and the the war.

The Mercedes horse emblem, Fred said, was originally designed by a French pilot. Sadly, I don't renewing the name of that plane. The wood in front of this plane is the wings for his SPAD VII.

He was in process of building another two toned handmade propeller. These propellers are massive and beautifully crafted. The one in the photo is used to start the airplane.

"The SPAD S.XIII was a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII." Wikipedia

Fred admitted that he is a WW I airplane historian. If you need to know about WW I airplanes, he's the man to call.

"The Fokker Dr.I, often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918." Wikipedia

Fred's passion lies scattered neatly in multiple places throughout the large hanger. Trying to capture good photos in limited space prevented full plane photos, but I hope you enjoy them.

The airplane that is a wooden skeleton is his own plane he has been building part by part, a SPAD VII. Some planes, like this one, he's worked on for many years.

A surprise meeting with such a skilled man was a wonderful addition to my knowledge bank.

I searched the web for more information on him and found articles on Fred At 56, one reported, he was in a very bad airplane accident where he crashed one of his plane replicas. It has not seemed to curb his passion.

The largest plane, he is commissioned to build for a fellow enthusiast in Kentucky. He confided that he sold a plane to a man in Perth, Australia once. He wasn't able to fly it after building it because the plane wasn't legal yet. Later he flew it when he visited Australia.

I hope you enjoyed my story!