You mentioned :
>All this talk of Camel metal panels got me to thinking about the N17 I am
>about to cover and detail. The turtledeck in front of the pilot
>specifically. Is this an aluminum panel? The docs I have don't say
>specifically. The photos I have of the 17 replica in the Canadian Museum (I
>think...it's Bishop's plane) look like the panel is aluminum. There is then
>a piece of fabric riveted (?) to the bottom and held to the sides using a
>light cord. The sides are fabric covered as the tapes on the seams are
>apparent. Can anyone confirm this for me?
Once again I find myself in the fortunate position of having just the right
lunch time reading matter at hand to answer a question. The Windsock
Datafile Special Nieuport Fighters Vol 1 has excellent colour photos of this
area on a Nie 23, (near identical with the Nie 17 except gun position which
is offset on the Nie 23) and other closeups in B&W of the Nie 17. The
turtledeck is formed by what appears to be a heavy fabric covered metal
panel. Why this should be so is not immediately obvious, though insulation
comes to mind as a _possibility_.
Shane
(Who is yet again confused by apparently contradictory information :-( )