Valley Engineering Hydraulic Pull-Tester
Designed by Gene and Larry Smith
( Cost: approx $70 to build )
This tool will give you a good idea as to whether your Nieuport 11 will get off the ground.
You can read the article about it in the November 07 issue of Kitplanes Magazine.

Parts list

All items are bought from Surplus Center at 1-800-488-3407.

Or on the web at: www.surpluscenter.com

Item # 1, 9-5582 cylinder @ $59.99
Item # 2, 9-1187 o-ring to pipe adapter need 2 @ $2.19
Item # 3, 21-1194-PP dry pressure gage @ $2.99 or 21-1246-H Glycerin-filled for 
                better dampening @  $16.95
Item # 4 9-4195-4 breather @ $ 2.89

As for the Nieuport... IN MY OPINION   and based on OUR RESULTS... ( The testing is a story all by itself ) 150 lbs of pull will get you off the ground after you use up about 1500' of runway and reward you with a thrilling rate of climb of about 10 ( ten ) feet per minute.

In other words... You need a lot more than 150 lbs of thrust to safely fly. This was with MY plane at 440 lbs empty, me: 220 lbs ALL THE DAMN TIME and 12 gallons of gas.

We are getting 230 lbs of yank outta our VWs with the Culver 60 X 28 props. We were getting 200 lbs of thrust from our Sterba props.

A screaming Hirth or Rotax will, of course, with the reduction vastly out-perform the VW but a pull test before that first flight sure as heck won't hurt.

And, also OF COURSE a Valley Engineering Redrive with a VW like I've got on the Tub will probably just yank the firewall off the plane.