RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (Full Version)

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WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/25/2011 12:47 AM)

I have the struts completed. More work there than it looks.

I will have to take the wings back off and sand the boxed in areas around the struts. I am calling it quits for tonight. I have to play Santa tonight as soon as my grandson falls to sleep. He's going to like the planes Santa is going to leave for him tonight[:D].

I hope to find a few hours tomorrow to work on the tail feathers.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
Anthony



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/25/2011 2:46 PM)

Tail Feathers:

I just finish up framing up the Stab. The plans call for laminating (2) 1/4sq pieces together for the L/E of the elevators and the T/E of the stab. I swapped out the inner 1/4sq for spruce and I replaced the forward crossmember with spruce. Hopefully this will strengthen the stab up a bit without adding too much weight.

As I am making the stab removeable I added some 1/4 sheet stock to the middle of the stab. This will get drilled and doweled later to accept the mounting bolts. I will also add a ply plate under the stab base to hold the blind nuts.

Now off to build the elevators.
Anthony



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/25/2011 7:24 PM)

I have the elevators finished and I am working on the Rudder.

The stab and elevators turned out pretty good. I went over them with a sanding bar and they sanded out pretty quick. I will wait to round the edges after hingeing.
Later!!
Anthony



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/25/2011 11:13 PM)

I finished the tail feathers,

I had family in and out of the house all day so I worked on it here and there. Overall it turned out pretty good. I had to ship the tail post out 1/8" to get the proper clearance for the elevator joiner. The tail post still needs to be sanded smooth to the fuse sides.

I have to work tomorrow so I will try and get to working on the landing gear when I get home. Will be good to see it standing on it's legs.
Later!!
Anthony



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/25/2011 11:21 PM)

I just have to post a pic of my Grandson with his Tripe he got for Christmas,
He says he has a plane just like Poppy's, he is a future R/C nut in training.



SunDevilPilot -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/26/2011 12:09 AM)

I can't believe how fast you got the majority of the framework completed.  Really nice work!

SunDevilPilot



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/26/2011 12:23 AM)

Thanks,
I am usually pretty quick at framing up. I really like stick building and I find it relaxing. I have a band saw and disc sander that makes short work of cutting and fitting. I will really slow down when it comes to the installation of the controls and covering. I am anxious to get it completely framed up and mount the engine and get a rough idea of how the balance is looking. I am going to hold off on making a decision about the elevator and rudder servo placement and linkages until then.
Later!!
Anthony



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/26/2011 6:24 PM)

I lucked out and only had to work a half day, tomorrow will be a full day.

I removed the wings and installed the landing gear wires. I checked everything for a proper fit and sanded and degreased the wires where they would be soldered together. I used to struggle with soldering and really dreaded the task. Once you get the hang of it it is not that bad.

The solder joints came out just fine. As you can see from the pics everything was cleaned and wrapped with fine copper wire. I let the solder flow until it willed the wrapping completely then brushed off the excess with an acid brush before it cooled. From the end you can see the solder fully penetrated and filled the gap between the landing gear legs and the axle. Should make a nice strong joint.

Now off to build the Sub wing.
Anthony



VincentJ -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/27/2011 12:41 AM)

Very nice solered joint Anthony, you have a future as a plumer!.. I used to use an electric soldering iron for my soldering tasks until I bought  a small butane fueled Ultra Torch made by Master Appliance.  It is great for any type of soldering including heat shrinking elecrtrical connections.  I highly recommend it.



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/27/2011 2:10 AM)

Standing on it own two legs[:D]

It was a marathon run today to get the main gear completed. The sub wing took a bit of work to get it completed. It is built in 3 pieces, a main center section and end caps to go around the gear legs. The stay wires to keep the sub wing from rotating also took quite a bit of work. I had to jig them in place while I wire wrapped and soldered. The sub wing has maybe 1 deg of positive incidence. I will adjust the stays for "0" incindence tomorrow when I remove the gear for a good cleaning and primer.

I couldn't resist putting the wings back on and seeing how it looks.
Later!!
Anthony



smkrcflyer -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/27/2011 5:42 PM)

Very nice Anthony. You make building look easy. I always liked the DR1 but stayed away from it because of stories of bad ground handling. I’m interested to hear how this one fly’s and handles on the ground.



roncannell -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/27/2011 6:22 PM)

Great job, you completely framed up a DR1 in 17 days, wow! Its not a simple build with the three wings, soldering, etc. They sure look great even before you cover them.



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/27/2011 7:12 PM)

Steve,
I will let you know how the ground handleing goes. I plan on bushing the wheels so they spin very freely on the axles. I have a feeling just due to the geometry of the plane it is like wagging the dog by the tail. Fortunately where I fly I can always take-off and land directly into the wind.

Ron,
Other than a couple minor issues it has been a pretty straight forward build. The jigging and soldering was a bit of a pain but it worked out well. I once framed up a Goldberg Cub in one day covered the 2nd day and installed all the gear the 3rd day. I am slowing down a bit[;)].

I plan on taking the plane back apart and cleaning the landing gear and primer. I need to finish the forward fuse up and start thinking about making the bungee tail skid. I am off work tomorrow so I have some time to work on the plane.
Later!!
Anthony



roncannell -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/27/2011 9:31 PM)

Having a field of grass is somthing I miss living out here in the desert. I fly my DR1 off of asphalt. I do use a tail wheel. Having the ability to take off directly into the wind will be a great advantage for you



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/27/2011 10:58 PM)

Nice looking DR1 you have there.

The sod farm I fly at is perfect. 50 acres of grass and I usually use areas that have been stripped of sod for a runway.


I installed the front fuse formers and the sheeting. Now it has that classic DR1 shape to it. I cleaned all the flux residue off the main gear and sprayed with primer. I did mask off the axle where the wheels will ride.

Just for giggles I checked the balance on the plane before taking it apart today. As it set in the assembled pics the balance point was 1" behind the balance point on the plans. I think by the time I add a fiberglass cowl, engine, and prop It is going to be fine on the balance. I may be able to put the elevator servo in the tail. I know the hinges, tail skid and covering are going to add tail weight but not too much.
Here are a few pics of the latest progress.
Anthony



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 2:10 AM)

As I am getting closer to the finishing I was looking back over all the pics I have gathered off the internet and I found something a bit confusing. In all the color plates I have looked at I have not seen one DR1 with a camo streaked rudder. From wat I have read for the most part all the DR1's were delivered to the front with the factory streaked camo pattern then were painted to the units/pilots request. There were a few exceptions to this but not many. Looking at a pic of 127/17 I thought I was seeing oil residue from the engine on the rudder but after looking at another pic it appears this plane had a streaked camo rudder. On the many pics of the originals I have seen with the white rudders there is no hint of the camo showing thru.

On 161/17 that I intend to paint mine to match it was delivered to the front in the camo streaked pattern and the red was applied at the field. On the top wing and fuse the white bands were painted over and this left a different shade of red than the rest of the plane where the red was over the camo streaking.

If the rudder on 161/17 was camo streaked it would give the rudder a darker shade than if the rudder was white before painting red. In the artist interpretation I have it appears the rudder is a darker red than the white band areas. On the other hand the artist obviously missed the white field on the fuselage.

I am attaching the 2 pics I have of 127/17 which was one of Richtofen's mounts and the color plate of 161/17.
It's one of those things that make you go hmmmmmm.
Anthony



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 2:22 PM)

I worked on the functional tail skid this morning.
I didn't like the looks of the wire tail skid supplied with the kit and after seeing the tail skid Chevelle built on his DR1 I decided to go that route. I used the supplied skid base and cut a wooden shid from a 1"x1"x8" block of Walnut I had on hand. The upright supports that hold the dowels and bungee chords is cut from 1/4" ply. The stap on the skid was cut from .030 brass stock as well as the shid shoe plate. It's not 100% scale but it looks much better than a piece of wire hanging under the plane.

In total it took about 2-1/2 hrs to make the tail skid assembly. I need to pick up some brass hardware the next time I am at the hobby shop to replace all the fasteners.

Later!
Anthony



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 3:28 PM)

I want to go ahead and mount the engine, to do this the cowl must be mounted to position the prop shaft in the proper location. I do not have the glass cowl yet and was wondering if the fiberglass specialties cowl in an exact match to the stock cowl? If so then I can use the stock cowl to position the engine. If anyone know the answer to this please let me know.
Thanks!!
Anthony



roncannell -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 4:08 PM)

Yes, I pulled my DR1 down and checked my FS cowl next to the stock plastic. They are the same.
Ron



roncannell -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 4:11 PM)

I will post some pics later.



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 4:17 PM)

Thanks for the reply.

I just cut the openings out on the cowl and I have it taped in place and the engine in place. I am getting ready to mark and drill the mounting holes.

There is a ton of room left available around the engine. I may try and make a box for mounting the ignition battery in the cowl. Do you think the heat from the engine will be a problem with the battery pack? I would mount the battery at the very top of the cowl against the firewall with the cylinder and muffler pointing out the bottom of the cowl.
Later!!
Anthony



roncannell -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 4:26 PM)

I did not adjust the cowl for right thrust.



roncannell -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 4:34 PM)

There is a lotta room in there! I have seen quite a few guys mount there batts on the firewall of several variations of airplanes. I think it will be fine up there. I was going to do the same, but balanced ok with my batts just aft of the firewall.
The white firewall is my first DR1 configuration, the second is pretty simular.



WacoNut -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 5:31 PM)

Thanks for the pics,

I mounted the engine and put the plane back together. At this stage the plane is slightly nose heavy. When I installed my recessed firewall I put 2 deg of down and right thrust into the firewall. The engine is mounted slighly offset to bring the prop shaft out in the proper location. Ignore the silver prop in the pics, it is a painted 22" prop I had on hand and it will not be used on the DR1.

So far I am happy with how the plane is coming together.
Anthony



GerKonig -> RE: Balsa USA Fokker DR1 1/4 scale (12/28/2011 6:35 PM)

I have seen quite a lot of full size replicas with steerable tail wheels... also if you look at the video of these full time replicas landing, you can see the rudder getting wuile a workout all the time until stopped... Even Weeks has a "disguised" controllable tail skid in his DVIII It is hard to see unless you are really looking for it, but it facilitates a lot the taxiing.

Gerry



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