Mein Duff

Thanks Vertical...is that an Aces of Iron pilot bust? also wondering what you have for motorisation?

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

Yes on the pilot. I have a G38. If I were to do over I would have a used a G45 probably. Or even a 50cc. I am a little under powered.

MRadu

Vertical,
Are you saying that my Satio G36 may not be enough power to fly this 1/4 scale D.VII? The kit (Balsa USA) makes big notice not to over power the plane wiith there req. at not to exceed 35cc in gas.

Mein Duff

I wouldn't worry Michael, I've flown 1/4 scale DR1 with a 30cc 4 stroke no problem, wasn't exactly hanging on its prop but very scale like.

FireBee

My Feedback: (34)

Some scale areas to watch that I see in models:

cowl width and depth,
Proper cowl cooling vents. (they differ on each side as well as manufacturer Fokker or OAW)
proper aileron outline (more square than round on most )
correct rudder shape (very short width)
Proper exhaust pipe on engines. Varies with early or late model.
and
what I always notice is the distance from the top of the fuse to the top wing. ( machine and decking area). So many have the top wing mounted too high or too low.
Mine is 1/4 too low still but only I and the guy in our club who showed me my flaws know it. I have corrected all others mentioned above.

Make your D-7 Match the photos first, then the 3 views.

jeffEE

My Feedback: (5)

And not to forget the flat bottom wings. And the Balsa USA 1/4 scale wheels are too small. But all that aside, its a really neat plane to bring out at the field. Flies good too. As to the 38 size motor being to small. It should be fine. Here is my DVII on its first flight, with my 2.20. I flew it a bit too fast, but I did not know how well it would fly yet. And I never got it over 3/4 throt. The 38 will be OK. I flew along side a DVII with a DL50 in it, and it really was not that much faster. There is a lot of drag going on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99JUwz97kp8

MRadu

I do like to fly scale and that good enough for me. So I'm going with the Saito G36. I have heard that Saito's require 91 or high octane fuel. My manual states to use regular. Anyone know for sure?

Here are some more progress photos.

I'm almost finished with the upper wing. Here in the photos I have completed the push rod guides and installed the servos. Also the servo trays are complete. They are a little large however, I need to be able to get my fingers in there to perform any adjustments.
I have covered the elevators and rudder. Going to cover the Horz and Vert. Stab. Then off to finish the guns and cockpit.

The cockpit kit (several mini kits) have a ton of tiny parts. All are 1/4 scale and I bought them from GTM (Glenn Torrance Models). You might have seen in other photos the the floor and that is a kit from GTM. A little cutting, staining, sanding and gluing and that's all.

Mein Duff

Nice to see you making good progress...That cockpit kit will really make this a nice presentation model...nothing more dissapointing than a nice model where the builder didn't put much effort in the cockpit.. on a good WWI scale model this is a "must do" area. Looking forward to seeing it all come together....nice work

on_your_six

My Feedback: (11)

Could I ask... why are you going with pull pull wiring on all the surfaces? It seems to me that there is more chance for failure. On the ailerons... even if you are going pull-pull why did you choose to mount the servo so far in-board?

Inquiring mind. I should add, I have the same kit in basement ready to build.

MRadu

Hello On Your Six,
Welcome,
I really want the scale look and there really is not that much more chance of failure. Yes I will be checking tension on the cables often. As for the reason so far forward is that it helps for Center of Gravity (CG) and I can access the servo's with the removal of the lower wing. At the servos I also have the adjustments for tension on the cables there. This way on the other end there is just the wire and crimp. Small and scale looking!

As for the wings and ailerons; I have always had issues with all my photos of my planes in flight and seeing the servo rod and control horn sticking out. This is the first thing I look for in any photo as this is a tell tell sign that it is a model. By adding the control tube in the wing (and in the fuselage) I'm able to reduce slop and if need be replace the cable altogether without opening up my covering.

The ailerons do open another issue that I'm working on now and that is the servo cables must come down to the fuselage and be detachable and hidden! Working on that now.

Here is a photo I like of my Hanger 9 conversion however, check out the aileron control rod! Yes it is a model.

warks62

My Feedback: (140)

One more thing the lighter you keep the wings on the outer tips the better they fly. This is for all planes. But like Michael said it also will help in the CG. The cable guides are glued on every rib and supported very well at the aileron side so things are no more weak than a rod. The only thing that is added of course is that the cables will need to be tightened at first but that too will lesten as they stretch.

MRadu

Thanks Warks62
Please Everyone chime in and any and all comments. They are all welcome and those who have had experience please add your thoughts on how to improve some areas.

MRadu

Ok, Here is a little tip I'd like to share. Here in the photos I'm covering the Horizontal Stabilizer, and the little notches are to small to get my iron into. What I do is use a Allen Key of the appropriate size and press it to my iron to heat it up then use the Allen Key as a heat source to iron down the small piece of covering to iron it in place.

Now with the tail almost finished some photos of current progress.

jmohn

Michael,

Look at the link:

http://www.horizonhobby.com/ProdInfo...ion_Manual.pdf

It states 91 octane fuel on page 5 for all the Saito single cylinder gas engines.



Jeff

Mein Duff

Great idea with the allen key...there is also a primer brush on adhesive.."Cover Grip", made by solartex I believe, which helps greatly in getting those little pieces to stay in place. Nice work so far![8D]

Flying Fox

Great work Michael! Thanks for posting all the detailed photos and tips.
I'm looking forward to seeing the GTM cockpit kit go together - should be really neat!

Brian

MRadu

Thanks, jmohn
This is puzzling to me as my manual directly out of the box states on page 4
"Unleaded high-octane gasoline is not required for Saito engines."

MRadu

Thanks Mein Duff,
Is that brush on adhesive anything like Sig "Stick-It"?
Sig's is a can of liquid that you brush onto the wood and let dry. Then with the covering applied with the heat of the iron the glue is activated.

Thank you Flying Fox,
I'll get back on the cockpit directly after I finish the landing gear. Also I have to work on my engine. I'll add some posts to your thread when I start working on that. I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions for you.

Well even with the wing of the landing gear finished from the kit of Balsa USA I have found that the height of the section is to small. Well it's to small for me because I wish to have some bungee shocks. The design from Balsa USA is fixed gear. I will be flying and landing mostly off hard surfaces, not any grass runways where I'm at.

So I pulled out my 1/4 scale plans from Arizona Models and started to make a new landing gear wing. Just some progress photos.

MRadu

Hey jmohn,
I just checked the publishing date on my Saito G36 manual and it has a date of 2007 and the link you gave is 2010. I guess they updated the requirement for 91 octane!

Mein Duff

Michael,
The Sig "Stix It" is probably very similar...except the Cover Grip never really dries and remains extremey tacky forever, it doesn't have to be heat activated.
Very useful, as is "Stix It" I would imagine, for undercambered wings and compound curves like wing tips etc..

Glad to see you going the extra mile with the landing gear bungees...you'll be glad and proud you did. This is real scale building with scale ground effects !

I was wondering also why you chose to use full length cable runs on all your pull / pull systems ? This may not seem like much weight right now, but added up it could be more than you imagine. I would think that just a few inches at the critical junction / friction points would suffice? The WWI biplane mantra is always "absolutely as light as possible" at all times, as you know....[>:][>:]

MRadu

Mein Duff,
Your so right about keep it light and very light! However, the main reason for the length of the rods / tubes are for the ability to feed new cable without having to tear or cut into the covering. At that distance I still have to reach in through the area where the lower wing is removed from the fuselage. Second it creates stiffness in the cables and therefore creates more positive control.

On my Sopwith Pup I did just that you stated " I would think that just a few inches at the critical junction / friction points would suffice?" and the cable vibrated so much that the cables started to show where after a few short flights! Especially right around the junctions.

I hope it's not to heavy in the tail. I'm actually worried about the tail skid. As that hard wood is heavy! I also want to add a steal plate to the bottom to drag it around on asphalt. Maybe not?

jeffEE

My Feedback: (5)

As far as the weight of this bird is concerned. I would not worry about the front end being too heavy. Anything you add in front of the CG will be fine. Most of the Balsa USA DVII's need about 3 pounds of nose weight. Now that depends on the motor of choice of course. The real area of concern for weight is anywhere behind the CG. That being said, my first DVII flew at 19 lbs dry. Another DVII at the field flew at 23 lbs. Both flew great. This airplane has a lot of lift. If you are looking for a way to save your tail skid, here is an idea. A small wheel that is hard to see has lasted 2 flying seasons. I know it is not 100% scale, but it works nice.

MRadu

jeffEE
That is a really good idea. That's nice looking to. I want to do this. However, I'm trying to finish in the first week in April. I plan on flying at the Dawn Patrol Over Gilman Springs; 2011

Here's the link.

http://www.pvmac.com/pvmac-events.html

I want all the scale I can muster before time runs out. So I'm planning on leaving detail out that I can do later after I'm flying. So the cockpit is a must as after covering I will not be able get inside.

Still tons to do!

MRadu

Hello to Vertical Grimmace and Evil Merlin,
I just now have done a little searching around and I have seen more than a couple of threads from you guys. You both do great work. Thanks for the advise and please feel free to add to my thread. I appreciate you insights.

This is my first 1/4 scale D.VII and the only other one was my conversion of the Hanger 9.

foodstick

I will add that I ended up on the heavy end of the scale on my 1/4 D7 26 pounds ..it still flies great.. Also I didn't upsize the landing gear wire and I have yet to bend it..( fingers crossed) Great flying airplane the D7 ...