Here are a couple pics of the parts for the Fokker Dr-1. The kit was packaged very nicely with bubble rap and tissue paper. I was surprised to see the kit even included a pilot ,servo pushrod connectors and wing mounting jigs.The wing mounting jigs are the funny shaped white parts with the rounded areas on top .They didn’t include any glue like GWS does, I will be trying UHU Creativ for the first time. I have heard this is a very strong and light glue, as well as using some epoxy and foam safe CA.
One of the things I think I don’t like is the wooden landing gear and they way they want you to sharpen the ends and just stick it into the foam fuselage and glue.I think this could be a weak spot for some rough landings, and I have plenty of those. One nice thing about the landing gear is, it is a kind of shock absorbing system that uses rubber bands(included in the kit) by rapping the rubber band around the landing gear and wheel axle,the wheel axle travels up and down in a slot in the landing gear. My first goal is to come up with a way to reinforce the area in the fuselage where the wooden landing gear goes into the fuselage(any ideas?)
Mike

Epoxy a hard balsa block inside the fuse behind each of the mounting points then pre-drill before gluing in sticks, if the toothpick LG is broken you can always just drill it out and fit another. Don't know if you get them there but bamboo kebab sticks from chinese supermarkets are a dead-ringer for the LG sticks but heaps stronger.

Steve

Be careful about adding weight if you're planning on using the stock motor.

Bfly,
My first try will be with the stock motor. I will try and save some weight by using 5g cirrus servos ,4g berg rx and lipo's.If the motor doesn't have enough power i will try a brushed 300 + motor in the stock gearbox.
Mike

I wanted a really flat work surface to do the build on so I used a piece of granite.I work for a granite and marble company so it was easy for me to get a piece.I started by glueing the wing jigs to the granite and spacing them out per the instructions. You can see the red lines on the granite I also included a center line so I would know where the wings would come together.
I then used UHU to glue the lower wings together in the jig with the supplied rubber bands. After glueing the lower wings together I laid the fuselage on top of the wings and marked where the fuse would lay on the wings. I then cleaned the paint off and sanded the area lightly to rough up the surface to make sure I would get a good bond where the fuselage would be glued to the lower wing. I then glued the fuselage to the lower wing with 30 minute epoxy mixed with some baking soda, the baking soda makes the epoxy a little lighter in weight.I used 30 minute epoxy so I would have time to make sure the lower wing would be properly squared off to the fuselage. The way I did this was by measuring from the back wing tips to the rear of the fuselage making sure the measurements were the same on both sides.

Nice kit. Always wanted one but I'm the ultimate cheapskate! Looking good so far.

Mike

Yeah, they're not cheap.But if you want a little more quality and scale its worth it.I got mine on E-bay for 66 bucks, a pretty good deal .
Mike

Hi Mike

Nice thread with lots of photos, well done!

I’m begging you to reconsider your choice on the motor. My First Kavan DIII was lost due to the fact the little motor just could not provide the power to fly my model. Looking back at other threads many people said the exact same thing.

My solution was <2nd model also an E-Bay find!> to use a cheap GWS 350 brushed motor with a “D” gear drive. Spinning a 12x6 GWS SF prop the 2nd model had more then enough power.

Its been a long time, and I’m sure I build heavier then most but I still would not attempt flight with that stock motor.

Best of luck

Tommy D

That's a really good deal. I'd have considered prying open the wallet for it at that price. LOL

As to the landing gear question-- I have had great luck using wooden tongue depressors lightly epoxied across the fuselage at the LG attachment points to spread the landing load. They're very thin (about 1.5mm) and very stiff. You might also consider just making the LG out of the smallest guage of music wire that you think will take the load. Pretty light especially when you think of how much weight you'll be adding down the road in epoxy for repairs. I just checked what I've used-- 0.032 is pretty small but if silver soldered and then bound to the tongue depressor reinforcement it does the job. To make it look more scale you can use scrap foam to simulate the wooden fairings Fokker applied to the tube frame LG. If you can't find tongue depressors near you PM me your address and I'll stick a few in an envelope and send you some.

Regards,
Mike

I forgot to add a link that I found in another thread last week. Cheap BL motor/esc combo. I don't have one but have been thinking of trying it out. Certainly inexpensive enough. http://www.rchotdeals.com/index.html

Mike

The epoxy and weight thing goes a little to far sometimes. As long as the excess epoxy is wiped from the joint as soon as the parts are assembled then whats the problem. I made my Sig jenny entirely with epoxy and used the stock 180 motor and g/box, flew fine while others struggled to get them to perform. I know its heavier then some but at the end of the day if used wisely it is the best glue IMO. Maybe my use of the stuff is offset by the lipos and 4gram servos I use, the way its touted in these forums its a wonder any of my planes get off the ground.

Floss-- You make a good point. Each of the glues that we use serves a purpose. I've scratchbuilt a number of Depron,styrofoam and balsa planes as well as assembling a lot of GWS ARF's and I try to select the right glue for the right job. I bought a small digital scale to try to quantify just how much weight I can save during a build. A little bit of weight here and a little bit there add up. Epoxy is great, it's just overkill for assembling fuselage halves. I like Elmer's polyurethane glue for most assembly tasks. A very little goes a long way as it foams as it cures. Really foams if you wet your parts before sticking them together. Cures overnight. I'm not in a hurry anymore as long as I have one to fly!

Mike

I always try to build as light as I can. With this build I don't want to have to do any major mods for a bigger motor so I'm trying to keep it as light as I can.Also I want to strenghten the landing gear a little so I'm trying to save weight in other areas.Have any of you tried the UHU Creativ glue? It seems to be working good for me,its a contact glue like what GWS puts in the kits only a stronger bond.
Tommy D
I think I will take your advice and start with a 300+ motor,I have found a few that will fit the stock gearbox and in the hole in the fuselage, what mods did you make on the firewall for the GWS 350 motor? any pics?
Mike

Mike-- Used the UHU on my TM 400 and the Wattage Camel. You're right, contact glue that won't eat foam and is strong.

I used the Balsa Products version of the GWS 300/350 5.33:1 (IIRC) motor gearbox and it flew great. The Dr 1 on such a motor will be very scale if my experience is any indication.

Just came in from flying. There's a schoolyard just behind my house. It's actually 4 soccer fields surrounded by three baseball diamonds. No wind finally, just a gentle breeze now and again. Flew the Fokker D VIII on the GWS ESPD-350. Sweet.

Get your bird flying! Stay away from the computer. LOL.

Mike

A Fokker DVIII, cool. Please post a pic sometime, is it the Kavan one?