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Build Log
Ben's 1/8 scale Fokker Dr1 (Aerodrome RC kit)
I realized two things last fall:
1, I hadn't built an Aerodrome RC kit in nearly 6 years, and 2, I've never built a Fokker Dr1. I've always been a bigger fan of the Fokker DVII and especially the DVIII. I've built and still fly the 36" DVII and all three DVIII offerings by ARC. Last fall I was attending the Dawn Patrol at the USAF museum in Dayton, OH and there was an airworthy full scale Dr1 on display. Seeing one up close I realized what a unique and beautiful airplane I've been missing out on all these years. I therefore decided to build one over the winter. I decided on the 1/8 scale version since I have spare motors, servos and such for this size model. I started the build in early February and just finished up two weeks ago. It's already had several flights and flies beautifully; more on that later. My goal was to make the airplane as light as possible, but I also wanted to add as much scale detail as was reasonable on this size model, so compromises had to be made. I added the scale leading edge sawtooth sheeting from lightweight 1/32 balsa, but substituted balsa for the supplied ply on the trailing edges. Otherwise the wings, tail feathers, and cowl were build in the usual method. |
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The undercarriage/subwing was modified a bit from the plans. The previous models of similar size I've built had a 1/16 music wire axle that is prone to bending from hard landings. My goal was to have a sprung axle, the axle made from a flexible material with memory. 1/8" CF tube seemed the best choice, and I used small bungee cord I found at Hobby Lobby. The wheel mounting ends of the axle were sleeved with aluminum tube for a more durable bearing surface.
For the subwing, added a leading edge and 1/32 balsa sheeting to the top of the airfoil for a more scale look. Weight penalty for all these mods was negligible. |
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Thanks Jon! Yeah, I perused your build thread in great detail while building mine... thanks for all the great tips.
I had to build a scalish cockpit, though I know it adds unnecessary weight behind the CG. but some compromises must be made, and a good cockpit is important to me. I cut out a trapezoidal section in the cockpit area on each side of the fuselage slabs, and 3/32 CF tube strengthens the area while mimicking the welded steel tube structure of the original. Everything else is light balsa, and faux leather upholsters the seat while the harness is made from cloth tape. Flite Metal aluminum tape is used on the rudder foot guides and the ammunition tray façade. Total weight of cockpit components were around 6 grams; most of that was in the leather for the seat. ( I actually made the seat removable, fearing it would make the plane too tail heavy. But I actually ended up being nose heavy, so I fly it with the seat in place and have had to add 7 grams to the tail skid) The weight of the cockpit was actually balanced by the weight removed by cutting out the sections of fuselage, plus I substituted 1/32 balsa for ply in the 1/32 sheet doublers on the fuselage sides forward of the cockpit. I kept all the servos quite forward, using 1/4" balsa square stock for the servo mounting rails. Pull-pull rigging used for all control surfaces. Cheek plate sheeting also added, again from light 1/32 balsa. I also added some fairings on the fuselage below the bottom edge of the middle wing root area and around the lower wing root area; I was flummoxed of how I was going to get the covering to adhere to these areas without interfering with the wing mountings. This is what I came up with. MG's are Wright Brother's RC 1/8 Spandau's. |
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Last edited by wings for brains; Jun 27, 2019 at 10:26 PM.
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motor mount made from 1/16 ply and bass, with built in down and right thrust. Motor is a Rimfire 400 from Great planes, 900 Kv. I've found this motor to be perfect for this size scale plane. ESC is a 12 amp from Great planes that mounts on top of the motor mount.
3/32 plastic tube guides for the control lines to the tail surfaces. |
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Aileron control is pull-pull with a centrally located servo in the fuselage. Since I wanted to cover and paint the wings before mounting and rigging, I plumbed the wings with gold-n-rod micro pushrod guide tubing. The pull-pull lines from the servo connect to the lower aileron control horns; the upper horns are interconnected by an idler line.
I know Werner Voss's 103/17 Dr1 most likely had an olive cowl, but I guess there's at least some evidence it may have been yellow. I ran across some online pics of a gorgeous plastic model kit by Marek Rys of Voss's tripe that had a yellow cowl and fell in love with the look. I finished my model based on his stunning build. |
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Really great cockpit detailing. Well, actually it is all really great. The landing gear looks just right. Someone else suggested using O rings instead of bungee chords. I have used the O rings and they seem to work quite well to provide some flex in the landing gear.
Jon |
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Thanks Jon! Where do you find the O-rings? The only ones I have are the prop-saver O-rings for 3d foamies. and they would be too big this model, but I definitely like the idea of using them.
Microlite iron on film was used to cover the plane, since it's the lightest stuff I could find and have had good results with it before. Unfortunately, I think they've stopped producing it, but I had a lot left over from previous builds. Vallejo acrylic paints were used. I discovered this brand last year and will probably never go back to enamels except for small detail items. RLM 65 was used for the blue base and Khaki was used for the streaking. Various shades of greys and browns for the weathering. |
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Thanks Phil! If you notice the Spirit of St. Louis model in the background, it was inspired by your build a few years back. I took the same plans and enlarged them for a 48" wingspan. Weighs 15 oz and flies beautifully. Thanks for the inspiration!
Used the old "flicking paint from a toothbrush" method to make some mud spray weathering on the tail and bottom of the wings and fuse. The cockpit combing was made from soft IV tubing (I work in a hospital) covered with strips of tissue paper, finally painted dark brown, while stitching is just a lighter brown paint. The faux sheet metal covering forward of the cockpit under the MG's is cardstock. |
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The wing mountings, incidence, and alignment were refreshingly simple and easy. Overall a very well designed kit, as usual from ARC.
AUW with 800 mAh 3 S battery is 18.5 oz. I was worried about being tail heavy, but the opposite was true. Balanced per CG on the plans, the plane flew quite nose heavy, needing full up-elevator trim to fly level on half throttle. I ended up with 11 grams of weight added to the tail by means of a removable piece of lead; the plane now flies beautifully, lands very slowly and cruises at scale-like speeds. Aerobatics are excellent, and I was surprised by the roll rate; it's definitely faster than my DVII and DVIII. The rudder is surprisingly powerful for it's size; this plane will do a forward slip better than any other scale plane I've flown. Even better than my Fieseler Storch, which has a huge rudder. The plane is extremely hard to stall. Throttle to idle and full up elevator, the plane will just parachute down slowly. Very spin resistant also, just wants to spiral. I may not have enough elevator travel to make it stall and spin properly, though it seems like I have the normal amount of travel. I'm not sure why the plane ended up being nose heavy. I built the tail lightly, but didn't deviate from the plans structurally. The tailplane and top wing incidences weren't altered in any way from the plans. The motor, ESC, and battery all lighter than what the plans call for and what has been historically used on this model, so by all rights it should have been prone to tail heaviness. Weird... |
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Thanks Bodie!
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