1:4 Scale Foamy Albatros D.Va – Flite Fest 2022 Dawn Patrol Challenge

[cyclone3350]

We actually had old schoolers that would try to steer newbies from electrics for a first plane. They really believed that it would some how not properly teach the true way to fly RC. Most of them now have an electric or two in their fleet.

 

[wilmracer]

Still grinding. Sheeting continues and the servo access hatch is installed. It doubles as the cockpit. It is a tight fit, but I also salvaged a pair of the magnetic anti-rotation pins from the first wing and used them as alignment/rentention pins. At the speeds this will fly that hatch is NOT coming off.

I want to finish sheeting this portion of the fuse and hopefully work out a few remaining challenges. I need to get the battery tray worked out, and it will need to be very well secured if I'm going to run that 20,000 mAh pack I'm planning. I'll probably use something similar to what I did in the P-40 with a removable tray that the battery secures to and then that tray locks in and secures to the firewall with a thumbscrew. Makes installation relatively easy and I'd be confident it wouldn't come out under normal maneuvers.

Also need to work out motor/ESC install, shape the forward fuse, run wiring for ailerons, finish the ailerons, fabricate a spinner, fabricate the struts and flying wires and outboard mounts, and too many other things to list. But man, she is starting to look like something . She is going to be a BEAST.

 

[Yankee2003]

Still grinding. Sheeting continues and the servo access hatch is installed. It doubles as the cockpit. It is a tight fit, but I also salvaged a pair of the magnetic anti-rotation pins from the first wing and used them as alignment/rentention pins. At the speeds this will fly that hatch is NOT coming off.

I want to finish sheeting this portion of the fuse and hopefully work out a few remaining challenges. I need to get the battery tray worked out, and it will need to be very well secured if I'm going to run that 20,000 mAh pack I'm planning. I'll probably use something similar to what I did in the P-40 with a removable tray that the battery secures to and then that tray locks in and secures to the firewall with a thumbscrew. Makes installation relatively easy and I'd be confident it wouldn't come out under normal maneuvers.

Also need to work out motor/ESC install, shape the forward fuse, run wiring for ailerons, finish the ailerons, fabricate a spinner, fabricate the struts and flying wires and outboard mounts, and too many other things to list. But man, she is starting to look like something . She is going to be a BEAST.

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Looks amazing my friend.
It is a shame that some club members take it upon themselves to decide what and how aircraft should look and how they should be constructed. We all have them.
To your credit the FF Dawn Patrol Challenge has been the most fun I have had building and flying in the last couple years. Our club has been becoming a BNF field with everyone showing off what they can afford to fly. Making it all but impossible for younger fliers to see an affordable entry into our hobby. Foamboard planes…..you would think I have leprosy.
And since I am just starting in foamboard…..yeeesh..😬.
But the fun factor is off the charts.
Keep up the good work Wilmracer and give yourself some credit…the build looks amazing…and your contribution and efforts to get this challenge organized has been so much fun for all of us. I have felt nothing but support and encouragement for my first efforts.
We all face time constraints that force us to….compromise our builds or demand that we take short cuts to reach our deadlines…that is the part of this challenge that keeps us humble.
But we can all find common ground and acceptance in our love of model aviation.
BUILD ON !! Looking forward to meeting everyone in to months.

 

[wilmracer]

Looks amazing my friend.

Thanks!

Progress continues. I'm more skeptical now about having her ready to go for SEFF in 2 weeks but I'll keep doing what I can as fast as I can. While it is starting to really come together there is still a lot to do and at some point I'll need to pause and prep for that event...

A few things that did get done this weekend. Sheeting continued and I got the recesses added for the guns. I also got the cockpit hatch basically done. I went ahead and covered this with the wood vinyl. I'm really happy with how it turned out and we'll see how this covering holds up long term. Big thanks to @willsonman for the surgical tubing that mimics the leather wrap around the cockpit. It is an unusual size and the stuff he had access to works beautifully. I'll do one more coat of paint on it but the leather look is pretty good already.

I had an idea regarding the spinner and I've got my fingers crossed. The shape is VERY egg-shaped, so I've ordered an assortment of giant plastic easter eggs. If I can find one that is the right size when trimmed my hope is to make a light-ply backplate and secure the egg section with small screws. In principle it should work great if I can find the right egg

 

[cyclone3350]

I had an idea regarding the spinner and I've got my fingers crossed. The shape is VERY egg-shaped, so I've ordered an assortment of giant plastic easter eggs. If I can find one that is the right size when trimmed my hope is to make a light-ply backplate and secure the egg section with small screws. In principle it should work great if I can find the right egg

OMG, that's why my basement looks like a hobby shop. I'm always buying several of something just to see what works. I usually buy parts of ARF's as I see them on clearance or @ swap meets for next to nothing. Looking good, OK, fantastic. Better to take the time on something this involved than to rush & have it oozing with regrets. I, myself can't make either as we plan on moving during the timeframe for both events. The good news for me, is, that the move will be in the vicinity of the Fayette Flyers RC Club. I guess SEFF will be a yearly thing for me.

 

[willsonman]

Yeah, gauges were sort of expensive so they had nothing at best. Even airspeed indicators were essentially flaps on springs that were mounted to the outboard struts on some aircraft... if you were lucky enough to have one. Fuel levels were a glass bulb by your knee since the fuel tank usually was right in front of you. OSHA would have a field day on these old machines. If you can make the egg thing work that's great but knowing you, you'll likely put foam on a board, chuck it in a drill, sand to shape, then make a fiberglass spinner... because you know that's what we BOTH would do. A crying shame the size is not right, after all the headache you went through just to get the darned thing too. Progress is progress and maybe you can just taxi the fuselage around at SEFF just for goggles.

 

[wilmracer]

If you can make the egg thing work that's great but knowing you, you'll likely put foam on a board, chuck it in a drill, sand to shape, then make a fiberglass spinner... because you know that's what we BOTH would do. A crying shame the size is not right, after all the headache you went through just to get the darned thing too. Progress is progress and maybe you can just taxi the fuselage around at SEFF just for goggles.

Yeah, we'll see about the egg. IF she is ready for SEFF that will probably be the best I can do in this timeframe. I agree, a FG spinner is probably the long term solution. I've got they hydrocal (sp?) and mold supplies to do it right so we'll see. I was trying to avoid FG work on this build but sometimes things can't be avoided

I suppose I could bring the rest of the parts and finish her there as long as everything is fabricated and in hand. We'll see though. She is BIG and if she isn't airworthy I don't know that we want to lose that much space/

 

[Yankee2003]

Yeah, we'll see about the egg. IF she is ready for SEFF that will probably be the best I can do in this timeframe. I agree, a FG spinner is probably the long term solution. I've got they hydrocal (sp?) and mold supplies to do it right so we'll see. I was trying to avoid FG work on this build but sometimes things can't be avoided

I suppose I could bring the rest of the parts and finish her there as long as everything is fabricated and in hand. We'll see though. She is BIG and if she isn't airworthy I don't know that we want to lose that much space/

Is that foam sheeting Dollar Tree foamboard that has the paper removed from both sides or is it a different material altogether?

 

[wilmracer]

Is that foam sheeting Dollar Tree foamboard that has the paper removed from both sides or is it a different material altogether?

It is Model Plane Foam, which is very similar to DTFB with the paper removed but without the hassle of removing the paper. Pretty nice stuff to build with, although at last check you couldn't get their "A" grade stuff any more. This has minor surface imperfections but if you're going to sand anyway it doesn't matter.

 

[willsonman]

Is that foam sheeting Dollar Tree foamboard that has the paper removed from both sides or is it a different material altogether?

More on this if you follow along with my 1/4 scale Fokker D.VIII build on my YouTube channel. I am using foam board on my build and it's essentially the same thing.

 

[wilmracer]

I didn't really give an update on the progress from yesterday... overall minimal but a few things did get done.

• Sheeting is basically done EXCEPT for the belly pan and hatch area
• For the forward nose section I am opting to laminate some 2" foam blocks and sand to shape. I think it will be a lot easier to get the lines right this way than to try to bend foam without formers. I'm hoping I can have that rough shaped tonight.
• I started planning/work on the battery tray. I do want the tray to accommodate 1 or 2 6S 8000 mAh packs OR the single 6s 20,0000 mAh pack I have on hand, so I need the tray to be flexible but still fit in that tight area. I also would like it to be reasonably simple to load/unload the batteries without having to flip the model upside down. The reason there being the vertical stack on the radiator (and likely thin plastic spinner) won't appreciate the weight and would likely break. The radiator pipe could be made removable/magnetic and I may do that just to avoid hangar rash but we'll see.

I also ordered one more roll of the matching wood vinyl as the roll I have might not quite cover the area I need it to. Work is still crazy and I do have the kid this week so build time is very limited and a SEFF maiden seems to be less likely every day but I haven't given up yet.

For my own reference (and to show how far I still have to go)...
Remaining tasks:

• Shape forward fuse
• Fabricate and install battery tray
• Fabricate belly pan hatch and latch/retention.
• Install standoffs and motor
• Install ESC and BEC
• Wiring (including servo wiring through pipes from engine to upper wing)
• Finish, hinge, and install ailerons
• Aileron servo and linkage installation
• Finish covering (both Oratex and Vinyl) on Fuselage
• Cover wings (I want to do simulated rib stitching but that will wait until after SEFF)
• Install details (guns, engine, windshield, Radiator top and bottom)
  • I'll also be printing and adding a number of vents/hatches but this can wait until after SEFF if necessary
• Fabricate and install inter-wing struts and installation mounts
• Install upper wing
• Flying wire fabrication, including "simple" setup brackets.
• Radio installation and programming
• Spinner fabrication
• Install bungee suspension for gear
• Grind flats and install wheel collars. (paint them too)
• Replace rubber bands in tail skid with bungee cord
• Balance on CG
• Taxi Test
• Thrust/Watt/AMP testing.
• Additional painting for custom livery

I'm probably leaving off some important steps, and some of the items above could be quite involved (If I do end up going to the effort of fabricating FG spinners that will be a multi-day project). Seeing it all laid out I'm thinking that even if I had the next 2 weeks off of work I'd be hard pressed to get all of this done. She'll definitely be done for Flite Fest though.

 

[Yankee2003]

More on this if you follow along with my 1/4 scale Fokker D.VIII build on my YouTube channel. I am using foam board on my build and it's essentially the same thing.

Thank you. I will check it out.

 

[wilmracer]

A few updates from last night. I got the rough shaping done for the forward fuselage. Right now it is only tacked on with hot glue. I'll do some additional shaping to get it just right and smooth the surface, pop it off, and then remove a bunch of material and smooth out the inside. I'll also sand the front to accomodate the down/right thrust and then, with it reinstalled, I'll install the motor and standoffs so everything is centered and lines up properly.

I had to do a test fit of the guns and engine to see how things are looking. I'm really happy with it so far.

 

[Yankee2003]

A few updates from last night. I got the rough shaping done for the forward fuselage. Right now it is only tacked on with hot glue. I'll do some additional shaping to get it just right and smooth the surface, pop it off, and then remove a bunch of material and smooth out the inside. I'll also sand the front to accomodate the down/right thrust and then, with it reinstalled, I'll install the motor and standoffs so everything is centered and lines up properly.

I had to do a test fit of the guns and engine to see how things are looking. I'm really happy with it so far.

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Show off!! What a beauty. A real pleasure to gaze upon. Super nice Wilmracer.

 

[Baron VonHelton]

I had to do a test fit of the guns and engine to see how things are looking. I'm really happy with it so far.

Most Albatross were just varnished wood. I hope you will do something more colorful........Like THIS perhaps.

 

[wilmracer]

Most Albatross were just varnished wood. I hope you will do something more colorful........

I'm not actually doing a real livery. I've got a few colors that look period accurate to me and I'm working with those. It won't be ALL wood, but I do want to try out that vinyl wood venier material and see how it holds up, and if I can get a foam airplane to pass for wooden (at least from 50' away)

 

[willsonman]

I wouldn't really say that MOST of them were a wood finish as the trend of the Germans was to paint all aircraft with bright colors as an intimidation tactic. The curves of this subject really what makes it a particularly challenging build and what a job Carl is doing here! My Fokker D.VIII was specifically chosen for its simplicity in construction as a demonstration and inspiration for what Foam board CAN do in a scale build. Something more approachable for the average FT builder with a few added techniques to learn.

Carl and I trade blows on our builds and I'm looking forward to this one making mine look terrible. I'm absolutely looking forward to seeing our aircraft together in formation flying. It will be quite the treat.

 

[Baron VonHelton]

I'm not actually doing a real livery.

So yer gonna dis the forum historian? I don't think that's legal........LMAO.

 

[Baron VonHelton]

The curves of this subject really what makes it a particularly challenging build and what a job Carl is doing here!

That's why the "barbershop pole" motif is perfect for this aircraft.

 

[willsonman]

So yer gonna dis the forum historian? I don't think that's legal........LMAO.

With Udvar Hazy and the national archives less than 10 minutes from his residence, I'm pretty sure he's got access to all the historical accuracy anyone could ever hope for.