What he said!
I can't wait to see it fly
FTFC23: Build-ruary by Inq: Inq'd Fokker D.VIII
- Thread starter Inq
- Start date
I can't wait to see it fly
Inq
Elite member
Cosmetic Progress...
I scaled this D.VIII to use the full 30" DTFB for the wingspan. It is about a 20% larger scale as compared to the DR-1.
I scaled this D.VIII to use the full 30" DTFB for the wingspan. It is about a 20% larger scale as compared to the DR-1.
- The cowling and the guns were simply scaled up from my FT MM DR-1 parts I designed.
- The side fairings were scaled up and modified slightly. The increased size started oil canning and I had to add an internal stringer. I'm also attempting to use bamboo skewers for the wing struts and I want them in the precise scale locations. The CAD helps immensely placing the hole locations (circled in yellow) in 3D space. I'll use a soldering iron to make the oval holes.
- The faux Le Rhône 9J engine is a design for this D.VIII. I believe my calculations tell me I can put the battery behind the motor instead of under it as on the DR-1. This frees up the room under the electric motor so I can place the Le Rhône 9J.
- I can't claim Manfred. He's from the Thingiverse Aerodrome.
FlyerInStyle
Elite member
Inq
Elite member
Insomnia kicking in...
Worked out some 4 gram fuselage piece with holes in precise positions and angles in all axes so that the bamboo wing and landing gear struts are positioned correctly. Fingers crossed... the wing should not be a big PITA.
How do porcupines mate?
Worked out some 4 gram fuselage piece with holes in precise positions and angles in all axes so that the bamboo wing and landing gear struts are positioned correctly. Fingers crossed... the wing should not be a big PITA.
How do porcupines mate?
Last edited:
Yankee2003
Well-known member
quorneng
Master member
I could not be bothered with struts so I chose to build the V25 prototype which was in effect a DVIII with a low wing. There was a mid wing version as well but the pilots in the competition fly off much favoured the eyeline of the parasol wing as it gave the best all round visibility.
Decorated in Dutch air force colours on the basis that had it gone into production they would have likely been "appropriated" by Fokker along with much else that was shipped to Holland at the end of the war.
Made almost entirely of 2mm Depron It is not the nicest thing to fly as it has virtually no natural stability.
It does have a 9 cylinder Oberursel in the cowl that goes round with the scale diameter 8" prop.
The Emax 2805 motor is the Oberursel's crankcase.
Decorated in Dutch air force colours on the basis that had it gone into production they would have likely been "appropriated" by Fokker along with much else that was shipped to Holland at the end of the war.
Made almost entirely of 2mm Depron It is not the nicest thing to fly as it has virtually no natural stability.
It does have a 9 cylinder Oberursel in the cowl that goes round with the scale diameter 8" prop.
The Emax 2805 motor is the Oberursel's crankcase.
Inq
Elite member
I remember oh... 50 years ago. I built the Guillows balsa Fokker D.VIII. Very nice model. I was never able to get the wing on... even for display purposes. Well before high-school, physics and geometry, I don't recall any special instructions for that task... was just suppose to use balsa sticks and the 3-view drawing. Without knowledge of Pythagorean, even getting the right total length of one struct was beyond this 10 year old. No jigs. No special pieces. I finally hung it from the ceiling as if the parts were together.
I knew instantly I could conquer this flash back with CAD and the 3D printer. Still don't need Pythagorean.
For all my airplane books, I don't have anything between the WW's. I always wondered what happened to Fokker. With the D.VII being considered the best plane of the war and D.VIII believed to be even superior to it... it seemed that Fokker was just getting to the top of his game. I assumed he either died or just quit because of the Armistice. Can you suggest any good reads?
I really gave some thought to building the Le Rhône rotating like that (in plastic). Then I woke up and said, I don't need the gyroscopic effects to affect my pilot training. I might have re-considered if I had seen your design before. Being the Depron, I imagine they're very light and only air drag on the motor. Still, I'm surprised they don't sling off with heat and all. What's your secret?
NICE!
quorneng
Master member
Fokker was apparently an excellent pilot but also a business man and a pretty sharp one at that He did understand the benefit of having experts in what was a very new field.
As I mentioned probably his most extraordinary feat was to organise after the armistice several train loads of planes, engines and spares to be shipped to his native Holland. Technically it all belonged to the German government but in the chaos he did it anyway. It became the basis of the Fokker company in Holland which went on to become a very successful civilian aircraft manufacturer both in Holland and the USA.
Fokker died in New York in 1939. The Fokker company now providing technical services to the aircraft industry was taken over by GKN Aerospace in 2015 but was then sold on to a Dutch investment organisation in 2021.
A good book is "The Flying Dutchman - The life of Antony Fokker"
Using a scale diameter prop on a 2s means it rotates fairly slowly so the losses spinning the motor are not that great and even less when inside the cowling.
The secret to the Oberursel is it is also very light. The cylinders are paper with cotton wrapped round to give the effect of the cooling fins.
The rotary under test.
The 'clicking' is the camera picking up radio interference from the ESC.
As I mentioned probably his most extraordinary feat was to organise after the armistice several train loads of planes, engines and spares to be shipped to his native Holland. Technically it all belonged to the German government but in the chaos he did it anyway. It became the basis of the Fokker company in Holland which went on to become a very successful civilian aircraft manufacturer both in Holland and the USA.
Fokker died in New York in 1939. The Fokker company now providing technical services to the aircraft industry was taken over by GKN Aerospace in 2015 but was then sold on to a Dutch investment organisation in 2021.
A good book is "The Flying Dutchman - The life of Antony Fokker"
Using a scale diameter prop on a 2s means it rotates fairly slowly so the losses spinning the motor are not that great and even less when inside the cowling.
The secret to the Oberursel is it is also very light. The cylinders are paper with cotton wrapped round to give the effect of the cooling fins.
The rotary under test.
Inq
Elite member
Today's Progress...
I will finish the Fokker D.VIII tomorrow. It will be number 3. All is left is the poster board turtle back, the landing gear sub-wing, glue on the machine guns, the cockpit frame and of course Manfred. If he'd lived long enough, he certainly would have moved to the Razor.
One more cosmetic piece, but also integrates the turtle deck former. I can't use foam board formers like the DR-1 because the ESC is going up in the forward turtle deck above the box fuselage and it needs ventilation air to exit at the cockpit.
I will finish the Fokker D.VIII tomorrow. It will be number 3. All is left is the poster board turtle back, the landing gear sub-wing, glue on the machine guns, the cockpit frame and of course Manfred. If he'd lived long enough, he certainly would have moved to the Razor.
One more cosmetic piece, but also integrates the turtle deck former. I can't use foam board formers like the DR-1 because the ESC is going up in the forward turtle deck above the box fuselage and it needs ventilation air to exit at the cockpit.
Yankee2003
Well-known member
Inq
Elite member
Originally the the black was because that's all Dollar Tree had. When I finally got the white DTFB and compared there were definitely differences besides color. The black seems a little stronger. It definitely holds onto the paper better. The white just peals whole sides of the 20x30 with little effort. The black... I can't peal off 10 sq-in without it leaving half still stuck down. A pain when needing to have it removed, but must be stronger. It also seems more uniform. The white seems more wavy.
Anyway, if I had time, I wanted to do, but now after actually using acrylic paints, I don't think the yellow would cover the black without 3 or 4 coats.
Inq
Elite member
So far this morning while I install electrics, add final pieces, I've been intentionally handling it rougher than most planes... certainly rougher than the FT MM DR-1. Grabbing and holding it by the struts, picking it up by the wing. It feels real sturdy. The three struts forming the tripod at the front particularly so. I lashed them together then hot glued it to the wing spar. If anything the single rear struts are the weak link. Not because of the design... I'm sure Fokker got that right. The main load is at the 25% chord line on the spar. The rear one should be theoretically zero even in high G maneuvers. It's there merely to keep AOA (by Fokker's design). But in this model form, I'm not quite a sure about "handling" stresses and it merely bonded to one sheet of paper.
Inq
Elite member
Had an even worse day with this one. I could not take it off the ground. The wheels instantly bite into the golf-green cut landing strip and noses over instantly. My one and only flight attempt went strait, but landed hard and nosed over. There was no obvious damage to the plane and I feel the wing attachment will not be the weakest link. However, the motor would not turn any longer. All servos were working so it must be the motor. I did not have equipment to swap out the motors between the DR-1 and the D.VIII so this ended the day on a bad note. I'm O for 2 on videos and will not be attempting to fly the F-8 before final.
quorneng
Master member
Inq
It could be the ESC that has failed from nosing over on take off with the throttle wide open.
If you are using the BEC that is on a separate circuit so it will keep going even tough the motor is dead. I have a couple of ESCs like that that I use to power a servo tester.
It could be the ESC that has failed from nosing over on take off with the throttle wide open.
If you are using the BEC that is on a separate circuit so it will keep going even tough the motor is dead. I have a couple of ESCs like that that I use to power a servo tester.
Inq
Elite member
It was kind of a depressing day... they're both in time-out in a box.
I'll check it out though. Thanks.
