to 22”, which is small by any standards.
The engine is a VA02 (me neither) which I
gather was a Russian glow motor which
failed to catch on because there were no
suitable plugs available. Anyway, this one
has been converted to diesel by Maris
Dislers and is reportedly a little jewel.
Small models are always nice to build
but it is vital to keep the
weight down, even if
it means changing
accepted
structural
techniques. My
smallest diesel model was
the McDonough Tabloid and it was the
fi rst time I tried mounting the lower
wings only on carbon rods, and using
thinner wire for the UC but soldering a
reinforcement strip to the rear legs (when
was the last time you bent a front leg?).
As I write, Dave is waiting for the crew
to be airlifted out to Australia from Dave
Banks, and I look forward to further
reports.
Fokker EIV
Andrew Hewitt’s latest is this big Fokker
EIV for a Mills 1.3. The span is 50” and
chord 9”, giving an area of 3sq ft. The
projected weight is 24 oz which
equates to a loading of
8oz/sq ft so it will
be a real fl oater.
Construction is
traditional apart
from a carbon
TE, with silk-
on-tissue
covering.
Wisely,
Andrew has
incorporated
a screw
adjustment
for the tailplane
to increase
consistency. He
is letting the dihedral
take care of itself(!); the
wings will ride up slightly in fl ight
and experience shows that very little is
needed for stable fl ight. I am hoping for
a very competitive Superscale this year.
Focke-Wulf Fw47
Avid readers may remember the small
electric model of this unusual aircraft
that I made for the Nijmegen meeting.
While planning it, I became aware of a
much larger, rubber version designed by
Jack Headley – all 52” of it. The prospect
of a big Fw47 appealed but a quick bit of
measuring revealed that a diesel model
fi tted with even a short motor like an ED
Bee would have to be six feet span to fi t
the cowling. I still wanted to do it, so I
embarked on the Headley design
for rubber.
The plan, available online, shows
a very big and light model that will
undoubtedly fl y away unless fi tted with
a DT. It is best described as semi-scale
and my intention was to stick to the
original design, which is essentially an
open rubber duration model with struts
and silver paint. In fact Jack built two;
this version is the second. The fi rst was
even simpler, lighter and more basic.
Having cut all the parts (not many, with
wide open spaces between the ribs) the
model was remarkably rapid to build;
what you see here took fi ve days. The tail
surfaces and fuselage were built largely
as per the plan but the wing had to be
modifi ed. A 1/8” sq LE stuck to ribs 3”
apart is going to pull in, no matter how
skilled you are, so I sheeted the top back
to the front spar. The full-size wing was
plywood-covered so a tissue covered
surface with Tomboy-like sag between the
ribs did not appeal. I reduced the dihedral
halfway back to scale and put the missing
struts in because it looked odd.
Scale Matters
Models of
German aircraft
pose their own
problems,
including
how to fi t
and hide an
engine in
restricted
space. Note
the neatly-
squeezed in
tank. (Photo
by Dave
Putterill)
53
Dave Putterill’s Albatros CIII. There are a lot of ribs in those wings. It is a reduced version of the John Watters free plan in old AeroModeller. The Albatros is
now almost fi nished and ready to go, waiting for crew. (Photos by Dave Putterill)
SCALE MATTERS 055.indd 53 26/04/2018 16:23
