66 ModelAirplaneNews.com
Th e tail feathers were framed out as was
most of the bottom wing, and a little more
than half of the fuselage was assembled.
Th e Ron Weiss Fokker wings were pretty
much built just like the full-size aircraft,
incorporating beefy full-length box spars
made up of four long plywood pieces. To
simplify his construction project and because
Sal has a lot of experience building Balsa USA
WW I models, he decided to cut out the parts
for the two upper wings using Balsa USA
plans while keeping the ribs the same shape
as the lower wing. Sal says that he then
blended the two designs together. And to top
it all off , he added a great-looking aluminum
engine cowl from Glenn Torrance Models.
Th e model is powered by a Zenoah GT80
twin-cylinder gas engine swinging a Falcon
26x8 prop. To amp up the excitement, Sal
added a Sullivan SkyWriter smoke system,
and he modifi ed the stock Zenoah muffl ers
to convert them for smoke. Th e triplane is
covered with Oratex and painted with latex.
Th e insignias are all paint with Krylon, using
masks from red5designs.com.
As with most of his RC airplanes, Sal
wanted to fi nd a color scheme that was
slightly diff erent for his big Fokker triplane.So he searched the Internet and found some
wonderful artist drawings of the triplane
(Dr.I 441/17) that was fl own by Lt. Heinrich
Bongartz, the commander of Jasta 36. A
recipient of the Pour le Mérite (the “Blue
Max”), Bongartz was wounded fi ve times
before his days of being a combat pilot
ended. On April 29, 1918, he was shot down
by an S.E.5a pilot, Clive Glynn. Despite a
terrible facial wound that resulted in the loss
of his left eye, Bongartz safely landed his
Fokker Dr.I. Bongartz survived the war and
had 33 aerial victories credited to him. JHybrid Fokker Triplane
TWO DESIGNS BLENDED INTO A MASTERPIECE
When it comes to scale RC modelers, especially World War I fans,
one thing is for sure: They always find a way to use what they have and
turn it into something amazing. So the story goes with our good friend
and longtime contributor Sal Calvagna and his newly-test-flown hybrid
1/3-scale Fokker Dr.I triplane. Sal acquired a partially started 1/3-scale
Fokker triplane project that was built from Ron Weiss Plans (available
from Ziroli Giant Scale Plans).
BY GERRY YARRISH
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAL CALVAGNAFINAL APPROACH