Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 1 I like to use yellow aliphatic glue. It gives me time to Fokker Dr.1 1/6 Scale correct mistakes. Makes for a slightly longer build than if I Thank you for purchasing the Fokker Dr.1 1.6 scale model used CA, though. for electric flight. THE MODEL Finished Model by Frank Jaerschky This model is designed to be easy to build and exciting to fly. This manual is a distillation of Frank’s comments in A little sanding with a block ensures the fuse sides are building the prototype. nice and flat. SPECIFICATIONS More than 470 laser cut parts Scale: 1/6 Channels: R/E/A/T Wingspan: 46.7ʺ Wing Area: 737 sq in 76 oz Weight: Power System: AXI 2826 direct drive brushless outrunner Prop: 14x7 Wheels: Balsa & plywood, Neoprene foam tires ...
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Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 5 balsa, and 1/4ʺ balsa. Each part has 3 holes laser cut through which motor mounting bolts will pass. When gluing the parts together, pay attention and make sure these holes are always aligned. Also, assemble the pieces so that the grain alternates for added strength. Now I suggest you count, count, and recount how many layers of 1/4ʺ balsa it takes to make the crankcase. You will find it takes 6. Notice that there are 8 pieces supplied. Take two of them and put them out of reach, so you will not be stupid enough to use all 8 and wind up with a crankcase that is too long. Should that happen, you can use a razor saw and remove the offending piece. Should Apply glue to the frames, and lay the sheeting down on you still not be able to count, you can reach for the razor top of the frame. Pin it down at the center first, and then saw and repeat. work out to the ends of the sheeting. Let dry. Study the plan and make sure the pieces are assembled in the correct order. Note that there is a 1/8ʺ balsa piece in the middle with extra notches. These are for the dummy Now finish sheeting with the other two pieces. cylinder construction later. A note on choice of glue when using thin ply. Thin plywood soaks up CA glues like a sponge. Once the glue hardens, it makes the ply very hard to sand. You will wind up with uneven sanding between areas hardened by glue and those that are not. For that reason, I suggest using aliphatic glues. Takes a while longer to dry, but it will be much easier to sand and finish. The front of the cowl is formed with 1/4ʺ balsa sheet ...
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Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 9 Trim off the end of 1 of the threads. Try and keep the ends of the thread on the same side of the cylinder. You can face that side of the cylinder so that it canʹt be seen when complete. MID WING MOUNT The cowl mounts with 2 4‐40 bolts. There is a slot in the back of the cowl that engages the tab on the front of the middle wing mounting plate. That is what holds the middle and top wings on. This results in an invisible wing mounting system. I think there will be enough room between the front of the cowl and the back of the prop so that you donʹt need to take the prop off every time you put the airplane together at the field. Moving the cowl 1/4ʺ forward will be enough to release the wing. Gently pull the other thread out of the Ca. Unwrap that thread from the cylinder, being careful not to disturb the other thread. When you reach the end, gently pull the thread out of the glue. The middle wing mounting plate sits flush inside the fuselage. There is a tab at the rear of the plate that slides into a slot in the fuselage former. The front tab is held down by the cowl assembly. Formers are glued to the top of the pate and then sheeted to match the top curve of the cowl. The triangular wedge on the rear former is just temporary. I canʹt sheet that portion until the wing is attached to the plate, and I would be sure to break the Soak the cylinder and thread in thin CA. Time for paint! former off without the extra reinforcement. ...
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Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 10 So the designer and I scratched our heads about this for a while. In the end, we decided it would probably be best to have a slot in the lower cowl lip underneath the prop shaft hole. To hide the hole, I cut a wedge out of the cowl, and used magnets to hold the wedge in place. My fix looks a bit sloppy because I only had 1/4ʺ magnets on hand, and the cowl face is 1/4ʺ balsa. Trying to make a 1/4ʺ hole in 1/4ʺ thick material is not easy! In any case, it worked out OK, and once the cowl is glassed, primed, and painted, it will look fine. During the build, a problem arose with regards to the fit of the cowl. It turns out what looked great in 2 dimensions didnʹt translate into 3 dimensions very well. It is very hard to judge these things until the parts actually all come together. As mentioned before, the middle and top wings are retained by tabs on a mounting plate, and the front tab is held down by a slot in the back of the cowl. The cowl is held on by 2 bolts through the rear frame and into blind nuts in the firewall. So the cowl must come off every time the airplane is taken apart or put together. All sounds good, but I found that when the AXI and the dummy motor are bolted on to the firewall, the cowl doesnʹt fit anymore. There is not enough clearance between the front face of the cowl and the motor shaft to allow the cowl to go on and off. Another way to fix the problem would be to eliminate all but the bottom 3 or 4 dummy cylinders, and then cut away a larger portion of the back of the cowl. That way, ...
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Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 11 Just a note ‐ there is a lot of sanding to do to get the cowl to the right shape. To make it easier, I made a template out of a piece of meat packing foam so that I knew when I had reached the right shape. Just a couple of shots of the cowl and primer. Picture #1 Cowl has been glassed with 0.75oz glass cloth and Z‐Poxy shows the cowl with 1 coat of primer applied. I use finishing resin. Just for curiosity sake, I want to see how Motomaster brand ʺPrimer & Scratch Fillerʺ, available at much weight some cloth, resin, primer and paint add. Canadian Tire. (If you arenʹt Canadian, Canadian Tire is Before glassing, the cowl weighed 61g (2.15oz) like a Menʹs dream department store with loads of cool guy stuff, and enough boring stuff to keep the women happy, too. And yes, they sell tires). Photo 2 shows the cowl after sanding. Not much primer left, but thatʹs the idea! You need to sand off as much as possible, so that the primer only stays in the low spots. All glassed, and weighing in at 64g (2.26oz). The next Not doing that will only increase weight and detract from steps will go something like this: prime, sand, prime, the evenness of the final paint finish. The primer really sand, prime, sand, paint. should be wet sanded. So that means being careful not to flood the cowl with too much water. I put some thin CA The photo exagerates the appearance of the removable on exposed wood, so hopefully it wouldnʹt soak up water. ...
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Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 14 Ailerons are built up from balsa and ply. The ribs are 1/16ʺ ply for strength. The sheeting around the middle wing and its mounting Construction of the upper wing has started. At this plate looks a bit tricky, but itʹs not that bad. There is some stage,you start to get a real sense that this is a large nice scrap balsa from some of the laser cut part sheets that airplane in three dimensions. My building board is a 48ʺ is perfect for the job. ceiling tile, and with a 47.5ʺ wingspan, it fills the board from end to end. To make sure everything will look good when Iʹm done, I put the wing in position on the fuselage, and put some The cabane mounts are at their scale location. They consist plastic wrap between the fuselage and the back of the of ply with blind nuts. I used slow set epoxy to make sure middle wing to make sure they didnʹt become this all important joint doesnʹt fail. The wing gets bolted to permanently attached. the cabanes using nylon landing gear struts and 4‐40 bolts. With some trial and error, I cut a piece of balsa as wide as I could so that it would sit on top of the mid wing sheeting, and also bend down along the formers. After soaking the sheeting, it became very pliable, and using pins and glue, it was nailed into place. Itʹs pretty amazing the contortions that the correct type of balsa will twist into The portions near the leading edge I will finish off with gluing in some scrap soft balsa, and then using filler. ...
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Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 17 glue the neoprene cording together to from a “tire”. Use thin CA sparingly as the CA bonds very aggressively to the rubber. Press the CA wetted ends together for an instant bond. The best way to align the ends is to glue them while they are in place on the wheel. Then attach the tires to the wheels and CA in place. A thin bead of CA around the rim makes for a secure tire. Paper cones are cut out. Use a ball point pen to score each line on the back to make an impression of “spokes” It is helpful to do this operation on a paper tablet so that the pen makes a good crease. Fold the paper along the crease lines to exaggerate the raised lines. One of the sections forming a wedge is cut out. Make cuts to the center of the circle along a pair of the spokes. Close the paper cutout to form a cone and tape the joint inside the cone. The inside cones may now be attached to the wheels. The Once I had the top wing in place and resting on top of the outside cones may be attached at this point if wheel interplane struts, it was easy to adjust the length and collars are to be used. Alternatively, after installing the angles of each of the cabanes, and then solder the two wheels on the landing gear, a washer may be soldered to pieces back together again. hold the wheel in place and then the cone is attached. This method makes a very nice scale appearance. The fit of the interplane struts is really first rate. The alignment and incidence was bang on what is shown on the plans. UNDERWING I think Anthony Fokker designed the landing gear wing ...
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Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 18 and that I would make a new one out of thinner material. WING SERVOS With my trusty scale in hand, it turns out that the Hereʹs the aileron servo installation. I chose the lazy man supplied wood was quite light, and that going to thinner method and used silicon rubber to glue the HS‐81ʹs into wood of medium quality wouldnʹt save any weight. their location. Clean and easy, as long as nothing goes wrong with the servos later. Then surgery and patching is required. The wires run inside the wing to the cabane struts, and then out a precut slot, and down the cabane strut, through the middle wing, and into the fuselage. Iʹm hoping to be able to disguise the wire with the cabane struts so that they are unnoticeable. The top and middle wing form a complete unit once the airplane is done, so there is no need to have the wires flapping loose between the two wings. The ribs are laser cut 1/8ʺ and 1/16ʺ. The thicker ribs go on the outside, and next to the wire struts. The thinner ribs go in the middle. The next to last outermost ribs are glued in at an angle to match the the wire struts. I used silicone rubber to glue the ribs to the wire, and CA to glue the ribs to the bottom. Iʹm hoping that the silicone will offer a bit of flex in less than perfect landings. I also made some tabs out of brass sheet that I soldered to the axle. I then epoxied the tabs to the base. The brass has just enough flex to allow a little wiggle. I sheeted the top with 1/16ʺ balsa. I also made the holes a little over sized in the top sheeting where the wire passes through. If the sheeting is right up against the wire, any wiggle will crack the sheeting. ...
Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 20 CABANE STRUT FAIRINGS The kit includes laser cut pieces of balsa to make cabane strut fairings. I glued the fairings to the wire with thin CA. I then brushed a coat of Stix‐It on the fairings, and covered the fairings with polyspan, wrapped around the wire strut. This should make things pretty strong. I am going to do the front fairing after the model is completed and the upper wing is joined to the middle wing. I hate, hate, hate servo wires flopping in the breeze. So my plan is to attach the wings to each other, glued the balsa front fairings on, then glue the servo wires along the inside of the fairing. Then Iʹll wrap everything with Polyspan, and paint. That should make things invisible. SPANDAU MACHINE GUNS The wires will run from the bottom of the strut into the The kit includes balsa parts for making the twin Spandau fuselage, so they should be pretty hard to see. machine guns. There is a pattern on one of the plan sheets for the cooling jacket. I scanned the pattern into my The model does have pre‐cut holes in the middle wing ply computer, then used Photoshop to darken the colour a bit. sheeting to allow a more direct run for the servo wires I then printed the patterns out on 4X6 photopaper. Then into the fuselage for those who are more sane than I. itʹs just a matter of cutting them out and wrapping them around the balsa assemblies. Here are the finished Spandaus. I drybrushed some silver over them for a bit of weathering, just to break up the monotony of the flat black. ...
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Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 22 Frankenflyer continues to take shape. I found that with a new knife blade, the foam is really easy to carve. A small It looks like the wrinkly leather trick will work out well. I rapid back and forth motion lets you cut very thin slices, also wanted to add a fur collar for those cold missions making it easy to shape. over the front in pursuit of der Englander. I used a pencil to mark out where I thought a fur collar would go. Then I used a bead of spackle and a small spatula to get the shape. I then used the end of a coarse bristled paint brush and stippled the spackle. When itʹs dry and painted, I think it will look good, too. I didnʹt think that Iʹd be putting this much work into making a pilot, but this is fun! Iʹm doing the red/white/black fuselage band. Iʹm using spray paint, so that means lots of masking. I like to use dollar store black electrical tape for masking. Itʹs cheap, goes around corners, leaves a nice clean edge, and removes well without lifting off the paint underneath. Iʹve After basic carving, I used water based spackle to fill any started with the white, then Iʹll add the red and black one voids. Then I sanded to shape with some 220 grit paper. I by one as each color dries enough to allow further then covered him with small patches of tissue paper and a masking, about 24 hours per color. white glue and water mix. Itʹs a good idea to tear, not cut the tissue paper to size. Tearing gives nice feathered edges Takes a while, but itʹs worth it in the end. I also use lots of that blend well. Cutting leaves sharp edges that will stand ...
Fokker Dr.1 46.7” 1/6 Scale Page 23 spray can. Fusion is meant for plastics, so Iʹm hoping that of the hatch. Once the hatch is in place, the basswood means it is designed to be more flexible than ordinary piece stops the battery from sliding backwards. Itʹs simple enamels. If you havenʹt tried them before for trim and seems really effective. Iʹve shaken the plane up and painting, give them a whirl. They have a great fan pattern down, and the battery shows no signs of shifting. Pictures nozzle, and cover really well. were hard to take due to the confined space. Another plus of this design is that with the middle/top wing assembly off and the bottom hatches off, it is super easy to get at the innards of the airplane. BATTERY COMPARTMENT Iʹve figured out an easy way to retain the battery. I built a shelf with an ʺLʺ cross section that I installed cross ways at the front of the fuselage butting up against the firewall. I glued some 3/16 sheet against the inside of the firewall so Weight as you see it in the pictures is 59oz. I figure flying the battery doesnʹt rub up against the motor mount blind weight will be around 72oz, for a wing loading of nuts. The battery slides in through the forward most 14.26oz/sq ft. Not too bad for an airplane of this size. hatch, and the top of the pack is retained by the ʺLʺ. (the shelf will also serve as a place to mount the ESC and RX). The bottom of the battery rest on the forward landing gear mount. I then glued a piece of 1/8ʺ basswood to the inside ...
For my first landing, I kept the speed up and it was a bit hot at touch down. Still, a nice wheel landing and roll out with no nose over. Lots of battery left after only 6 minutes, so up we go again. This time I advanced the power more rapidly, and it leapt off the ground in no time and pointed her nose up and kept on climbing. The next 2 landings ended in nose overs. I landed too fast, and when the triplane starts bouncing down the runway on the roll out, it will eventually find the right bump that flips her on to the nose. No damage at all, thought. The next 5 landings I was confident enough to slow her down FLYING much more. It floated right in to a nice nose high landing Here are some excerpts of Franks Maiden flight report: with a very short roll out and no nose over. “I just got off the phone with the designer to say what a sweet flying Dreidecker AerodromeRC has designed! This As I mentioned before the controls are very responsive. I one is a real keeper. was very glad to see that the elevator remained effective at low speeds and high angles of attack. My previous 1/4 scale Dr1 lost elevator effectiveness in those conditions, resulting in nasty habits close to the ground. No hint of that with this airplane. The only downside to this morning is that I was flying solo. The pictures here were taken once I had the airplane trimmed out, flying with one hand and aiming the camera with the other. I got some video by placing the camera on a fence post and zipping back and forth a few times. Not too thrilling, but proof the airplane does fly. Iʹll post that later on today. There was a hint of wind today, probably about 45 ...