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Taz · 25 May 2008, 08:28 AM

Bucky- Right you are. Kind of hard to check the spar if the window is not over it.

Srecko- You need to be careful using Baubeschreibung dimensions because, as noted by Peter Grosz, the dimensions were often taken from prototype aircraft and may not represent a production, or even pre-production (F.I 102/17), aircraft. The Dr.I Baubeschreibung is a mix of measurements taken from the first V.5, F.I 101/17, WN 1697 and Dr.I 141/17, WN 1853. A good example is the Baubeschreibung span of the tailplane/elevator of 2620 mm, an F.I number, while the Dr.I had a span of 2700 mm. Even Dr.I 141/17 was not representative of production Dr.I aircraft after the grounding, since it retained the early wings with F.I style ailerons.

New photographic evidence points to Fokker possibly repairing, rather than replacing, early Dr.I wings like those on 141/17 and even reusing the fabric after the repair. A new photograph I just picked up shows V.7S, WN 1788 on 29 Dec 1917 with F.I style ailerons and light, CDL rib tapes over the streaked camouflage and the light blue paint. That unpublished photo will be in a future issue of OTF.

The Baubeschreibung is a useful guide, but not always 100% accurate on basic dimensions and spans, which were frequently changed before production .

Taz
Terry Phillips

25 May 2008, 08:28 AM	#81 (permalink)
Taz Forum Ace Contributor Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 2,738	Bucky- Right you are. Kind of hard to check the spar if the window is not over it. Srecko- You need to be careful using Baubeschreibung dimensions because, as noted by Peter Grosz, the dimensions were often taken from prototype aircraft and may not represent a production, or even pre-production (F.I 102/17), aircraft. The Dr.I Baubeschreibung is a mix of measurements taken from the first V.5, F.I 101/17, WN 1697 and Dr.I 141/17, WN 1853. A good example is the Baubeschreibung span of the tailplane/elevator of 2620 mm, an F.I number, while the Dr.I had a span of 2700 mm. Even Dr.I 141/17 was not representative of production Dr.I aircraft after the grounding, since it retained the early wings with F.I style ailerons. New photographic evidence points to Fokker possibly repairing, rather than replacing, early Dr.I wings like those on 141/17 and even reusing the fabric after the repair. A new photograph I just picked up shows V.7S, WN 1788 on 29 Dec 1917 with F.I style ailerons and light, CDL rib tapes over the streaked camouflage and the light blue paint. That unpublished photo will be in a future issue of OTF. The Baubeschreibung is a useful guide, but not always 100% accurate on basic dimensions and spans, which were frequently changed before production . Taz Terry Phillips Last edited by Taz; 25 May 2008 at 09:16 AM.