HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The aircraft will remain level(upside down) and tail high,but the engine has been torn from its moorings!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The engine bearer and ledges are in after some minor fitting problems.The fuel tank casting and its plastic card walls are temporarily installed.The tank casting is poor and requires a lot of filing and filling.
The shape of the casting indicates to me that there must have been a strap or wooden bearer of some kind to better support its weight.Nothing is shown in the plans!

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

There is no firewall shown in the plans but this is a pretty good guess where it would have been installed just behind the engine but in front of the fuel tank.
The placement of the firewall is also important to the storyline .There would of course be more fire damage forward of the firewall.The fire that caused the flashover of the fabric more than likely would have been caused by the close proximity of the upper wing to the area forward of the firewall.Anyway that is my story and I am sticking to it! (I think)

[JohnReid]

Hold the phone! I can't find mention or plans for a firewall anywhere in my references.When I built my 1st Albatros about 10 years ago I didn't put one in then either.It seems that firewalls were only common on rotary powered aircraft.No parachute,no fire protection ,I guess you just fried on your way down.

[xken]

The Fokker D VII's were notorious for catching on fire from fuel line leaks in mid-air. Part of the motivation to develop parachutes, not only for the ballon observers.

Interestingly, the British philosophy was not to issue parachutes; in fear the pilot would abandon the plane prematurely rather than try to save it even though parachute technology was common knowledge.

Kind of like the Captain going down with the ship mentality.

[JohnReid]

I have since learned that lack of a firewall on aircraft with in-line engines was common practice in those days.

[JohnReid]

Wrong pic(upside down)