Albatros D II / D III news - Page 3

wilhelm · 30 April 2008, 07:13 PM

Hello Koloman, I was waiting to see how you were going to skin the fuselage front, and now I have a good idea how. Is the belly also covered with planking or is it like the Austrian version. I can't wait to see more pictures, keep up the excellent work.

Willie

RussDet · 1 May 2008, 07:53 AM

My very First post in this Site: Im an Avid Admirer and Lover )I think they are the same thing) of WWI Aircraft. Im Particularly Interested in the Albatros D.III.

I came here to ask If your building it from a Plan set if so I would like to know where did you get the plans. Ive searched and searched the net for Plans of the Albatros D.III. It seems like the Plans for SPAD S.XIII and the Fokker D.VII Dominates the sites that I found. Ive tried Replicraft but they to dont have the Plans for the Albatros D.III

I would apriciate if someone would point out a good plan set for me to use to build an Albatros D.III in th future (to young, to inexpirenced and to little money and time).

Joe Perkel · 4 May 2008, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koloman Mayrhofer

hallo,
to illustrate a bit the difference in the way the plywood covering was attached to the fuselage frame on german and austrian built examples i add a few pictures.
the german way was to form from strips of plywood which are precicly cut to a template and scarf jointed together over a wooden mold a shell which was nailed and screwed to the frames. this gave some noticeable steps in the covering where panels meet.
on austrian planes this shells was formed in making curved cuts into sheets reinforce this cuts on the backside with plywood strips and everything was glued and riveted together . e very smooth surface with no steps can be achieved with this.
needless to say this preformed shells had to be cut to very close tolerances as they are enormes stiff once glued on the mold and can not be forced onto the frame. they must simply fit.
lots of fun.

cheers
koloman mayrhofer

Koloman,

Superb work but, not at all surprising by looking at your shop. Your shop reflects your results, or vice versa! A spectacularly organized space, I'm inspired.

When the time comes, I will take your example for long term storage of wing structures with that nice custom ceiling cradle.

With much regard.

sheppo · 4 May 2008, 04:18 PM

Gday Koloman

Im just hijacking your thread again.

Tail skins for my machine both went on this weekend.
Aside from 2 areas where the lower lip of the scarf rose up a bit the skins went on pretty well, there is a very small crack where the skin sits on the l/e fin bow is but that is sandwiched between the lower skin and the first of the fuselage skins so Im going to ignore it.
Ill be filing the extra ply around the upper edges tonight and giving it a bit of a cleanup. Now, at last... I can do some nice simple skinning of the upper fuselage.
The last 3 months have been a bit of torture waiting for ply to arrive, cutting testing and experimenting. Is anyone in the market for a job lot of cracked, dinted or stained 1.5mm plywood in the rough shape of an Albatros tail??

Nup didnt think so...

chris

sheppo · 4 May 2008, 04:20 PM

sheppo · 4 May 2008, 04:27 PM

The starboard side was prepped by pre-nailing the 1/2 inch nails into the skin so I only had to drive them in. This made a significant increase in speed of assembly possible. The skin did pull in more than during the pre-assembly check thus leaving me about 1/4 inch of smeared glue on the lower skin at the front end which probably wont clean up so well. Looks like I'll be painting the tail anyway.
Aside from the enigmatic lighting Im pretty pleased to be moving on to something a little easier and quicker to do.

chris

sheppo · 4 May 2008, 04:31 PM

And heres the port side which was done first.

chris

Koloman Mayrhofer · 5 May 2008, 10:36 AM

hallo,
raising an interesting point with the workshop.
an often overlooked and underestimated issue in replica building is the proper workshop and to keep it organized and financed. i have seen a lot of projects failing due to the inadequat working situation. in my private project it took 30 % of the total costs to build and maintain my shop over such a long time. my wife is not hanging around at this forum so i can state this.
it is not only for long term storage that the top wing is hanging from the roof it is also a fully measured and levelled in cradle for the top wing so whenever i have to testfit somthing i trestle up the fuselage beneath in flying position and can do that . very important as on weekends i am working single handed most of the time.

for the drawings. i do not sell drawings any more after i had to realise that some guys out there have copied and sold them without my permission.
i have spent nearly 5000 working hours in research and drawing work for this type and i am sure everyone will understand that i have to look after it a bit.
i am an enthusiast and try top help other enthusiasts as good as i can as a lot of people have realised over the years.

no worries chris to hang around here the only nasty thing is that you post much better pictures than i can. you have to teach me that kind a thing.boy i love to attach plywood it is so much easier than handling a computer .
your progress looks good. this hoop pine is a interesting material . i am in for a sample piece from your left over.
more soon
cheers
koloman mayrhofer

sheppo · 6 May 2008, 03:58 PM

A productive night...

chris

wilhelm · 6 May 2008, 05:27 PM

looking good, Where can I get hoop pine in the U.S.. I obtained some a few years ago from a Houston Texas company but they don't carry it any more. I mus say that you and Koloman are my heros. My project does'nt measure up in my opinion but I am not going to give up. I can't wait for some more detailed foto's. Keep up the good work.

Willie