MICRO FOKKER EINDECKER

Model Airplane News, Nov 2005 by Robelen, Dave

Build a little piece of history

Greetings, fellow micro fans! How many of you have had an itch to fly a miniature piece of history? I have long been an admirer and a student of WWI aircraft, but I've hesitated to model one in miniature. I suppose my main excuse was their relative complexity along with their typically deficient stability. Still, as I gained experience with the magnetic controls and construction techniques, I had fewer excuses not to give one a try. The selection of my aircraft was simple; the Fokker Eindecker (German for "monoplane") has a special charm all its own as well as a special place in history.

The Eindecker was the first aircraft to have a forward-firing machine gun that was synchronized with the propeller, and it wreaked havoc on Allied observation planes for quite some time. This is even more amazing when you consider that the Eindecker was fairly unstable and required a pretty talented pilot just to fly it straight and level. This instability is the primary reason for a variety of modest differences between the model's design and that of the full-size aircraft. As presented, the Eindecker model is a smooth flyer with decent stability and a lot of charisma in the air.

LET'S GET STARTED

Though not particularly complex, the model presented here is not a suitable subject for a first micro project, mainly because of the detail involved and the inherent delicacy of some of its parts. Get a bit of building and flying time on a more basic sport model, and then have at it.

The Micro Eindecker is an all-balsa model, and as such, it is vitally important to select light wood for the airframe-especially the parts that go behind the center of gravity (CG). A suitable piece of 3x36x1/32-inch balsa should not weigh more than 6 grams. I can recommend Lone Star Models (lonestar-models.com) as a supplier that ships consistently high-quality balsa. Several other suppliers are equally reputable, but I can personally recommend Lone Star.

The basic airframe is, well... just that-pretty basic. For a nice, warp-free result, I wetformed the wing panels to the airfoil shape before I added the ribs. My choice of adhesives was a bit unusual: I used very little CA. I assembled just about all of the balsa/balsa seams and joints using Elmer's Carpenters Wood Glue. The extra drying time really came in handy. Ambroid cement was especially useful for making neat wire/wood joints, and I used medium CA for adding details.

The fuselage is a simple box structure with a few internal braces and crosspieces. Installing the top and bottom planking cross-grain adds some needed stiffness. Don't forget the little plywood patches for the landing-gear installation. The cowl goes together by joining Cl and C2 with three 1/6x 1/8-inch strips and then wrapping the 1/32-inch skin around these. Add the 1/16;-inch laminations to the front, and sand them to shape.

With the top deck on the fuselage, add the cowl and the soft fairing blocks. I chose to locate my equipment-access hatch between the landing-gear struts, and that has worked out just fine. Cut the tail feathers out, then sand all the parts smooth with 400-grit wetand-dry sandpaper (I used it dry).

At this point, I chose to paint the airframe's basic parts. For primer, I used Delta Top Coat Satin Spray (available at craft stores). I dusted on two coats, sanding each one with 400-grit paper until smooth. For the colors, I used Dupli-Color-a brand of automobile touch-up spray paint-but any lacquer-based paint would do fine. I sprayed a couple of tablespoons of this paint into a container and then mixed it 50:50 with slow-drying auto-paint thinner. This mix may be applied with very inexpensive airbrushes for a light color finish. I did get lazy and use black trim film for the Maltese crosses; I dulled the film with the Satin Spray before I affixed it.

Mounting the wings requires careful measuring to make sure that both sides have the same incidence. Because it dries slowly, wood glue is a big help here. I added the tailskid at this point and then painted it with enamel model paints. To attach the tail's control surfaces, I used sections of a hypodermic needle slip-fit onto 0.020-inch-diameter wire. Note the balance weights on the horizontal tail; they help prevent the actuator from having to fight gravity along with flight loads.

WHEELS UP

The watchword for the landing gear is "patience." It helped me a lot to assemble the gear upside-down on a hardwood block and tape the pieces into place until it was time to solder them. I started with the two, inverted "V" braces, added the fore/aft shaft and then the wheel axle. The axle struts came next, and last, the angle braces from the axles to the rear apex. After soldering and checking the alignment, I cleaned the gear, painted it with black enamel and then mounted it on the fuselage.

There are several ways to detail the wheels. Most of the original Eindecker's spokes were covered to give the wheels a solid appearance. You can replicate that with balsa sheet and white bond paper. Small wire wheels are also available from several dealers, and they would work just fine, too. Being a natural tightwad, I used the method shown with the plastic disc representing the spokes and balsa laminations for tires. The choice is yours.