Here are some pictures of the frames of my recently started D.8. Now I'm just waiting for the esaki tissue to come in the mail which will take a few days (which gives me time to do my AP summer homework.. )
while I've been waiting for the tissue to come, I had fun cutting out and painting Friedrich, who is to pilot the plane...valiantly chasing the SPAD in front of him (which is currently sitting in my closet waiting to be built)
Frederich better be careful- The SPAD's were noted for the tendency for the wings to stay attached during dives, while the triplane was noted for the opposite. The Fokker was very maneuverable, while the SPAD was quicker, I believe. The lessons learned from WW1 aircraft- maneuverability is nice, but speed kills.Sorry for the rant, but I am a retired history teacher and old habits die hard.
Here some pics of the completed plane that I just finished. Any comments/suggestions are appreciated. Additionally, if anybody wants the plans, I can mail them to you for free, just let me know!!
I think the SPAD will come next:
Lookin' good Arlo...say, FYI, there's an early version of this parasol monoplane in a movie, The Blue Max. In the flick, near the end, seems a decorated Lt. Stachel goes up for an exhibition flight, with the general's ok...owing likely to Stachel's indescretions. He is doomed, and it was earlier noted that the monoplane was difficult to control. Wondering how much Hollywood was factored in, I checked eg Wikipedia, and seems early versions of this plane indeed had problems, including difficulty controlling. Seems they eventually got the bugs out and the plane, the D8, was vastly improved. It's design was a plus in getting away from multi wing craft, which though maneuverable, had there own deficiencies.
Beautiful job on the D-8! One question, Are you planning on flying it? If so, you may be facing some stability issues with having no dihedral in the wing. If you do have problems trimming it out you could try warping some wash-out into both wing tips. Good Luck!