Fokker Spin III, scale 1:48, scratch build

Wow! that articulating rudder must have been a huge challenge. The macro shots make this bird look large, but I know it isn't.
The rudders took me quite a while to figure it out. Nowhere I could find reliable information on how to do it. It boiled down to replacing two sets of pulleys (which I would have used to change directions) by eye bolts and simply attaching the wires to both the control column and the cantilevers on the rudders. Well, not so simples, but with a couple of tweezers nearby it became manageable.
 
This little kite with a motor is growing on me. Fine modeling my friend!
It looks absolutely great.
Thank you both so much for your kind words.
I already mentioned it, but initially I had many misgivings about this model, despite its historical significance.
Now, after having gone through quite some hoops and loops, I’m getting somewhat addicted to her; looking so fragile, yet she was able to carry people into the air.
The Spin was also the predecessor of the Fokker Eindecker and subsequent models and therefore of great importance of the initial development of aircraft.
 
Me too, I'm already looking around on internet for an idea. Just a small project for fill in time.

Ha! me too.

For some odd reason I am looking for the rarely, if ever build models. For my next build, initially I thought I would be building the Boeing Clipper, I seriously consider building a scale model of the Dutch NHI Kolibri. More details will follow in due time.

The Kolibri H1; my father is the man in center front, if I remember correctly, he was responsible for the rotor head design.
This picture was taken about a half year before my birth.

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The Kolibri H3, the production helicopter.
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For some odd reason I am looking for the rarely, if ever build models. For my next build, initially I thought I would be building the Boeing Clipper, I seriously consider building a scale model of the Dutch NHI Kolibri. More details will follow in due time.

The Kolibri H1; my father is the man in center front, if I remember correctly, he was responsible for the rotor head design.
This picture was taken about a half year before my birth.

View attachment 454548

The Kolibri H3, the production helicopter.
View attachment 454547
Very nice picture, Johan. In wiki I see that it's driven by tip-jets. Wow! Indeed daredevils.
Regards, Peter
 
Those pioneers where daredevils. Great to see your father was one of them.
Special design with some kind of jet? in the wing blade end?
Very nice picture, Johan. In wiki I see that it's driven by tip-jets. Wow! Indeed daredevils.
Regards, Peter
The propulsion was indeed provided by two ramjets, one at the tip of each rotorblade.
NASA has a nice paper on the working principles of a ramjet: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/ramjet.html
Love that picture of your father!

Given the choice of going up in the Fokker or the H1 I would choose...wait for it...reading a book on my patio ROTF.
For me the H1, hands down…
Reading a book, instead of embarking on an adventure; where’s the good old spirit of the Wild West?
 
Nice job on all the welding Johan. The spacing looks as if you had the wings in some kind of a jig.
I’m sorry to disappoint you, Dan, it’s all ruler-measured and marked and when necessary removal and realignment of the offending rib. And constant measuring and checking.
I also worked from the outer/inner ends inwards/outwards, later on I added four ribs in the middle of the wing halves and than lastly adding the remaining ribs. That meant I had limited tolerance buildup; working from end to end means running the largest risk of buildup of tolerances.
 
Tonight witnessed the bonding of the last ribs in both wing halves. As can be seen, I still need to do quite some straightening and aligning of the ribs, but the foundation is there:
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Very nice and meticulous work on the wings, Johan. A lot of measurements, check, check and checks.
Regards, Peter
 
Very nice and meticulous work on the wings, Johan. A lot of measurements, check, check and checks.
Regards, Peter
Having build the main structure of both wing halves now, I am not certain about my process though; the grid assembly joints are very brittle and can’t take much load. I used CA to join the ribs to the spars, which in itself was a challenge, but I am somewhat disappointed by the lack of load capability, based on experiences with earlier CA applications.
 
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