Topic: Dornier Do D1 build thread

Come on Jonesey, wheres the fully assembled pics for us to gawp at?

Looking mighty tidy, unassembled but tidy!!!

Ian.

its a 2 man job,  and, knowing where he lives,  he is probably having more snow than me!!  and we have 7inches now,    have to stick my 12inch rule in the snow outside,  me 6inch is well buried!!

Alan, in this weather putting your 6" in the snow can give a bad attack of frostbite.I understand it then falls off.  Ken 

The basic metalwork for the undercarriage has been done. When the weather improves and I've got further on with the u/c, I'll assemble it in the back garden and post a few piccy's...it's a bit too brass monkies at the moment 

I know it’s been a while since my last addition to the build thread but, with Christmas and this freezing weather, it’s been difficult to rev myself up to get into the garage. Anyway, I’ll take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year, and I’ll update you with what I have managed to do in the meantime.

The next major task is the undercarriage but, to get me back into the swing I’ve mounted the engine, a Zenoah 62 with a  reduction gear, and I’ve cut out the top sheeting for the cockpit.

The undercarriage is made up from piano wire legs, with two spreader bars and a ”floating”  axle, the suspension being provided by bungee cords wrapped around each end of the axle. The whole thing is then clad with balsa for the airfoil section leg fairings.

The plan shows some elaborate wire bending, wrapping and soft soldering, and the fairings are, to some extent, independent. I decided that this arrangement would not be suitable at 1/3 scale, so a bit of a re think was required.

I made up a “kit” of parts from the supplied 3/16” piano wire, comprising of the front and rear legs and two spreader bars, two x 1mm thick steel plates and a length of 3/8” steel tube for the axle. As can be seen in the photographs, the steel plates replace the wire bending at the bottom of the legs, the slots allowing the axle to “float” up and down.

The legs, plates and spreader bars were then set up in a jig and then I braved the weather and took them to my brother in law’s workplace where he TIG welded them for me (previous attempts at silver soldering were unsatisfactory, resulting in my scrapping the metal “kit” and producing another one).

Back in the garage the welds were cleaned up where necessary. 1/4” ply infill’s were then added, which were grooved out to accommodate the piano wire and then glued in position. This assembly was then fixed to the 1/4” ply plate previously fitted in place between the firewall and former B5. The nature of the design makes the u/c a permanent fix, so it was secured firstly with saddle clamps and then covered by transverse grooved hardwood blocks.

Balsa was then used to infill the remaining gaps to produce a very rigid and secure fixture and the bay was then skinned with 1/32” ply for the final finish. The legs were then clad with balsa sheet ready for shaping.

With the cabanes on the top and now the u/c on the bottom, the fuz is a bit of a handful to manoeuvre in the garage, and I’m reduced to working on it on my workmate instead of the bench. Shaping the leg fairings has been somewhat akin to trying to Solarfilm a dog in your lap. The legs were sanded to an airfoil shape and filler used for the fillets. Once the excess wire from the spreader bars was cut to length, the axle was then inserted and temporarily secured with bungee cord.

Last but not least, the wheels were added and the fuz placed right way up on the bench to see how she looks. It’s now starting to look like an aeroplane instead of a ship…...I think.

That’s it for now; next job will be fitting the tail feathers. Hopefully by then the snow will have cleared and I can assemble the model outside to take some pictures for Ian….I can’t keep putting him off forever.

Looking really good Dave, keep up the good work

Steve

Very nice Dave, but DO those wings actually fit on that fuselage then?

Just a thought Dave, It would be easier for me if the tailplane isn't permanently fixed on yet, or is it removable anyway?

Ian.

As a result of Ian’s last post, we have agreed that I will leave the tail plane and fin / rudder assembly off to make life easier for him during the finishing process where he will, no doubt, weave his magic. This is just as well because I’ve realised, had I attached the tail feathers permanently, as was the plan, I wouldn’t have been able to get the model in my car. This only left the rear turtle deck sheeting to add. So, the turtle deck was duly sheeted, a touch of filler and a light sanding here and there…..job done.

This now concludes my contribution to this project, and I can’t say I’m sorry. After some 485 hours, to say this has been a challenge would be putting it lightly. There’s been a lot of head scratching over the past few months, and I think if it had been my own project, it probably would have ended up in the attic early doors, collecting dust for several years. The most satisfaction I’ve derived from this build is that I stuck to it and wouldn’t admit defeat. Thanks must go to those who have given moral support, advice and assistance, you know who you are.

I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn when I say that AZM didn’t do me or themselves any favours by kitting a design that is obviously inappropriate for this size of model. They say that life is one big learning curve, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all this, it’s that in future, certainly where I build for other people, it will only be from reputable kits or well proven plans.

I hope everybody who has looked in on this build thread and followed the construction of the model so far have found it interesting. I for one enjoy reading any feed back, be it positive or negative, and I’m prepared to take on board any constructive criticism. We should all be open to advice / different ideas, and I think Forums like this are a brilliant gateway to a huge world of knowledge and experience.

Finally and, some might say, at last, here are some ‘photos of the Dornier in all its glory. As there was no end in sight of this snow, and having nowhere else to assemble it with room to manoeuvre, I took it to my model clubs “Bring a model” night before handing it over for the next phase. With no scale stick to give an idea of size, we found some “numpty” to sit behind the model to give you an idea.

My best regards to you all. Dave Jones.                                             

More photos.

A fine build and hat off to you for sticking at it through all the difficulties 

Lovely job, I,m looking forward to my contribution to getting this project finished Hope I can do it justice

Chubby little beggar aint it!!

Ian.

Chubby little beggar aint it!!

Ian.

And a bit hairy    Airframe is nice though 

Nice one Dave, I've enjoyed following your thread, it's given me some positive thoughts as I have a AZM kit gathering dust at the moment  

I hope Jedi Redders will continue with his bit  

Mud  

Picked the chubby fekker up at Wigan today in preparation for the finishing job. Dropped off the newly refurbed Fokker DVII too. Work on this was due to start next week but there is another German blocking the queue at the moment. The idea with the Zeppelin was originally to lithoplate the metal bits but this has changed due to weight saving measures. Its a little portly at the moment and a litho skin, although great to do, would be a bit too much since the covering is about 80% aluminium. It will be put onto the over 20 kg since it is going to be over once finished unfortunately. With the motor and owt else it tips the scales at about 18.5 kg. The covering will now be glasscloth over the sheeted areas, with painted 'tex for the hexagonal fabric work. The elevator will need splitting in two, plus 2 x Recievers etc.....

Lookin forward to getting going with it.

Ian.