Stuka

[digger]

Here it is guys.
Like I said, might not finish it. But maybe it will get me back into the hobby. Might get some of you wanting to try to build something.

Really not that hard. You won't work on an aircraft as much as you will a car.
Unless you hit "Mother Earth."

If I don't finish it, feel free to rag on me.

Going to be 2 of us working on it. Just when we can get the time and get togther.
Drink a few brews and cut parts, glue parts....
I did mention brews...





This is half of the wing. Got a 4' level laying there for reference. My table is 5 and a half feet long.


Fuselage.


Got a 3' yardstick laying here. Still unreal how big it is. .


Got the wood today. Package weighed 18lbs. Haven't got a plane that flies that weighs that mch. This one weighs 38 lbs?


Going to sit down an look at it this weekend. Hope to cut out some parts.

 

[Candyman]

Damn that's big. Looks like it's going to be a long project. I bet it'll look awesome in the end, though.

 

[Timmahh]

Good Luck with the Build Digger.

this thread on RCGroups should help with any ?s you have.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=615484

the orig poster of this thread appears to have his building poop in a group!

T

 

[frickenjoey]

I build a swamp boat from plans and it was one of those damn near didn't finish it projects....but good luck flying is fun....landing is the tricky part. Especially if it is an "unplanned" landing........lol. Good luck on it still a great hobby!

 

[Karl M]

Damn, that thing is huge! Looks like it will be a fun build, but then beer can make almost anything fun. lol

 

[sweetdiesel]

That is one BIG plane. How the heck do you transport those things or do you just fly it to the field?

Good luck with the build!

 

[Karl M]

I've seen some people with rather nice trailers for their planes, a flatbed tractor trailer ought to do.

 

[Lessen]

now THAT'S a project :thumbup:

 

[digger]

The wing is in 2 or 3 pieces on most of the ones this size. Haven't looked over the plans real hard, but I did look for that. Think it is one pc.
Guess it'll just to hang out the end of the Dakota.

Hopefully we can get excited enough to build it over the winter.
My bro is already talking about a radio and engine.
I just want to cut out some parts and get started.

 

[helotaxi]

That Fokker...er Junker, is gonna be huge. Hope that you get it done.

 

[digger]

Cut out a few parts over the weekend. My bro was sick so I had to drink brews by myself.
No worries...
I'm getting a little spark. Hope I can get out of the slump I've been in.


This is what I have so far.

Had a copy of the plans made. That way I can cut them up for templates. I cut the plans, glue them to the wood, then cut them out.
If anyone has a better idea let me know.
First one's I built from plans, I used tracing paper. Traced out all the parts and glued them to my wood.
Takes too much time.
Still takes a lot of time the way I'm doing. You can buy a kit, but it's not the same for me.

 

[Timmahh]

i think the method your useing is the way to go. that way you can be pricise now, and have less fitment issues later on during the assembly.

 

[digger]

Cut out a few more pieces this weekend. Not much.
Think this is the 3rd I have built from plans? Nothing near as big. (.40 and .25 size)

Never had a list of wood with the others.
I'm finding myself being real careful how I cut everything out. Not going to be any extra.
The list called for 6"x24" pcs. of 1/8" poplar ply. 4 parts are longer and I would have to lay them out diagonal. Seems like a lot of waste, and not sure if it will be enough. But I have several 48" pcs from when I was building before. Really got to look at the 1/8" aircraft ply because I don't have any. (Think I have extra on everything else.)

Most of the fuselage parts are "roughed out," guess is how you would say it. Haven't cut the centers out of the formers or the notches for the stringers.
Cutting parts out on a small bandsaw. Some parts are so big I can't get all of them. Got a couple of jigsaws, but I need some better blades. Haven't even started sanding on parts...

Everything I have built so far had a constant wing chord. Pin about 24 pieces of wood together and cut.
This has 2 ribs of the same size along the length of the wing. (36 in all)
Center is ply. I used ca to keep those ribs together. Can see in the last picture. Those ribs are 1/8" ply.
Holes in them are where I used ca to glue them together. Those 2 places are the last I will cut out.
Won't be so bad on the balsa ribs. Going to staple them together and cut them out. I could have done that to the others? Maybe? Didn't think about that...

Looking real hard at the wing right now. Never built one like that.
Left the firewall a little long too. (not sure on the engine. )

 

[digger]

Haven't gave up on it guys.

Been kinda stressed at the digger crib. (Be another post maybe.)
I'm cutting parts when I have time and can get in the mood.

I slotted out part of the fuselage formers last week. They still need sanded.
Felt like working on it tonight.
Cut out part of the horizonal stabilizer.

I started with a rough template and traced the rest on my balsa. Cut all of them with an x-zacto.

Next I pinned all of them together and cut them on a bandsaw. This is 2 of the ribs.
One is 8 pieces, the other is 4. Pins are holding one. Used an office stapler to hold the other. Cut em on the bandsaw.

Have to sand them, but it's a start....

 

[godale03]

Man that looks like fun. I remember those days. It is alot of work, but so worth it in the end. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Tom

 

[Rolex]

That Fokker...er Junker, is gonna be huge. Hope that you get it done.

That Fokker is a Stuka.
SweetDiesel, the wings come apart in the center for transporting. It still needs a pick up or van to move it.

Take your time at this point. Just like a house, the more care taken with the skeleton, the better the finished project.
You won't believe the pride you'll feel after scratch building something like that.
It's gonna be a real beauty.

 

[digger]

Yeah it's a lot of fun. Mostly just get away by myself and listen to the radio.
Never scratched out something this big. All of them have been .40 up until now. Last one I did was Rich Uravitch's D-7. Had a small pic in Model Airplane News. Flew it for 3 years before losing it.

Going to be a while just cutting parts on this beast.

 

[helotaxi]

That Fokker is a Stuka.

Thus the "Junker" part as in Ju-87.

 

[digger]

I am working on this a little.


Here is a pic of what parts I have cut. Got the horizonal stab framed up. Part of the elevator. Both get skinned with 1/16" balsa.



To show the size of this beast, I laid a wing from the Tiger Moth I have been working on above the stab.


Thing is huge.

Not sure how far I'm going to go with it before I work on something else.
Got to work on everything that was flying.


Don't know where to start.

 

[digger]

Couple of pics now.

Here is the rigging I came up with for my jigsaw. Just something to hang it off the end of my table saw.
I don't have a scroll saw to cut out the center of the formers.
Coming in handy cutting out some of the larger pieces too.
My bandsaw won't do a lot of it.



Horizonal stab is skinned. 1/2 of the elevator.
Fuselage is built on a "crutch." It's glued together and pinned to the table.
After glueing all the stringers to the crutch, it's jacked up on 6" high blocks and the formers glued to it.
Haven't done one like that before.
All of my stuff so far has been a square fuselage. Looks pretty straight foward though. Think I'll get it, but I'm open to suggestions.



I know it's going slow, but being a scratch-build, I'm still cutting parts.
Thought I would work on it tonight, but just too tired to enjoy myself.