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Thread: Building a Fokker D VII

  1. #81

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    I saw that on "the other forum" and didn't quite understand what was meant; this picture fills in the gap.

    For our gentle EAA readers - there is a highly technical and historically nit-picky thread of this build here:

    http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=66492

    It's much more in depth than the one here, as there are folks dedicated to WWI aircraft with a lot of information and experience.

    Because everyone is really, really smart there, I save all my dumb questions for this thread. They already think I'm an idiot over my build and some of the stuff I've done, and I cause enough rolled eyes as it is.

    But hey, if it wasn't for builders like me, we couldn't have a true average; without a baseline of "gooder enough," how would we know if something was truly excellent?
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  2. #82
    K, lots to show tonight. Ist two pics are of the second redo of the seat back tube. One fellow builder in New York, who is close to finishing his D VII by the way, keyed me in to what he thought was the correct way to fabricate the tube clusters at the fuselage down tube. The problem was that both his way, and mine, per plans would draw the two upright fuselage tubes, bowing them in, when a pilot would sit in the seat. The corrected way, shared with me by a fellow named Udo, in Germany, is for the seat back cross tube to float in the tubing cluster. This way as the cross tube flexes it can float through the sleeve. The cross tube also has three slight pre bends that you may be able to see in the one pic.
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    Third pic, I epoxied in some stiffeners. The plans have 3 stiffeners drawn in across the floor but as I made some simple clips to help anchor the floor from underneath I altered the plan a little. I also got a few drawings from Jeff, the fellow in New York, and took some of his suggestion with some coved supports that rest on a slightly lower fuselage cross tube under the floor.
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    I added in two missing wire loops. They may or may not have been on the plans but they are required. In the fourth pic you can barely tell that at this point I hadn't completely welded them in. I also added the half loop at the front of the rear torque tube Fokker clamp. This loop gets two bracing wires under the floor to a point behind the lower rear spar attaching point.
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    The last pic shows that I attached the instrument panel today as well. These are the two lower brackets. The top two connections are by simple Fokker clamps but I need to get 2" #8 mock up bolts to complete it.
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    It was a beautiful couple days to be working in the Flugzeugwerke.
    Jim


  3. #83

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    Things are really starting to come together.

    Allow 20 minutes extra when you get the seat in. Must. Make. Airplane. Noises.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  4. #84
    Here is the final cock pit floor mounting using #8 machine screws and the simple brackets I made anchoring the floor to some of the control linkage cross tubes. There 4 of these in front and 4 in the rear. I think this is a very clean application. Peace Jim
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  5. #85
    Cool stuff this week too. Here we go. I refabricated the entire rudder control area; cross bar, Fokker clamps, rudder post base, upper rudder post, and of course a new rudder pedal. I also started paint prep and priming these new pieces so they can make it through the winter and next year top coat them with a Fokker green.

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    Second pic, I remade the throttle mount (brown). The old one (black) was an early welding project and I had always planned on making a new one. It was a fugly piece.

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    Third pic, I had mentioned a month or so ago that I had ordered all the Fokker D VII, Albatros D Va, and Spandau MG drawings that NASM (National Air and Space Museum Archives) offered. They showed up Wednesday.

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  6. #86

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    Very cool - and it goes to show that the skills learned in building an airplane means that the first pieces made and were great early on are barely making the grade towards the end.

    I needn't warn you that perfect is the enemy of good, though. Sometimes it if works one just has to move on if they want to see the project completed.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  7. #87
    Thanks Frank. Now on to remake those triangulated brackets under the cock pit floor.

  8. #88
    Welp, a little more work today. I redid the rear torque tube and floor supports, Fokker clamps, cross tube, and primed the floor clips.
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  9. #89

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    While I'm sure you're much better at this airplane building stuff than I am, a note on that flooring:

    When you spar varnish that sucker, don't be shy about any bolt holes. I have floor #2 on my plane because I neglected them, and guess where water and gas and junk went, saturating between the layers of plywood and turning it into a mess?

    We all strive to keep weight down, but this is one area I would not skimp on. One wouldn't think that there would be a lot to get on the flooring in an open cockpit airplane that we keep pretty sterile, but that just ain't so.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  10. #90
    9/10/17, Here is the work I got done in my spare time this week. I am only putting up the one pic tonight. I made 6 Fokker clamps Wednesday in the hour before dinner and the next day I made the four struts you see before dinner.Saturday I got it all primed and today I capped the ends of the cowling frames. I also primed the cowl frames and their double Fokker clamps that anchor the cowl frames to the fuselage. I also drilled the control column handle I had made out of mahogany but as I suspected it wasn't stable enough. I know where I can get some apple wood. That should make nice handles for the column and the throttle.
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