MAAA Wingspan

19 Members of the Belconnen Model Aero Club (BMAC) in the ACT recently teamed up to assist a fellow member and club stalwart, Brian Oakes. Unfortunately, Brian’s health had deteriorated to the point where a project to build a Balsa USA 1/3 Scale Fokker DR-1 Triplane was no longer possible. Before the COVID-19 shut-down BMAC club activities, Brian gifted the partly constructed Triplane to accomplished large scale model pilot Peter Ederle. Peter said “It was a very complex build, much more than I am used to, so I asked a group of members to assist me with the build.” Peter completed the construction of all the major components and covered the wings, tail and fuselage assemblies with Koverall, a substantial task, given the aircraft has four wings. An area that Peter did not have much experience in was painting such a large model. Polyurethane paint (in Red Baron red of course!) was purchased from a local auto paint supplier and plane components where then handed over to Jim Reid who applied the undercoat and paint layers. Other scale parts were tricky to fabricate, such as the machine guns. Mike Leys did the initial assembly with Shane Cunningham completing the build. By sheer chance a comprehensive book on the Fokker DR-1 was found that enabled the team to check the scale details with the original aircraft. An aircraft this size needs the right engine. Peter contacted Jackie of DLE engines in Perth who was very helpful providing several engine options, with a DLE 111 Boxer engine being the final choice. Finally came the maiden flight which Peter said “It was a nervous time getting it into the air for the first time, however it flew well and had its own peculiarities that I had to contend with. However, I couldn’t have done it without all the help and support from all the team who willingly donated their time and effort. Definitely a team effort! Unfortunately, Brian Oakes was not able to attend the maiden flight, but he did manage to see photos of the completed aircraft before he sadly passed away. Brian Oakes at the BMAC field Peter Ederle covering one of the wings Jim Reid spraying while Shayne Cunningham assists Detail of the Maxim 7.62 cal guns DLE 111 engine installed The custom pilotinstalled and ready to fly! Building a 1/3 Scale Fokker DR-1 Triplane – a Team effort! AIRCRAFT SPECIFICATIONS Wingspan: 94 in (238 cm) Length: 82 in (208 cm) Height: (ground to top wing): 40 in (101 cm) Take-off weight: 18 Kg Wheels: 9 in (23 cm) Sullivan Pilot: Custom hand-painted 1/3 scale Engine: DLE 111 Boxer with 4 in (10 cm) silicon extensions with silencers. Propeller: 27 x 10 Falcon wooden Servos: 5 x JX rated at 22 Kg. Ignition Batteries: 2 x Eneloop 6 V Ni Mh Noise output: 84 db at 2 m Covering: 2 packets of Koverall totaling 7.2 m2 Paint: 2 pack Polyurethane in Red Baron Red