Agreed
 

I agree Cookie. I also like to have the motor shaft at center to the hole in the cowl. A bit of down thrust and right thrust is not noticable unless you are really looking for it. On center line or not is no big deal since it won't affect flight characteristics. Like Cookie said if it works out, OK. PS: You fools don't realize that Red on your planes just gives me a target to shoot at! Martin

I try to mount my motors with the hub of the prop on thrust line of the model.

Your right Martin, the french cockades look like red bullseyes.

Thanks. I've always done it that way, but I could have been wrong. Didn't want to mislead anyone. Red? I like the lozenge style but it's hard to find covering like that and a lot of masking and painting to color it that way. I'm sure everyone here is aware that the WW1 biplanes were painted in certain colors to identify the squadrons and individual pilots. Of course, they didn't have radios back then. Funny thing is, the RED BARON may have been shot down by ground units and not Brown. I don't know whether they ever settled that question. O.K., I'm done.:Q

Some Pictures
 

Thanks for the advice, so I assume that I do not need to be accurate to with tenths of inches then!!! I think I was getting a little carried away with being dead on. When you say washers, how thick are the washers?

Anyway, here are some photos of my build so far. I have placed the aluminium cowl in place for efect. Be kind, if there is anything that is obvious to your expert eyes, let me know.

Rob

Yeah Hedlro. Just center up the shaft with the cowl opening and you'll be fine. You won't need excessive right and down thrust. About two or three degrees will usually work. I'm glad to hear some new people!! Mmm!! always did like that RED color!!! Steve

I use various thicknesses of washers, depending on what I have at the time. Some are about the thickness of a business card others are thicker. I just add them on until I get the off-set that I want.

You don't have to paint the lozenge pattern. You can download it off the net and print it with you printer. Here is my Albatros with printed paper glued on top of the wings. I used bright white paper. On my MS I printed the french cockades on tissue paper. Laid the paper on the plane and sprayed clear over it. The clear soaked through the paper and glued it to the plane.

Martin should like the red tail.

A short history
 

The Red Baron was shot down from the ground by Aussie machine gunners while chasing a neophyte pilot (Lt Wilfred May) down low behind enemy lines on April the 21st, 1918. Oddly enough this was his number one rule not to break (fly low behind enemy lines) which he violated for some unknown reason. I personally believe he was a victim of combat fatigue. The Red Baron is my favorite subject of research and has been for me since 1967. I have just about every book ever published about the Red Baron (no boast just fact). The best book to explain the mystery is a book named "The Red Baron's Last Flight, a mystery investigated written by Norman Franks". This book is available from AMAZON.com for about $9.00 and is a terrific read. I first became interested in WWI aviation when I was in 3rd year high school. As a matter of fact, I still have the book that started it all. As I have stated before and will do so again, I am at your service should anyone need some research done. Martin

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...A240_SH20_.jpg

I think nova did a special on this topic...


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/redbaron/

degreen60, good idea. thanks.

scalercflyer, I got a book titled "Richthofen, a true history of the Red Baron" by William E. Burrows. I take it with me whenever I feel I'm going to have to wait for an appointment and I have time to sit and read (like jury duty). Interesting book. It describes the Red Baron's egotistical personality.

Covering material
 

Robin,

Since it seems as though you're almost as senior as I, perhaps you can help me with this one. Back in the late 40's, we covered all our gas jobs with silkspan. I remember colored airplanes, but all I can remember is white sillspan. Did we have colored silkspan, or did we have to dope for color?

Scalercflyer
There's an aircraft museum in British Columbia a few miles from the Buchart Gardens where they would disagree with you. As I remember it, they believe that it was Billy Bishop that shot down the Red Baron and have quite a bit of memorabilia to back it up.

Jakeluke, back in the late 40s and early 50s, about the only colored tissue I recall was a very heavy red. For the rubber powered FF planes and some of the wood models, I mostly remember using Comet dope, and when I graduated to glow power, Aerogloss. I think it wasn't till the mid 50s or so I remember being able to buy colored lightweight silkspan, and then later some even lighter colored tissue that only needed clear dope for sealing.

First account of the controversy over who shot down Richthofen I ever read was in an early 50s Air Trails. It did mention that the Baron apparently did drown in his own blood from a bullet wound to a lung, which let him make a lannding before he actually expired, but apparently the path of the bullet wasn't really researched during the battlefield (autopsy? if you want to call it that). The assumption at the time he was shot down from behind, but the pilot who was originally given credit admitted he opened fire from maximum range, just hopping to distract Richthofen from his attack.

Almost forgot. This last summer, guy showed up at the field with a beautifully done 25% D VII with the proper lozenge patterns on both wings. I think it was a 5 color on the top wing and a 4 color on the bottom. Mentioned how long it took him to paint all those colors with a set of templates. (He also painted in the seam lines based on some fotos he had of the prototype he followed, then added rib tales with simulated stitching underneath)Another somewhat more experienced builder then asked him why he didn't just paint the wings with a coat or two of the lightest color first, reducing the amount of hassle and time. Could have saved 2 or 3 days! Or why didn't he just get the already printed iron-on covering from Arizona Models, in the proper scale, and skip all that work entirely?

but where's the fun in that?

What color was the Baron's last plane Martin? Steve

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......................Was it RED?

NO!
 

No it wasn't!!! :D It was a crimson color, not bright red like you two knuckleheads think! :p So there! ;) Martin

I seem to remember it might have really been This Color.

HAHAHA

The controversy
 

It's true, even to this day the controversy continues. The fact remains MVR sustained a mortal wound transversing the thoracic cavity which included a hit to both lungs and possibly his heart. If it were true that Brown hit him, he would not have been able to fly another 2 miles further on (from when he allegedly was hit by Brown) and then crash. His reaction was immediate (his plane jerked), leading to his immediate crash following the hit by the .303 ammo. The wound originated at his right side and exited just under the left nipple. There are some accounts of him saying "Kaput" to the soldiers who first got to him before he died. As I stated in an earlier reply, buy and read the book by Norman Franks. It presents all views and opinions not just one. An excellent book. Martin

A visit
 

I might just pay you a visit in California and give you a sound thrashing Murph! :eek: ;) Pink indeed! What a sacrilege! :mad: Where did you get your reference material? ;) Martin

Right now, on the history channel international, they are showing a special on the red baron!

Speaking of the Red Baron...

http://www.pixomondo.com/web/showreel/index.htm

50+

Thanks for the comments. I could not remember spraying any of my planes with colored dope in those days, nor would I want to envision what they'd have looked like if I'd brushed the color on, so your confirming that we had colored Silkspan is welcome.

Jakeluke

Spray? Seems I remember a tip in one of the Air Trails that one could maybe use one of those bulb type perfume atomizers to spray on a very thin coat of dope, either using the squeeze bulb, or just blowing into the tube. Spray guns that were available to me were big and bulky, and needed a fairly large air compressor. I dread imagining what a coat of color dope would look like then, done with an atomizer. Don't think we had spray cans till much later, and seems to me using the atomizer would give a spottier color finish than brushing.

I remember working for days or weeks, brushing thined dope on a silkspanned or silked plane, letting it dry, then sanding with progressively finer papers, finishing with high quality typewriter paper, to get mirror finishes one could almost shave with. Never saw that with any iron-ons. 20 or more coats, then after a week of drying, rubbing it out with a fine paste polish, then finishing with Aero Gloss Carnuba paste wax. Then buffing with a cotton cloth.