Author Topic: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"  (Read 3026 times)

Offline pustota

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Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« on: March 13, 2014, 07:35:12 AM »
My first attempt was not so successful. I'm sorry for that embarrassing pictures hosting site.
So here my second:















Thank you.

Online PrzemoL

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2014, 07:39:55 AM »
Fine model all around. Thanks for sharing.
Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul,
Ash nazg thrakatuluk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.

Offline coyotemagic

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2014, 07:52:47 AM »
Brilliant job on an extremely challenging kit!  I've only seen this kit built up a few times, but this is the finest I've seen.
Cheers,
Bud
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream in the dark recesses of the night awake in the day to find all was vanity. But the dreamers of day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, and make it possible." -T. E. Lawrence

Offline Ernie

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2014, 08:02:08 AM »
Very impressive model, Pustota.  Thank you for sharing!

Cheers,
Ernie :)
The new old guy, take two...

Offline Ian from Doncaster

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2014, 08:04:19 AM »
What an unusual beast this is! Great work :)

Offline Nigel Jackson

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2014, 08:38:31 AM »
A lovely piece of work Pustota - but my God what an odd-looking thing!

Best wishes
Nigel

Offline pustota

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2014, 08:45:20 AM »
Thank you all for your attention to my work.

Offline Des

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2014, 09:19:38 AM »
Thank you for re-posting these images Pustota, you have done a superb job with this model, even though it is an unusual design it has a certain appeal about it, well done.

Des.
Late Founder of ww1aircraftmodels.com and forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Offline radio

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2014, 09:33:56 AM »
A very good work and nice pictures Pustova.
Martin

Offline Modelnut

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #9 on: March 13, 2014, 10:56:40 AM »
I admire your talent! Could you post more of your work soon?
What was the purpose of the odd fuselage shape? I've always wondered since first seeing it.

Offline LindsayT

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2014, 01:40:17 PM »
What were they thinking?

Thanks for sharing the build,

Lindsay

Offline Des

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2014, 01:47:04 PM »
Here is quite an interesting history of this unusual aeroplane, well worth the read, I hope you don't mind Pustota that I have added this to your thread.

Des.

December 3, 2010

by Marshall Michel
52nd Fighter Wing historian


Military aviation underwent extraordinarily rapid development in World War I, and a technological advantage could almost guarantee a period of air superiority.

Though these periods were often measured in only months or even weeks, they put extraordinary demands on military aircraft designers to come up with the next “new thing.” These demands, coupled with the early state of aviation, led to a huge number of exotic prototype aircraft that never saw production or service.
 
Of all the unusual fighter prototypes developed in World War I, probably the most extraordinary in appearance was Germany’s DFW T28 Floh (Flea), designed in late 1915 by the chief engineer of the Deutsche Flugzeugwerke GmbH of Leipzig-Lindenthal, Dipl.Ing. Hermann Dorner.
 
The Floh was Dorner’s attempt to give Germany a high speed, highly streamlined fighter with a performance that would sweep the Allies from the skies. The aircraft that resulted was very small — its fabric wings had a span of about 20 feet and the fuselage was less than 15 feet — and powered by a relatively large 100 horsepower Mercedes D-I water-cooled, in-line engine.

It was Dorner’s special emphasis on streamlining that led to the aircraft’s most bizarre and distinctive feature: an extraordinarily deep, wood veneer skinned fuselage. The fuselage had to be deep to completely house the Mercedes engine, its radiator and the Floh’s armament — a single 7.62 LMG 08/15 Spandau machine gun installed over the engine inside the fuselage and synchronized to fire through the propeller.

In the interest of maximum streamlining, the Floh’s top wing was flush with the distinctive teardrop fuselage shape. This did away with the need for drag-inducing centre-section struts.

Initially, the aircraft was intended to have no struts or bracing wires, but in this respect, the Floh was only partially successful. When the T28 finally reached the prototype stage, it still needed some wing struts, though it did not have the bird’s nest of rigging commonly seen on aircraft of this era.
 
The pilot sat high over the ground behind the wing and the undercarriage was part of the fuselage, giving it a very narrow track. Overall, it had the appearance of a short, fat insect with very short wings, thus generating the name “Floh.”

The very first flight exposed the Floh’s major problem: difficult landing characteristics. Having the wing flush with the top of the fuselage eliminated the view needed by the pilot to land the aircraft, and on its first flight the prototype had a hard landing, which resulted in damage to the wing fuel cell.

The problem was not only caused by the poor visibility but also from the shape of the fuselage, which resulted in a high center of gravity, and the narrow width of the landing gear. This caused instability on landing and compounded the pilot’s poor visibility difficulty.
 
Notwithstanding its appearance, the Floh’s first flights were very promising. During test flights it showed a top speed of 110 miles per hour, which was extraordinary for the time and 25 miles an hour faster than the German Fokker monoplane, which controlled the airspace over the Western Front at that time. The Floh was also considered maneuverable and easy to fly.

Dorner made several modifications to the design, notably the introduction of aerodynamically balanced elevators, and built a second prototype, but the difficulties with landing remained. In the end, the German authorities — probably fortunately for the Allies — chose not to sponsor the development of the Floh due to its difficult landing characteristics, in spite of its high speed and other good points.
 
Dorner attempted several other fighter designs during the war but none were nearly as exotic, and none were successful.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2014, 03:24:35 PM by Des »
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Offline lone modeller

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2014, 03:51:31 AM »
This is a most interesting model of an very unusual aeroplane. Very well constructed and finished - very many congratulations. Please show us more of your work.

Des: thank you for the information - a very interesting summary of an extraordinary machine.

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #13 on: March 14, 2014, 11:51:17 AM »
Lovely Model of a very unusual and an even more basic kit! Well Done!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline mgunns

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Re: Eduard 1/48 DWF T28 "Floh"
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2014, 11:20:34 PM »
Hello Pustova:

This really turned out nice.  Thanks too to Des for the story behind the Floh.  I thought it was an egg plane at first until I realized it was a real airplane.   Thanks for sharing.

Best

Mark
Mark

We few, we happy few.....