Albatros D.XI (oz5515)
About this Plan
Albatros D-XI. Free flight rubber scale model German WWI fighter biplane. Scale is 1/24.
Quote: "Models of First World War planes have always ranked high in popularity with scale builders. Most every serious model builder has built several. This author prefers planes of the 1914-19 period because, if carefully built, one can be assured of excellent flights. Generally these oldtimers are easy to model, detail can be added to the heart's content, and they can be easily adjusted to give good performance.
Albatros fighters have been among the most popular of the First War's aircraft, particularly the D.III and D.V types. If you have followed the designs of this writer in past issues of MAN you will recall that models of unique and little known types are his meat. Therefore, another unusual model is presented herewith.
The Albatros D.XI was a late war development of the Albatros Flugzuegwerke which had its main facilities at world famed Johannisthal Airdrome near Berlin. Much smaller than the D.III and D.V types, its wingspan was just 8 meters, or approximately 26 ft, 3 in. Contrary to the usual Albatros practice, the fuselage was slabsided; however, the peculiar horizontal tailplane was retained. The forward position of the vertical tailplane is a point to note.
The most radical departure from previous Albatros practice was in the powerplant which was an air-cooled Siemans-Halske rotary engine of 160 hp. This engine was beautifully cowled, and the streamlining of the entire ship was accented by the lack of flying or landing wires and by the interplane struts which were of the single I Strut type. Two smaller struts ran between the bottom wing and top longeron of the fuselage.
Armament was two of the inevitable Spandau machine guns, one centered on the cowl, the other mounted on the right side of the fuselage, both being just forward of the cockpit. The D.XI was a light weight fighter, the weight being only 1050 lbs. The duration was 1-1/2 hrs, maximum speed at least 119 mph, and the climb was excellent - over 16,300 ft in 18 mins. All in all, it was a great ship and ahead of its time. The modern Vultee V-11-GB attack plane and others have used the forward mounted rudder to advantage. The visibility was superior to most 1918 jobs, and there is a certain amount of dash to the whole ship.
The plans are accurately scaled from the best available data to 1/2 inch to the foot. Construction is simplified, even over that of the author's Westland N-17 fighter-bomber (Oct 46 MAN). The fact that only the tail surfaces and the top and bottom of the fuselage need be tissue covered greatly simplifies construction. Since the wings of the real plane had very thin sections, 1/32 sheet balsa was used for them as it was for the fuselage sides. The finished weight is little, if any, heavier than for a model of conventional construction. Only a few evenings are needed from start to finished plane, and the flights are excellent for a model of this small size. So, let's get to work.
Fuselage: Cut two fuselage sides to shape from 1/32 sheet balsa; sand thoroughly on both sides with fine sandpaper. The sides should now be approximately 1/40 in thickness. Spread a good grade of wood filler on both faces of the side pieces. The material may be spread on, then rubbed into both faces at once with thumb and forefinger on either side. Spreading the filler on both sides in this manner prevenits warping.
The dash lines on the side view indicate a crossbracing of 1/16 square balsa. These strips are cemented in place at this time. The only formers needed are for the fuselage top, so cut one each to shape from 1/16 sheet. Cut the stringer notches to take 1/32 by 3/32 stringers.
Join the two sides together at the top with the formers and at the bottom with 1/16 square pieces as indicated by the small dash squares along the fuselage bottom on the side view. The extreme rear of the fuselage is not joined at this time, but the notch that carries the elevators may be cut for use later..."
Direct submission to Outerzone.
Here is Joseph H. Wherry's Albatros D-XI from Model Airplane News magazine issue 09-47.
Update 17/7/2022: Added complete article, thanks to RFJ.
Supplementary file notes
Article.
Corrections?
Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)?
That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction
-
(oz5515)
Albatros D.XI
by Joseph Wherry
from Model Airplane News
September 1947
13in span
Scale Rubber F/F Biplane Military Fighter
clean :)
all formers complete :)
got article :) -
Submitted: 23/04/2014
Filesize: 100KB
Format: • PDFbitmap
Credit*: theshadow
Downloads: 3880
-
Albatros_D.XI | help
see Wikipedia | search Outerzone
------------
Test link:
search RCLibrary 3views (opens in new window)
ScaleType: This (oz5515) is a scale plan. Where possible we link scale plans to Wikipedia, using a text string called ScaleType.
If we got this right, you now have a couple of direct links (above) to 1. see the Wikipedia page, and 2. search Oz for more plans of this type. If we didn't, then see below.
Notes:
ScaleType is formed from the last part of the Wikipedia page address, which here is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.XI
Wikipedia page addresses may well change over time.
For more obscure types, there currently will be no Wiki page found. We tag these cases as ScaleType = NotFound. These will change over time.
Corrections? Use the correction form to tell us the new/better ScaleType link we should be using. Thanks.
Do you have a photo you'd like to submit for this page? Then email admin@outerzone.co.uk
User comments
Hi, Steve! You're probably watching " The Open "!...Ha! Ha! Quick "?" ..Can anyone provide the remainder of Joseph Wherry's construction article?Super Site!..As Always, Steve! Thank You! Don
DONALD E TILLEY - 16/07/2022
Done, thanks to RFJ :)
SteveWMD - 17/07/2022
Thank You Very! Very! Much! Steve & RFJ!!....SUPER!!
Don
DONALD E TILLEY - 18/07/2022
Add a comment
- Albatros D.XI (oz5515)
- Plan File Filesize: 100KB Filename: Albatros_D-XI-MAN-09-47_oz5515.pdf
- Supplement Filesize: 3682KB Filename: Albatros_D-XI-MAN-09-47_oz5515_article_.pdf
- help with downloads
Notes
* Credit field
The Credit field in the Outerzone database is designed to recognise and credit the hard work done in scanning and digitally cleaning these vintage and old timer model aircraft plans to get them into a usable format. Currently, it is also used to credit people simply for uploading the plan to a forum on the internet. Which is not quite the same thing. This will change soon. Probably.
Scaling
This model plan (like all plans on Outerzone) is supposedly scaled correctly and supposedly will print out nicely at the right size. But that doesn't always happen. If you are about to start building a model plane using this free plan, you are strongly advised to check the scaling very, very carefully before cutting any balsa wood.
Terms of Use
© Outerzone, 2011-2024.
All content is free to download for personal use.
For non-personal use and/or publication: plans, photos, excerpts, links etc may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Outerzone with appropriate and specific direction to the original content i.e. a direct hyperlink back to the Outerzone source page.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's owner is strictly prohibited. If we discover that content is being stolen, we will consider filing a formal DMCA notice.