February 2014 ( what, 2014 already !!)
Engine Installation

Installing the engine and hooking it up turns out to be a major undertaking. After all, there are no plans, everything has to be invented, plus the engine is changed from inverted to upright, presenting another set of challenges. Progress is tedious and slow, but progress never the less.

First, the engine gets moved forward about 4"  and lowered by about 3" to allow more visibility:

see new motor mounts, allowing drop

 

Next, fuel system 

 

carburetor ready

gascolator

fuel shutoff

dual fuel pumps

 

Then comes the throttle control,

 

Throttle in cockpit

carburetor end

 

Then comes air intake and vapor separator

 

custom air intake

vapor separator

 

Next Big job: Oil tank

 

fitting

fitting

fitting

more fitting

 

trying again and again

ready for welding

welded

 

 

welded

pressure testing

 

 

Another biggie: enclosure

belly shield

belly shield

3 stiffeners

attachments

left front shield

ready for riveting

right front shield

right front shield

 

At this point I should really mention as to what inspired this project. Well, I guess it's in the genes. My grandfather Robert Eyb was one of the first pilots back in Austria, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to get into aviation, as all great powers did at that time. Military of course. The aircraft they ordered was the model F Taube, designed by Igo Etrich and built by Lohner Werke AG in Vienna, Austria. They ordered 14 of them and specified that it had to be able to carry a pilot and observer, be able to land and take off again from a freshly plowed field, welding to be kept a minimum. The result was the F series, featuring a four-wheel castering landing gear, a 90 HP Daimler water cooled engine and a unique seating arrangement with the pilot in front and the observe directly behind him. No serial numbers, the airplanes had names, staring with the letter "A", for Austria, of course. His was the ASRA. That was 1912. These airplanes were all built in an amazingly short time, ordered in June and delivered in September. October 2 2012 was an important day, the military put on a demonstration flight for the public. The placards announced that it would take place " in any weather". Winds were high, but they flew anyway, because at that time the airfields were simply large fields and you always took off and landed into the wind. Always. No cross wind techniques needed. In my grandfather's personal memoirs he later mentions that day the commanding officer was highly annoyed that the flight officer took liberty of making that weather decision on his own. He also mentions how he took off with the ground, black with people below, along with the flight leader and at some altitude they both changed course and on the ground it appeared they were crossing paths and would collide imminently. He then had to fly to Sopron, about 35 miles away accompanied by another officer in his airplane. They encountered a cloud layer and my grandfather continued on top, the other below and later lost visibility and crashed into a vineyard. My grandfather's compass failed above the clouds, however he was able to use a stopwatch, a tiny pocket compass and at the right time cut the engine, put the airplane into a shallow spiral and came out of the clouds exactly above the airfield with a cheering crowd. Here is the one and only photo of him and the ASRA:

        

     Grandfather Robert Eyb at the Offiziersfligen October 2 1912, Wiener Neustatt, Austria 

 

He also published a book in 1914 on the status of aviation at that moment in time, which is extremely helpful in my research and decision making as I am building this full scale replica. I was able to get partial plans from Heinz Linner in Austria, who also built an F version about 40 years ago, ( albeit not as authentic as mine will be ), here is his version, currently in Peter Jackson's museum in Australia:

     Heinz Linner's F Taube ca. 1960 

Seating arrangement and engine setup not authentic.

  Heinz Linner's F Taube in Vienna's Technische Museum

 

 

Here's a photo of the D version, just to show the beauty of this bird

 D-version ( Later German version by Rumpler), to show the beauty.  

 

 

A shot of the F plans, note wingspan 47 feet. !

 

 

 

 Typical framework of the D version. F is similar, different seating and landing gear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, having been born in Vienna in 1941 and grown up in Europe, mostly in Austria, it's comes natural for me to build this full scale replica. People ask me " why " I say " because I want  to - and I can" .  How long will it take? how much will it cost? You never count time or money when it comes to women or airplanes. Period.

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

Mid-April 2014

Just got a few days of good weather and took advantage by bringing the Taube outside and starting the engine up- for the first time since the sixties.

Good news and bad news, good news, it started fine and  runs fine, bad news, it first developed an oil leak from the banjo copper washers at the oil pressure sender. Fixed that, ran two days later, more bad news. Seems that the oil return from the crank case back to the tank is too slow and oil accumulates in the crank case, and eventually comes blowing out the labyrinth seal behind the propeller. Messy at best, unacceptable. Need to find a solution.  

Here are some moving shots first

In the shop

Leaving the shop on temporary dollies

Into the hangar

 
Sunlight-wow
 


Don't forget the Austrian flag

 

Getting ready for engine start

Ready, ready, ready

 

 

 

Start your engines!

First kick

She runs

and runs

But- first oil leak

from oil pressure sender copper gaskets

fix- run again

 

Note the Austrian flag in hangar, a must

 

 

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March 2014

Placards

Been working on the placards , using the old etched brass plate method. I first designed the label using Photoshop, then reverse-imaged them, had them printed on glossy photo paper, then heat -transferred them onto the brass plates. Next, etched them with ferrous chloride, cleaned them, painted them black, and then sanded off the high areas using 400 wet paper on a flat plate. Came out pretty good, considering first time experiment.   

 

Design in Photoshop

Mirror Imaging

 

 

Heat transfer- could be better

 

 

Etch- need to get just the right time

 

 

Clean and paint

 

Wet sand high areas

 

Completed placards- acceptable

 

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March 2014

 

Elevator Bamboo

 

Starting to get the Tonkin Bamboo ready for the tail feathers. Had to buy them in bundles of 50 ( 10ft) and 100 (8ft) from an importer, very hard to find, then pick out the best and straighten them. Some were then joined into the strips connecting to the horizontal stabilizer.    

A bundle of 100 8 footers

Picking the best

Straightened

 

Splicing to HS strips

 the center one on the elevator

Joined to HS

Materials

Completed joints

 

More pictures as of February 13 2014

Oil pickup with check valve and level stick

 

belly shield with louvers and hinged inspection shield

 

 

Inside view with stiffeners

 

Side shield installed

 

Belly shield installed

 

Inspection flap open, can be removed for cooling

 

Propeller temporarily installed

 

 

Prop hub, Oil tank and left shield in place

 

Oil tank, drain and gascolator,

 

 

Front shields and belly pan in place

 

 

 

By the way, we already have over 12 inches of snow on the ground,

so far 40 inches, and now getting another 18 inches.

A very helpful drawing of the D-Taube by Rozendaal 1913