|
Fieseler
Fi 156 (Storch) Background
On
April 25th 1945, Hanna Reitsch and General Ritter Von Greim
flew into Berlin and landed on the East-West axis near the
Brandenburg Gate, there being nowhere else to land. Von Greim,
who had been summoned by Hitler to accept appointment as
Goering's successor, had been wounded in the foot, and all
hell was being let loose by the approaching Russian
forces. Hanna Reitsch flew and landed the aircraft
amongst all the rubble and shelI-holes, and finally got Von
Greim to the relative safety
of
the Fuhrer's bunker. The aircraft flown by Hanna Reitsch
on this amazing mission was a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch
C-2. This is only part of a fascinating story, which
gave rise to the later (and false) rumour that
Hanna
Reitsch then flew Hitler out of Berlin.
The
Model
The
Fieseler Storch project came out of research for the Fw 190
(previous project) and also out of a conversation with Dave
Camp about slope soaring when the lift is marginal. I
thought I could keep the structure of
the
Storch very Iight and use it as a 'floater', but the
complexity of the structure has made it much heavier than
planned.
This
was the first model that I have built without drawing a plan
before commencing work. I used original scale drawings,
my own photos, video and measurements, and began work.
All work is conventional builtup structure, initially
covered in Litespan, hand painted and detailed with
acrylics. Problems were resolved as I came to them, and
easement in scale dimensions was allowed to creep in as I saw
fit. The structure, however, is as true to the original
as possible. The canopy area is hugely complex, and my
guess was that it wouldn't stand much knocking about. (I
found later that it would take much more than I
expected.) The undercarriage doesn't function either,
but it looks right.
The
paint finish and detailing is once again a challenge, but my
great interest. I have not yet found the supreme
covering material which will take my mixed media technique,
though I expect it will be some form of paper or fabric.
My excursion into Litespan seemed to be a breakthrough, but
turned sour as even the slightest sunshine will slacken the
film, making a mess of the whole thing. I chose Litespan
because it is so good to paint over, and every millimetre of
the Storch is hand painted. I have since stripped the
whole structure and covered with tissue, dope and acrylic
paints. Tissue adds strength, it is great to paint on,
it is cheap, and it looks scale. But, it punctures so
easily. I have heard of a tissue which contains a fibre
of kevlar (and is of course very strong). But what is
it?
|
Fieseler
Fi 156 Storch details.
Length
52"
Span
82"
Chord
9/2"
Section
RSG 29
Rudder,
Elevator, Ailerons, Flaps and Slats (fixed).
All
Up Weight 5lbs approx. Loading 16ozs per sq.ft.
The
prop is freewheeling and doesn't seem to add much drag |
|
Does
it fly?
The
first flight took place in very
light
conditions and others present were not surprised that the
Storch descended ungracefully to the bottom of the local
slope, not really flying at all. I was sure that Dave
Camp was right when he recommended that the incidences be
checked carefully. I did later, and reluctantly, pulled
apart the whole tail area and re-jigged the
stabiliser/elevator assembly. I must say it looked
better when I had finished and I was quite optimistic when we
went again to the slope the following Sunday.
A
few rigging problems with the Storch delayed my launch until
the breeze was increasing beyond comfort for me.
However, Dave Camp (Iaunchmaster general) gave me the heave
and off she went. The Storch went out from the slope
about 30 feet and upward about the same distance. Then
it just stopped. It stopped and
sat
there, almost buzzard fashion. Folk were able to walk
underneath and take photos of a stationary model in flight, a
kite with no string(?).
Anyway,
although this created a great deal of laughter and banter, it
really wouldn't do, would it? The model gradually
descended and sat on the front edge of the slope. The
second attempt had a similar outcome, though the landing was a
controlled crash really.
Some
discussion followed, and I must admit that the slats had been
a mystery to me. They looked to me as though they could
be acting as spanwide airbrakes. So, without ceremony,
I cut them off. (All that painstaking work with the
details-gone!) By now the wind was no longer a breeze
and it probably wasn't the right thing to do to try another
launch, but we did. Yes, the model just went up and
away, trims all over the place, but it now flies like a
Storch, slows down and lands like a Storch. So there you
are. Don't use fixed slats without power; they work as
brakes.
This
project has probably been a `bridge too far' for accurate
scale modelling, and maybe not a subject that I would
recommend for PSS, unless your favourite time is spent in the
workshop. The `glasshouse' canopy area is complicated
indeed, and it involves wing joiners, struts and undercarriage
mechanisms, all in one, oh yes..
.
All my scale PSS projects
have taken over 12 months to fulfill, and for me, it has to
look absolutely right at the end of the process. It also
has to fly right! After my earlier projects with
Blackburn Firebrand and Fw 190, I
began
to feel that any subject will work if you are careful with
tail weight etc. Now, I'm not convinced that anything is
possible, and in a way, that is good - the challenge is still
there!
Martin
Hursthouse.
<Back>
|
