Aerial cable droop in bulged canopy Fockes

[Fernando]

Hallo, gents,

 

I am trying to finish an Eduard 190D-11 (quite a feat, the models looks as if it would detonate itself at any moment) and I was struck by the following puzzle.

 

It is well known that the simplified bulged canopy hood in the 190Ds and Fs lacked the tensors for the aerial wire, that in the A models kept the wire taut even when moving the hood backwards.  Therefore, the wire slackened when the canopy was opened. Aerial wires are universally very hard to catch in the pictures of the era.

 

My question is: how much did the wire actually slackened? the movement of the canopy hood was not great, perhaps less than a meter, maybe around 80 cm. Was that enough to make the wire virtually fall straight to the spine, almost vertically at the fin? Or it did slacken hanging in the air somewhere in between? The famous D-13 "Yellow 10" seems to have the wire virtually fall vertically when the hood is opened, even below the spine, but the spread  distance does not make sense. But then in some pictures the hood is closed and the wire is taut!

 

Any thoughts?

 

FErnando, taking cover at Buenos Aires.

[Alex Gordon]

G'day old fruit,the way I did mine was to fit up the wire with the canopy closed and then slide the canopy back and manipulate the wire to look like it had been taken by gravity.

 

 

It's convincing enough for me.Hope this helps.

[Work In Progress]

This is the correct approach, and dead easy to do. Make your antenna wire the correct length to be taut when closed out of some material that drapes ratehr than trying to remain stiff (I find fine kevlar thread works well, and takes thin CA very nicely for attachment), then position the canopy open and the wire will drape where it should. No great secret magic to it, over-thinking not required.

[Fernando]

7 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

This is the correct approach, and dead easy to do. Make your antenna wire the correct length to be taut when closed out of some material that drapes ratehr than trying to remain stiff (I find fine kevlar thread works well, and takes thin CA very nicely for attachment), then position the canopy open and the wire will drape where it should. No great secret magic to it, over-thinking not required.

That's exactly what I was testing and then to my amazement the slacken was quite reduced, much like in the picture by Alex, while in most 190Ds models I have seen the wire rests squarely on the spine. Even in the famed "Yellow 10", featured in the Squadron Walkaround. That prompted me to ask the readership.

Thank you m8.

 

Fernando

[Tail-Dragon]

Also, don't forget that at the tail, there was a small 'tensioner' spring that was hooked to the tail mast.  As a result, it would hang down sharply when the bulged canopy was open. Also , there was a lead in wire about 2/3 of the way back.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by Tail-Dragon

[Fernando]

Hi, Tail-Dragon,

 

Yep, I was considering that. The lead in would also hang loose, but would for sure drag the wire a bit. The same with the tensioner... cannot hang down more than the general slacken allows. Nice model... one of the many Trimaster moulds iterations?

 

Fernando

Edited July 30, 2020 by Fernando

[Tail-Dragon]

20 hours ago, Fernando said:

Hi, Tail-Dragon,

 

Yep, I was considering that. The lead in would also hang loose, but would for sure drag the wire a bit. The same with the tensioner... cannot hang down more than the general slacken allows. Nice model... one of the many Trimaster moulds iterations?

 

Fernando

Thanks!  It's actually a HobbyBoss D-9.  A pretty good kit that required only a little correcting/detailing.  ( I had posted this one back in 2016 - but it was a victim of PhotoBucket )

Edited July 31, 2020 by Tail-Dragon

[MDriskill]

I used exactly the same "measure off a closed canopy" approach on this 1/72 scale Eduard A-8. I ended up with a similar amount of slack, but might have my lead-in wire a bit too "springy!" 

 

By the way, some late-build 190's, like this JG 1 bird from autumn '44, retained the early-style canopy, but similarly dispensed with the complex tensioning system.

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by MDriskill