2. FI156 Fieseler Storch
“…I have seen one flying against views drawing, buying some from leading edge, the flaps and ailerons
the wind backwards…” the www.bobsairdoc.com website, showing precisely the hinge points,
“…the one of Mr. such and such but among the three or four three in addition to the test results in the
was coming straight down verti- view drawings that I received from wind tunnel.
cally, nose diving, one meter from the USA there were not two alike. I had noticed some intriguing details
the ground and then landed in two I decided to stick to the most of the fuselage steel structure
meter stretch…” realistic one. Still on the internet on which fascinated me. I then began
the site to “nurture” the project.
I had heard many stories on the www.hinkleymall.com/storch.html I was pondering on how to solve
Fieseler Storch, but i had never , i purchased for $ 40 (you don’t this or that detail, trying always to
seen one, other than in world war go broke just gambling) a big book find solutions that were as close as
two old movies or in books and containing more than 200 copies of possible to the original one, but the
magazines. original drawings from the Fieseler picture that kept coming back to
Being a lover of the slow flying , of factory. my mind was the steel structure of
the very slow landings, I got hooked Most of them were elevation views the fuselage. I started to evaluate if
by listening to the many legends of as built details, not too useful it was possible to build the fuse-
about it and became for me impera- for the project, even though inte- lage like the one of the full scale
tive to build one. resting. However were included airplane, some time before I had
I therefore started to get acquain- very precious drawings of the wing found small tubes in stainless steel
ted so as to have a good three original airfoil, with the slats on the in various diameter size , thick only

5. 2,5 tens of millimiter. of Milano (www.castiglioni-tubi.it) . sq.dm of wing area.
After some calculation i was The stuff arrived right before the A true beast! Just for precaution,
amazed: a ¼ scale fuselage over Christmas holidays during which I before moving on, I measured out
2mt. long would have weighted a started to work. the car and calculated that by re-
little over one and half kilogram. I moving the stabilizer probably was
could not believe it. I recalculate but The project going to fit.
the result was the same. So i said I designed the fuselage on the
“same as the full scale or nothing!” After scanning the 3 view drawings computer pointing out precisely
and I decided to start. One hand on i began to simulate variuos scales the welding spots of the structure ,
my hearth and one on the wallet, I on the computer and i decided to marking them with reference to an
ordered over 40mt. of small tubes go with the 1/4 scale. The model horizontal line on the laying plan,
in different sizes,worth about Euro that came out had a wingspan of and a vertical line to the firewall (fig.
300, to the company Castiglioni 354cm, length 242 cm and 175 1)
Fig.1

6. By doing this i realized how fun-
ctional was the original project.
Basically the airplane is built using
straight tubes, often parallel or per-
pendicular with each other, resulting
in an brilliant use of the space and
the structural functionality. Whoever
designed this airplane was endowed
with a great rationality.
I postponed the rest of the project,
until after the construction of the
fuselage. I was not trusting yet
my calculation of the weight and,
mainly, I wanted to touch with hand
the strength of the structure, about
which (considering the estimated
lightness) I had some doubt.
The fuselage became very robust. rything in steel welded, the weight
Basically i had no dead times, the went up to just 1800 grams.
Without any jig o 1/1 scale dra- weldings (see picture above), once I used chromemolibden steel tube
wing to use , i started to weld the i got the hang of it, became easy with different diameters to build the
tubes with each other. It may sound and fast to do. I was feeling a landing gear. I had purchased these
strange, but the structure was special pleasure seeing the silver tubes years ago’ from a vendor of
very simple and , after paying lot alloy flowing through the points of aeronautical materials. It’s the same
of attention to the alignment of the junction. material that is used to build real
first weldings, the work was getting I finished the mainframe in three fuselage, such as the one of the
easier and easier as I was adding days of hard work: the scale tipped Piper Cub.
more tubes and the reference at 1200 grams. After having added I used the same tube for the motor
points were increasing. the shock absorbing landing gear, mount. The landing gear works
It’s incredible how fast is this way the motor mount with a tubes exactly like the real one and fea-
of building. As I was adding the structure too, all the connections, tures a very long stroke, spring
bracing tubes and the secondary the system to adjust the stabilizer loaded and cushioned with cylindri-
spars the fuselage was getting incidence, the shock absorbing tail cal dumpers made of rubber like
more unwarpable and once finished wheel,the opening door, etc., eve- material at the end point. In the

8. end I handed the fuselage to my also the counterweights for the
Fig. 2
friend Perfetto (modeller and car static balance made out of vac-u
body repairer), who sprayed it with formed PVC.
a layer of primer. Looking at it with I built on the ailerons working trims:
that ochre colour looked like the I don’t know if they are beneficial to
fuselage of a real plane. the flight , but they look very good.
The engine cowl is made out of The main spars are made of spruce.
aluminum from lithoplate and the The most difficult part has been
front is in fiberglass stratified into building the slats. Since I wanted
a vac-u formed mould. I often use to match the original contour that
this method to make detailed parts featured extra thin trailing edges,
in fiberglass, it’s pretty quick. After I decided that the best way was
making a wooden mock-up, better to make a die and make them in
fiberglass. Easier said than done. I
built a die in two halves with spars
and negative ribs on which I glued a
1mm bent PVC sheet. (Fig. 2) mad , but strong from the gained
After several wrong shapes re- experience, i did it all over again
sulting in weird agglomeration of and finally i had two slats more than
fiberglass that filled the garbage satisfactory. Who knows, maybe
can, i finally made a decent slat, using this system you can even
but i realized that the profile chosen build wings made out of fiberglass.
was the wrong one! I had mixed up I put two heavy duty servos on each
on the computer using a tempora- side of the wing, one for the flap
ry profile , not the final one…. It and one for the aileron. The wing
happens. After the usual getting is hinged to the fuselage with pins,
if a MDF panel is used (it does not
have veins that would show ), I use
it as a matrix to make a 2mm PVC
vac-u formed front end piece. The
vac-u forming system is the same
used to make the clear canopies. I
then use the PVC piece as a mould
for the fiberglass. You can also
mount on the airplane the PVC
piece, but fiberglass is stronger and
last longer.
The wing
Considering how light the fuselage
was , I did not care too much about
the weight of the wing. The ribs
(fig. 3) are made of 4mm lightened
poplar plywood, drawn on the com-
puter and cut with the CNC Step4
(www.step-four.at) pantograph.
Still with the pantograph I made the
flaps and ailerons hinges with 2mm
fibreglass sheet , these included

10. Fig. 3
and it’s kept in position with two servo connected to a stiff carbon iron and I achieved a flawless glu-
struts made out of 10 mm diameter pushrod which drives a steel levers ing. I did not encounter any problem
aluminum tube, 1mm tick bought at mechanism; the rudder is driven by also because the fuselage of the
the hardware store. The ends are a giant scale servo and a pull-pull Storch is square and very simple.
threaded so that can be adjusted cable system. While I was covering the fuselage
individually to control the aligne- it came to my mind the fuselage of
ment of the wing. The rods tubes a Piper Cub that I had seen being
are covered with balsa aerodynami- restored at an aircraft repair shop…
cally shaped. In the end I covered dimensions aside it was identical.
the rods with a heatshrinkable tube I had more and more the feeling of
(electrical type) which adhered working on a real plane. The canopy
precisely to the contour making it is made of 1mm PVC screwed to
ready for painting. I used the same little plates welded to the fuselage
system for the struts of the landing and the frames are made of alumi-
gear. num attached with 1,5mm rivets. It
makes a great impression. I painted
The Tail surface the airplane with nitro colours paint,
including symbols and writings. At
Also in this case i used poplar the end I sprayed a layer of matt
plywood ribs, but unlikely the wing Fig. 4 clear cote, but first I aged the plane
I used special single spars: I built a rubbing it with extra fine grain san-
die (Fig 4) from aluminum sections dpaper to wear off the paint in the
and I inserted a 10x10mm light points of major wear.
Covering
balsa spar, soaked in an epoxy
resin, covered with a carbon fiber The entire model is covered with
sox. This way you get a very strong Solartex green olive colour, I have
spar, especially resistant to tor- chosen this colour so I was already
sion. This system allows to make getting the interior of the right co-
a warp resistant tail surface. As I lour. I went with the typical method
mentioned, the tail surface inciden- for the wing, while for the fuselage
ce is adjustable on the ground by I tacked the fabric with the heat
means of a screw located under the sealing iron and, after laying a CA
fuselage (picture on the right). The string on the tubes, I wrapped the
elevator is driven by a giant scale fabric around, going over with the

12. The Engine
After I have been looking for an
Enya 240 V, 4 stroke V twin engine,
in vain , it’s not produced for the
moment, I purchased on the internet
(www.laserengines.com) a Laser
300 engine, 90° twin , 4stroke,
50cc.
The Laser engines are used by
many scale modelers among which
we find the world champions Max
Merchenschlager, Pete McDermott After some adjustments, the overall
and Mick Reeves. package was very reliable and the
The Laser 300 seems to be de- sound , especially at the low end, is
signed right for this model: it fits fascinating.
perfectly within the cowl and, The finished model wheighs 11,5
looking from the air intake opening, kilos, the wing load is just 65 gr/
resembles the Argus A10 that was sq.dm.: I could have had my dog
used on the full scale airplane. Pino fly in it, but I could not convin-
I mounted it on the motor mount ce him.
structure making some vibrations Jokes aside, i think this is the
dumpers of rubber compound; I best way of building and the most
also installed an on board battery satisfactory that i have ever used
for the glow plugs. The battery gets in more than thirty years. Of course
activated by the throttle pushrod the cost of the material (tubes, sil-
when the engine is on idle (picture ver welding etc.) is substantial, but
above). I used some stainless steel I think that if I had built a model of
corrugated gas pipe, bought at this size using conventional mate-
the hardware store, to connect the rials it would not have been much
exhausts to the engine heads. cheaper.

14. Many beautiful airplanes have the fu- panick attack, I handed the transmit- reacts to all the controls, to make
selage made with a steel structure ter to him to land the model that it stall you have to really commit
and can be built using this method, was flying great. After that I started yourself.
therefore I believe that soon I will to have fun. The model looks good, Needless to say that with such
have back the welding pipe in my the flight is hundred times better. qualities landings are a breeze,
hand. It takes off in three, four meters, especially when you see the long
goes up like if it’s on a ramp, nose sweet stroke of the shock absor-
The maiden flight unfolded as per diving with the flaps down is very bers on the very tall landing gear
usual routine: shaking knees, loose slow, it’s difficult to believe it’s not that makes the plane look like a big
stomack, imminent heart attack… hanging on to a rope. stork…. maybe not all those that I
luckily Michele (great thumb) was on It’s very controllable at any speed, heard were stories.
the field and so,since I was having a even when it looks almost stand still www.paoloseverin.it