Ernst at the Schneider Cup

[Dr. YoKai]

 With prospects for design work being slim for a German engineer after the war, Ernst Heinkel decided to try for a bit of international recognition
 by attempting to enter the Schneider race in 1920. Naturally, there was precious little funding forthcoming from the State, but Heinkel managed to
 secure a badly damaged W. 29, and set to work with a small crew in an abandoned fish processing plant in Glückstadt on the Elbe. Using a
 modified Basse und Selve BuS IV, the wings were radically shortened, the Tail plane reduced in chord, and the float configuration altered to
 a taller, slimmer single in line float with two smaller outriggers.

 More backstory when I get a little further along with the build.

 This is a project i have had in mind for a few years now - a racer version of the Hansa-Brandenberg W. 29. When I was getting into
 WW 1 models around the time of the Centennial, I would up with three kits of the aircraft from three different manufacturers. I had had
 the very rough Meikraft kit for ages, and added a Pegasus and Toko to the stash. The first and last became landplanes, and I forgot about
 the Pegasus kit until I was looking for something else and stumbled across the remains of it in the stash. The conversion will involve
 a bit more reshaping the fuselage to turn it into a single seater, but I managed to get a float into the shape I wanted with a minimum of effort.
 Should come together over the next couple of days.
 DSCF0568 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

 There are probably easier ways to build a thinner float, but this worked...
 DSCF0572 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr
 
 



 

[Dr. YoKai]

 Couple of days ago - I have been sidetracked adding a small loft to the workshed.
DSCF0578 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

In between, I finished the wing floats and struts, but need to rig the posts before I attach them. Thinking about an overall
yellow, or yellow/something scheme. No national insignia - not sure about codes.

DSCF0576 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

I wanted to use as many Heinkel spares as I could, and originally the wing struts were from a Hasegawa He 51, but they proved too short, so
I went with struts from an Airfix Ford trimotor. The prop was cut down from a Revell He 219.

DSCF0577 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

[ericr]

lovely floatplane

 

[robunos]

Looking good . . . regarding markings, at the least, a Race Number, either black or white, judging by the images I've looked at, to contrast with your chosen colour scheme, and maybe black/white/red rudder stripes.


cheers,
Robin.

[Dr. YoKai]

 Thanks for the replies. A little more looking showed me that most of the Racers sported only a racing number, and sometimes a small national insignia, so I think that's covered. May try and paint today - she's ready enough with the wing floats and rigging done.
DSCF0581 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

DSCF0584 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

[Frank3k]

It's looking good - the floats and rigging look great.

[Buzzbomb]

That is moving along very well

[apophenia]

It is. And that is one heck of a transformation - from ugly cynet to fetching duckling 

[Dr. YoKai]

  Handily out pacing its biplane Italian rival, even with substantially less horsepower, the Gelbe Möwe ('Yellow Gull') would be the first of two
victories for the Germans in the competition, before the trophy finally went to the Cuban team in 1956. (Batista's spending on the project would be
one of the final triggers for the 1957 Revolution.) Heinkel surprisingly lost interest in racing shortly after the 1920 triumph as a result of a chance
meeting with Marcel Duchamp in a Dusseldorf cafe, and if his early career in aviation is forgotten, his Moog offending a Starbase* remains one off the great classics of Neo-Dadaist art.

And here she is - I'll post to the finished forum in a bit.
DSCF0607 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

[ericr]

a very smart floatplane !

[GTX_Admin]