Albatros D.III
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This project is a FunAero Albatros D.III Its an approx. 1/6 scale, 65" span, scale model of the Albatros D.III biplane fighter of WWI. The original aircraft was was the backbone of the German Imperial Air Service during 1917 and was the plane in which the Red Baron Manfred Von Richthofen made most of his 80 kills.

Its my first scale effort and I am hoping to enter it in Fun Scale at our local Scale Masters qualifier. The build presents some interesting challenges with lots of compund curves and a fully sheeted fuselage. Also, most of the originals had a plain varnished plywood fuselage so I am investigating ways to reproduce that in balsa without loosing durability.

Specs of the original: 
Manufacturer: Albatros Werke GmbH
Year: 1917
Engine: Mercedes D IIIa 6 cylinder inline, 175 hp
Span: 29 ft 8.25 in 
Length: 24 ft 1/2 in 
Height: 9 ft 9.25 in 
Weight: 1,945 lb
Max Speed: 109 mph at 3,281 ft 
Ceiling: 18,044 ft 
Endurance: 2 hrs
Crew: 1
Armament: 2 Spandau 7.92mm machine guns











This kit is approximately 1/6 scale at:

Span: 65 in 
Length: 48.5 in 
Weight: 10-11 lb
Engine: Saito .91 4 stroke







Im thinking of doing the finish in this scheme from an unknown pilot in Richthofen's Jasta 11. 
Its a bit of a challenge with all the plain finished wood and sparse documentation of the original,
but I like it because it uses red (which is my signature color) but is not the Red Baron scheme so 
common with WWI builders.  










Jeremy Harkin ©2004

jeremy_harkin@yahoo.com