Introduction
As promised I closed the poll once the SiG opened and this kit won. The main reason this kit has me daunted is that I failed to build it once before. For some reason, I could not get the upper wing to sit properly. I spent many hours trying to come up with a way to make a diorama that would show the wing being installed, but couldn't come up with a believable scene. Previously, I chose a more complex paint scheme (which ironically came out great). This time I will go for the classic all red.
Background
Albatros D.V
I have chosen the Albatros D.V for my entry into the WWI Group Build.
The Albatros D.V was manufactured by Albatros-Flugzeugwerke GmbH (Albatros Aircraft Works) and designed by Robert Thelen. The first flight of a D.V was in May of 1917. It was primarily produced for service in the Luftstreitkräfte (which would be known as Luftwaffe in WWII). The D.V was the most widely produced aircraft of the manufacturer. In total, they produced around 10,300 aircraft during WWI of which approximately 2,500 were D.V or D.Va. The company was founded in 1909 and became defunct when it merged with Focke-Wulf in 1931. One interesting thing to note is the future of the Albatros company. Through mergers and acquisitions, the lineage of the modern Airbus company can find a root all the way back to Albatros. Below is a quick graphic that I put together using data I found on Wikipedia. Some of the dates have been rounded a little and not all associated companies are shown (there are a LOT).
The naming of the D.V is compliant with the standard Luftstreitkräfte naming conventions. Other manufacturers such as Fokker and Pfalz used the same designations.
Here is a listing of what they mean (copied from Wikipedia).
Rather than clutter the page with additional information copied/pasted, I will just leave a link to his Wikipedia article.
LINK
I have chosen the Albatros D.V for my entry into the WWI Group Build.
The Albatros D.V was manufactured by Albatros-Flugzeugwerke GmbH (Albatros Aircraft Works) and designed by Robert Thelen. The first flight of a D.V was in May of 1917. It was primarily produced for service in the Luftstreitkräfte (which would be known as Luftwaffe in WWII). The D.V was the most widely produced aircraft of the manufacturer. In total, they produced around 10,300 aircraft during WWI of which approximately 2,500 were D.V or D.Va. The company was founded in 1909 and became defunct when it merged with Focke-Wulf in 1931. One interesting thing to note is the future of the Albatros company. Through mergers and acquisitions, the lineage of the modern Airbus company can find a root all the way back to Albatros. Below is a quick graphic that I put together using data I found on Wikipedia. Some of the dates have been rounded a little and not all associated companies are shown (there are a LOT).
The naming of the D.V is compliant with the standard Luftstreitkräfte naming conventions. Other manufacturers such as Fokker and Pfalz used the same designations.
Here is a listing of what they mean (copied from Wikipedia).
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| A | Unarmed reconnaissance monoplane aircraft (for example the Rumpler Taube and Fokker M.5) |
| B | Unarmed two-seat biplane, with the observer seated in front of the pilot. |
| C | Armed two-seat biplane, with the observer (usually) seated to the rear of the pilot. |
| CL | Light two-seater (primarily from Halberstadt and Hannover), initially intended as escort fighters – by 1917–18, mainly used for ground attack. |
| D | Doppeldecker – single-seat, armed biplane, but later any fighter – for instance the Fokker E.V monoplane was redesignated the D.VIII. |
| Dr | Dreidecker – triplane fighter (twin service test Fokker triplanes initially "F") |
| E | Eindecker – armed monoplane – initially included monoplane two-seaters. New monoplane types at the end of the war designated as "D" (single seat) or "CL" (two seat). |
| G | Grossflugzeug – Large twin-engined types, mainly bombers (initially "K")[8] |
| GL | Lighter, faster twin-engined bombers, intended for use by day. |
| J | Schlachten – Fuel tanks, pilot, and (usually) the engine protected by armour plate, reducing vulnerability to ground fire. Used for low-level work, especially ground attack. |
| N | "C" type aircraft adapted for night bombing – apart from night flying equipment they were fitted with wings of greater span to increase bomb load. |
| R | Riesenflugzeug – "Giant" aircraft – at least three, up to four to six engines – all serviceable in flight. |
It would be difficult to have any discussion of WWI aircraft without mentioning the dawn of the fighter ace. The most prolific being Manfred von Richthofen, more affectionately known as the "Red Baron". He gained his nickname by flying planes painted in red. Many a Sopwith pilot feared seeing a red plane in the sky.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatros_D.V wrote:
Design and development
In April 1917, Albatros received an order from the Idflieg (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen) for an improved version of the D.III. The resulting D.V prototype flew later that month. The D.V closely resembled the D.III and used the same 127 kW (170 hp) Mercedes D.IIIa engine. The most notable difference was a new, fully elliptical cross-section fuselage which was 32 kg (71 lb) lighter than the partially flat-sided fuselage of the earlier D.I through D.III designs. The new elliptical cross-section required an additional longeron on each side of the fuselage and the fin, rudder and tailplane initially remained unchanged from the D.III. The prototype D.V retained the standard rudder of the Johannisthal-built D.III but production examples used the enlarged rudder featured on D.IIIs built by Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW). The D.V also featured a larger spinner and ventral fin.
Compared to the D.III, the upper wing of the D.V was 121 mm (4.75 in) closer to the fuselage, while the lower wings attached to the fuselage without a fairing. The D.V wings were almost identical to those of the standard D.III, which had adopted a sesquiplane wing arrangement broadly similar to the French Nieuport 11. The only significant difference between wings of the D.III and D.V was a revised routing of the aileron cables that placed them entirely within the upper wing. Idflieg conducted structural tests on the fuselage but not the wings of the D.V.
Early examples of the D.V featured a large headrest, which was usually removed in service because it interfered with the pilot's field of view. The headrest was deleted from the second production batch. Aircraft deployed in Palestine used two wing radiators, to cope with the warmer climate.
Idflieg issued production contracts for 200 D.V aircraft in April 1917, followed by additional orders of 400 in May and 300 in July. Initial production of the D.V was exclusively undertaken by the Johannisthal factory, while the Schneidemühl factory produced the D.III through the remainder of 1917.
Operational history
The D.V entered service in May 1917 and structural failures of the lower wing immediately occurred. In 2009, Guttman wrote that "Within the month Idflieg was doing belated stress testing and concluding, to its dismay, that the D V’s sesquiplane wing layout was even more vulnerable than that of its predecessor". The outboard sections of the D.V upper wing also suffered failures, requiring additional wire bracing, and the fuselage sometimes cracked during rough landings.
Against these problems, the D.V offered very little improvement in performance. Front line pilots were considerably dismayed and many preferred the older D.III; Manfred von Richthofen was particularly critical of the new aircraft. In a July 1917 letter, he described the D.V as "so obsolete and so ridiculously inferior to the English that one can't do anything with this aircraft". British tests of a captured D.V revealed that the aircraft was slow to maneuver, heavy on the controls and tiring to fly.
Albatros responded with the D.Va, which featured stronger wing spars, heavier wing ribs and a reinforced fuselage. The modified D.Va was 23 kg (51 lb) heavier than the D.III but the structural problems were not entirely cured. Use of the high-compression 130 kW (180 hp) Mercedes D.IIIaü engine offset the increased weight of the D.Va. The D.Va also reverted to the D.III aileron cable linkage, running outwards through the lower wing, then upwards to the ailerons to provide a more positive control response. The wings of the D.III and D.Va were interchangeable. To further strengthen the wing, the D.Va added a small diagonal brace connecting the forward interplane strut to the leading edge of the lower wing; the brace was also retrofitted to some D.Vs.
Idflieg placed orders for 262 D.Va aircraft in August 1917, followed by orders for another 250 in September and 550 in October. Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke, which had been engaged in production of the D.III, received orders for 600 D.Va aircraft in October. Deliveries of the D.Va commenced in October 1917. The structural problems of the Fokker Dr.I and the mediocre performance of the Pfalz D.III left the Luftstreitkräfte with no alternative to the D.Va until the Fokker D.VII entered service in mid-1918. Production of the D.Va ceased in April 1918. In May 1918, 131 D.V and 928 D.Va aircraft were in service on the Western Front; the numbers declined as the Fokker D.VII and other types replaced the Albatros in the final months of the war. By 31 August, fewer than 400 Albatros fighters of all types remained at the front but they continued in service until the Armistice.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 7.33 m (24 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 9.05 m (29 ft 8 in)
Height: 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 21.2 m2 (228 sq ft)
Empty weight: 687 kg (1,515 lb)
Gross weight: 937 kg (2,066 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Mercedes D.IIIaü piston engine, 150 kW (200 hp)
Propellers: 2-bladed wooden propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 186 km/h (116 mph; 100 kn)
Endurance: 350 km
Service ceiling: 5,700 m (18,700 ft)
Rate of climb: 4.17 m/s (821 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 4 minutes
Armament
Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) LMG 08/15 machine guns
Rather than clutter the page with additional information copied/pasted, I will just leave a link to his Wikipedia article.
LINK
Failed Build
*Assuming I finish this one I will probably still use the base for photographs. I just want to be clear that this was done a while back.
The wood grain, engine, cockpit detail and paint finish is top draw 
