In 1912, Michel Fithian’s grandfather, Robert Eyb, was part of the first group of pilots undergoing training in the newly formed aviation division of the Austrian-Hungarian empire and was flying a newly developed model F “Taube”, designed by Igo Etrich and built by the Lohner Company in Vienna. The military ordered 14 aircraft, which were labelled with names starting with “A” – his was the “ASRA”. Michel is building a full scale replica of that particular airplane, which is seen above performing its first engine test in 2014. He has kindly provided EarlyAero.com with the following update.
The fuselage was completed, engine running and successfully taxied in November 2014. That proved interesting, because turning required maintaining speed in order to keep the tail skid off the ground. Not too fast, not too slow. Brakes are ineffective, as they should be to prevent tip-over. When it came to turning 180 I usually chickened out, but was successful several times. there is a short video link on my blog on that.
Above: I had made all placards, using the brass etching method, in both languages. I never got an answer from the FAA on what language these must be in, so I played it safe. Both.
Above: Getting ready for first taxi November 2014. Final fuselage assembly.
Above: Landing gear in place.
Above: Ready for Taxi runs, November 2014.
Next, starting on the wings proved to be a bigger project than anticipated. That was partly due to the lack good design drawings and the fact that I am incorporating hinges in order to fold the wings to be able to fit the 47 foot airplane into my 41 foot hangar opening. Lots of design work involved. It turns out that the wings have a 5 degree washout. The three spars are two part laminated and tapered and the tips are steamed, bent and laminated. It also contains an endless number of stiffening blocks and platelets, which must be fitted individually. Much time went into these little pieces.
Above: Fabricating the wing tip bows, steamed and laminated.
Above: Completed bows.
Above: Routing the notches into the front spar. These will accommodate the rib strips.
Above: Initial layout of the three spars. Note the washout of 5 degrees. This was one of the hardest and most time consuming stages, since there was really no documentation on it, plans were vague and I had to rely on reverse engineering, mostly off photographs.
Above: The other time consumer was designing and building the wing folding mechanism. The original just had metal straps for transport disassembly.
Above: Rib strips in place.
Above: All the wires, turnbuckles, stiffener blocks and plates, nose stiffener and wing walk frames installed.
This is where it is now, as of December 2015. Not able to go any further in my heated shop, due to its growing size, the wing now gets stored in the hangar, the other wing gets built, eventually all will get completed in the hangar. Shooting for 2016. Still to get built is the supporting bridge spar, which is positioned about three feet below the wing itself.
90 % complete, 90 % to go.
Additional information on Michel’s Taube can be found on his project blog or by contacting him via email.
UPDATE 9/2018:
Michel’s Taube recently performed its first and second flights, which are detailed in the videos below. A pilot report can be also be found in the fall 2018 edition of The Flying Machine journal
(All Photos: Michel Fithian Videos: Michel Fithian)
