First ww1 airplanes - any issues? (1 Viewer)

[45thdiv]

Well, my cats got into a bit of an argument and the fur went flying and they chased each other across my wife’s airfield of John’s early production of planes. Sad to say two DR 1 (?) triplanes we’re grounded. The green one with “KEMPF” on the top wing only lost a wheel and the skid on left side. The black one with the image of someone blowing a cloud lost the landing gear, top wing and cowling.

They were repaired and retired to service.

What I am wondering is that first Spad (?) silver one. I glanced at it and noticed the strings on the wings wer all loose. Like they popped off. I have no idea if this was done by the cats or if they just came loose. The distance of the line Mets up to the old attachment locations, which is why I think that maybe they just popped off.

Thanks.

Matthew

 

[ivanmoe]

What I am wondering is that first Spad (?) silver one. I glanced at it and noticed the strings on the wings wer all loose. Like they popped off. I have no idea if this was done by the cats or if they just came loose. The distance of the line Mets up to the old attachment locations, which is why I think that maybe they just popped off.

Matthew, I’m sorry to hear about the tripes. The Kempf model, in particular, is HTF, having sold out in 2012.

I own a considerable number of Jenkins’ bipes. I’ve only seen a loose wire on two of them, and both were loose when I received the model. Aikens agreed to a return on the first, but I got adventurous and reattached it with CA glue and some tweezers. The second was an F4B-4 that I returned for a replacement. Because of these experiences, I encourage collectors to examine models upon receipt.{sm0}

All in all, I’ve found Jenkins QA to be quite good. Buyers can rest assured that JJD stands behind its work.

-Moe

 

[45thdiv]

I am not stating that John’s QA is not good. I find it to be fantastic. I was just wondering if others had planes that the strings detached while sitting on shelves.

Thanks,

Matthew

 

[lancer]

Hi Matthew,
I've had no such problems. Are you sure of the ID of the aircraft with loose wires? JJD has done 4 Spads, none of which are silver. There are 2 camo finishes (Rickenbacker and Luke) and 2 French Spads, one in overall tan, and one with a red fuselage. There are 2 Nieuport 17's done in silver, Bishop and Nungessor. Their wiring is a lot less complicated than the Spad. At any rate, I have had no problems with either type.
Sorry to hear about the casualties. As Moe said, the Kempf tripe, in particular, is a real beauty and hard to find. I still think it is the best Tripe JJD has done. -- Al

 

[ccdc11]

I would think it had to be the cats. I have all the DR1s and have not had any loose wires. Doesn't mean it couldn't happen but I would think you would have noticed some looseness before they all came loose at once.

 

[45thdiv]

Hi Al,

You are correct, it is a Newport. I am sorry to say that my memory for the plane types is very poor.

That you all for the comments. I am sure is the cats. We shall now name them Wreck-her and Wreck-him. {sm4}

I was able to get the string reattached.

 

[Combat]

Well, my cats got into a bit of an argument and the fur went flying and they chased each other across my wife’s airfield of John’s early production of planes. Sad to say two DR 1 (?) triplanes we’re grounded. The green one with “KEMPF” on the top wing only lost a wheel and the skid on left side. The black one with the image of someone blowing a cloud lost the landing gear, top wing and cowling.

They were repaired and retired to service.

What I am wondering is that first Spad (?) silver one. I glanced at it and noticed the strings on the wings wer all loose. Like they popped off. I have no idea if this was done by the cats or if they just came loose. The distance of the line Mets up to the old attachment locations, which is why I think that maybe they just popped off.

Thanks.

Matthew

On the upside, your cat is only a couple of kills away from being an ace. That is the collector's curse in any hobby. Acquiring all these great items but then having to worry about them. Thoreau likely had some point about worldly possessions being a burden. But they are a lot of fun.

 

[lancer]

On the upside, your cat is only a couple of kills away from being an ace. That is the collector's curse in any hobby. Acquiring all these great items but then having to worry about them. Thoreau likely had some point about worldly possessions being a burden. But they are a lot of fun.

I'm willing to bet my JJD collection that Thoreau never collected TS. I can't therefore take him seriously. -- Al

 

[Hatman]

Hi Guys,
This happened to me on one of the Camels. Fortunately, I was able to fix it. I used a pin-vice and a very small drill bit, available at Michael's or some other arts & crafts store. You may want to bring the plane with you to the store to get the right sized bit.
I carefully drilled out the holes where they were connected to, on the fuselage and wing. This may be a slow process, since you're doing everything by hand but the end result is well worth it.
Then I used fishing line, matched to the size of the existing rigging. I cut a slightly longer piece than I need, then I used a tooth pick with a small dab of super glue on each hole and feed the ends of the of the fishing line into the holes. I used tweezers to do this. You don't want to make the new line too big though.
Anyway, about a hour or so later, use a heat blower gun or borrow the hair dryer from the wife, (mine gave me a peculiar look when I asked for it) and carefully use it to heat and shrink the fishing line for the final fit. Be very careful not to get the heat too close or it may snap the line again or worse yet, break another line on the rigging! Start far away and gradually move the heat source closer. I hope this helps.

 

[45thdiv]

I have to laugh at myself. When I first read your post I thought you were talking about one of the camels in the Sudan range and I thought, "How does this relate to my bi-plane issue?" Then it became clear as I kept reading. I think I need more coffee.

Thank you for the advice. I have just one more to fix. It is stubborn. I think there is a small piece of the wire in the hole still. I'll get out my pin vice.

Matthew