Diamond shape stiffeners on Albatros DV/DVa

sbuss · 2 May 2013, 12:56 PM

Friends,

some photos show diamond shaped whatevers directly ahead of the tailplane on ALbatros DV and/or DVa. I assume those are some kind of stiffeners. What were those made from? Wood or metal?

Kind regards,
Stefan

'14-'18aviationcollector · 2 May 2013, 02:08 PM

Hi Stefan,

They're plywood stiffeners, and are attached directly to the frame. The plywood skin is then attached over the stiffeners, so that in this area, as well as the lower fin there is a double skin for extra strength. Various sources indicate different thicknesses for the skin, so there seems to be some confusion about the actual thickness used. There are many other such uncertain specifications relating to the Albatros, and indeed many other WW1 aeroplanes.

Regards,

David.

sbuss · 2 May 2013, 11:12 PM

Thank you very much for your response. I had always assumed those stiffeners where added from the outside.

Stefan

'14-'18aviationcollector · 3 May 2013, 02:54 AM

You're very welcome Stefan!

I was talking to Chris Shepherd about these stiffeners. Chris is building a magnificent replica of a D.Va here in Australia. He is a member here, so if he sees this thread we might be able to ask him to post some photos of this area if you're interested. I saw his Albatros when he had covered one side only, and if I am not mistaken, the port side had the stiffeners attached and exposed. I was very surprised to hear Chris tell me that the stiffeners were not even checked into the longerons and formers, as I would have expected them to have been. He said that he had photographic evidence of this. It's a perfect example illustrating the fact that in some respects these aeroplanes were works of art, and in other respects they were quite roughly constructed.

Regards,

David.