A totally unofficial translation of the Falke Build Instructions The Falke (falcon) mini DLG is produced and marketed by Modellbau Thiele, Germany (www.modellbau-thiele.de), email webmaster@modellbau-thiele.de. There is a fantastic build thread on RC Groups initiated by Mickey (mnowell129) with lots of details be sure to check it out: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2789554-building-falke There was a request for something better than a google translation of the German building instructions. Here it is. This translation is neither endorsed nor approved by Modellbau Thiele. It includes commentary, notes and tips (for beginners) not included in the original instructions. The size of some photos was reduced refer to the original instructions for larger sized photos. There are plans showing details of the fuselage and wing construction attached to post 37 in the thread. The captions state that the fuselage plan does not show the top or left side and (in the wing plan) that the launch blade components go on the left wing. If you have any corrections or suggestions, send a PM to Aggertroll here on RC Groups. Here goes. Congratulations on getting a Falke! Despite its simplicity (and very attractive price), the Falke is a proven design that will perform very well. It is easy to build and does not require an exact to scale plan. The two PDFs, one for the wing and one for the fuselage, show all relevant details. Some of the parts included in the kit are slightly oversize and need to be cut or sanded to size. Also, the thickness of individual balsa sheets can vary. This can mean that the ribs won t quite fit into their slots in the D box or trailing edge. A few soft strokes with a sanding block will easily fix that. Tip: Always use a sanding block. Sanding by hand creates all kinds of unwanted waves and such. Any nice square block of wood will do. Glue 80 grid sandpaper to one side for the rough stuff and 180 or 240 to the other. Btw: Any reference to left or right assumes you are looking at the plane from the back in the direction of flight (I am sure there is an easier way to say this). Also, these instructions assume you are right handed. If you are left handed, the launch blade, servo bay, rudder profile, bevel and horn go on the other side. OK, let s get going.
The rudder Cut out the vertical stabilizer/rudder. The larger part of the fin is the top. Round off the leading edge and sand the left side to a profile. Little marks show where you place the cut to separate the rudder from the fin. A straightedge and sharp blade come in handy. Bevel the leading edge of the rudder so that the bevel is on the right. Cover fin and rudder with the covering of you choice make it light. Hinge the rudder to the stabilizer with tape. The elevator Cut out the horizontal stabilizer/elevator same as above. Note what is top and what is bottom: The slot for the horn is on the right (so the picture shows the elevator from the bottom, no?) Round off the leading edge and give the top a nice profile. Cut off the elevator see the little marks and bevel the leading edge so the gap faces down. Cover both and tape hinge on top. Now it s time to strengthen the center. Give the fiberglass surfaces a rough sanding to assure a good bond. Start with the top: Glue the fiberglass reinforcement (H3) onto the stabilizer (H1) and drill the holes into the reinforcement; now add the second reinforcement on the bottom and drill the holes all the way through. Use H1 parts to strengthen the elevator.
The wing OK, ready to start the wing. You don t need to build on a plan (there is none) but it s a good idea to build on a straight and even building board. The cut-outs assure that ribs, D box and trailing edge will be nicely aligned. Note that slightly heavier balsa is used for the right D box to counterbalance the extra weight of the launch blade and its patches on the left. Number the ribs according to the picture on the right, cut them out and gently sand any tabs left standing. (Note that these numbers are just for your orientation they are not identical to the part numbers specified in the plan.) Now glue together the two ribs no. 1 (F3) to make an extra thick root rib. Cut the trailing edge as illustrated this is where the curved tip piece will go. Join D box, tip piece and trailing edge as shown in this photo.
Insert the ribs sand down thickness as needed to fit into the slots nice and snug and fix with a drop of CA or your favorite glue. Test fit the gussets (F14 and F15), sand as needed and glue them into their corners. Time to sand away everything that doesn t belong. Raising the wing tips 75mm gives you the correct dihedral. Prop up each wing individually and use your square sanding block on a flat surface to sand the root rib to the correct angle. Once you have a nice fit you can join the wings. Tip: It s a good idea to make sure that the wing halves are aligned well with both sides propped up evenly and the center nice and flat on a straight building board.
Once the join is dried it s time to add the fiberglass patches. Scuff up all surfaces to be glued to assure a good bond. F17 goes front top, F16 front bottom. The two F18 s go on top and bottom of the trailing edge. F19 goes on the bottom and F20 on the top of the left wing tip where the throwing blade will go. Mark and drill the holes for the wing bolts with a 4 mm drill. (I guess you use the fuselage center piece as a guide.) Sand the edges of the launch blade, cut an opening into the patch on the left wing tip, test fit the blade but do no glue it yet. Tip: You want to invest some TLC into sanding and positioning the launch blade. A dremel sanding tool comes in handy. Make sure that the blade fits your fingers comfortably. Make the hole in the wing as tight fitting as you can a loose fit will require more glue = more weight. You want the blade to be vertical when your plane is in normal flight, i.e. the blade is not perpendicular to the wing. And you might want the back of the blade to point inward just a hair for a better grip. But, like it says above: Test fit now, glue in later. Your wing is now ready to be covered.
Ze Fuze Glue the two pine fuselage sides (R2) to the main fuselage body (R1). Note that the sides extend 30mm past the fuselage center piece in the back. Glue the servo tray into the cut out in the R1 center piece. If you are right handed, the servo tray goes on the right side and vice versa.
Note that these pictures show the fuselage bottom. Close the gap on the opposite side with some scrap balsa. Cut out the pod side walls (R4 and R5) and sand off any tabs. Mickey noted: Look at the build thread for notes on the fuse. Note that the sides are not exactly symmetrical and the nose ends up with a small droop, so mark them with the dot as shown in this picture. The dotted sides are the INSIDES, the one with the ply is the right.
Glue the pod sides in place as shown below. Glue in formers front (R6) and back (R7). Close the bottom of the pod with part R8. Now its time to fix that ugly step between the pod and the boom.
Join (glue) the two blocks R9 to get a filler block measuring 20x14x70mm. Sand this filler block as shown in the photo to create a smooth transition from the pod to the boom on the bottom. Glue in place.
Taper the top back pod cover R10 for a smooth transition to the boom and glue in place. Glue in the front pod cover leaving a hatch opening of 51mm. Now its time to close the hatch. Dry fit /sand the hatch cover for a nice (not tight) fit and glue the plywood part R13 to the cover as shown the side with the cut is flush with the back side, the other side creates a lip.
Tip: You might want to use a pair of tiny neodym magnets instead of the latch to hold the back of the hatch down. To build the latch, cut a slot for the latch into the balsa as shown on the above right. The piece of PVC tubing (R14) acts as a sleeve. Bend wire R14 to make the latch, insert the latch into the sleeve and glue the sleeve into the slot in the plywood. Sand the front of the pod flush with the front former (left). Make nose out of 10mm balsa and glue the block to the front of the pod (right). Mickey noted: I suggest you tack glue the nose block, then sand to shape, then pop it off and hollow it out for nose weight. Once it s hollowed out, reinforce the inside with white glue or something to toughen it up. Sand off everything that doesn t belong for a nice smooth fuselage.
Next, let s do the wing mount real quick. First, glue the wing saddle R17 in place (left) and add balsa scraps front and rear (right) for a good seating of the wing. Next, insert the blind nuts from the bottom and secure with glue. Make sure the teeth dig into the balsa and not into the pine fuselage sides. One last step before set-up: Drill 4mm holes for the horizontal stab support as marked on the fuselage bottom. OK, that s most of the building competed. Give the fuselage a thin coat of acrylic paint or dope to close the pores / protect the wood.
Final assembly Please make sure you remove any covering or paint etc. wherever something is glued and scuff smooth surfaces like control horns to assure good bond. Bend the torsion springs to the required shape like so: Cut the piano wire E1 into 4 pieces of 40mm each. Note that you will make two left and two right springs; the photo on the bottom right shows one of each. Bend the two ends at right angles like shown creating a center section of about 25mm; cut the ends to 8mm. Fold the elevator up at a right angle. Push the ends of one left and one right spring into the fin and control surface nice and level so the spring deflects the elevator to the up position. The string will pull it down. Do the same for the rudder, folding to the left, inserting the two springs. The string will pull rudder to the right. Glue the control horns into to the slots on the elevator (pointing down) and rudder (right side). The holes of the control horns should be in line with the hinge.
Now it s time to attach the tail feathers. Glue the beech wood dowels E3 and E4 into the holes in the boom as posts for the horizontal stabilizer. Note that the front dowel is about 1mm shorter than the back. Cut the M4 bolt E8 to leave a thread of 10mm. This is the rear wing bolt. Mount the wing. The plywood templates E9 are used to assure the correct incidence angle for the horizontal stabilizer. Align the templates under the stabilizer so that the trailing edge rests against the little tabs. Make sure the templates are equidistant from the boom/posts. Weigh down the elevator to prevent it from being pushed up by the springs. Only the back of the boom (not the pod and not the blind nuts) should lie flat on the table. Align the stabilizer with the wing and perpendicular to fuse centerline. Glue in place. Mickey noted: I made the stab level with the airfoil on the bottom, and the elevator trim is basically flat.
Insert the vertical stabilizer into the gap between the fuselage sides sand the gap as needed for a good fit align and glue in place. (Larger half of the fin is top, control horn goes on the right.) Insert the launch blade into the left wing tip, check for good fit one more time and glue (epoxy) in place. Glue the pull string guides to the right side of the fuse, one near the front wing bolt and the other near the front elevator post.
Mount the servos (make sure the control horns are centered and all trims neutral). The center tabs overlap and are held down by one screw. Run the strings starting from the control surface. Slip a crimp onto the pull string, insert string through control horn and back into crimp squeeeze. Tip: You might want to bend a piece of piano wire into a little z-bend with an eye and crimp the string to that. This lets you unlatch the string comes in handy if you want to replace springs, try a different hole in the control horn or repair something on the control surfaces. On the servo side feed the string through the outer hole and back into the center hole. Add the washer E10 when attaching the horn to the servo. Tighten the string until your control surface is neutral. Wrap the string 1-2 times around the screw under the washer and tighten. (Make sure the servo is in the neutral position.) Run the antenna outside the pod/boom. Adjust CG to be 65mm behind leading edge. The build instructions conclude with some advice on how to trim and launch a DLG nothing specific to the Falke. Have fun building have fun flying many happy thermals. The Falke is brought to you by Modellbau Claus Thiele Oberer Mühlgraben 8 01936 Grossnaundorf Germany