Fafnir, Fafnir 2 & Fafnir 2 Sao Paulo Gliders

Czech Master Resin, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

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The famed aerodynamicist Alexander Lippisch, whose flying wing designs was to contribute to the development of the Me 163, designed the Fafnir (Dragon). It was built by the Rhon-Rossitten Gesellschaft (RRG), a glider research group of which Lippisch was the director, for the 1930 Rhoen competitions.

Post-WW1 the trend for ridge soaring had placed and emphasis on slow flying gliders optimised for low sink at low forward speeds, and with high maximum lift-to-drag ratio. The Fafnir introduced a cleaner strutless high mounted wing and more numerous ribs to maintain airfoil section. This section changed through three different profiles root to tip with negative washout towards the tips for better aileron control at low speeds. The Fafnir also introduced much  improved manoeuvrability that benefited both ridge and thermal soaring.

Initially the Fafnir was optimised for a highly skilled young pilot of small stature called Gunther Groenhoff. A close fitting plywood shell enclosed his head in an effort to improve streamlining. He only had a 200-mm open porthole either side for vision. The first flight revealed that buffeting around the wing fuselage join was causing too much drag, and this was quickly improved with the addition of balsa fairings.  Groenhoff set several records and the Fafnir’s shape was to influence glider design into the 1950’s. Unfortunately he was killed when the Fafnir crashed following a downwind take off on a mountain slope in 1932.

The Fafnir was rebuilt as the Fafnir 2, this time with a more roomy and perspex enclosed cockpit. It continued to set records with a new pilot Peter Riedel. Also the famous German aviatrix Hanna Rietsch set a new women’s course record between Darmstadt and Retlingen. The Fafnir 2 then went South America for further competition and record setting. In 1938 it was retired for display in Berlin’s Deutsche Luftfahrtsammlung (German Aeronautical Collection), but was destroyed in 1943 along with many other famous aircraft due to allied bombing

The Fafner 2 Sao Paulo came about following wind tunnel research at Gottingen University by H Muttray. It had been common to mount glider wings high on a pedestal or at least high on the fuselage, because the junction of wing and fuselage creates extra drag and reduces wing lift in that area. However Muttary’s research indicated that a mid-wing position was best, and the fuselage should be shaped to ensure airflow over it conformed to that over the wing as far as possible, and so contribute to lift as well. This new finding was taken into account with the Fafnir 2 Sao Paulo, so named because of some financial support provided to the project by the Brazilian city. Lippisch changed the wing centre section from that of the two previous Fafnirs to be thinner with much less camber. This was because it was realised that cross-country glider needed speed as well as high lift in thermals. It went on to set a World distance record of 375 km.

After the Fafnir series Lippisch returned to flying wing glider design and research.

CMR must be the leading producer of glider kits in 1/72 scale with over 30 military and civilian glider kits currently listed on their website. The three kits reviewed here are re-issues of earlier CMR glider releases. CMR have used the same masters as the earlier kits, but updated the casting technology used to provide parts equal in quality to CMR’s best practice, along with new packaging and decals etc.

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Each kit comes in a sturdy top-opening box, and all parts are in heat sealed plastic bags. Scale plans rather than assembly diagrams are provided due to the simplicity of the kits and their low parts count.

The airframe should be a breeze to build due to the handful of parts and minimal clean up required. I have found with CMR glider kits of this size that no wing-root reinforcement is needed, but some may wish to play it safe and add some. Reference to the plans and possibly simple jigs is a good idea to ensure that the correct dihedral is obtained.

In each case the decal options are restricted to registration numbers and Nazi swastikas.  

These are very simple kits and quick to complete. They are interesting for their link to the early days of Alexander Lippisch and all that his insightful research was to contribute to the early jet age.

Recommended.

Thanks to Czech Master Resin for this review sample.

CMR Models are available online from Hannants in the UK,
Red Roo Models in Australia and quality specialist model retailers worldwide.

Text Copyright © 2010 by Mark Davies
This Page Created on 20 April, 2010
Last updated 20 April, 2010

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