Official Nexa 1630mm Junkers JU-52 Transport (Balsa ARF) Discussion Thread

[Rmawer]

10x6x3 props. Very interesting. You'll have plenty of power. Take good video. :-)

I hope so! Will do one final check before maiden

[airotroy]

Any ideas on my gear strut and if you had issues .... Thanks

[airotroy]

I hope so! Will do one final check before maiden

Hows it going and any videos yet ? I'm still stuck on this alum tube strut not wanting to align when connected at both ends. Will require bending at the flat end and I hate doing that with what might weaken at that point .

[Oxotnik]

Before I reattached the canopy, I snapped a photo of Fritz und Heinz. Fritz, the piloten, originally commanded a Tiger II before joining the Luftwaffe. He was allowed to continue to wear his Tank Commander uniform. Copiloten Heinz originally served in a Ju-87, before being reassigned to the right seat of the Ju-52. He doesn’t look too happy about the reassignment.

[Oxotnik]

I've finally got my replacement Splinter Camo Ju-52 assembled and balanced. I'd mentioned it on the last page, and everyone flying an ARF should know it, but be sure to balance you ready-to-fly Ju-52 before flight. I ended up adding another micro servo under the horizon stab, so that both halves of the elevator are controlled by a dedicated servo (I hated the U-bend piano wire for attaching the two elevator halves, on my first Ju); so, another 12g of tail weight. I ended up need 4.5oz of lead on the Center Firewall to pull the CG up to the center of the recommended CG band. Anyway, just a public service announcement... :-)

Oh, just thought of one other thing, relative to adding a second elevator servo... The rudder and one of the elevator servos will be on the same side and the control arms and push rods get really close together. I had to make a big S Bend in the Rudder Pushrod, to avoid the elevator pushrodd and control horn on that same side. Initially, I was a bit worried that the S Bend may flex around those bends, but the push rod is plenty thick enough that the rudder forces aren't going to deform that pushrod at those bends.

[Oxotnik]

Maidened my replacement Tante Ju today, plus 3 or 4 flights. This was the last Ju-52 flight today. I figured out why I'd been having so much trouble with the takeoff runs. I'd been letting the tail rise too early. I kept the tail planted while she gained a little more speed, and when I did allow her tail to slowly rise, she was rock steady!!! Now, I'll have to stop calling her my Bad JuJu-52. :-)

[Twowingtj]

Oxotnik Congrats on success with the new Ju. Take off roll looked much more tame.

[david_clacher@yahoo.com]

The motors listed for yhe JU52 will work with some modification. I pressed out the shaft-swapped front and rear housings so I can now mount the metal engine plate. the shaft C-clip grove is still on the prop side. All thats required now is secure the rear bearing as it is not a snug fit and could back out. My oakie college degree let me use (carefully) epoxy around the outer race to secure the rear bearing. Ta-Da works rather nicely. Dont laugh-I have done worse to get a plane going.

[JayDog]

I'm sorry it took so long to reply, work has kept me busy. Oxotnik and Alfa asked for some information with regard my time with this aircraft. Here you go, hope it's not boring.

I’d be happy to share some of the memories of the preparation. I wouldn’t call it a restoration, although Iron Annie needed some mechanical attention and modifications for her long journey, she was in airworthy condition when I first saw her. She needed to be prepared for a long flight from Opa-locka Florida to Germany. Please keep in mind this aircraft was manufactured in 1936, she is now 84 years old. My time with her was short and to focus just on that would not do justice to such an interesting aircraft. Therefore, I would like to provide some information regarding her long history, something I hope you all can enjoy. I will then share some information about the redelivery to Germany. D-AQUI was manufactured in 1936 in Dessau Germany and sold to Norwegian DNL Airlines, now SAS. For five years she flew for DNL landing on both wheels and floats. She became a spoil of World War II and was taken by Hitler’s Germany. She served, among other duties as a combat transport. After the war she was returned to DNL, she was rebuilt and flown until 1956. At which time she was sold with the intention to transport to South America by cargo ship. During the transfer to the ship she sank on her floats in the harbor. She was raised and again rebuilt as needed. She was delivered to Ecuador in 1957 and served in many difficult operations, some may not have been quite on the level as she was reported to have bullet holes that did not come from any war in Europe. Because of poor maintenance, lack of parts and harsh conditions in the mountainous jungles of South America she was “abandoned” and left to rot on the side of a runway at Quito airport in Ecuador until 1970. She was again “restored” but just enough to get a ferry permit to fly to the US and into Sterling Illinois. At this time individuals and groups, such as the Confederate Air force and Valiant Air Command, were looking for war birds. The intention of her new owner was to sell her to a warbird enthusiast at a profit. But because of the required maintenance and the fact that she could not be certified to carry passengers, there were no manuals therefore she was certified as experimental, the sale never occurred. She again languished with very little maintenance and changed ownership a few more times until 1975. In 1975 she was purchased by Martin Caidin for $150,000. She was christened as “Iron Annie”, registered as N52JU. Under Caidens ownership she final get the restoration she deserved. He flew her at airshows until it was sold to Lufthansa in December 1984. That’s when I first saw her. As I said she was quite airworthy but need some prep and modifications before being flown to Hamburg via Greenland, Iceland, and England. We gave her a thorough inspection and replaced several items such as tires, brakes, mags, hoses… But the biggest modification was the installation fuel tanks in the cabin which were needed for the long flight legs. Large aluminum tanks were fabricated and secured in the cabin as close to the CG as we could. The tanks were plumbed with pumps to transfer the fuel to the wing tanks. This was to be a manual transfer. When the wing tanks became low or unbalanced fuel was transferred. Unfortunately, I did not make the trip to Hamburg, I stayed back to support any issues that might occur. But I did fly in her several times as we prepared for the trip. Flying in her was an amazing experience. I have been in many aircraft over my 40+ year career and have forgotten most. But Iron Annie will stick with me always. During the trip we did have one major setback, one of the jugs on the #2 engine failed in Greenland so we had sent a new one with piston, rings… for replacement. Other then that the trip was a success. Once in Hamburg the Lufthansa restoration took about a year. The official registration on the tail is D-CDLH and was re-christened as Tempelhof. The old registration D-AQUI is painted on the wings.

[Twowingtj]

JayDog Great bit of history. Must be a joy being part of it.

[JayDog]

Flew my JU52 this past weekend. For the most part it flew very nice. Take off, landings and level flight were near perfect. I did encounter a couple of tip stalls that got my attention. The pattern was left turns and a couple of times the left wing suddenly dropped and the aircraft began a spin. I was able to recover both times but still unsure why it happened. I circled in the pattern probably 10 times and it did not happen all the time. Has anyone else encounter this? The CG is spot on per the manual. The flight control travel is also per the manual. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I love the plane but am afraid to fly a lower pattern because I don't know when it may stall again. Thanks.

[I_Tank]

Is the ju52 ever going to be back in stock or is it discontinued I have tried customer service through my phone login but to no avail so I thought I might have a go at it here. Thanks.

[Twowingtj]

I_Tank The Nexa line has been a good seller and has a lot of demand, so it's unlikely to be discontinued. The factory and shipping bottle necks seem to be the biggest challenges.


My wife has finally been able to start her Ju build. Wings are nearly complete. Some work had to be done to get the anti-rotation pins lined up with the fuselage holes. All else going well so far.

[GliderGuy]

Hi Jaydog…
Try reflexing each aileron up about 3 to 5 mm to effectively reduce the angle of attack of the wing out there. The best solution would be to induce wing twist at the tip, but she’s already built. So that might be hard to implement.

Raising each aileron up a tad may be the next best thing. Couldn’t hurt.

-GG

[OV10]

Hi Jaydog…
Try reflexing each aileron up about 3 to 5 mm to effectively reduce the angle of attack of the wing out there. The best solution would be to induce wing twist at the tip, but she’s already built. So that might be hard to implement.

Raising each aileron up a tad may be the next best thing. Couldn’t hurt.

-GG

Jaydog hasn't been back to the forum since he posted last Sept, but for those new owners I have to concur with your suggestion GG.
The model doesn't have the correct amount of dihedral like the full size airframe which makes it more susceptible to unexpected roll outs unless your keep your speed up in the turns.
I found that the lower speeds in a turn were more stable with some flaps.
Here's me doing a show pass with 15 degrees of flap but my "scale" airspeed was still higher than you would expect for a model that should be able lumber along like the full size.

[GliderGuy]

Jaydog hasn't been back to the forum since he posted last Sept, but for those new owners I have to concur with your suggestion GG.
The model doesn't have the correct amount of dihedral like the full size airframe which makes it more susceptible to unexpected roll outs unless your keep your speed up in the turns.
I found that the lower speeds in a turn were more stable with some flaps.
Here's me doing a show pass with 15 degrees of flap but my "scale" airspeed was still higher than you would expect for a model that should be able lumber along like the full size.

Thanks….

If you have the chance, try the reflex and report back. I used this “trick” on other models in the past.

Nice photo!

-GG

[OV10]

Thanks….

If you have the chance, try the reflex and report back. I used this “trick” on other models in the past.

Nice photo!

-GG

Wish I could oblige your request but unfortunately the ol' Aunt Ju was one of the victims of my Garage Incinerator debacle of 2018.
Just have the photo memories.
I have also used the aileron reflex on other planes and thus my confidence in supporting your recommendation

[Twowing's Girl]

Passengers are loaded and ready for departure. Build is progressing. Wiring motors up next.

[OV10]

Passengers are loaded and ready for departure. Build is progressing. Wiring motors up next.

That put a on me

[Grossman56]

Hey, Great Idea!

Grossman56