Every year at the WW I RC Jamboree held by the Mid- Hudson RC Society club at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, the ultimate award everyone hopes to earn is called the “Spirit of Rhinebeck” and it is a tradition that was started decades earlier by the Aerodrome’s founder Cole Palen.
The “Spirit of Rhinebeck” award is meant to highlight the model that shows the utmost in craftsmanship and fidelity to scale. In 2021, Norman Malinowski of Millstone Township, New Jersey received the coveted award.
After a wonderful sunny weekend at the 2021 WW I Jamboree, we caught up with this year’s recipient and learned the back story for Norman’s award-winning Albatros.
Model Airplane News: Congrats Norman, please tell us about your aircraft.
Norman Malinowski: Walther Huth started the Albatros Werke in Johannisthal, Germany. My Albatros D.III is 1/3 scale and it is my newest project after a 20-year break from the hobby.
MAN: How long did it take to build?
NM: The project took some three years. Everything, except the wheels and flying prop, are handmade. I built the model using plans published in Model Airplane News by Dave Johnson. I did make modifications. The wings are built mainly of balsa with hollow box plywood spars and balsa ribs. The wingtips were shaped using wood bent using a violin maker’s bending iron. I used 1/64-inch Finland plywood for the leading edge sheeting and balloon cords fastening and reinforcement tapes, which I tied every 13mm with scale knots.
MAN: What about the finish and hardware?
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