NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
The Focke Wulf FW-56 was the first single engine monoplane produced by the company after the end of World War I. Pilots appreciated its ease of handling and maneuverability.
Although advanced in that it had a single wing rather than being a biplane, the the Focke Wulf FW-56 design was of an earlier time. It still retained many of the features found in World War I aircraft. While this may not have put the aircraft on the forefront of technology, it made it a favorite with upcoming pilots as a trainer.
The cockpit lacked the instruments of modern aircraft. There was a speed indicator, altimeter, fuel gauge, and an oil pressure gauge. Radio equipment was still in its early stages. Prior to the invention of transistors, these added a great deal of weight, especially to smaller aircraft.
A total of 956 Focke Wulf FW-56 aircraft were produced.
We once saw a rc Focke Wulf FW-56 from Kavan. Does anyone know if you can still get this kit?
Thomas Kilker (kliker@verizon.net) Cub Hill, MD writes: "The Focke Wulf FW-56 RC Airplane interested me the first time I saw a photo and three view of it in Green's "Warplanes
of the Third Reich". I had recently given up on designing and building a one quarter scale RC Airplane. It was my first attempt at designing and building one, and it was a dismal failure! It
became so heavy that it was evident that it would never fly. But I did learn a lot, and when the Focke Wulf FW-56 RC Airplane presented itself, I thought that I would try again. And the results
were very gratifying. The airplane came out right on the money at fifteen pounds. It is one fifth scale. Wing span of the is 83 inches. I enlarged the three view drawings from Green's book, and
went from there. I designed a box structure in the forward fuselage of the rc Focke Wulf FW-56 that the engine, fuel tank, wing, fuselage, landing gear, and aft fuselage attach to, making
construction very simple and very strong. Hasn't flown yet, but looks great!"
Martin Braun of Lenz, Austria (cityvienna@gmx.at) sent us the picture above of the great looking rc Focke Wulf FW-56 built by his father circa 1987. Martin is collecting as much information
as possible about FW-56 aircraft, and if you have any, he would appreciate hearing from you.
The first two pictures below are of the rc Focke Wulf FW-56 built from Lindberg plans. It has a 48" wing span and is 1/2A Texaco legal.
We received the following email from Bill Gaylord, rc scratch builder and flyer:
"Enclosed is a picture of my Focke Wulf FW-56 Stosser. It has a 32" wingspan, and is electric powered. I scratch built it from 3-view drawings. It has flown numerous times. I love the site, and see that you like rc models,
as I do. I have some photos of lesser built scratch built models, which
may interest you for the site. I will have to take a look and see if you
have other planes on the site, which I have modeled and flown."
You can find Bills' model pictured at the bottom of this page. Thank you Bill.
FW56
