The Focke Wulf 190 has always been a favourite airplane among modelers of all categories. A lot of them have been designed and built. A common problem with most of these designs was the short fuselage nose of this airplane. In our case, when stretched to suitable stunt numbers, the nose comes out too long. That’s why many designers have chosen to copy the long nose version or go right to the TA 152. I don’t like either version. So, many years ago I tried to somehow produce my own 190. I have to admit that my attempts did not lead to a much better result than those of the other designers ( see the outcome on a separate page of this website ).

Last year I felt like drawing another model of the 190. Also I wanted to publish an article in a German magazine to promote control line flying once again. The idea was to offer a model for the advanced flyer who is interested in learning some stunt manoeuvres. The model should be easy to build and fly quite well. A simple profile design is the best solution, but very often profiles don’t look very exciting. “Beauty sells” , so the FW 190 shape should be the right choice.

This magazine offers a full size plan which is included in each issue. The plan format has a given size and I wanted to stay within this limit ( that way every buyer and subscriber of this magazine has a copy of the plan ). This called for a slightly smaller layout than the usual 35 size airplane.

But in this case it was just right for my goal. Since profile models usually have a very light rear fuselage, it should be an easy task to use a shorter than average nose. Combined with a slightly heavier engine this should solve any problems with center of gravity location.

Especially for this airplane I bought a Thunder Tiger GP42. Engine weight is about 250 Gramm. Together with the original muffler we have about 10 ounces hanging on the fuselage nose, which helped to get the CG position right. Span is 122 cm ( 48 inch ), wing area about 500 sq inch. Too much laquer caused some overweight, but with carefully applying the finish it should be possible to stay under my 42 oz. This airplane can be used as a stunt trainer. It can do all the manoeuvres in the book, but it’s not exactly a master of sharp corners. It’s flown on 60 feet lines, with a 11 x 5 ¼ Brian Either three blade prop.

For those interested in building this model ( or to get some advice for construction of this or a similar airplane ) I have included an album which shows many photos, which were taken during the building process. It’s not a step by step guide, but shows especially those steps which may differ from usual construction, or at least shows how I’ve done it. I I want to emphasize that my way of construction is truly traditional , doesn’t use any most modern techniques, and doesn’t provide any problems to average builders. I have also included some text. You can print out the construction manual, this may help to understand even better what is shown in the pictures.

If somebody is interested to build this airplane, there's a full size plan available from FMT magazine at www.vth.de/shop/modellbau . You can find plan number 3201281 when looking under Bauplaene/ Flugmodelle/ Fesselflugmodelle ( = plans/ flying models/ control line models ). There are still more of my designs.

These two camouflage buttons will get you to the album and to the building instructions.