Andy Reynolds' Taube (Dove)

Designed by Andy Reynolds. Free plans from Winter 2014 Park Pilot.

The Taube (German for “dove”) was a pre-World War I monoplane and Germany’s first mass-produced military aeroplane. Igo Etrich designed the prototype Taube in 1909, although many variants produced by different manufacturers followed. Despite the name and birdlike appearance, the Taube’s wing was actually based on the seed of the zanonia, which floats to the ground in a slow spiral. My foamie design is loosely based on the original Etrich Taube, and stretched a bit here and there as needed for better flying. The original Taube used wing warping, and my design has ailerons. With its huge control surfaces, the Taube is extremely agile in flight. I maxed out my control throws and added 25 percent exponential, but I rarely use full stick deflections. At only 5 ounces, the Taube can handle a bit of wind, but not a lot. Watch your downwind speed or you’ll really see this dove flap its wings. Read the entire build article inside the Winter 2014 issue of Park Pilot.

Use a square to ensure that the horizontal fuselage side is at a right angle to the vertical fuselage, then glue it with foam-safe CA.

The landing gear mounting areas should be reinforced with blocks of scrap foam.

Extra blocks of foam are added behind the firewall for support and extra gluing surface.

The Taube is extremely agile in flight.

Click here to download your free Taube Build It Plans.