The Modeling Hangar – WWI Aircraft in Scale

We would like to thank Heinz-Michael Raby, who has spent many years constructing highly detailed models of early aviation types. His preferred scale has always been 1/48, a size that allows both precision and artistry. We are delighted to have him begin this new series with a beautifully crafted Etrich Taube, presented here together with its historical background and visual context.

With this first photograph I would like to begin a new series in which I present one of my completed models together with the historical original and the pilots who once flew it. My preferred scale is 1/48, as it offers ample opportunity for refinement while still giving the modeller access to nearly every significant aircraft type of the early pioneering years.

For the start of this series, I chose what was probably the first genuine bestseller in aviation history: the Etrich Taube. Shown here with period figures for context and scale, the model captures the unmistakable silhouette that made the Taube such a familiar sight before the First World War. The quiet aerodrome setting evokes those early fields where pilots, mechanics, and aircraft worked side by side at the dawn of flight.

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This starboard view highlights the elegant lines created by Ignaz “Igo” Etrich. Born in 1879, he devoted his earliest experiments to natural aerodynamics, developing in 1903 a flying wing based on the gliding seed of Zanonia macrocarpaand receiving a patent for it in 1905.

In 1907 he built his first powered aeroplane in the Rotunda of the Prater in Vienna, initially with the engine mounted at the rear. Later improvements gave the aircraft a tractor propeller and a conventional tail. After establishing two hangars in Wiener Neustadt in 1909, Etrich refined his designs with stronger engines and introduced an automobile-style control wheel — the precursor of the modern aircraft yoke.

The maiden flight of the Etrich II, soon universally known as the Taube, followed in 1910. This view of the model reflects that period of experimentation and technical evolution.

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The forward-quarter perspective shown here corresponds to the moment when the Taube’s story expanded far beyond Etrich’s workshop. Although patented in Austria, the German patent office declined to grant protection, citing Professor Friedrich Ahlborn’s 1897 analysis of the aerodynamic value of the Zanonia seed.

Etrich had reached an agreement with Edmund Rumpler to build the aircraft in Germany, but once the patent was denied, Rumpler ceased payments and released the aeroplane under his own name. Etrich considered legal action, but the anticipated duration of the proceedings — and the outbreak of the First World War — led him to abandon the idea. He ultimately released the design, allowing more than forty firms to manufacture their own Taube variants.

This image captures the aerodynamic clarity and structural appeal that made the Taube so widely reproduced across Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary.

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This frontal view makes the Taube’s structural character unmistakable. The fuselage is made of wood and covered with fabric, while the wings are bamboo frames also covered with fabric. Bracing is provided by pylons above and below the wings, creating the distinctive lattice of tension wires essential to its strength.

Because the Taube had no ailerons, lateral control was achieved by twisting the wingtips through the rigging system visible here. The landing gear includes a sprung axle and a central skid fitted with a ground-brake hook that dug into the turf upon landing.

Although the Zanonia-derived wing gave the Taube remarkable natural stability, flying and landing required considerable physical effort — especially while manoeuvring. This view conveys both the elegance and the demands of the aircraft’s handling.

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From above, the Taube’s origins are unmistakable. The scalloped, seed-like wing shape — inspired directly by Zanonia macrocarpa — gave the aircraft extraordinary inherent stability. In Wiener Neustadt, instructors often told their students that if they encountered an awkward attitude, they should simply let go of the controls until the Taube settled itself.

One well-known anecdote tells of a mechanic who accidentally pushed the throttle forward during pre-flight preparations and fell out. The Taube took off on its own, flew until its fuel was exhausted, and landed gently in a meadow nearly 200 kilometers away.

This overhead image illustrates exactly the aerodynamic geometry that made such stories credible.

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This final overhead photograph shows the full span and bold markings typical of Tauben displayed at early flight demonstrations. With a wingspan of 14.3 meters and a maximum take-off weight of 850 kilograms, the aircraft — powered by a 4-cylinder Argus or 6-cylinder Mercedes engine of around 100 horsepower — reached roughly 100 km/h with a range of about 140 kilometers.

The Taube served widely in civilian flying schools and private aviation, and also proved effective as a military reconnaissance aircraft. Its largely transparent wings made it difficult to see from the ground above 400 meters, earning it the French nickname “the invisible aeroplane.” It carried out the first recorded aerial bombing in Libya in 1911 and performed reconnaissance work at the outset of the First World War.

For the model shown here, I chose the Etrich NM-3 type of 1913 — the very machine with which chief pilot Alfred Friedrich and Igo Etrich completed the celebrated Berlin–Paris–London–Berlin flight. Built from the Flashback 1/48 kit, the model required several refinements and extensive rigging, but it proved a rewarding project and a fitting tribute to this pioneering aircraft.

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