similar flight characteristics to the real
thing? I was completely shocked at
what I discovered.”
Aircraft Make & Model:
Fi 156 Fieseler Storch
Aircraft Make & Model:
Criquet Aviation Replica Storch: 75 Percent Scale
FLYING REAL VERSUS REPLICA
With more than 400 hours logged in
Storch replicas, Steve Lund was finally
able to fly a real Storch when he
befriended Steve Ericson, the only Fieseler
Storch owner in California. Ericson’s
Storch had dual controls installed, so it
was a dream come true when Lund was
invited to fly it from the back seat.
“Steve made the takeoffs and touchdowns on our first flight because of a
nagging crosswind,” said Lund. “All takeoffs were made with the stick in the
neutral position, which went against my
thinking of pushing the stick forward to
raise the tail, like I had done in my other
tailwheel flying. I figured the Storch
would take forever to get airborne in this
configuration, but instead we only rolled
75 feet as the tail rose on its own, and with
a little back pressure we were airborne in
less than 250 feet, with 20 degrees of flaps
set. We slowly cranked them up in the
early stages of climb-out. In the case of my
Criquet Storch, it behaves like the real
thing, and I have adopted this 20-degree
takeoff flap setting to achieve the optimum
takeoff performance.
“Once we were airborne, my immediate impression was that the control
pressures were on the heavy side…. At low
speeds the stick force on the full-size
Storch is a real workout; the stick is quite
long because you need all the leverage you
can get. In comparing my replica to the
real thing, I would rather have mine. One
of the absolute delights [of the Fieseler
Storch] was the use of a rudder bar instead
of individual pedals. The rudder bar itself
moves smoothly on bearings, and it’s a
good feeling to have both feet lodged
firmly in the cups of the pedal as the rudder inputs are translated into motion.
“…I was pleasantly surprised with
the sight picture; they appeared the
same, and it was very easy to fly right
down to the point of touchdown. One of
the distinct features of the real Storch is
that the landing gear provides up to 16
Wingspan: 46 feet, 9 inches
Height: 10 feet
Length: 32 feet, 5-2/3 inches
Empty weight: 2,050 pounds
Gross weight: 2,920 pounds
Engine: Argus As 10C- 3 240-hp, air-cooled,
eight-cylinder, inverted-V
Cruise speed: 93 mph
Max speed: 109 mph
Stall speed: 30 mph
Climb rate: 905 feet per minute
Fuel: 39. 6 gallons
Crew: 2 or 3
Wingspan: 34 feet, 8 inches
Height: 8 feet
Length: 24 feet, 5 inches
Empty weight: 860 pounds
Gross weight: 1,320 pounds
Engine: Rotax 912S 100-hp, flat, four-cylinder,
four-cycle
Cruise speed: 75-80 mph
Max speed: 87 mph
Stall speed: 21-23 mph
Climb rate: 700-plus feet per minute
Fuel: 30 gallons
Crew: 2
Argus air-cooled inverted-V engine that powers the original Storch.
The replica’s control stick is wrapped in braided
cotton cord like the original.
Though most of the major components were already built when Steve received his kit in October of 2007, he
spent about 2,500 hours completing it.
