Flite Fest 2017: Bugatti 100P

Captain Dunsel

New member
Understood and agreed!

Not likely to ever attend NEAT Fair. It conflicts with a recurring church event.

We understand completely. Both my wife and I are regular church attendees and always fit that into our events and travelling schedules.

Back to the Bugatti... The little details, such as those rivets, go a long way towards making a model seem like a full-scale plane. Excellent work, Wilsonman!

CD
 

willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
Ground handling does not seem to be too much of an issue short of the nose-over tendency. There is really nothing to be done about that. The cancellation of torque from the contra motors means I really have nothing to really input on the rudder. Its really a matter of lining her up, get the motors turning, and pour on the coals.

For those interested in a variant of the Bugatti, I have been fortunate enough in another life to know a gentleman by the name of George Miller. George has worked on the original Star Wars films with George Lucas and he is an avid model aviation enthusiast. Based on the Bugatti, he designed the "Katonka" aircraft. In essence, he turned the tail planes 180 degrees and added nose gear to combat the ground handling issues. No doubt, this aircraft represents what could very well have been a MKII of the original Bugatti. George is a great guy with a passion for the little details.

 

JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
Impressive. I prefer the blue over the banana colors though.

Was he available to consult during your build? Is he still in the hobby?
 

F106DeltaDart

Elite member
Its awesome that you know George Milller! I've stared in envy at the photos of some of his competition jets before. His F-4 couldn't visibly be distinguished from the real thing.
 

wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
That Katonka is so logical and right.

Definitely seems like the nosewheel is the right idea given the main gear geometry of the 100P. Can you imagine a military variant having to fly from less than perfect airfields with that much of a nose-over tendency?
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
Can you imagine a military variant having to fly from less than perfect airfields with that much of a nose-over tendency?

I can imagine not liking it.

Flying home with maybe two or three scalps, feeling pretty good and then pancaking on the runway putting the crew on overtime.

And then getting to listen to all the "hanger flying" in the "O" Club from a bunch of guys who could all do it better. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:

willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
I can certainly see this design being scaled up and more powerful engines being used. A bubble canopy for an elevated pilot position to see better and provide more room for a nose gear to retract. What I cannot see is a carrier version with a tail hook. That is just asking for the tail to rip off.

Moving along we start the painful and back breaking work of sanding. Before I started I taped off the internal bits to reduce the amount of dust that could enter. No major trouble spots on the top areas.
IMG_3796.JPG

I flipped her over and applied spackle to the bottom surfaces. Here there is a lot more work to be done. There are some spots that I may have to revisit with some 5-minute epoxy. I'll know better when I get down on it with the 120 grit paper.
IMG_3795.JPG

The hatch has been sanded down and I'll be moving on to add some fun details to this particular piece. Again, this is more of a texture kind of thing.
IMG_3797.JPG

Did more work on the servo covers but more on that later.
 

willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
Its a long process to get the perfect finish. I suspect that I will get impatient and have spots that are not perfect but I'll not point those out! Once I have the smoothness and sealing the foam I am after. I'll apply my WBPU and baby powder mix. It will be thinner than I usually do as the weave is mostly filled from this prep work. I'm trying to save some weight here and the baby powder just makes it easier to sand. I'll do final sanding of the surface after that to remove the pattern of the brush strokes and then shoot primer. The primer and sanding of it will reveal any additional work that needs to be done. Once those are complete, I can then apply panel lines and rivets before I spray it all down with blue. Lots of blue.
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
I can certainly see this design being scaled up and more powerful engines being used. A bubble canopy for an elevated pilot position to see better and provide more room for a nose gear to retract. What I cannot see is a carrier version with a tail hook. That is just asking for the tail to rip off.

I actually had a goofy idea for a a little anchor.

Seriously though, how much play do you have with the CG? Would it make a difference? Any chance of getting it on a putting green?
 

willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
Currently, the CG sits aft of the wheel axles by just about 3cm. I plan to balance again forward by at least 1cm. Maybe 2. A model on a putting green would be dangerous. I'm likely to have a putter go through the middle of the fuselage. Where I live is a city and my field is located on the outskirts where it is all old farmland. My field is just that. It still has remnants of the rows from corn. We have been at this field for 10 years now and rolled it every year. We would have to get the land graded and impacted to get it smooth. This year we took a hit and currently have just 24 active members, despite being one of the nation's oldest clubs.
 

wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
Currently, the CG sits aft of the wheel axles by just about 3cm. I plan to balance again forward by at least 1cm. Maybe 2. A model on a putting green would be dangerous. I'm likely to have a putter go through the middle of the fuselage. Where I live is a city and my field is located on the outskirts where it is all old farmland. My field is just that. It still has remnants of the rows from corn. We have been at this field for 10 years now and rolled it every year. We would have to get the land graded and impacted to get it smooth. This year we took a hit and currently have just 24 active members, despite being one of the nation's oldest clubs.

With the gear only 1-2cm ahead of the CG nose-over will always be looming, no matter how smooth the surface. When she isn't porpoising on landing he'll be able to grease it in even more smoothly and that will help, but I'm sure he'll be keeping a supply of props on hand :black_eyed:

Maybe I can talk Joshua into doing his additional trim flights at our field, but even freshly mowed and rolled it isn't perfect. I know we all have a comfort level with our home fields though, so whatever he wants to do is cool. I do know of a few folks on these forums that would jump at the chance to get a preview of the Bugatti on our home turf :cool:
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
A model on a putting green would be dangerous. I'm likely to have a putter go through the middle of the fuselage.

I did not think of that. :(

I can imagine that the responsibility of a flying field could be considerable. Ya might just have to settle for flying good and looking better ;)

EDITED: One potentially helpful suggestion: For the actual flying off of grass (as opposed to the scale static look) you might try some ultra thin wheels similar to these.

The lessened friction might help.
 
Last edited:

wilmracer

I build things that fly (sometimes)
Mentor
I can imagine that the responsibility of a flying field could be considerable. Ya might just have to settle for flying good and looking better ;)

For grass fields it can be a huge amount of work this time of year. Our field has to be mowed about 2x a week at about 3-4 man hours. We do have 2 riding mowers onsite but only one is allowed to be used for the actual runway as it has better rollers on the deck and wont gouge the runway if it hits a bump. The other can be used for the approaches and pit area.

Of course the pit areas also need to be tended to with weed eaters and edgers, particularly on the fences that can't be moved and mowed. Regular fueling and maintenance on the mowers and edgers. A few tools for pesky trees. Annual rolling with a HEAVY roller really helps, plus winterize and weed&feed. Add to that maintaining any structures and, in our case, maintenance for the solar charging facilities. It is a HUGE time commitment. And I've found there is a catch 22. The retired guys who have the time, for obvious reasons, can't be asked to do all the heavy lifting. I've suggested several times that we up the membership fee a bit and hire a lawn service ($30 a year would probably do it for us) but that gets push back from guys on fixed income.

TL:DR; A club field is a great thing but it IS a ton of work to keep it running smoothly.
 

willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
Been a busy weekend! ... with nothing done on the Bugatti :( I met up with Carl to have some fun, and fun we had. Rockyboy had some good maiden attempts and we ended up having a hoot of a time trying to find his baby Bugatti in the trees.

Yesterday I went out to the field for what I thought would be a quick trip. I arrived with our weather station blown over. After contacting the club president, and the help of another club member, we removed the battery and disconnected the solar panel and shifted the station off the tree. Got in a couple flights and some older fellows showed up as I was packing my car. We had a good long chat as I was packing things up and by the time I got home it was a bit too late to get any work done on the Bugatti. I woke up this morning and after a shower, saw that I had two ticks on me. Check yourself boys... this is going to be a rough tick season.

Hopefully this week and coming long weekend will yield some tangible results.