ThatsALotOfPlanes
Active member
Hello all! This is the thread, as the title suggests, for my scratch-build of a six foot wingspan Henschel Hs. 129 B.
The Hs. 129 B was the first airplane ever designed specifically as a close air support aircraft. The only other plane to have been designed in this role exclusively is the A-10 Warthog, currently used by the U.S. Air force. The B variant that I am basing my build on is a much improved version of the original design of the Hs.129, which featured extremely underpowered engines.
More info on the Hs.129: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henschel_Hs_129
This whole build started last December with the tail surfaces and fuselage formers being drawn up on Microsoft Powerpoint. Over the last 8 months, not much got done. Recently I picked up momentum on the project and am now making good progress (at least by my standards).
The build started with the tail surfaces.
The tail is made of two separate horizontal stabilizers and the vertical stabilizer. Both were made by folding a single piece of foam over on top of a main spar, very similar to the classic FT wings. The H-stabs were connected with two pieces of 1/4 inch dowel, and the same was done to the V-stab. The rear dowel on the V-stab (in the second pic) was fitted through a flat piece of basswood on the H-stab with a hole drilled (shown in the first pic). The final result is very strong and easy to mount on the fuselage due to the V-stab's protruding dowel rods. The elevators themselves are connected with a piece of coat hanger at the rear.
Next came the main fuselage.
There's not much to say about the fuselage itself. The base of it is a simple yardstick cut down from 36 inches to 30 inches. The formers that run the length will be wrapped in foamboard, with parts cut out for hatches and access panels. The tail was attached using a strip of wood that utilized the two V-stab spars and reached forward past the first two formers. The whole assembly is easily attached and detached by the screws holding it together. Strong, simple, and easy to break down for transport.
Last built so far were the servo mountings and the hook up of the rudder.
The servo mountings are simple pieces of basswood glued to the bottom of the yardstick going through the middle of the fuselage. Holes were drilled to allow small wood screws to hold down the outside corner of each servo. A second strip running across the top was planned, which is why there are spacers putting the servos flush with the yardstick. It turns out the mountings were plenty strong on their own, so the top parts were left off. The pushrod took a little thought, as the longest pushrod I had available was about 30 inches long. I needed a 37 inch pushrod to fully link the servo rudder. What i came up with was a bellcrank connecting a smaller piece of pushrod i had laying around with the 30 inch piece. It is mounted on a BBQ skewer with a plate of basswood below it to help keep it from wobbling back and forth when it rotates and a small bead of hot glue above the bellcrank keeps it from sliding up.
A video of the whole assembly moving:
Overall, this is the largest build I've ever attempted by far, with a fuselage longer than most of my fleets' wingspans! I hope to get the whole plane done by Flite Fest Texas, but school is starting in a week, and there is still a ton of work to do.
Thanks!
Sam
The Hs. 129 B was the first airplane ever designed specifically as a close air support aircraft. The only other plane to have been designed in this role exclusively is the A-10 Warthog, currently used by the U.S. Air force. The B variant that I am basing my build on is a much improved version of the original design of the Hs.129, which featured extremely underpowered engines.
More info on the Hs.129: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henschel_Hs_129
This whole build started last December with the tail surfaces and fuselage formers being drawn up on Microsoft Powerpoint. Over the last 8 months, not much got done. Recently I picked up momentum on the project and am now making good progress (at least by my standards).
The build started with the tail surfaces.
The tail is made of two separate horizontal stabilizers and the vertical stabilizer. Both were made by folding a single piece of foam over on top of a main spar, very similar to the classic FT wings. The H-stabs were connected with two pieces of 1/4 inch dowel, and the same was done to the V-stab. The rear dowel on the V-stab (in the second pic) was fitted through a flat piece of basswood on the H-stab with a hole drilled (shown in the first pic). The final result is very strong and easy to mount on the fuselage due to the V-stab's protruding dowel rods. The elevators themselves are connected with a piece of coat hanger at the rear.
Next came the main fuselage.
There's not much to say about the fuselage itself. The base of it is a simple yardstick cut down from 36 inches to 30 inches. The formers that run the length will be wrapped in foamboard, with parts cut out for hatches and access panels. The tail was attached using a strip of wood that utilized the two V-stab spars and reached forward past the first two formers. The whole assembly is easily attached and detached by the screws holding it together. Strong, simple, and easy to break down for transport.
Last built so far were the servo mountings and the hook up of the rudder.
The servo mountings are simple pieces of basswood glued to the bottom of the yardstick going through the middle of the fuselage. Holes were drilled to allow small wood screws to hold down the outside corner of each servo. A second strip running across the top was planned, which is why there are spacers putting the servos flush with the yardstick. It turns out the mountings were plenty strong on their own, so the top parts were left off. The pushrod took a little thought, as the longest pushrod I had available was about 30 inches long. I needed a 37 inch pushrod to fully link the servo rudder. What i came up with was a bellcrank connecting a smaller piece of pushrod i had laying around with the 30 inch piece. It is mounted on a BBQ skewer with a plate of basswood below it to help keep it from wobbling back and forth when it rotates and a small bead of hot glue above the bellcrank keeps it from sliding up.
A video of the whole assembly moving:
Overall, this is the largest build I've ever attempted by far, with a fuselage longer than most of my fleets' wingspans! I hope to get the whole plane done by Flite Fest Texas, but school is starting in a week, and there is still a ton of work to do.
Thanks!
Sam
