FTFC'25 WWII P-59 Airacomet designed by Telnar1236

telnar1236

Elite member
I didn't see this competition till today, but it looks like they're still accepting entries, so I will be building a P-59 Airacomet. I've always thought it looks like it should fly great and it fits the bill of a WWII plane that never saw combat. The jet inlets should be plenty big to allow for good thrust and the wing is big with a lot of dihedral. I like jets for their lack of torque and smooth flying characteristics (and because they look cool) but not everyone wants a plane that you need to stay on top of all the time, so this should make an excellent jet trainer. I plan to build a 64mm EDF foam board design, possibly with optional servo driven retracts, although that may prove too heavy. If the competition rules allow, I will design optional 3D printed accessories to improve the appearance, but they will not be necessary to have a functional and complete plane.
220px-Bell_YP-59A_in_flight_060913-F-1234P-008.jpg


For those who are not familiar with the plane, the P-59 was the first jet fighter from the US. It was in many ways a very conventional design with limited performance, but it paved the way for later aircraft like the P-80 and was a window into the future of the USAAF and USAF.

I probably won't start on building this for another couple weeks, but wanted to put it in the competition now since technically it's already a bit late.
 

telnar1236

Elite member
Have you had any progress with this?
Not really. My F-106 has taken far longer to finish than I expected and this past weekend has been the second since January where we weren't under a TFR where I am, so I haven't had too much time to test anything even if I had had time to build it. With the TFRs, unfortunately there's a good chance I'll be doing less building and flying for the next few years. I don't plan on getting out of the hobby, but if I'm building faster than I can test and faster than the planes wear out or I crash them, I'll end up filling up my place with far too many airframes. I plan on wrapping up (or really starting) this project at some point, but probably not in time for the competition unfortunately.