Scale Build Off - Scratchbuilt 96" P-38 Lightning

[joker24458]

Wow! Simply amazed at all the progress and how you've managed to stay dedicated for most of this build. You are a better man than I!

To respond to your most recent post, with an inexpensive power system to save money on, you might be able to afford to buy yourself a box truck. Looks like with a 2.94m wingspan build you may need it!

Good luck on the new build (if you choose to accept it) and hope that the P-38 flights end in one piece.

Thanks! I will be the first one to admit that I did slack off during some parts of the build though, and didn't work on it as much as I could have, especially over the summer. It seems that there is a period of time during long projects where it becomes difficult to stay motivated for me....but this was my first build that took longer than 2 months to put together, about 7 times that, so it was interesting to see the development of the plane and how many other side projects I became distracted with.

For the Fokker, I will be making a two-piece fuselage and separable wings of course so it *might* fit in the car. The other issue is that it may end up being too tall, which will be another problem to tackle. Detachable landing gear? Not sure...I'm not exactly in a position to buy a trailer at the moment, might have to rent a Uhaul if there's no other way around it.

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

This is really amazing work Andres. I'd be surprised if a museum doesn't try to pick you up at some point.

That cockpit looks amazing BTW. I'll be it's awesome in FPV.

 

[William_Conway]

Thanks! I will be the first one to admit that I did slack off during some parts of the build though, and didn't work on it as much as I could have, especially over the summer. It seems that there is a period of time during long projects where it becomes difficult to stay motivated for me....but this was my first build that took longer than 2 months to put together, about 7 times that, so it was interesting to see the development of the plane and how many other side projects I became distracted with.

For the Fokker, I will be making a two-piece fuselage and separable wings of course so it *might* fit in the car. The other issue is that it may end up being too tall, which will be another problem to tackle. Detachable landing gear? Not sure...I'm not exactly in a position to buy a trailer at the moment, might have to rent a Uhaul if there's no other way around it.

Yep, my parents make fun of me for having multiple projects at once, and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. Most get finished, but some do not, such as my Airbus, which took a horrible demise after nothing worked out the way I wanted it to. Oh well, someday there may be another, but i'm keeping my eyes open for more reasonable big projects.

Deconstructable fuselage and wings makes sense but possibly more reinforcement than before, however I'd still be amazed to see such a huge project with such a low weight and wing loading. I imagine you'd have to tie it down if you bring it to FF!

Do you have a list with all the planes you're considering, because I'm looking for some inspiration for FF 2017. Either a Wilmracer-style (Foam construction, but balsa building style) Ziroli DC-3 (Kind of scared) or a British Bristol F2, as WW1 Era planes are relatively easy to build off of 3-views.

Whatever the High-School student budget shall allow, and with Exam time schedule. We shall see!

 

[joker24458]

This is really amazing work Andres. I'd be surprised if a museum doesn't try to pick you up at some point.

That cockpit looks amazing BTW. I'll be it's awesome in FPV.

Haha thanks Keegan. I'd say you do some amazing work as well. I still need to build one of those big Intruders, looks so fun lol. Yep the FPV should be fun although I'm definitely not going to fly through it, I'll just tell people what channel to tune into. Free ride in a P-38 would be the experience of a lifetime.

Yep, my parents make fun of me for having multiple projects at once, and I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. Most get finished, but some do not, such as my Airbus, which took a horrible demise after nothing worked out the way I wanted it to. Oh well, someday there may be another, but i'm keeping my eyes open for more reasonable big projects.

Deconstructable fuselage and wings makes sense but possibly more reinforcement than before, however I'd still be amazed to see such a huge project with such a low weight and wing loading. I imagine you'd have to tie it down if you bring it to FF!

Do you have a list with all the planes you're considering, because I'm looking for some inspiration for FF 2017. Either a Wilmracer-style (Foam construction, but balsa building style) Ziroli DC-3 (Kind of scared) or a British Bristol F2, as WW1 Era planes are relatively easy to build off of 3-views.

Whatever the High-School student budget shall allow, and with Exam time schedule. We shall see!

Airbus? Which model? There's some amazing people out there making those big slow airliners, many of which have a balloon as the fuselage....I would say they are definitely a difficult task to build but nevertheless, it is possible. Good luck if you ever try it again, I'd love to see one fly.

Wing loading should be easy to keep low on the Fokker, a big biplane and simple structure should make for a relatively light build overall and (hopefully) good handling inside a football-field sized indoor stadium. And no, I don't keep any sort of list of what I'm planning to build (as of now...), if I think about something I really want to build then I'll write it down and do some research and get the specs to see if it is feasible. Then find a 3 view, and start from there.

The Ziroli DC3 would be a monster of a build haha. Probably wouldn't be the easiest to build light if you are going straight off of their plans, there would have to be modifications (but then again I'm not sure if building light is your goal with that plane). And I can relate with the high school budget and time constraints...I know it all too well haha.

 

[William_Conway]

Airbus? Which model? There's some amazing people out there making those big slow airliners, many of which have a balloon as the fuselage....I would say they are definitely a difficult task to build but nevertheless, it is possible. Good luck if you ever try it again, I'd love to see one fly.

Wing loading should be easy to keep low on the Fokker, a big biplane and simple structure should make for a relatively light build overall and (hopefully) good handling inside a football-field sized indoor stadium. And no, I don't keep any sort of list of what I'm planning to build (as of now...), if I think about something I really want to build then I'll write it down and do some research and get the specs to see if it is feasible. Then find a 3 view, and start from there.

The Ziroli DC3 would be a monster of a build haha. Probably wouldn't be the easiest to build light if you are going straight off of their plans, there would have to be modifications (but then again I'm not sure if building light is your goal with that plane). And I can relate with the high school budget and time constraints...I know it all too well haha.

It really is amazing people who build them out of balloons and have such low flight speeds, but all of my models are outdoor ones. I don't have the space inside to do it, so I just have to make do with a disused airfield for all my flying!

It was going to be the A350, the new XWB airbus to replace the A340, and competes with the B787. It was a pretty cool looking plane, but at the scale i was working at, it made it almost impossible to do. The thing was so small I couldn't even install servos inside the wing chord, and the wheels would've been 25mm if I tried to go scale. That and I made it very difficult for myself by setting the challenge of laser cutting the entire thing, which meant I had to design and cut each piece, which was just way too time consuming. Ended up scrapping the thing and decided to use the EDF's and servos for other stuff. One day I will return when I have the courage and knowledge to make a bigger one from scratch, and the bank account capacity, as those damn EDF's came to nearly $100USD after all was said and done, without ESC and the new high C bats I had to buy. It was a good learning experience.

I still can't wait to see the Fokker if you do it. Seeing something that big fly so slow will be more awe inspiring than the real thing! If that thing is flying by the time NEF rolls round, I may have a reason to cross the border.

About the DC-3, There is no way in hell I'd be able to make it light enough to fly slow enough for indoors. Not with my building skills at least. The weight of the thing with balsa and gas engines equates to about 43ish pounds (or at least that's what a friend did), but I reckon with depron, electrics and light glassing I could get get it around 30. Or at least that's the plan!

 

[agentkbl]

I did a flight camp at Arlington Municipal Airport, Here in washington, and was lucky enough to see a flying P-38. We were in the hangar, doing our pre-flight, when all of a sudden, we hear two massive supercharged engines. I looked outside, and there it is, coming in for a landing, one of the coolest airplanes ever. We all ran over to the fuel station, and he let us take pictures with it. It was awesome. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

[AudioCyclist]

The glue question has been answered, so: how were the many different parts cut from the DTFB sheet; how did you paint the plane (air brush) and what kind/type of paint?

Thanks. Great job!

 

[OceanicOpps]

Fantastic job, just read the whole thread.
Did you hot glue the cone together or use something else lighter?