Mighunter210
New member
Hello,
First off, this is my first post I have made on the FT forums. Over the past few months I have designed and built a 58in Grumman TBM-3 Avenger out of dollar tree foam board. I wanted to post as my build progressed but never got around to it thanks to school, sports, etc. So, I present to you a basic summary/build log of what I had done. This was the first plane I have ever completely scratch built (yes i know I'm crazy for picking this plane first) but I am no stranger to build the FT way. I have built a Viggen, mini speedster, and a Kraken along with a few large balsa planes. Sorry for some of the upside down pictures my Iphone does that. Here it is:
I started with a set of three views with cross sections and started editing them into plans. I also did a lot of research into the versions of the plane and into scratch building. What helps a lot is seeing a real plane and I got some good pics of one at EAA and of the rear turret at the USS Enterprise in NY. I did all my plan editing with a calculator and Microsoft paint, not the ideal tools but it worked.
Here are some examples of the plans (I will probably upload the plans later)
After I made the plans to my liking I printed them out using a scaling program and one that prints in tiles. The program is literally called tile print and it is free! Then I started making a prototype of the fuse and wing roots out of some cardboard I had laying around.
I changed the plans while building it to make them work better in the design. After I was done with the prototype I played with different ways of covering the plane from Monokote to foam board and after some more research and trials I went with foam board with one side peeled off so it bends easy. Then I started building the air frame.
Well, that's all for today. I will continue the story later this week hopefully and will continue as I modify and continue the build past its current point. I also have some time lapses from my Mobius of the build stages which I will put up soon too. Stay tuned!
First off, this is my first post I have made on the FT forums. Over the past few months I have designed and built a 58in Grumman TBM-3 Avenger out of dollar tree foam board. I wanted to post as my build progressed but never got around to it thanks to school, sports, etc. So, I present to you a basic summary/build log of what I had done. This was the first plane I have ever completely scratch built (yes i know I'm crazy for picking this plane first) but I am no stranger to build the FT way. I have built a Viggen, mini speedster, and a Kraken along with a few large balsa planes. Sorry for some of the upside down pictures my Iphone does that. Here it is:
I started with a set of three views with cross sections and started editing them into plans. I also did a lot of research into the versions of the plane and into scratch building. What helps a lot is seeing a real plane and I got some good pics of one at EAA and of the rear turret at the USS Enterprise in NY. I did all my plan editing with a calculator and Microsoft paint, not the ideal tools but it worked.
Here are some examples of the plans (I will probably upload the plans later)
After I made the plans to my liking I printed them out using a scaling program and one that prints in tiles. The program is literally called tile print and it is free! Then I started making a prototype of the fuse and wing roots out of some cardboard I had laying around.
I changed the plans while building it to make them work better in the design. After I was done with the prototype I played with different ways of covering the plane from Monokote to foam board and after some more research and trials I went with foam board with one side peeled off so it bends easy. Then I started building the air frame.
Well, that's all for today. I will continue the story later this week hopefully and will continue as I modify and continue the build past its current point. I also have some time lapses from my Mobius of the build stages which I will put up soon too. Stay tuned!