Jump to content

What happens if you give a car guy and aircraft model?


PeteJ

Recommended Posts

Well the first thing he does is turn some aluminum sparkplugs to wire it up. Then he details the heck out of it by putting some wear on the parts. Then he gets stupid with detail. What do you aviators think?

 

sparkplugs_zps3ee7338f.jpg

 

finishedwiring_zps62238d69.jpg

 

acessories_zps72c38f1a.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're missing a whole bunch of safety wires back there in that accessories section, but I suppose we can let that go. :smiley24:

 

Very nice! Welcome to the fraternity.

 

 

Rick L.

Thank you Rick. Interestingly, I was looking at the references I have of the Planes of Fame Sakae engine(yes, that one is a different model, but very similar except for the exhaust) and I was very surprised at how little is actually safety wired on the back side of the engine. There appear to be less than 5 items with safety wire on them. I would have expected more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nicely detailed. Just remember that AC's generally don't sport chrome bumpers or door handles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

What do you aviators think?

 

I think it's time to get out of this hobby. I can't compete against something like that, nor can I complete something like that.

 

Stunning good work Pete, I can't wait to see more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One comment. It is a good thing to photograph you models as you build them. I posted the above photo and was looking closely at it and noticed that I had lost the push rod tube on the left rocker cover on the jug directly under the prop on the lefts side of the photo. It is now replaced, but had I gone further it would have been a challenge to get in. At this point it was an easy replacement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. Just stop now. You don't need to wrap an airplane around that engine. Nice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice work, Pete!

 

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. Just stop now. You don't need to wrap an airplane around that engine. Nice!

Oh, but it is such a nice photo etched skeleton. Trust me, when it is done the engine will still show off nicely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way Rick, I use to be the driver of the ride in your avatar. AFSC 1065C

Pete, that's really cool! I love the Dayglo scheme on tankers. One of my side hobbies is collecting old Kodachrome slides. Here is the rest of that picture in my avatar.

 

Ramrod

kc135ramrod_zps7f2580f1.jpg

 

Rick L.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Pete, that's really cool! I love the Dayglo scheme on tankers. One of my side hobbies is collecting old Kodachrome slides. Here is the rest of that picture in my avatar.

By the way Rick, I use to be the driver of the ride in your avatar. AFSC 1065C

 

Ramrod

kc135ramrod_zps7f2580f1.jpg

 

Rick L.

 

Wow, that is an old photo! The hi-viz paint was gone by the time I got in the drivers seat(1972) and they were all gull gray. Any photos of the cockpit? By the way, what part of Nebraska are you in. I grew up in Sidney.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm in O'Neill. Been here my whole life, except for college in Omaha and Council Bluffs. I've been to Sidney and Cabelas.

 

No cockpit photos. This was the one and only slide of this airframe. If somebody would do decals, I would build it. Short fin and all.

 

Rick L.

Edited by Spruemeister
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rick- Thanks for the photos. Never been to O'Neill but I do know where it is. I don't recall ever going to the northeast part of the state. Since you shared the photo, I thought you might like to see a couple I took at Fairchild in 1981. I waited for a calm day and a heavy weight, wet takeoff. I think they are impressive for an old bird.

 

KC-135airborne.jpg

 

KC-135gearup.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Ok, so here is a bit of an update. I have to say it is really nice to have the tools to make tools. Often times we think of a mill and lathe as useful for making parts that will go on a model. I find myself making a fair amount of tools to make parts. In this case I needed a couple of small round screens for the ends of the oil cooler on the engine. I tried cutting them from photo etched screen and just couldn't get them symmetrical. Then I thought of using a punch and die set, but I didn't have one big enough and they had to fit very closely. Well, why not make a punch and die to the size I wanted? Now to be fair, this was the third one that I made. The first one was not a close enough fit between the punch and the bore and the discs came out a little ragged. The second one had too wide of a slot and I got a poor shape, so I ordered a .010" slitting saw and the third one did the job. I know, it is a lot of work for a couple of screens but to me the fun of doing this is the mental exercise of figuring it out.

 

punchanddiescreen_zps3dcf1ecf.jpg

Edited by PeteJ
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I have been busy with the Zen end of this build, figuring out how to do something and it finally came to me how to build this part. This is a really detailed model and I was disappointed with the cowl flaps. The kit parts are a single thick part with some engraved lines to portray the flaps in the closed position. I am disappointed because when they are in place they cover the exhaust and that is a really nice looking piece. I decided to open them so you could see the exhaust.

 

I started with a piece of .020" brass and flattened, filed and polished the piece.

 

cowelflaps1_zpsea88f115.jpg

 

I then bent it to shape.

 

cowelflaps2_zps9ffdcd22.jpg

 

..and cut the individual pieces

 

cowelflaps3_zps26b0ba93.jpg

 

And soldered them up in an open position and added tabs to glue them into position. The kit part is in the background and I think it is quite an improvement.

 

cowelflaps4_zps42d12611.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Ok, I have to update this. The parts that I made above look nice but were a failure. They just didn't fit! Even careful tweeking and they just wouldn't line up. I thought I could solder them up free hand and they would work. Wrong! They just weren't precise enough. I couldn't get rid of

the gap between the mounting ring and the bottom. Not acceptable, so in the trash bin and start over.

DSC00042_zps458b8695.jpg

 

To get them to fit, they have to have a very precise circumference and all the plates have to be at the same level and angle. So, I turned an jig out of aluminum. It is very much like a wheel. I first hogged out the center to the diameter. Then I turned a taper on the edge to 30 degrees which is what I decided they should be open to.

 

DSC00044_zpsf2f1c91f.jpg

 

Next I laid some masking tape on the area that the plates will lie on to be soldered. This is necessary because, as I discovered, if the parts rest directly on the aluminum, it works as a great heat sink and prevents the piece from getting hot enough to solder.

 

DSC00046_zps537d407c.jpg

 

Then I laid the plates in and soldered them. The ones on the left are soldered the two in the middle right of the photo are ready to be soldered. The part about the jig working as a heat sink was used to my advantage in this photo. The parts on the left are in direct contact with the aluminum without tape behind them. This allows me to solder parts close together without loosing the solder joint next to it.

 

DSC00047_zps699cd75f.jpg

 

Now all I have to do is solder the mounting tabs and finish polishing them out and they are ready to mount.

Edited by PeteJ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...