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This is a model that would require extensive video-based tutorials
and
the patience to actually watch them all. You will assemble every
piece
of the plane. The landing gear, hydraulic systems, jackscrew and
ballscrew assemblies, push-pull rods for flight controls and flight
control actuators.
Radios,
avionics, instrument clusters, etc. Wiring
and
everything else you need is included. True to reality, all ducting and
floor panels are
constructed of composite materials (kevlar, carbon fiber, JD Lincoln,
and/or
fiberglass. depending on the airframe),
which you have to construct.
The duct and floor panel kit includes precut kevlar/fiberglass sheets
(uncured, cloth form preimpregnated with the appropriate resins),
aluminum permanent molds for some duct parts, and a plaster kit
for
constructing plaster molds which are busted out of the duct when it
comes out of the Easy Bake-style miniature curing oven. Due to the
thickness of the materials used, the amount of plies of each duct
part
would be accordingly reduced so it all fits properly. Also includes a
miniature bandsaw
for
trimming the ends off the ducts when needed. Everything you need
for
entire production process. The only parts that are premade are the
wheels, tires, and metal fuselage components (skin panels,
longerons,
stringers, etc.) which you have to assemble into a complete fuselage.
This is a model for the truly diehard model-makers, the most OCD of
them out there.
5 years, and not even matching materials.
http://www.wired.co...n/2014/01/obsessed/
[swimswim, Jan 26 2014]
Some simpler things to model - not 747
http://home.iwichit...stfly2013-10-Bx.htm
Start simple; work up to crazy complex and OCD [popbottle, Jan 26 2014]
[link]
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Given that many fiberglass parts are less than 12 ply,
and those that are depends on multiple plies for any
sort of strength, they won't scale with any
commercially available fiber.
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Also, is this supposed to be a functional model? If so
a lot of other things won't scale. |
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One issue I see is that not everything scales down
that easily. The other issue is that it seems like a lot
of work for a model plane.
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Why not just build it 1/1 scale? |
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I had the same idea about semi tractors when I took a
mechanics course to delay student loan repayments. I
wanted a scaled down tractor model that I could
assemble like the real thing.
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Now that I've had some experience working on the
trucks, although I've gladly left that behind for now, I
see that there are some procedures that really don't
scale down well like dropping a transmission which is
really all about the size and weight of the object. But I
bun the idea because I had the idea before. |
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True, a lot of the ducting only consists of 2-3 plies. Carbon fiber
reinforcement buildups are typically 4 plies. I don't have much
experience with JD Lincoln, but Kevlar, fiberglass, and carbon fiber
can be stretched quite a bit, which thins the ply considerably. Stretch
it thin enough, and use fewer-than-spec plies, and I think you could get
the scale right. It might not be functional (ie, won't hold up to the kind
of stress experienced in a fully pressurized aircraft) but I imagine the
size could be achieved. Same goes with the wiring, you're not going to
be able to duplicate every single wire in a modern aircraft at that
scale, but for a model you could get functional flight controls and
lights at least. |
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A "kit" is a "kit" such that the scale doesn't matter to
the definition of "kit". So, since build-it-yourself
full-size airplane kits do exist, this Idea probably
qualifies as "baked". |
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I like the idea of such a model for several reasons. First of all, it's
surprisingly fun to build an ECS duct. Precured Kevlar and fiberglass
plies are neat to work with. I would probably recommend against JD
Lincoln material in such a model because it uses a formaldehyde
resin which is just plain unpleasant to be around when you peel the
backing off, and I'm pretty sure they don't use it on all planes. But
fiberglass and Kevlar? Loads of fun there. Another reason is simple
cost appreciation. I think a lot of folks would be amazed if they knew
how labor intensive aircraft manufacturing can be. The multimillion
dollar pricetag really starts to make sense when you see what's
involved in making the damn things.
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And Vernon, I highly doubt there are any build-it-yourself airplane kits
where you have to make the composite components (laying up the
plies, shrink-taping and precuring it in an oven to activate the shrink-
tape and add compression, vacuum bagging it, curing it in a hotter
oven, debagging the part after it's cured, etc.)
yourself. |
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//won't hold up to the kind of stress experienced in
a fully pressurized aircraft//
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The cube/square law works strongly in your favour,
and would easily offset weakness caused by fewer
plys etc. If everything could be scaled perfectly, a
1/12 scale model would be proportionally 12 times as
strong as the original, so you have a lot of leeway. |
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Well that's encouraging. Another cool thing about the kit is that once
you buy the initial kit, you've got all the molds and tools you need to
keep on building more of them if you want. You could just order new
kits of precured materials and make the plaster for the breakaway
molds yourself. If you want to build different model airframes, you
could just buy expansion kits to add to your mold collection.
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By the way... I found this quite interesting... when making these ducts.
We use Mylar tape, Teflon tape, nonperforated FEP (Flourinated
Ethylene Propylene) tape, perforated FEP tape, shrink tape, and
masking tape... not a single application of duct tape. |
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How many hours do you expect the assembly of this model
to take? That's a selling point on high-end kits, you know.
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The composition and tone of this post suggest to me that
the author is currently unemployed and intimidated by the
unexpected burden of so much spare time, leading to days
spent wearing the same pair of sweatpants, staring out of
windows and wistfully reminiscing about his Air Force days. |
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Of course the real model makers start with bauxite,
and go from there.
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None of this namby-pamby premade fiberglass, you
get sand and clay, and instructions on how to build
your own 1/12 scale furnace and fiber extrusion
machine. |
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And some titanium rod to forge into tiny fasteners. |
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For the real anorak, start with reindeer antler, knapped flints and birch
bark, and build your own civilization.
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Of course, it's not an actual anorak: more of an animal-skin parka.
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Interesting concept, though. Given a 'wild' environment, how many
technologically-educated humans would be needed to rebuild a
society to to your current (admittedly primitive) level, and how long
would it take ? |
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I'm putting my money on 2,500 PhDs, engineers, and
tradespersons going from 1/12th scale flint and bone to
1/12th scale LHC in 43 years, prep time not included (in
order to make this a repeatable experiment with some
degee of control, the raw materials to be mined and
harvested must be located and assayed before the project
begins). Off-
scale concessions to functionality will be made when
absolutely necessary. |
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The big thing isn't the number of educated people
you need. It's the number of farmers you need.
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Building the tech to build the tech isn't that
difficult, but it means you've got to have a certain
fraction of your population producing food to
support those who are working on the tech. Early
on this fraction is very large, since with no tech,
the surplus an individual farmer can produce is
very small.
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Thus the number also partly depends on the
environment. Are we supposing post cataclysmic
earth, time travel back to primitive times, or
travel back to prehistoric times? If the former,
and modern high yield, disease resistant crops can
be salvaged, a little bit of early investment in
moldboard plows and horse collars can probably
keep your tech people alive without to much
difficulty.
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If the middle, try the same basic technologies, but
the more primitive crops and animals are going to
reduce your output. Probably best if you give up
on saving advanced physics, and things like
neurosurgery. If you manage to keep math,
Einsteinien physics and the germ theory of
disease, you'll recover the rest easily enough.
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If the final, it's going to be much harder, since
you'll have to isolate your seeds and domesticate
your stock first. You're also looking at years of
planting before you have enough crops to grow for
food instead of just for next year's planting. That
means the number of tech
people you can support is going to be very low,
and essentially none during planting and harvest.
You're probably best off trying to maintain a high
tech skill set or two, and make whatever language
your reference materials are written in the official
one, in hopes that your descendants are going to
be able to figure things out down the road.
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Beyond that fact, you'd better hope that your
selection of skilled/educated personnel is pretty
well distributed. I know how to design a lot of
mechanical things, and I actually know my way
around glass blowing, and a forge, as well as some
primitive wood working techniques. Ditto some
basic chemistry. On the other hand, I've only got a
so/so concept of how to set up a iron furnace, let
alone large scale steel production, and no clue
how to find iron ore or coal in the wild. My
knowledge of steam engines is 100% theoretical,
and only slightly better for water wheels. I know
very well how to select a specific steel or other
material for a given use, but not how to find or
properly mix the correct additives to produce said
steel. As to glass, I know you start with pure sand
and lime, but not what the rest of the additives
are, nor how to find them or pre-process them. I
might be able to put together a brick/stone forge,
but we'd better have a leather worker to produce
bellows, and I've got no clue how to produce the
cement for a good glass blowers crucible. |
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