Author Topic: Kludge's infamous B-25 Project  (Read 12917 times)

Kludge

  • Guest
Kludge's infamous B-25 Project
« on: February 03, 2009, 04:49:48 PM »
Anyone who's a regular on HMEM and has even halfway been following my posts knows of two major projects, Noelle-machines and a Nick Zirolli B-25.  Right now, I have the plans for the 101" wingsan version but I may pick up the ones for the 118" version as well.  The end result will be a camera ship with both still and video cameras in the bomb bay which will use one of several possible autopilots available that can be set up using GPS way points to follow a set course and I think help maintain altitude.  (They do have altitude hold capability anyway.) 

Also on board will be a couple of telemetry transmitters intended for model aircraft (two because it's a twin engine airplane and one won't quite manage it all) plus cockpit and bombardier's nose cameras.  The former is because I was a pilot and feel better "in the cockpit" than outside watching, and the latter to help line up the approach for photo runs.  (Yeah, I know.  THis could be done using the autopilot but where's the fun in that?) 

Overall, that's a seabag full of electronics. 

There's a weight penalty for everything I want to add to the plane.  The rated gross for the 101" version is 35 pounds and the 118" is 45 pounds.  With the streamlining (I'm modifying it to a postwar civilian version) and lift augmentation (tiplets, Fowler flaps etc) I should be able to bump the takeoff weight up some then burn off fuel to get it down to rated.  (During WW II, the B-17s flying out of England did that to stretch their range.  The climb out was slow and stretched across the English Channel to the French shoreline.)  Other ways around this are to explore new and different construction techniques/materials and to get as much power out of the engines as possible without disasterous results (read as: making really expensive noises) including shredded airplane.  (As a side note, being able to fly on one engine would be nice which suggests counter-rotating engines even though the original flew with both turning the same way.)

In the meantime, I need to get back up to speed in flying.  I haven't had a plane since I got here and the last planes I had back on the mainland were electric powered gliders which I used to catch thermals with over the hills.  Hawks sometimes took exception to this and one of the planes was downed by a hawk.  I never found the pieces.  The very last plane was an electric Bf-110 which was somewhat over-powered but confounded the hawks by being able to outmaneuver them.  Apparently hawks don't do dogfights well.  This was good because flight time was pretty limited.

Anyway, this post is kind of an intro and will spawn others in an assortment of areas.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid. :whip:

BEst regards,

Kludge

Offline sbwhart

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3530
  • Country: gb
  • Smile, Be Happy, Have Fun and Rock Until you Drop
Re: Kludge's infamous B-25 Project
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2009, 05:10:21 PM »
Hi Kludge

Look forward to following your B-25 project, In fact its sounds such a great project you must have caught a dose of

 :proj:
 
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Cheers

Have Fun
 :wave:
Stew

A little bit of clearance never got in the road
 :wave:

Location:- Crewe Cheshire

Kludge

  • Guest
Re: Kludge's infamous B-25 Project
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2009, 03:41:58 AM »
Thanks, Stew. 

I figure on a minimum of ten years to get it airborne during which time I'll be able to make and revise a whole bunch of hard & fast decisions.  There will be some other airplanes between now and the wheels up on the '25 to first help get me back into flying RC then transition to twins then upgrade the size plus test a few ideas.  Up to the Ziroli B-25 I'll be flying electrics, however there are motors large enough to handle either of the Ziroli B-25s as well.  All will be capable of FPV (First Person Video - ie, cockpit camera) and all should have flaps and retractable landing gear to get me in the practice of using them, though the entry plane might not have retracts. 

With that, there is a nice relationship between the Cessna 210 and the rest of their single engine line so it may be possible to equip a 182 I saw on ePay (decent as a trainer - high wing, semi-symmetrical airfoil, stable, fairly docile) with retracts - and flaps if needed.  I can't remember if it was so equipped or not.  I just have to deal with CG shifts between gear up and gear down which might be a bit touchy.

There are two things I have to deal with here, weather - mostly winds - and the ocean.  Oh, and the lack of fields and instructors (to use as check pilots since I've flown RC already) where I am and a limited ability to get to where they are.  Managing the first two implies airplanes large, fast and heavy enough not to fall prey to them.  This limits where I can fly out of but I'm sure somewhere will appear.  Aside from the aforementioned Cessna model, I've got a few ideas which planes I'd like to use for the path to the big'ns

None of the planes I've looked at other than the Ziroli B-25s requires more than 7 channels (elevator, ailerons, elevators, flaps, landing gear, two throttles).  The Ziroli planes require 8, with duplicate radios for redundancy.  The radios I'll probably use for everything other than the Ziroli planes will be cheap (read as: Chinese imports) Futuba-compatable 9 channel sets since the receivers will be inexpensive to replace as needed.  Auxiliary stuff (cameras, etc) will be handled via an equally inexpensive second radio system to keep the main radio free of the extra load.  Doesn't that sound like a whole bunch of fun?

In the meantime, I'm assembling a few questions regarding radios & servos, various model autopilots and other toys, construction materials, e-flight motors & ESCs, engines, getting around the FAA's 500' rule, and finding the question the answer to which is 42.

BEst regards,

Kludge

Offline Scuba1

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 251
  • Country: us
Re: Kludge's infamous B-25 Project
« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2011, 04:22:00 PM »
I used to build large scale model air-planes and if you want to ponder some ideas, feel free to get in touch. Built a 3mtr F4U corsair from scratch several Pipers in all flavours around the 3mtr as well. Pitts special, and a few others.
Skype: scuba-1