Giant Scale Aircraft Kits

(this section under development)

Nov 24, 2007

I am working on some extremely scale 30% size aircraft designs that will be kits in the near future. For many years I have wanted to make some really special kits. Nothing like anything that is avaiable in the market place. The market for $2000 plus kits has grown sufficiently to make small production runs of these type of kits possible.

When the first of these kits will be available is planed to be spring of 2008. All my spare time efforts are being devoted to the kit projects. I have my basic Nelson Hobby Specialties available for purchase so that I can devote full time to these scale kit projects. My goal is to have a series of construction kits and possibility partially pre built aircraft. The scale that I want to work with is 30%. This will allow fuselage lengths that are more transportable than 1/3 scale models.

What will be unique about these kits is that the subject will be constructed in a similar manner and type of materials as the full scale aircraft. In particular these kits will be of the full-scale steel tube fabric covered aircraft. Typical aircraft are Piper Cubs, Aeroncas, Wacos, Stearmans, Citabrias, Skybolt, Pitts Special, and many other such aircraft.  What is interesting about all of these aircraft is they are mostly all built the same. The same type of construction of a 1935 Piper Cub is not much different than a 2007 Pitts Model 12.

The first of the 30% series will be a Great Lakes 2T-1A biplane followed by a Aeronca 7AC Champion. The Great Lakes drawings are about 3/4 finished. The drawings are being drawn on a professional three dimension Computer Assisted Drawing software (CAD). Actual factory production drawings are being used to make the 30% model very accurate in every detail. Even down to working twin rudder petals. The Great Lakes will have a 95 inch wingspan and a fuselage about 6 feet long. Many engines can be used from the OS 4- cylinder inline 4-cycle, RCS 5-cylinder radial, a DA50, Saito/OS 300 4-cycle twin, or a Fuji 80cc twin.

To fabricate a steel tube fuselage and tail group in a 30% scale can be difficult to do by most modelers. Not that is it difficult to do, but special welding equipment and tooling is required to make these parts from steel. Also for the tail group steel tubing to be thin enough wall to be light enough is not commonly available. Stainless steel can be used, but it is expensive and difficult to cut and machine.

I have made use of an epoxy called Metal WELD that can bond aluminum tubing and sheet together with an extremely good bond or joint. Equal and even stronger than a similar structure made from wood. Lighter too. Using Metal WELD to make the steel tubing type full-scale structure from aluminum tubing and sheet provides a simple and efficient method to make the full-scale steel tube type aircraft in a 30% scale.

The kits will be very complete. There will be nothing else to purchase other than the engine/muffler and radio equipment. Wheels, gas tank, control linkage and servo trays, tail wheel, simulated instruments, etc. Even the fabric, markings, and paint (choice of color will be supplied. These will not be cheap kits, but ones that will be of the highest quality possible.  They will be hand made and not produced by $1 a day workers in Asia.

Plans have been made to have the construction of the kit components and ARC aircraft produced in Mexico City. There are many advantages by obtaining our products from Mexico. The fact of shipping to the USA is a much quicker and cheaper process than from overseas. My contact in Mexico City is someone I have known for more than 30 years and is still an active modeler as well as a successful business person.

The kit components assembled in Mexico will not be supplied ready for covering. The components will be as they come off the building jigs. Actual construction of the basic parts such as the wing panels, rudder, fuselage frame, etc. will be made. The customer will have to finish the rest of the assembly process. There will be no actual tooling or jigs required to finish the basic framework.

MORE DATA TO FOLLOW: 11/24/07 This what I have finished so far for this section.

Rudder is made from aluminum. The spar is 5/16" dia. The trailing edge is 1/8" dia.. Ribs are from .016" sheet. The entire assembly is joined together with MetalWeld epoxy. Small 1/32" aluminum gussets are used at each joint.

The stabilizer (consists of two identical half's) is made also entirely of aluminum. The leading edge and spar are 5/16" dia. tubing. The ribs are .016" sheet. MetalWeld epoxy used to join the assembly together.

 

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