Bart83 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Here i go . . . This will become the build log of an Short S.23 '' class '' empire airways flying boat. The scale will be 1/16.5 , this gives a wingspan of 210cm or 82.6 inch The Short Empire was a medium range four engined monoplane passenger and mail carrying flying boat, of the 1930s and 1940s, that flew between Britain and the British colonies in Africa, Asia and Australia as well as providing service between Bermuda and New York City. It was manufactured by Short Brothers and was developed in parallel with the Short Sunderland patrol bomber of World War II and the piggy-back Short Mayo Composite . As an 11year old i got a special issue of MAN from my dad. And thats when i first saw it , the beautifull empire flying boat. It was Ted Russels 120inch rc model on the cover. Since then i was ever hoocked and decided that i was gonna build myself one , when ? i didn't knew but i was gonna build it. Years ( and many planes ) later i was stumbling arround a great fenomenon : RC groups , here where i read lukeZ short solent 400 threath and i was ammazed by it and immediately the ted russel 120 inch s23 came back on my mind. So i whent to the attic and searched my old magazines and lucky me i still had it. Now it was time for some serious plans and with the help of internet it was a lot easier then in 1994.After a lot of '' google '' time i had collected myself a pretty big database with everything i could find on the empire flying boats. The seawings website is a real good site. And i can really reccomend the book ''flying empire's'' by Brian Cassidy www.seawings.co.uk I got my self a copy of the 1:24 plans drawn by Len Whalley an i got a copy of Ivans short solent 400. The idea is to build an Short S.23 using ivans construction methods. **LINK** Then there was an other idea that came , i was wanted to learn how to desing rc model using CAD , and this was not easy so the past few years i went on and of with this project but now im finally getting t know rhino3d it is going the right direction and i thought it was time t post a thread. I now have drawn a 3d model of the plane using the 3view and ivans construction methods , airfoil etc. The model i will be building is the G-ADHM ''Caledonia'' the second boat build by shorts at Rochester. The plane is drawn is not exactly 100% scale but i not only want it to be a good looking model , i also want it to fly good so there were some concessions to be made. Here are the changes i made: -Used an Selig 7055 airfoil cause i dont know how the gottingen436 airoil will work - made the fin and stab larger to give good stability - simplified hull shape to accomadate ivan's construction method - Scaled cowling and nacelles to give a scale appearance - changed float struts lengt to give more scale appearance an better water handling Here are some pictures of what i've done so far , next is to make formers etc. Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 20/10/2012 21:22:51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart83 Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 And now t really get in the 1930's mood here is a collection of film i found on the web , enjoy: Hope you like my project , here's a picture of the construction , more to come Cheers , Bart Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 20/10/2012 21:25:23 Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 20/10/2012 21:27:39 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Hi Bart, welcome to the forum, exciting project! Couple of quick points; 1. Please leave a space between pictures 2. Remember to resize videos to fit. If you don't do these it really damages the page layout because it confuses the html! If you need any pointers then check out the tutorials here. BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concorde Speedbird Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Wow wow wow wow wow! Welcome to the forum, and what a project! This will be a wonderful plane to look at, nice that you are building the plane you dreamed of building an RC model of, when I can I am doing the same, but of Concorde. Good cad work, keep it up! CS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverlandgirl. Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 These used to fly out of Auckland habour too, along with sunderlands, cats, and other assorted flying boats. Saddly, I'm not old enough to have seen them, would have been quite something! Looking forward to watching your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart83 Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks for the replies , here are some more pics of my desing including the apdated cockpit glazing , wasn''t happy with the first. As you can see i plan to make the tail surfaces detachable. Cheers, Bart Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 13/01/2013 15:03:42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ton van Munsteren Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Bart, Good to see you here keep up the good work its a great project. Ton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart83 Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Hey Ton , Yes i found your ' hiding place'' Thought since this is a brittish model people here would like too see it. There's also a thread on RcGroups. Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Hi Bart, how about doing us a short intro to yourself on the Newbie threads. You're obviously an experienced modeller I'm sure a lot of folks would be interested to learn your background. BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart83 Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Ok here it is : **LINK** Cheers, Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouncebounce crunch Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 There will be a catalina flying memorial day in November at Rathmines N.S.W Australia and a Sir Richard Kingsland was the Patron, but sadly passed away on August 27 2012, I mention this as he was sent to Britain to ferry the first of the Sunderland flying boats to Australia, but war broke out and and the Australian government offered the planes to the RAF for the duration of the war, this is where Sir Kingsland was attached to the - RAF no.10 Sunderland Squadron. I hope this short story is of some interest to a few flying boat enthusiasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart83 Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 Small update: Went on with the wing , nacelles an cowlings. Tommorow i have to make the former for the aileron servo. And the i can do the fun part , set the wing to the correct dihedral and mirrr the whole construction. And then of course make a 2d plan and sort al the parts to sheets . . . . . and. . i almost forgot : i have to work . . . thats ok but itcost so much free time. Cheers, Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart83 Posted October 28, 2012 Author Share Posted October 28, 2012 Wing is done and got the parts sorted. Made a start on the wing plan. Cant wait to get the real build started , Cheers, Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart83 Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Basic desing is finished , CNC parts are in and got the build started Cheers , Bart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverlandgirl. Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 That's one serious build, watching with admiration... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 I am not sure whether this has been mentioned yet but have you all read 'Corsairville-the Lost Domain of the Flying Boat' by Graham Costler. My copy is a Penguin book dated 2001. Corsairville is a place named in Africa after an Empire flying boat 'Corsair' that landed in bad weather on a river too small for it to take off easily again. However is was recovered and part of the book deals with the recovery.It also features the last Sunderland to land on the Thames which I photographed in the same location as HMS Belfast in the late 1980's I think.---If only I could find the photos? MJE Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 16/11/2012 00:08:16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Etheridge 1 Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 This is it well worth reading! MJE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart83 Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Finally found some time to get you guys updated , here era some photo's of my progress. . Hope you like it . . . Thanks for the reply's so far. Cheers, Bart Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 13/01/2013 15:14:48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Bennett Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 "wow" is all i can say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Ennis Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Just fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Todd Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Very impressive Bart, this will be a beautiful model. Linds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 stunning work Bart, and great subject Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Excellent craftmanship with great attention to detail - even where it won't ever show - like the inside of the nose cone - superb! The structure of your detachable tailplane is a bit of a concern. You have a substantial rear spar to carry the elevator but the cross tube that carries all the aerodynamic loads between the either side of the taillane is only attached to it by four ribs. Not an ideal way to transfer the bending stresses from the rear spar to the tube as you will be relying entirely on the tailplane skin. No problem if the skin is designed to do this but it might be better to locate the tube right next to or even incorporated into the spar itself. Just an observation. A truly impressive project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david williams 9 ( whizzo) Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 What a project. Stuff of dreams i would say. I will be following with great interest as i live in Rochester and Shorts was a massive part of our history. One of our local pubs is called the Canopus. Thankyou for letting us admire your work. Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Very impressive design and build...wow.I see the above comment about the spars in the tailplane. It seems that the forward spar could be extended out to the third rib on each side, that might spread the loads more evenly or help prevent any twisting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.