1923 B3 'Charlotte II' in 1:3 Scale

[michaely]

Hi Arup,


hi Arup,


I like the way the plywood sheeting turned out, once varnished/finished.

Good idea on using bass (or spruce) on the ribs.... my gut sense is that something other than balsa is needed for the outline (top and bottom), largely to deal with "hanger rash". I think balsa on the uprights would be pretty strong though.

Interesting fluids you have used for fillers on fabric, such as milk.
Ever hear or have experience with using gelatin?..... such as Knox (I think now owned by Kraft), used in some food preparations.
I tried it on a test sample of Koverall and it filled really well and left a hard surface but did not take the experiment at the time to further finishing.

Your finished model is a dazzling accomplishment of a very unusual subject.

Michael in Ontario, Canada

[ARUP]

Hi Michael, I'm honored to be the recipient of your first post here! Thanks! Yes... I've heard of folks using gelatin but had forgotten all about that one. I've never used it. I remember the Knox name, too! I agree with you that balsa would be sufficient for the uprights on the ribs. Too bad I didn't do that for it would have saved a little time fabbing the sticks needed. Thanks for the compliments, too! I love these vintage birds with the pretty wood colors and textures showing!

I've been designing a rack to hold the wings for transport. I've been working on the venturi and leather cockpit coaming, too. I am trying to duplicate the facial features of Herman Winter, the pilot. I'm not showing anything about that just yet!

[ARUP]

Here are a some pics of my '59 Bug that is getting 'updated'. My buddy Bill has been helping with the resto. The engine and tranny are in, voltage regulator relocated and all lines, wires and cables connected... just need air cleaners to fit the dual Kadrons. You can see the Gene Berg remote oil filter and Gene Berg deep sump. Oh Yeah! All new brake lines and brakes installed including a dual circuit master cylinder in lieu of the single which is stock. Disc brakes going on front. Dot 5 silicone fluid going in the reservoir. Ya gotta be able to stop especially when a little car like this gets triple the horsepower from stock!





A box was constructed to hold the wings. These wings are bulky and fragile in of themselves. Each was laid on foam board and support built around them to account for the wash out. When you slide them into the box the foam components were arranged to 'capture' the wing. The struts are held in the box, too. The wing tip skids will get captured by the end cap of the box... yet to be made. This will be nice in that all the components of the wings will be in one box. The wing rods stay inside the fuselage. A cradle will be made for it.

[ARUP]

More pics...





More to come!

[lenb]

Punch buggy !!!

[ARUP]

That's right! Our arms used to get pretty sore from all of the VWs on the road. Not so much now. The wing storage box has an end cap closure, now. This end cap was made to capture the fin and hoop skids! I might even make some sort of clip to hold the wing rods so that the wing stuff (except the wing retaining hold springs) are all in the big blue box! Tomorrow I'm gonna finish the rudder bar end fuse blisters, coaming and start the venturi construction. I was holding off these details until the transportation wing box got finished. I'm beat! I did landscaping all day. Jeremy, when you come to pick me up for Winamac you'll get to see all the new shrubbery!

[Swiss1]

You can come and do my yard Jelly!

[ARUP]

Sorry good buddy...when my yard is done then I'm done!

[ARUP]

Here is the end cap for the wing box. It holds the fin and wing hoop skids.





Plastic wrap then waxed paper put onto fuselage. This will be to make flanges on previously molded blisters. Two layers of 4oz. cloth put down with resin then blisters put onto this for curing.

[Tango Juliet]

Remarkable engineering on your wing box. And the fact that you made it out of foam instead of wood is a huge weight savings I'm sure.

[Dion Dunn]

Good thing you bought that truck Michael. Otherwise we may need to find you one of them big 'ol 80's Chevy Caprice station wagons. That box is big!

[ARUP]

After this cured the blisters were taken off the fuselage, sprayed with primer, sanded and lightly painted with 'hammered look' copper colored paint. The blisters in photos aren't silvery looking like the instrument on the deck so I'm gonna say they were made from copper which was easy to work into pots and pans back in the day. The blisters were cut free using a Dremel with a cut off wheel. Glue spots were added around the perimeter to appear as fasteners then when dry more paint added. I did this so the detail of the 'glue spot' fasteners didn't get 'lost' in the paint.









Now, on to making a transport cradle since the blisters are in place. I didn't want to make it until I knew where they'd be, exactly. If the cradle was built improperly then the blisters would probably rub somewhere and get damaged. It's usually something rubs wrong and gives blisters! Will get venturi built up, too!

[ARUP]

Thanks T.J.! These wings are not long but bulky and fragile... the ugly orchid! I had a few different designs rattling around my empty head but this seemed the most practical. We'll see how it plays out over time. I might reinforce the edges with plastic tape and or Styrospray.

Dion, you are absolutely correct! I'm glad I have a trailer, too! I think it would be cool to have one of those old late 40s early 50s Dodge Power Wagon Suburbans for transporting this stuff.

[Swiss1]

If I may add my 2 cents Jelly, cover all the edges with alluminium duct tape, as whey will eventually get dented no matter how careful you are!

[Tango Juliet]

I was going to suggest fiberglass tape, but the aluminum tape might actually be a better idea.

[oldstuff]

you might try the plastic corners for drywall. with carpet double side tape. the 3rd cent

[Dion Dunn]

Saw pics of her on Facebook. Looks good, and hope she flies well.

[ARUP]

This thread is pretty much done. Poor Charlotte died a slow death on the maiden. The tow was fairly uneventful. The wing root gap cover came off and a strut(?) fluttered at the start. Jim Dolly, the tow pilot, immediately reduced power (dang... he's good!) and it seemed to tow okay but stupid me had the c.g. too far forward. I should have trusted my chuck glider 'guesstimate' of 25% MAC but.... after release the model descended in a slow left hand turn, just barely touched the roof of a vehicle in the commercial lot next to the field until impacting an ~4" pole. The fuselage is 'toast' and one wing panel broken through the spar near the root. I'm not going to rebuild it just yet. I'll have to ponder things for a while. Len was the test pilot and he was concerned for the c.g., too! Dang... he's good, too! He felt bad but it is totally my fault for not having the c.g. properly placed. I want to thank everyone for the 'lurks', 'looks', laughs and comments on this build. I want to thank everyone for their sympathy and, lastly, want to thank John Bawcum, the nice young lady who escorted us to the broken model and the folks of Braun Ability, Inc, whose vehicle I damaged, for their kindness and understanding.

[lenb]

This model was a piece of art. It's a total shame she is not going to live on and grace the fields of upcoming events.
Thanks for letting me be part of the adventure, even if it was the bad part.
If we listened to our guys and pulled a bunch of weight out of the nose, she might be flying well.
Overall, the plane was pretty stable, looked fantastic in the air and towed very well. Once released, the nose came over and she proceeded to pick up speed, which would slightly raise the nose, which would slow the plane and drop the nose again. rinse and repeat. Eventually, airspeed gave way to altitude and boom.

It doesn't look like a total loss to the untrained eye, but Michael certainly knows if it's worth it or not.