B-17 Flying Fortress Build to Static

[ADW 123]

Just got started on this one. winter is coming quick, and its getting too cold to fly my u cessna even if i get it done. So off to the backburner with that one...





trying a different method of making the formers straight. is working pretty well.



for the most part not much trouble with the parts and cuting notches. I will not add those dumb little temparary cross braces. I have a better method of ensuring a straight align which i will illistrate later.


More soon

[cliffm]

I was thinking to give some tips about things to look out for,but the plans pretty much got it covered on this one. The only problem I encountered with the B-17 was choosing between the scenarios it can be built in. I have it hanging with wheels up but I installed the tailwheel steel in case it needs it later. Also,all the wood in the wings to slide in the landing gear if need be,it would be a fairly simple swap. The clear plastic in my kit was'nt really very clear so I just silvered a lot of it. I hope you enjoy building this one as much as I did it's a great build.

[scigs30]

ADW, You can finish mine for me and keet it. I have most of the fuselage built and wings built. I was going to build mine for static but decided I would rather build Dares Electric RC version.

[ADW 123]

Scigs, you sure? It looks like a nice plane there. More plane pics soon

[scigs30]

ADW, I would rather build one to fly and mine is too far along so if you want it and you promise to finish it, I will send it to you.

[ADW 123]

Certainly. The one I am building was a gift from my history teacher last year. It is going to be hung up it his room with another one of my planes. I sure would like a B-17 for my ceiling! PM sent. I dont think I would be able to even get close to the perfection of your work but its worth a try. Thanks.


progress-







I think the way I added the other side of formers is better than the way the plans wanted me to. Much easier to put on and remove.

[ADW 123]

At the end of the day-

[cliffm]

Building the scale propellers for this series is kind of a painful process and to simplify it I took a piece of 3/16 dowel and notched the ends to accept the kit blades and it saved on a lot of messy laminating and sanding. Hopefully here's a pic.

[ADW 123]

Thanks Cliffm. I think i might give that a try. It will be a while before i even really think about engine detail/propellers.

here is an update. I have the stringers on from the side keel up. Have to add a couple in the back.

[BassettsAllSorts]

Looking really good...Keep up the good work!

Tom

[B R Burns]

Hi, Tom I think your more ambitious than me,but would look great built as per the Sikorsky R6 spec.

[ADW 123]

It has been some time since i have gotten much work done on the B-17. I have had a few weeks preparing for exams on top of other school work, so i had to set my models to the side for a little while. winter break is here now, and i have over two weeks to work on my plane. i have gotten a lot of work done so far. i finished the fuselage for one. i need to add a few little things to make windows go on easier etc. but that can wait. I got my right wing finished yesterday. I used a different method for adding the leading edge. the plans want you to sand it to shap before it goes on, but this is a problem if the LE of the ribs dont fit the thickness of the LE in the first place. i decided to only cut it to the proper taper, and then leave sanding for later:





the wings slide very nicely into the fuselage as planned.







I think when this thing is laser cut we wont have any more trouble with it... but for now i have to deal with some of the standard die cut issues. it isnt too bad though.


more updates as i advance.

[BillParker]

welcome back... school sucks...

bp

[ADW 123]

Thanks Bill. Feels good.

John, here is how those fuselage alignment sticks work. they are really easy to make, and very effective. i have some good pictures to share.





you can see by my first picture the angle at which the sticks are. The idea is that they slightly close at the open side of it. this ensures a firm grip on the fuselage formers. you can easily achieve this by pressing down in the apropriate way. notice the thickness of that little piece of balsa sandwiched in between the two larger pieces. the thickness of this (1/16" in this case") correlates to the thickness of the formers. if you have thicker formers, you must have an alignment stick that has a thicker piece of balsa in the middle. the wider the alignment sticks, the more "stable" they are and the more effective they are. just be careful with this as the smaller kits can only have alignment sticks up to a certain width. also, i used CA to stick them together. this will be more effective than white glue, so for those who are ok with CA, go for it.

now onto my build.

both wings are complete. i am pretty happy with the way they turned out, and i am impressed with my worksmanship.

in this first one you can see what i meant when i was talking about not pre shaping the LE as per the plans. i think it is really silly and hard to do with poor die cuts. i only added the correct tapper. that was all. it ended up pretty well for this one.












all and all, its been a fairly smooth ride so far. i really am not sure what to expect for the tail feathers. i think they will be a pain with the die cuts. i have always had some bad luck with the tail feathers on the larger planes.

[John G. Jedinak]

Alex...Thank you for the insight on the former alignment sticks....this will be a big help to me. Very, very nice work on your B-17. Thanx, again...JohnG.