Lakeroadster's Sci Fi B-29

[lakeroadster]

Sanding the Spherical Windows

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Went out to the barn in search of something to use to sand the curvature on the Spherical Windows. It just so happens that some plastic shelving legs are the perfect size! The Gods of Odd-Rocs must be in approval of this project.​

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I layed some 100 grit sandpaper over the shelving leg and sanded the contours to match the BT-60 tube.​

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[lakeroadster]

Gluing On The Spheres, Externally

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[lakeroadster]

Turning the Engine Cowlings, Rear Gunner Cones and the Top Turret

Made these from pine on my wood lathe.​

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[lakeroadster]

Nose Gun Pod

The right gun doubles as the launch lug. Just gluing it in place... to be followed by some fillets and CWF.​

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[BABAR]

Ya know, just the wood grain adds an “Alien” look to this puppy.

 

[lakeroadster]

Nose Gun: Wooden Dowel

Gluing the wooden dowel. Used a piece of 1" wood and some playing cards to get it to align with the launch lug.​

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Pew-Pew.... Pew-Pew​

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[lakeroadster]

Nose gun is coming along nicely...

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[lakeroadster]

Horizontal Stabilizers

These are "Through The Wall" also.​

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[BABAR]

Horizontal Stabilizers

These are "Through The Wall" also.​

View attachment 675768 View attachment 675769​

Let’s hope the gunners don’t have a target on their 6

 

[BABAR]

Hope weather is adequate for a swing test!

 

[lakeroadster]

Spool Drawing, Rev 00

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[lakeroadster]

Spool and a Swing Test

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Spool​

Rough cut the Centering Rings with the fly cutter and then trued up the O.D.'s on the wood lathe. Used Gorilla Glue for the initial fillets, then finished up with Titebond Quick & Thick. Then chucked the finished spool into the lathe and sanded the O.D.'s to fit the the C-300 inner tubes.​

Swing Test​

As a recap: Open Rocket showed this rocket to be unstable with a -0.394 calibers.​

The swing test showed that it is indeed unstable.... it flies backwards just as good as forwards, and it dances on it's nose quite fine too. ​

I'll go ahead and build the "Stability Pods", basically a couple of arrow shafts to add to the back of the rocket... then give it another swing test.​

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[jqavins]

Time to take my mindsim out back and shoot it like a lame horse.

 

[Daddyisabar]

Time to take my mondsim out back and shoot it like a lame horse.

You just need a reboot. It's Miller time? Maybe a software and hardware upgrade could help too.

 

[Daddyisabar]

Spool and a Swing Test

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Spool​

Rough cut the Centering Rings with the fly cutter and then trued up the O.D.'s on the wood lathe. Used Gorilla Glue for the initial fillets, then finished up with Titebond Quick & Thick. Then chucked the finished spool into the lathe and sanded the O.D.'s to fit the the C-300 inner tubes.​

Swing Test​

As a recap: Open Rocket showed this rocket to be unstable with a -0.394 calibers.​

The swing test showed that it is indeed unstable.... it flies backwards just as good as forwards, and it dances on it's nose quite fine too. ​

I'll go ahead and build the "Stability Pods", basically a couple of arrow shafts to add to the back of the rocket... then give it another swing test.​

View attachment 678409 View attachment 678410View attachment 678411 View attachment 678412View attachment 678413 View attachment 678414View attachment 678415View attachment 678416​

Lots-O-Lumber on the hind end. Lots-O-Junk in the trunk! Do I hear the call of balsa laminated in 3M lable paper sheets???...NEVER! THAT IS NOT THE WAY. LONG LIVE HEAVY AND STRONG PLYWOOD!

Build light, build strong is for the old dudes who launched back in the day with wimpy BP toy motors. Bigger composite motors, bigger fins way in the back and no, NO GOOD, STINKING, PERFORMANCE ROBBING NOSE WEIGHT. Maybe some cool electronics up front.

Hallelujah! I HAVE REFORMED!

 

[Daddyisabar]

Make the stabilizer extension fins out of lovely, invisible LEXAN??...NEVER!

Better skedaddle, speedier than the approaching Spanish Inquisition!

 

[lr64]

How about making the horizontal stabilizers larger? I"m guessing that it's only unstable in pitch?

 

[jqavins]

Yeah, I don't see any way it can possibly be unstable in yaw. Even a three legged mule could see that.

 

[lakeroadster]

How about making the horizontal stabilizers larger? I"m guessing that it's only unstable in pitch?

The original artwork didn't have any Horizontal Stabilizers.​

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But... I ran the numbers:​

Doubling the size of the Horizontal Stabilizers brings the stability from -0.394 up to 0.436.​

Tripling the size yields stability of 0.605.​

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Right now... they are to scale with the Vertical Stabilizer. Going any bigger just looks weird.​

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The Stability Pods mount back behind the rocket, that's why they make such a big contribution to stability​

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[lakeroadster]

Yeah, I don't see any way it can possibly be unstable in yaw. Even a three legged mule could see that.

Is that what your mindsim is telling you, that the vision of a mule is based on it's number of legs?​

Well.... alrighty then.​

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And then you'd shoot a lame horse.... ​

... but keep a three legged mule..​

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It's all so confusing.​

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[jqavins]

My mindsiming is apparently as good (at its job) as a lame horse is (at his). A three legged mule would obviously be even worse (at its job), and yet even he is good enough at his job that an equally bad mindsimmer could see that this has to be yaw stable.

And I never said I'd keep the mule.

But I am clearly getting more and more fuddled, so maybe just put me and my equines in a home and forget about us.

 

[lakeroadster]

My mindsiming is apparently as good (at its job) as a lame horse is (at his). A three legged mule would obviously be even worse (at its job), and yet even he is good enough at his job that an equally bad mindsimmer could see that this has to be yaw stable.

And I never said I'd keep the mule.

But I am clearly getting more and more fuddled, so maybe just put me and my equines in a home and forget about us.

Oh give me a home, where Joe's equines roam....​

 

[lr64]

The original artwork didn't have any Horizontal Stabilizers.​

​

But... I ran the numbers:​

Doubling the size of the Horizontal Stabilizers brings the stability from -0.394 up to 0.436.​

Tripling the size yields stability of 0.605.​

​

Right now... they are to scale with the Vertical Stabilizer. Going any bigger just looks weird.​

​

The Stability Pods mount back behind the rocket, that's why they make such a big contribution to stability​

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I think that if you made the horizontal stab(s) look like the one on a real B-29, your rocket would be stable and have its own kind of appeal. But the appeal is subjective. You would, of course, need to photoshop the original.

Also, isn't caliber a bit conservative when it comes to thick bodied rockets? Especially when that diameter doesn't run the whole length of it? What would be the margin in percent of length? I could be wrong about this.

Whichever way you go, this rocket will be distinctive. You won't take the wrong one home by mistake. If you had a big one at Oshkosh, it would win the dead grass award.

 

[lakeroadster]

I think that if you made the horizontal stab(s) look like the one on a real B-29, your rocket would be stable and have its own kind of appeal. But the appeal is subjective. You would, of course, need to photoshop the original.

A "real" B-29. Could you be more specific? I scaled them from this...​

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If you had a big one at Oshkosh, it would win the dead grass award.

What's the "Dead Grass Award"?​

 

[lakeroadster]

Photo Shoot

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[lr64]

A "real" B-29. Could you be more specific? I scaled them from this...​

View attachment 678750​

Note that the horizontal stab's half span is comparable to the vertical stab's height, and that one of the views is to a different scale.

What's the "Dead Grass Award"?​

The "Dead Grass Award" happens when a LOT of people are interested in a particular airplane and stand around looking at it. By the end of the Oshkosh convention, such airplanes have circles of trampled, dead grass around them. For instance, Barnaby Wainfan's Facetmobile created such a circle*.

*If you're not familiar with it, it has hardly any curved surfaces, hence the name. It has a very low aspect ratio. Imagine a cross between an F-117 and a flat iron. He flew it to Oshkosh from Wisconsin. In terms of fuel or horsepower required, it's said to be somewhat more efficient than a Cessna, and, according to Wainfan, it's handling is more forgiving. This generated a lot of interest at Oshkosh.

 

[jqavins]

A "real" B-29. Could you be more specific? I scaled them from this...​

Relative to what other feature of the plane?

 

[Daddyisabar]

My inner RSO would gladly take a lame horse or a three legged mule over a no good mindsimmer.

RSO: What's this? You want to make this oddroc warbird abomination even worse with feathered propeller blades? No lexan fins?

Mindsimmer: Yes. Yes I do.

 

[Azamiryou]

A "real" B-29. Could you be more specific? I scaled them from this...

Something seems amiss, yours look way smaller than these:



It could be an optical illusion due to that giant vertical being doubled (quadrupled if you count both booms), but I don't think it's only that.

 

[Daddyisabar]

A four motor pod, sports scale B 29 would be so cool. I already have it mindsimed and I do have one more unopened Baby Bertha kit, extra BT 60 , 24mm tubing, squishy balsa and lable paper. NO NO NO! I will not be seduced by the dark side! Click my heels three times and say "Thres's Safety with 3-4FNC!" I must resist! Do not be influenced by cool projects on the forum!