Egilman

Ok it's buttoned up waiting for glue... Still gotta get the rubber bands off the joints..... And the cockpit in the fuselage... Right side... Left Side... Instrument Panel..... I think it fits well .... EG

Yep, Otto Lilienthal was the first to figure out that it was the curvature of a birds wing that caused lift, and the physical principle of air movement over that curve that caused the lowering of air pressure over the wing. He also deduced that the center of air pressure buildup is what caused the air to accelerate over the wing.... his only mistake was to calculate the curves that caused the buildup of air pressure too shallow, which reduced the lift the curve was capable of.... This principle of flow over a curved surface was known to those who designed ship propellers, (and the Wrights tried the table of pressures for ship propellers in their calculations after figuring out that Lilienthal was wrong then deciding that they needed to create their own table) but was thought not to apply to wings flowing through air... So what Lilienthal actually discovered was that air acts as a fluid when under pressure. But this wasn't fully understood until the Wright's fully clarified it with their testing. (and corrected his calculations in the process) In fact the only reason the Wrights built the Flyer was to prove their concepts and they built it in such a way that it was unflyable without human input.... They discovered the principle of angle of attack increases/decreases lift and the point when a certain curve will stall at too great an angle also. Which lead to their engineering solutions to control and efficient propeller thrust in air. All revolutionary discoveries yes, but based upon much of what was discovered before them. I could go on, like the truss design they used for their wings was a lightweight modified pratt truss designed by Octave Chanute... The Wrights took what was available from the common aeronautical literature of the time and developed their own solutions using the info in different ways to solve the problems others were having on making it work, In the process they made hundreds of discoveries that no one else was even considering... But it was all built on what came prior.... they didn't invent the airplane, they invented a control system for airplanes by learning and understanding the information that was already there, and correcting for the previous errors and testing for what actually worked. Their solutions were and still are, pure genius....

Thanks Jack, I thought about that when I couldn't find my stash of modeling clay, so i went to HL and bought a new pack... (Hobby Lobby is now open here) Don't need much just enough to balance out the engine weight in the tail.... there is plenty of room behind the cockpit bulkhead and I'll keep the gun compartment open and radome off until after the landing gear are installed just in case I need to add a bit more.... One ounce of modeling clay behind the cockpit that should be sufficient... Onward....

But it was the Brothers that first revealed how they actually worked. they didn't deflect air like the first ones were designed to, Ailerons work by changing the curvature of the wing increasing lift on one side and decreasing it on the other... The Wrights wing warping illustrated that perfectly. and it was Curtis that first applied it in full form as proper ailerons (actually have an airfoil shape themselves) instead of simple directional flow vanes to deflect the airflow.... The Wright brother weren't the first to study the science of aeronautics, but they were the first to actually apply scientific and engineering principles to it. they discovered that Lilienthal's table of airpressures (and hence his wing curvatures to develop lift was off by 50%, they were the first to consider a propellor as a rotational wing that should develop thrust rather than just move air like a fan.... they were the first to develop the constant flow wind tunnel cause they understood that they could not correct Lilienthal's table if they didn't have a consistent, repeatable flow of air over the airfoils.... They are considered the fathers of modern aeronautical engineering, and rightfully so... Their contributions go way beyond the first controllable (barely) flight...... They were the first to actually understand how to fly, everyone else before was playing at it... The greatest advances are usually the simplest ones, and controllable flight is so simple, that once the Wrights revealed how it was done, everyone duplicated the feat upon seeing it...... Heck show the principle to a 5 yr old child today, and they instantly understand it. The Wrights let the cat outta the bag so to speak.... and right then WWI comes along to give a huge push to the engineering....

Except for the D7 & D8, Fokker actually wind tunnel tested both of them and the results showed in their performance during 1918....... They were virtually undestroyable in the air unless you killed the pilot/engine or somehow set it afire... After the war when the germans turned them all over to the allies, the US army took one of theirs, (D7) and had the smithsonian test it in their Wright brothers designed wind tunnel. they found that the airframe could withstand 13 g's of force without breaking and it didn't shed fabric under 200 knots... It was a revolution in aircraft design.... They were getting around to building better airplanes driven by the needs of the war....

Ok next update, a very tight cockpit..... It barely fits in there, I had to alter another couple of parts to make it fit properly......... Now I gotta figure out how much weight to add, this is a tail dragger of a kit especially with that engine back there in the tail... Any suggestions before I button it up..... (I already know I'm leaving the radar out and filling the nose with modeling clay) EG

Thank you Mark.... Well, I guess we could throw a wicker basket seat in there like the olden days, get a little "Seat of the Pants" flying in? Put the seat in a display case and just tell the pilot that we had to polish it for the next photo op.... I mean it IS a government operation isn't it? {chuckle} Really, Thank you, It's appreciated....

Thank you my friend, yeah it was a challenge. I also think that most are done just to prove to oneself that you can do it. The usual budget conscious modeler puts his money in what shows off the skill and artistry. And the guys that do it again and again for the magazines get paid to do it... PE or Resin on a ship or aircraft exterior improves the look especially in the larger scales so there is a viable reason to add those skills to the tool box, but on interiors or areas that will never see the light of day again? Hard to justify....

Yep.. The Hafner Rotabuggy officially known as the Malcolm Rotaplane and as the "M.L. 10/42 Flying Jeep" was a British experimental aircraft that was essentially a Willys MB combined with a rotor kite, developed with the intention of producing a way of air-dropping off-road vehicles. Hafner also did the "Rotatank" using a valentine chassis. As soon as the Waco and Horsa gliders were available in numbers, this was dropped...

You have to wait till he's done with it.... Yeah, the RAF made a jeep actually fly...

I'll second that....

I believe that the average life span for a fighter pilot towards the end of the war was 6 missions..... Most of the aces gained their victories not by dogfighting but by stalking the lone straggler. (including the red baron) That new young pilots were often set up as bait to attract the enemy where the more experienced pilots would wait to spring upon them..... WWI aviation was far from the glamour and chivalry we often read about.... (yes they buried the Red Baron with full military honors and dropped notice of such over a german airfield) you read this and get a picture of one ideal, but in reality Richtoften was descending on a helpless brand new Camel pilot looking for his 81st kill. All Captain Brown managed to do was scare him off and in the loss of concentration allowed himself to sink too close to the ground and the Aussies on the ground shot him out of the sky... (although the RAF still credits Capt. Brown with the victory) It was a particularly nasty, vicious type of warfare... Richtoften likened it to being the hunter or the hunted no quarter offered....

Have a safe trip brother, enjoy yourself, we will be here when you get back......

Thank you Lou, They can be torture that's for sure, (and I put three sets together all made for different models) Your's isn't done yet brother so finish comparisons aren't valid at this point. Besides we have to look at the overall model when making such judgment calls and mine isn't done yet either... Thank you for the compliment, It means a lot my friend......

It's part of the fun.... My wish is that kit manufacturers go just a little bit closer to what is actually smoothly buildable instead of absolute detail.... Leave the absolute detail for those that are willing to put in the work and want the pain..... But learning how to model does not make model companies any money....

Now that is a job, but I've seen them done, as I'm sure you have... I'll be there.... {I like watching masters at the craft work)

Thank you Jack....

Oh yes, I remember when Accurate Armor started producing complete tank interiors and getting crazy money for it... My thinking was why would I want to paint a Mona Lisa, then put it in a closed box with a pinhole as the only way to view it? I've avoided such up till now... So I've had my taste of super detailing, and gotten my fill.... And as far as this kit, it needed the cockpit work, no doubt about that, but the seat was quite presentable as it was. I really didn't need to swap seats. So I have a magazine cover shot sitting right here on my desktop and I did it..... The true feeling is relief that it is done... (and a slight sense of pride creeping in there which I hate to admit) Thank you all for the likes and compliments and discussions..... They were definitely motivational..... Now on with the rest of the build....

Thanks Craig, I always wanted to do one of those super detailing jobs. But I should have known better..... But when the miniature pilot and crew chief show up, they can adjust all the seat straps as needed, cause all the individual adjusters are there... (don't know how they will like the brass straps, but I'll let them figure that one out) Thank you very much....

Thank you Nick, At least one thing I know now is I can work at that level, but someone is going to have to seriously pay me a lot to go there again... Masochism is the word, and an apt one as well...... It's when dreams of fidelity to accurate details meets reality..... {chuckle}

My pleasure Carl, I try to help when I can. They are out of Poland, I hope it works for you... EG

Ok Brothers, I think I'm done with the seat.... Most of that isn't going to show but it's there... I know it is.... {chuckle} Gonna take a bit of a days break for recovery here and then start assembling of this bird.... As an aside, I will not do this level of detail again, once was enough, most of what was just done will never ever be seen.... I went ahead and took a shot under natural light. the limitations of my camera are apparent... Anyway, Onward... EG

https://www.super-hobby.com/products/Bf-109G-6-Swiss-HASEGAWA.html 1/48th scale And according to the site they are in stock... And the set has aircraft 705, which is the scheme for the eduard kit... (it also comes with gun barrels and canopy masks, both inside and outside, a real deal if you ask me)

Thanks OC..... Fiddly?, you said Fiddly? they are way beyond fiddly into don't breathe on it while assembling territory.... My mind is already considering other options for seatbelts/harnesses in the future... These look nice but are a whole lot of headache to assemble right and if you lose a part? forget it they are done.... There has to be other easier options....

Been kinda busy today, so I figure that I would sit down for a relaxing build session. Give her a bit of time.... Doin seat belts.... (relaxing, right) That is six parts..... I think I lost the clasp for the right side three times before I finally got the strap through the buckles web loop... And yeah, they had to be folded as well, no glue.... Now that they are done, they get glued to the seat..... Give a new definition to relaxing.... a few seconds of absolute concentration, an instant of OH CRAP!, and 40 minutes of searching for this microscopic part of which there is no spare.... Now that we have defined relaxation, (modelers edition) we need to get a memo off to Webster's right away... (got to get it in the next edition) But, I'm making progress.... EG