BillinIndiana

Please help me understand this, I'm probably making it harder than it is.. I'm a former constructor worker and I'm use to 1/4" scale, where 1/4" = 1 foot..
So take the the Sig Kadet Mark II for example.. It has a wingspan of 57 1/4" long... What scale is this?

pimmnz

Scale, as in a miniature representation of the full size object. A Sig Kadet is not a scale representation of anything, it is, by itself, full size. For most modellers 1/4 scale means 1/4 (25%) full size. 1/4 inch to the foot means 1/48 full size.
Evan, WB #12.

BillinIndiana

Thanks.. I swear I read that Sig Kadet page a few times trying to figure it out. No wonder I couldn't

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I took the term "scale" to mean that it is a model of an actual plane that exists (regardless of it's SCALE SIZE). Funny most of my best flyers don't really exist in real life.

SeamusG

There are competitions that require that a model plane be a scale of the original. It can be 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 33%, 40%, etc. To be considered legal for competition the "scale" aircraft must be within some high percentage of correlation to the original - something like "within 5% or original scale". They (apparently) do this because some planes that are "flyable" in full size scale may just not work at 1/5 scale.

No, I am not a scale modeler (I know, it shows) - just sharing ...

Charlie P.

The IMAA defines "Giant Scale" as a monoplane of 80" wingspan or a biplane of 60" wingspan (neither have to be based on a "real" full size airplane), or a model at least 25% as large as the original even if it doesn't meet the wingspan requirements.

Just to keep things stirred up, I guess.

SeamusG

If ya can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with BS ... been workin' for years ...

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

As an IMAA safety inspector we used a lot of words loosely but it wasn't the term scale. . To qualify to fly an event a single wing plane that is not a scale is required to have a wing span of 80 inches and a bipe plane is required to have a span of 60 inches, these are not scale planes. A scale plane is required to be 1/4 scale or 25% of a full scale plane. A shoe string is a very small racer and at 1/4 scale it is smaller then most 60 size sport planes. As i recall it was the GP Shoe String that was a 1/4 scale.
A loose term is something like a stand off scale, I have the plans now for one I call Stand Way the Hell Off!! It looks sorta like a Sukhoi from a distance.
You can build a peanut scale plane and hold it in the palm of your hand.
A small peanut scale Cub is a scale plane, a big Sr. Telemaster is not a scale plane no mater how big the wing is. The swoose float planes I'm building now are not a scale of anything but they look like something from the 1938 Schnider Cup races. Cool looking but not scale.

jrcaster

Don't worry about any Scale planes till your fourth or fifth flying plane. Most of your scale planes are too aerobatic for beginning flyers. If you insist on getting a scale kit for your second or third build-and-fly, look at the high wing planes like the J3 Cub.

For manufacturers of the most true to scale kits, look at Great Planes, a couple of Sig kits, and Balsa USA. Beyond that you will need to look up the magazine plans and scratch build them. Also you should build two or three kits before you attempt a full scratch build or build from plans.

By the time you buy the plans, all the wood, plastic and fiberglass parts and any hardware that you get in a kit, you pay about as much as buying a kit, so your best bet is to build as many kits that you can and save your scratch builds for the planes that do not come in kit form.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Scratch building costs some people more then others. This is an 80 inch stand off scale of a Sukhoi 29 I built last summer. I was going to try to do a How To thread but people here get hung up on too many stupid little things to bother with so I gave up. Building from plans is very cheap and easy but some plans are way better then others. The Sukhoi cost me just under $200.00 from start to finish, controls, fiber glass and paint included. I did have the canopy and landing gear on hand, it costs $50.00, the LG is from WildHare and the canopy is from Fiberglass Specialties. Try to find a kit for that price.
At present I'm building two planes at the same time, using left over wood but I am able to cut the left over wood to the size I need, most people can't do that. The wood would have been about $125.00 a piece if I had to buy the wood. I buy my wood in bulk at National Balsa or Lone Star. LS has gone up in price so I no longer use them.
Building from plans is the way to go but you will need to build several kits first. It is just kit building without instructions and you have to cut your own kit. No big deal.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

GB, I had a .40 Sukhoi from Midwest years ago. They called it a " Stand off and Squint" scale. Heavy on the squint as the cowl was round and the fuse had flat sides. Not to mention it had 3" of dihedral in the 48" wing. It did fly nice though.


david

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Dave, the 29 could have gone full scale, just not by me. If you are 15 feet away and it looks like a scale plane then I'm happy but I'm not going to be putting down thousands of rivets and panel lines on a model.
I just got the plans for a CAD drawn 90 inch Stand Way the Hell off Sukhoi from MAN. It's the first time I have been excited about a build in a long time. It is round but it has a lot of nothing at all scale things designed into it. The wing cord at the fuse is huge, designed for people that worry about wing loading? No canopy{plastic} it's built in, the LG is completely off but that can be changed. Haven't found one mistake in the plans yet and it is a two piece wing. Low parts count and a very low wood count, like all Sukhois, a lot of sheeting but that;s about it. These plans are for anyone who wants a giant kinda sorta scale plane that is an easy but fun build!!
The 29 in the photo is a great plane but as a build is a total pain, nothing fits so if you don't know what your doing you may never get it built..
I'm looking forward to the new plans build!!!!!!!!!! It should build for about $100.00 to $150.00. Can't wait, it's putting me into a hurry to get the pair of swoose finished so I can get to it!!!

KitBuilder

Great planes and balsa USA are "Far" from scale... more like sport scale or :stand off scale" (way off for the GP kits)

acerc

Unles you are going to compete, scale is whatever you want it to be. One thing I get alot of flack over is my paint scheme's. I do not compete so I do it how I want it. Click on my gallery and one can see my Waco and Cub is painted like no other.
I just purchased plan's for a Pitts Special S1S/S1C. Actually two set's, one R/C set and one full scale set, this one will be the closest I have ever built to true scale. Including paint.

Hossfly

Bill, just to attempt to clear up some of the off-color waters in this thread, I will stir the pot a bit more. Gets darker that way!!!

1. Way back in early modeling, a "Scale model" was made to look like some real airplane existing or had existed. In early competition of "scale models" mostly control-line, the major item was a very beautiful paint job. Now really, how many machines had beautiful paint jobs?

2. As time passed, more attention was given to the reproduction of a specific airplane on a specific day. 1'' to 1ft scale became a norm for most CL machines but RC then added new measurements. In a scale competition, it got so very intensive that scale almost withered away. Models began to look like head-hunters had shrunk a real airplane subject with every detail intact. Scale aero modeling competition was not very popular'

3, Then along came a certain modeler that had the touch AND some common sense. His name was Dave Platt. His background in industrial modeling gave him an edge and thus "Stand-Off" Scale became popular. Dave pushed a theory if that the intense "scale" was eased by the competition rule-makers, then Scale Modeling would again become popular. He was correct and he became the Chairman of the AMA Scale Contest Board, a nice place to be if one wishes to push one's desires concerning Scale. This resulted in "Sport-Scale" as the main Scale Competition. However as modelers do, the AMA Competition Rules cover a number of Scale Events in Free Flight, (Now mostly run by the Flying Aces Club) Control-Line, also a number of various scale events, and same for RC. There are Fun-Scale through a line-up including extremely detailed events. These do change from time to time.

4. One group that started several interests was/is the International Miniature Aircraft Association, IMAA. They are an AMA Special Interest Group. To participate in an IMAA event one must be a member of IMAA plus AMA. Their models need NOT be a SCALE model, however it must have a minimum wingspan of 60 inches for a Biplane and 80" for a monoplane. There is also an allowance for actual scale models, recognizable as a model of some real aircraft, that allows a monoplane to participate with a 60" w/s if at least 1/4 SCALE. IMAA sacrificed their event protection to get under AMA's insurance provision. IMO, as a long time IMAA member, that was not a really smart thing to do, so I no longer CD any IMAA events.

5. So SCALE is a variable thing. Many options for the scale oriented modeler. YOU are the BOSS of just how much scale you want in a project. SIMPLY Enjoy!

EDITED to add: Many clubs sponsor BIG BIRD Fly-Ins. They use IMAA demensions, but do not sanction under IMAA due to the lack of AMA event separation protection.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I pretty much agree, I will never sign up for scale masters but I have built a lot of planes that look like what they should be, just not when you get close and start looking too hard. My Tiger Moth looked a bunch more scale then the ARF that Horizon is now selling. I covered it to match a full scale Moth that is flying today. I scratch built a Krier Kraft, the plane was very scale in the bones but then I covered it so I could see it instead of the red and white the full scale was. It looked nothing like the full scale when I was finished. My hat off to the true scale builder but for me, close is good enough.

KitBuilder

To me scale is two things.
Size - 1/4 scale.. 1/6 scale
Accuracy - You can have a 1/4 scale cub but it's not a very good scale model.
Outline (fuse or wing) not accurate or airfoil not accurate or just a plain jane.. no details, etc...

acerc

Hey Greybeard, there all close enough. Close enough for whom ever is building it. If we truly built scale we would not need the remote. You know what I mean!