So, what 'scale' is the Flair Puppeteer?
03-23-2006, 06:11 AM
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So, what 'scale' is the Flair Puppeteer?
I’ll start off by saying that I acknowledge that the puppeteer isn’t meant to be ‘scale’ by a country mile and that no amount of kit bashing will make it so [Abufletcher's 1 1/2 Strutter apart]. However, given that it is possible to add ‘scale detail’ such as pilots , Vickers guns etc or even do a bit of kit bashing to get things in at least the right proportions, – to the length of the undercarriage for example – I was curious to at least understand the best measure of ‘scale’ for the puppeteer.
So I looked at the major features / attributes of the kit as follows:
Wing span.
Based on a full sized wing span of 26.5 feet, I recon this is 1:5.3
Cowl diameter.
I calculated the full size cowl diameter from the Windsock scale plans on the Pup. Based on the Kit’s cowl diameter of 17.2cm I recon this is 1:5.76
Wheel diameter
By this I mean the overall diameter including the tyre. Again, from the Windsock drawings I recon the Flair 110mm wheels are 1:6.35
Overall length
I haven’t measured this as I have a long way to go on the build but I assume that the model is longer than it should be due to the extended nose.
Of the above, I think that the major determinant of our perception of ‘scale’ is probably the size of the cowl. I say this because, unlike wingspan, cowl diameter is obvious from virtually every perspective. IMHO anyway.
Based on the above, I wasn’t really sure whether the Williams Bros Vickers gun would look best in ¼ or 1/6 scale. Surprisingly, 1/6 scale apparently looks too small, or so I have read [probably due it getting lost in the extended nose of the Puppeteer?] and ¼ seems way out compared to the calculated ‘scales’ above. So I set about making one. I didn’t attempt to make it scale in terms of detail but sought to give it ‘scale’ in terms of overall size, settling on 1:5.2. Its really built as a ‘proof of concept’ using scrap aluminium tubing [TV aerial mast etc ] for all the barrel parts and plasticard for the main body.
I read Abufletcher’s seminal threads on the WB and Flair wheels and his thoughts on making wheels from scratch. This gave me some ideas and I have used rubber O rings for the wheels [95 mm inside diameter with a 15mm cross section] to give me a ‘scale’ wheel of 1:5.59. [I was amazed how many standard sizes there are for O-Rings and they are so easy to buy off the shelf, at least here in the UK – around £5.40 each].
This brings the ratio of the model's cowl diameter to the wheel diameter more in line with that of the full size Pup – I have always thought that this ratio looked a little odd on the Puppeteer using the Flair 110mm wheels.
The other thing that looks a tad odd on the Puppeteer is the shortish length of the undercarriage struts and I would like some advice on this. I was thinking about extending the lengths of the struts. This will, I assume, lower the CoG in flight [I remember that Bassman said his Puppeteer flew better on floats rather than wheels - due to this reason I assume?]. But… it will mean that when landing, the Pup will have a higher CoG relative to the ground – so will it therefore be more likely to tip over on its nose? Or maybe I counteract this by bringing the axle towards the front as well?
Related to this, is it the case that the standard undercarriage is designed to locate the wheels roughly in line with the CG in a fore/aft direction to aid stability? I mention this because, by bringing the wheels further forward it would look more like the real thing and presumably prevent it from nosing into the ground on landing.
The health warning with the above post is that this is my first ever 'plane build and I've yet to even fly one! - so if it's all muppetspeak then I'm here to be educated!
Any thoughts appreciated.
So I looked at the major features / attributes of the kit as follows:
Wing span.
Based on a full sized wing span of 26.5 feet, I recon this is 1:5.3
Cowl diameter.
I calculated the full size cowl diameter from the Windsock scale plans on the Pup. Based on the Kit’s cowl diameter of 17.2cm I recon this is 1:5.76
Wheel diameter
By this I mean the overall diameter including the tyre. Again, from the Windsock drawings I recon the Flair 110mm wheels are 1:6.35
Overall length
I haven’t measured this as I have a long way to go on the build but I assume that the model is longer than it should be due to the extended nose.
Of the above, I think that the major determinant of our perception of ‘scale’ is probably the size of the cowl. I say this because, unlike wingspan, cowl diameter is obvious from virtually every perspective. IMHO anyway.
Based on the above, I wasn’t really sure whether the Williams Bros Vickers gun would look best in ¼ or 1/6 scale. Surprisingly, 1/6 scale apparently looks too small, or so I have read [probably due it getting lost in the extended nose of the Puppeteer?] and ¼ seems way out compared to the calculated ‘scales’ above. So I set about making one. I didn’t attempt to make it scale in terms of detail but sought to give it ‘scale’ in terms of overall size, settling on 1:5.2. Its really built as a ‘proof of concept’ using scrap aluminium tubing [TV aerial mast etc ] for all the barrel parts and plasticard for the main body.
I read Abufletcher’s seminal threads on the WB and Flair wheels and his thoughts on making wheels from scratch. This gave me some ideas and I have used rubber O rings for the wheels [95 mm inside diameter with a 15mm cross section] to give me a ‘scale’ wheel of 1:5.59. [I was amazed how many standard sizes there are for O-Rings and they are so easy to buy off the shelf, at least here in the UK – around £5.40 each].
This brings the ratio of the model's cowl diameter to the wheel diameter more in line with that of the full size Pup – I have always thought that this ratio looked a little odd on the Puppeteer using the Flair 110mm wheels.
The other thing that looks a tad odd on the Puppeteer is the shortish length of the undercarriage struts and I would like some advice on this. I was thinking about extending the lengths of the struts. This will, I assume, lower the CoG in flight [I remember that Bassman said his Puppeteer flew better on floats rather than wheels - due to this reason I assume?]. But… it will mean that when landing, the Pup will have a higher CoG relative to the ground – so will it therefore be more likely to tip over on its nose? Or maybe I counteract this by bringing the axle towards the front as well?
Related to this, is it the case that the standard undercarriage is designed to locate the wheels roughly in line with the CG in a fore/aft direction to aid stability? I mention this because, by bringing the wheels further forward it would look more like the real thing and presumably prevent it from nosing into the ground on landing.
The health warning with the above post is that this is my first ever 'plane build and I've yet to even fly one! - so if it's all muppetspeak then I'm here to be educated!
Any thoughts appreciated.
