Posts: 266
Joined: 9/3/2004 From: Hortonville,
WI, USA Status: offline
Well I finally finished all my winter airplane projects and cleared off the work bench. I decided to switch gears from building fighters for awhile and build a bomber. I had a set of plans for the Don Smith B-29 I bought about 15 years ago and decided maybe it was about time to build it.
There doesn't seem to be a B-29 build thread here on RCU, so I figured why not start one.
I purchased the kit from Precision Cut Kits. All laser cut parts that came in "2" big boxes! So far it looks like they did a great job cutting the parts. I also got the cowls and canopy/turret set from them as they bought out Don Smith Plans and all the accessories.
In order to keep the costs down, I don't plan on going overboard with this project. My plan is to build a nice looking, reliable & good flying ship. And hopefully have it ready for next season. (so it's not a scale masters project)
All suggestions and ideas welcome.
< Message edited by Warbird Man -- 9/12/2008 3:35:18 AM >
Posts: 266
Joined: 9/3/2004 From: Hortonville,
WI, USA Status: offline
This is going to be the 141" (12 foot) wing span version. I considered the 14' version, but the kit costs were almost doubled and not worth the extra 2 feet along with other issues considered. (I also have to fit this thing in my 6X10 trailer.)
As for power, I was going to try and stuff G-20s in the cowls (as I'm not a big fan of glow engines) But I weighed out "all" the pros and cons and decided to bite the bullet and go with 4- OS .91 4 strokes. Much better power to weight ratio and of course, nothing beats the sound of 4 4-strokes in sync.
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Joined: 2/8/2002 From: Leander,
TX, USA Status: offline
You're starting on my dream build. I was planning on this project in the distant future. I was thinking about doing the 14', since I already have 4 saito 120's. Only have 2 OS.91 FS. Will be watching this closely. Edwin
Posts: 266
Joined: 9/3/2004 From: Hortonville,
WI, USA Status: offline
Here's some pics of the fuse formers in place. It's hard to get a good pic of the whole thing. I had to back up a good distance to get it all in. The building table is 8 feet long, total fuse length is 99". I was just able to get all the formers on the table. The fuse is built in halves. First the left side on the plan, then the right side over on the left. One thing that is different on this bird from others Iv'e built in the past is the lack of stringers. There are only 4 main stringers. Top, bottom and sides. All the formers get covered with 1/8" balsa sheeting.
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Joined: 9/3/2004 From: Hortonville,
WI, USA Status: offline
Oh yea, A bomber has to have working bomb bay doors and bombs.
The plans don't show the location of the gear and bomb bay doors or include the extra parts to fabricate them. So alot of studying and planning ahead before you build is vital as to reducing any complications that will pop up.
The wing mounts onto the bottom of the fuse just like any other low wing plane. But having close to scale bomb bay doors and keeping the wing removable creates a problem as the bomb bay doors extend well underneath the wing from both ends. In order to solve this, I plan to make the doors removable in order to remove the wing if need be.
I also plan on keeping the B-29 on its gear so I don't have to remove the center section wing for transport. This will require some wing design changes which will be solved later in the build.
Before I glued all the formers onto the stringers, I cut the bomb bay door parts out of them and made some extra doublers. The top and bottom stringers are made out of 1/4 x 1/2". In the areas were the doors are located, I used 2- 1/8 x 1/2 pcs. Once it is all sheeted I can mark and cut out the doors. Also instead of trying to bend the 1/4 x1/2 stringer up at the nose section, I simply made a template and cut out a piece from 1/4" sheeting.
I'll have to strip plank the nose and tail sections in order to wrap around the formers.
< Message edited by Warbird Man -- 8/28/2008 2:57:04 AM >
Posts: 266
Joined: 9/3/2004 From: Hortonville,
WI, USA Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: aerowoof
have you looked at the rudder linkage at all,that is what has me hung up from starting,do not quite fathom the rod in the tube thing.
Yea that's something to think about, I haven't got that far ahead yet but we'll figure out something when the time comes. There's also a build on RCSB where the guy made up some metal mounting plates. I might use the same idea.
Posts: 192
Joined: 1/6/2004 From: San Antonio,
TX, USA Status: offline
Hello,
I too am going to be watching this thread. I wish I had the money to fund a project like this one. I look forward to seeing how things turn out for you.
Posts: 266
Joined: 9/3/2004 From: Hortonville,
WI, USA Status: offline
I hear ya, Building something like this isn't going to be cheep. I had to regrettably sell a few kits and planes in order to do it. And again I don't plan on getting carried away with the scale details and items.
< Message edited by Warbird Man -- 8/28/2008 2:21:27 PM >
Posts: 139
Joined: 1/12/2002 From: Monticello,
WI, USA Status: offline
Warbird Man,
Glad to see someone taking a low cost approach for a change on a project of this size. I'll be watching your build. I have a set of Don Smiths B-24 plans that I hope to build "someday". Best of luck with the build.
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