Piaggio "Avanti II" and King Air B200 in 3D
Years ago, I built scale 3D models of both the Piaggio "Avanti" P180 and the Super King Air B200, for RC use. Both projects failed, due to the labor costs in manufacturing.
Today, with better 3D tools, I'm rebuilding and improving both models, which will be released later this year. If you'd like to follow along with the new versions, the Piaggio article is at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html , and the B200 article is at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/b200_09_01.html
I have great documentation for both, so these will be highly accurate, and highly detailed. Although these are not RC projects per se, these will be suitable for printing orthographic views, from which RC plans could be made, as well as other kinds of visualization.
Of course, I have no way of knowing what plane is flying over your area, but the two most likely choices would be the P180 or the Beech Starship.
The horizontal stabilizer uses an inverted airfoil.
I'm doing the P180 first, so...
Here's what I've done so far, in the last few days. This is going much faster than expected, thanks to the documentation, and modo's great toolset. I used boolean cutters in the "stencil" mode for all the fuselage openings and seams, and it worked very nicely.
If you'd like to follow along, the article on my site begins at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html
Here are a few renders in the aircraft's basic shiny white color scheme, so you can see some of the nice reflections you see on the actual aircraft. This update is on the external scale details... shape of the engine nacelles, and vertical fin "cap". the fairing around the small wing at the front, (canard, or "foreplane") various antennas and lights, wingtip caps. and the angle of the rear ventral fins. I still have a little error to fix at the tip of the nose, (should be round, not flat) and a couple of very small curves to correct in the windscreen shape. Once those are done, I'll be moving on to the interior, which will be a lot of fun in modo.
The original model I did back in the late 1990's (in Carrara) took months. This one only has about 10 days in it, and it's already much better. Thank you, Luxology!
(Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )
Thanks for all the nice comments. It shows that a lot of us feel that this is a really gorgeous aircraft design. The "Avanti II" I'm modeling here is slightly different from the first "Avanti". Subtle, but brilliant changes that make the aircraft even slicker.
This round of editing includes refinement of the fairing around the canard, along with positioning the wingtip, fuselage, and tail-mounted lights and antennas, and more detail around the vertical fin cap. I also rebuilt the propellers, and the engine nacelles, after switching from sub-d to regular polys.
Although I'm not finished with the exterior, I think I'll go ahead and start on the interior next. First step, which I'm starting on tonight, will be to create a basic interior shell, with all the window and door openings bridged to those on the outside. That way, I'll know where the cabin items go, versus the structural items.
Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )
Hi everybody,
Working on some structural parts for the landing gear mounts here. The nose gear detailing is nearly done. The main gear struts (in white) are just stand-in parts, while I refine the retraction geometry. Fun stuff! ( Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )Hi everybody,
The main landing gear is quite complex, so while working on that in the background, I've gone ahead with the cabin interior, as well as some more detail on the exterior. Next, flap fairings, engine details, and more on the landing gear. Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )Working on the landing and taxi lights, as well as some of the internal structural bulkheads. Here are a few renders, and a QuickTime movie, which is a "pull out" from a pitot probe near the cockpit window to a long shot. The movie: http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/modo_m...180_09_110.mov (5.7 MB)
Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )Hi everybody,
More work on the landing gear, and some new furnishings in the cabin...
The P180 landing gear has two things that make it a bit intricate, compared to others I've modeled. First, it has a unique, rear-folding mechanism, somewhat like the main gear on the F-16. It also has "sequencing gear doors", meaning that after the gear comes down, two of the gear doors close, to reduce drag. I've already finished the doors, but am using some proxy geometry to help me work out the lengths of the components, and their hinge points. These are nearly correct. Once they are, I'll accurately model the shapes, based on other drawings and photos I have.
In the meantime, I'm also gradually replacing all the old (Carrara) parts in the cabin, cockpit, and lavatory, with new ones. Here are the new seats and lavatory.Hi everybody,
A couple of images mapping out the instrument panel, and showing some of the new cockpit parts. There's a brief "assembly" movie at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/modo_media/modo_wip/p180_09/p180_09_128_060509.mov
Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )Hey Mike,
You are doing excellent work on Avanti's 3D model, i was at CBAA convention and there were couple of actual Avanti II's on static display among many other business jet and general aviation aircrafts. This aircraft highly appealed to me and i thought what would be a chance if anyone in RC industry would come out with plans, kits, short kits or ARF of this most un-conventional yet beautiful aircraft!, now that i see you only do 3D models but not the plans, what are the chances of finding it's plans for 1/4 scale model?. I would love to do a model of this very unique and different bird in near future.
Regards,
Sam
I've been involved with researching this aircraft, and building 3D models of it, since 1995, and am amazed that no one has gone to the trouble of building a large scale version. At scales of 1/6th or larger, (due to the foreplane size... Reynolds number issues)it should fly very well, and in a scale contest, could really wow people with it's shape. Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone making scale plans. In about 2000 or so, Iseem to recall someone building a one-of-a-kind RC model in Germany, (Ithink) but Ihaven't heard about it since then.
It's a beauty, and it's fast.
Hi everybody,
I built a slightly larger hangar than the one in my previous project, and put the P180 in it. It let me easily light the model more realistically.
The main landing gear is pretty tricky, but I've finally got it figured out. Lots of small details to add, but the major parts and pivot points are correct. (Red markers indicate where I have to add hinge pins and bolts.) Having the gear worked out means that I can start opening all the doors that were cut in earlier. That's next.
Full article at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )Hi everybody,
Got the main gear sorted out and installed, and also got all the doors open. (cabin door, nose gear doors, main gear doors) Still have to add the hinges. I've started to detail some of the various vents and hatch lines around the plane too.
At this time, it's all geometry. There are no texture maps (except for the instrument panel) - All the hatch lines and paint lines are just colored polygons.
( Full article begins at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )The first image is just for fun... Couldn't resist doing a takeoff shot.
New...
I've installed offset hinges on all of the fuselage doors, added a color map for the instrument panel, finished the canard, wing, and tail tip fairings, and did some cleanup of the cabin interior. I'll do as much in the cabin as memory allows. We'll see...
The other renders here use Global Illumination, and show off the landing gear areas.
( Full article begins at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )
I spent some time cleaning up the details in the cockpit area, which you can see in the first image.
I was preparing to bridge the interior window areas with the exterior skin, and realized that I wasn't getting the fit I wanted, especially around the forward cabin door and emergency exit. So, I rebuilt the interior liner, then bridged all the window areas. It looks more realistic now. Aside from a few details, the biggest part of the modeling is finished now, and it's on to paint and textures.Hi everybody,
Thanks to the release of modo 401, I was able to add some detail, and improve the renders. The first image shows the nice windscreen seal (black) I was able to make, thanks to the improved background constraint. The next two use modo's new environments, along with a (4 pixel) motion blur done in PhotoShop.
( Full article begins at http://www.mikejamesmedia.com/p180_09_01.html )