Norbert Rauch Airliners for 2013
Hi guys I am finally bringing my Norbert Rauch fiberglass parts for a DC-8 (I've had them for about 2 years) into use by starting an earnest attempt to get the project off the ground. I know there are a few of us here in the states who have built these or are in the process. The one I know that has been completed and flown was an IL-62 made by Lonnie from Southern California. He did the maiden flight off of a dry lake bed some time ago but I'm not sure what has come of it. And there have been a few others started - 727's, MD-80's, etc. I would venture to guess there are many more world wide projects out there.
For those contemplating these... you already know that each one of these airliners is a custom build affair. These are not kits, they are a few key parts to base a project on, using a small set of drawings showing dimensions and foam core airfoils and sizes for the various model. The real value is the fiberglass parts, as they do bring a level of assistance to those who have not scratch built before in terms of the proper nose form and tail portion of the fuselage. These days I don't think there is much to worry about in so far as there not being specific "plans" available, however, as there are ways to plan ahead with this type of build. What I've done to plan the build is to use Google Sketchup program (free program online) to make my own set of drawings for flight controls, power plants, and general support equipment placement and design. I imported a few crude "factory type" 3 view drawings into Sketchup and then working with Rauch's hand drawings I sorted out the components and designed the drawings to get an idea of what sub assemblies I'd need to make. Stuff like Landing Gear mount rails, that mount to spar systems that carry the wing tubes, etc. I decided to make the wings plug-in at the fuselage, etc. It's also easy to visualize how to mount servos, flaps, ailerons, gear doors, etc when you have all the dimensions and drawings in front of you. As of today these drawings are fluid and in progress for this project. Earlier I had made several other projects using the Sketchup program to get used to it - and when I realized I still had these great DC-8 parts laying around, I knew should indeed get started on the DC-8 plans and the actual build.
One of the first areas of dilemma to me was the fact that these were designed around using 1mm balsa sheeting. That's close to 1/32" but a little larger. I was going back and forth on weather to use 1/16" or 1/32" sheet. For the DC-8-61 (my project) I'm going to be using approximately 8800 square inches of sheeting between the wing/tail skins and the long fuselage skins. The 1/16 size is 108" wing and 142" fuselage. I venture to guess 1/16 or 1/32" will make a difference in project weight! I'm not so concerned about the strength of 1/32" sheet being much less than 1mm sheet, but I am concerned about how much head room I have to sand between wing / fuselage panels. 1/32" is not a lot of material, and invariably I'll be adding filler to seams more than sanding to blend seams like I may be able to with 1/16" balsa. I still haven't made a decision on that yet.
So anyone reading this is probably at least interested in passing. If any of you out there have a Rauch airliner project in any stages of development, build or operation, please add your comments to this thread so we can get some up to date progress reports from everyone.