Skymaster Plans
 

Hi Guys,
I've read all the PMs you've sent - wow a lot more interest than I expected. I still plan to go the old-fashioned 'paper' route, but I am intrigued about the possibility of putting plans on a disc. How many plans (at max resolution) do you think could be stored on a disc (what is the common amount of storage?)? It might be more productive to put a bunch of MK plans (Skymaster, Arrow, Curare, Magic, Atlas, Cosmos, Blue Angel, Aurora, Beetle, etc; maybe the Yoshioka Flash, Dash-5 and Citation, too) on one disk which I can copy and easily ship. Pros? Cons?
By the way, the Skymaster is almost exactly the same size as the Arrow: same span - 63", same area - 705"sq; The Skymaster is 1.125" longer (56.125" vs 55"). While the plans show the pipe on top of the fuselage you could easily offset the nose gear put it on the bottom - the engine is inverted OR mout the engine upright.

will Bartlett

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

my god, you have all those kits in your inventory?????[sm=what_smile.gif] I hope you have them in a safe. although it's a small group of people who know the value of these kits.

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

I for one would be interested in such a disk. Let me know when you have one. Thanks

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

raindave and some of the others may have some better info I...But I have one of those aircraft in a PDF file and it's size is 5.34mb...Considering a typical CD will hold 700mb of data...One CD should easily handle that (impressive) list.. :D

Thanks Will !!

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

even though i know flywilly would have to work weeks to get all this info loaded onto a cd i still might run out to my mailbox on the slim chance that ups just made a 9 pm cd delivery.:D:D:D:D:D

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

We may never sleep again!! :D :D :D :D

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

just reporting back, no cd in my mailbox.:D:D:D:D i sure wish flywilly / santa would hurry up[sm=teeth_smile.gif][sm=teeth_smile.gif][sm=teeth_smile.gif][sm=teeth_smile.gif]

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

A typical uncompressed tif file for a 200dpi plan is around 75 to 90 MB's (Grayscale). Saved as a compressed tif they are usually around 5 or 6 MB's. 200dpi is a totally adequate resolution for printing and building from.

The full-size tif of this Citation plan is 88mb when opened and 4.7mb when saved with compression and has very good detail at 200dpi.

Anyway, I would be very interested in an MK CD.

David

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

that citation looks pretty good itself. who makes that kit? i see the name at the bottom of the plans and vaguely remember the name, but i can't make it out.

david

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

Hi Will,

#1 CD Option: Scan, then make copies of disks (which is fast if you have CD writer on your PC), then mail CD’s.
Pros:
 Easier for you assuming you have a CD writer.
 We can do the printing when ready
 Less expensive up front (no printing)
Cons
 We have to get prints made

#2 Paper Option: scan, print, fold, mail large envelopes.
Pros:
 Guys get plans mailed to their door
Cons:
 Seems like alot more work for Will
 A bunch of plans harder to store than CD

Seems to me the CD is the way to go but I’m super happy and thankful either way you decide. Thanks again, jeff

PS: If you're debating between the Arrow and the Skymaster (which one to scan) my vote is definitely SKYMASTER! And all those others you listed would be SO awesome! I'd probably be set for life in terms of scratchbuilding, learning to make canopies and glass tunnels.

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

"Easiest for Will" would be a Key in my opinion too!!

A CD would be Awesome!! I defiantly don't mind doing the printing!! In fact it would be pretty nice to be able to do multiple copies...You can have a copy to cut up for templates and other building tasks...Then another for hanging on the wall for information!! Schweet!!

There are so many MK kits...They are all sooo beautiful...Then the Yoshioka Flash, Dash-5 and Citation too!! Having that information would basically be a dream come true in my opinion!!

A CD like that would be enough to keep a guy busy for a while... :D :D :D

I'm imagining Will coming out of Kinkos with two arm loads of blueprints, Shipping tubes (cause he hates folded prints :D ) and shipping labels clinched between his teeth...Then of course the wind is blowing...well..I think you get the visual.. :D

A CD "Seems" like it would be the way to go!! I know I would love that!!

But...What would be easiest for Will is the kicker for me...I'm extremely greatful either way!! I personally could hold off on the printed SkyMaster drawings if a CD was in the future...I'm in no hurry!!

Will...I was wondering where the SkyMaster fit in the line-up?? I actually think you may have answered this before but I forget...I was thinking it's older than the Aurora??


Thank You!!

Chuck

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

I would vote for a CD as well. Easier to store, easier to ship, cheap for Will up front. The only up front cost is the scanning and I will gladly send along my share of those costs along with anything else and something extra for Will being so kind as to offer to help us out like that.

Thanks,
Mark

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

The CD Is the way to go. I couldn't believe how much it started to cost to get some plans made. Kinkos charged me $6 for the first scan, then only $2 for each additional. That would make it about $30 for the twelve 12 plans you've listed... What A Deal!! Or you can Email the files for free!!
Roguedog is one smart guy. He picked up one of those old daisy printers. The ones that have to paper connected almost endlessly. He cuts out the fuse into a file, then the wing, the tail... Then he can print out each piece of the plane, At Home!! [X(] Damn good idea, wish I thought of that!!
That is a VERY impressive stock of plans, I don't even want to think about them as being kits [X(] Like navnav says.. That could keep a guy busy. Heck I don't think I would ever have to shop around again, well except for balsa of course.

DM

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

i would be set for life period.

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

Two other advantages to having a digital version on CD is that you can scale the plans to any size you want, and you can import the plans into a CAD program and trace the parts to get them laser cut.

With paper plans you still have to scan or trace the patterns to cut out the parts. IMO, digital is definitely the way to go.

I had planned to build Don Dewey's Wayfarer Bipe a while back. Since I had a scan of the plans, I simply traced the ribs in CAD, arranged them into a "cut file" and had them all laser cut. What could be easier? That's 36 ribs that are all exactly the same.

Granted, MK plans are quite a challenge to trace because of their complexity. But, once the cut files are done there's no limit to the number of short kits that can be made.

David

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

I think making digital copies is a great idea. I plan to do that with my collection of plans as well. Only around 10 of them at the moment, but a few rare ones. :)

/Erik

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

I too would love to have digital files. Much easier to work with and manipulate. Will thanks!!!

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

Hi Guys,
As usual, way more replies than I expected!! Now I'll tell you my other plan - just don't get crazy excited :D - it's just in the planning stage. I have been toying with the idea of kitting some/all of these classic designs (I also have plans for the MK semi-scale kits: Zlinn, Laser, Akromaster, Chipmunk and Super Chipmunk as well as the Fuji - an MK Kit from the early '70s; two Pilot/OK kits: the Mystic 30 and the Supra Fly 25), but probably not for at least 3-5 years. I see others have jumped in (there's a wood Curare and Aurora out there right now). I think putting together a digital plans compilation would be more useful and much quicker to accomplish. Once you have the digital plans you can print them, modify them, get your own kits made (laser cutting is GREAT, just send out a disc and get all your parts back in a few weeks!).
Doing the plans with parts tracings will make this project significantly more daunting, however, those with AutoCad or similar software can generate their own parts relatively easily.
By the way, I do use Kinkos for copying (they're pretty convenient and cheaper than other places I've checked <Staples, for example>), and since they were bought by Fed-Ex I can ship from the same place (although filling out those shipping forms is a PITA)!
The other reason for this post was to determine how many of you want Skymaster plans and parts tracing right now (or very soon). The plans compilation CD probably won't happen until this summer when I can enlist the assistance of my oldest daughter who has helped me in the past (she's away at college presently). I'm assuming those who have already sent their address want the plans.
As for my kit collection, the entire contents are a well kept secret ;), but I've been accumulating kits since the mid '70s - mostly wood, pattern kits. I started favoring wood when I realised how much space the glass/foam kits take up! I recently determined that I need to live at least another 40 years to build everything! Seeing how popular the older designs have become; I'm just glad I have the 'library' of designs to share!
-Will Bartlett
PS I forgot the Joker in my original list - probably others, too!! Oh yeah - Wild-7, Kingbird, Silent 90

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

[X(][X(] oohhhh....ahhhhhh[X(][X(][X(][X(]

DM

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

since you've let it 'slip' out that you have some of these revered kits why not go ahead and tell the world you have the holy grail stashed also!!:D:D:D:D:D

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

Hello

Another option to consider is putting the files on one of the free file sharing sites. I have had my plans for the Beetle scanned and will put them up for everyone to download at their own pace. The neat thing about this is there is no cost, after scanning, for the person with the original so no risk of getting "stuck" with un-paid for items. The ones I have looked at so far are free for me to join and upload and free for anyone to download with no join up.

I had my plans scanned by a friend of a friend etc and they scanned them in colour at 600DPI so the file is around 400MB [X(] I have a version that is made black and white and in PDF form that is a more manageable 150MB.


P.S. I would be interested in those plans in digital form too either by download or CD.

Cheers
Tarquin

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

A dream would be if pattern builders/flyers around the world would join together and make an online plans archive of all these great designs to make them more available to everyone. I would definately join in and get my collection scanned. :)

There is a lot of work involved though. Maybe it will remain a dream.

/Erik

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

Definitly a CD version.
I just recently got back into this, so I have been getting all my plans scanned. It costs me $30 to scan 1 to 8 plans at a time. As rainedave mentioned, once in a digital format, the plans can be resized to anything you want. I purchased MAN Deception 60 plans and resized them to 25 40 and 50 sizes.

I also have been experimenting with plans that I had scanned as far as file size. I get them scanned at 400 dpi into tif files. They scan and compress the tif's to about 4 to 5mb, and the tif files open up in photoshop about 10 times larger, about 40 to 50mb. At 5 megabytes thats 140 plans per CD if compressed. If I resave the tif without compression its again 40 to 50mb. So max resolution is retained if using tif compression. So would be up to you if as to the size. I would have them compressed so i could fit more on the CD.

To save me printing fees, I got a Okidata 591 16" wide carrage dot matrix printer off ebay for $50 and purchased a box of continuous form paper for $34. Now I can print out a complete wing thats up to 14.5" wide without having to tape or paste together. Thus saving the original plan from getting damaged.

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

Another thing about tifs: the quality of the original hi-res scan does not degrade when you compress and uncompress tifs. JPG's do degrade in quality every time you compress them again; sort of like making copies of copies of cassette tapes. So, always save as tifs!

The old dot matrix printers are superior to today's throw-away inkjets for printing plans. Inkjets will distort vertical dimensions while dot-matrix printers will retain x and y dimensions much better. Try printing a rib with a 10" chord both portrait and landscape on a typical inkjet. The two rib patterns will usually not be the same length!

David

RE: Skymaster Plans
 

Count me in for the Skymaster plans, and the others as well. I'm planning to retire in a couple of years and am building my shop now. I love the old pattern planes and look forward to getting one in the air as soon as possible. I have a Magic hanging from the ceiling. It's next on the list after the World T-34 I'll use to tune up my fingers.

I'd definitely prefer the CD to paper plans.