Jetpilot24

My Feedback: (21)

I know this is an old thread but does anyone have any Idea what happened to the molds for this jet? Any contact info would help.

Thanks
Joe

darren763

My Feedback: (117)

Maybe....

Flite-Metal

...................................
From ashes rises...the MAC6's:
.................................As the top pic shows the remaining A6 from "Flite Of The Intruder" as it looked after hurricane Ike damage in Kemah, TX. 12 years ago. Barry described acquiring it from Eaglery's Mr. Booth. I was visiting Barry and he wanted to show me his new car downstairs in his garage. We walked in the garage and I immediately was distracted by the A6 laying to our left. Now, bear in mind Barry was excitedly showing me his new toy...the car. My eyes never left the A6... After telling Barry I had a passion for Grumman A6's he turned to me and said..."Do you want it?"...before the end of that sentence my answer was "yes".

The other side of this story goes back to the late 80's when I asked Bob Kress, president of Grumman's Fighter Div., if I could purchase a computer plot of the A6F @ 1/10th on 3 inch centers across the fuselage and wing. I fully intended to scratch the family of A6's, A through F plus EA and KD. Bob said "sure" and a week later UPS delivered what appeared to be a rolled up carpet...I was overwhelmed...and off to the races so to speak.

My trek to create the 6's was met with the reality there was at the time only one way these could be flown...turbines which at that time were much more expensive per pound of thrust. The plot graced the wall of my indoor shop as a continuing inspiration.

In the end, Barry's gift set me on fire! The evolution of EDF had brightened the possibility to power a large A6 and at a fraction of a pair of turbines and at a much lower overall weight. I tried to find the afore mentioned molds which at that point had been purchased by one of my customers a month or so before Barry gave me the hurricane ravaged remains. He used them to make an A6 which was quite successful in competition. Later the molds ended up in the hands of an aspiring jet manufacturer. Contacting them, they refused to lay up the parts I needed.

What to do next? I gave everything to who is now my business partner. I retired and six years later he did also. We were making plans to create an enterprise for his genius Asperger Syndrome son. Better to work for himself than a less than compassionate/understanding employer. In the period prior to my partner's retirement from the oil industry I acquired multiple designs and reengineered them to 20th century standards.

All this time I never gave up on creating the family of A6's. It was an itch that never went away...a perfect example of my OCD tendency. Having never ended this, I happened to stumble into an online ad for an estate sale in Florida...with one item that caught my eye...one of the A6 "partial kits" pulled by the Dallas mold maker of A6's for the "Flight Of The Intruder" that Mr. Booth, or Paramount Pictures, contracted for special effects models. There were 8 pulls in addition to the six for the movie. Faster than you can say thank you, I bought the estate item sight unseen. Off to Florida we went...

The contractor cut foam stabs, vertical fin, wing cores, and vacuum formed canopy & fuselage components and sold them and the molds to a jet retailer in Atlanta who in the end sold the molds to an individual on the Pacific Rim...half a world away...

Here we are in November 2020 after designing scale enhancements...scale inlets, scale (enlarged) radome nose, vertical fin, L.E. slats, flaps, spoilers, decelerons, articulated tailhook, detailed cockpit, three piece (nose, center, aft) "no center seam" fuselage for easy transport, functioning rudder, and components to replicate each of the A6 versions (A6A, A6E, A6F, EA6A and the KA6D). In spite all these scale enhancements we managed to reduce the AUW of the model by nearly 2/3rds...down to about 26# from the 58# to 68# of the movie models.
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Three piece fuselage front section mold, molded in vertical fin (from which rudder is cut and rudder posts inserted). Easy access to framed flying stab/rudder/tailhook controls.That's the too long story of where this all began and ended. Below is where this began:
.........................

darren763

My Feedback: (117)

FenderBean

All this A-6 talk for so long, just hard to believe this model hasn't been an option for years now. Something the jet side needs, more of the other jets from our history.

Flite-Metal

Keith,

As complex as this model was to recreate there is no way we would pull it from the oven before it was done. All too often people pull the trigger before taking into account issues faced by the customer who will be assembling and transporting. All the three piece fuselage MAC6's fit in the typical pickup truck ~ van ~ SUV...

I and Sam are busy creating the printed and molded detail parts for each version of the 6. We've been fortunate to have had the assistance of many, and I do mean many, USN and USMC 6 drivers and maintainers...all rc'ers. From ashes to once again..."Flight Of The Intruder". Endorsed by Stephen Coonts...

AAbdu

My Feedback: (18)

Wonderful project!

Love it

FenderBean

Completely understand, I wouldnt expect anything less.

Flite-Metal

Oh, by the way...buying Stephen's novels is a good thing...

Flite-Metal

Continuing my focus on the A6 landing gear...I need assistance confirming the "at rest" length of the main and nose gear struts. Doing this requires (1) an A6... and (2) a simple tape rule.

The nose strut as measured from the bottom of the fuselage to the axle.

.................................................. .....................

The top of the main gear strut is recessed within the retract bay. I do not need that measured. On the "side" of the lower fuselage there is a curve aka arc forward of the main gear. The front gear bay door "forward inboard corner" is squared to match the forward retract door shape when it is closed. This location is shown on this pic with an "A" and an arrow pointing to the intersect of the "arc' and the corner of the forward gear door.

The measurement I need is the "vertical" distance between the A arrow and B arrow (location of the axle) measured in inches. Not measured diagonally, I need the vertical distance from the two points. This will provide me a known point on my fuselage with which to establish the length of the gear struts.

.................................................. .......

Can I buy someone's lunch for measuring this?

yeahbaby

My Feedback: (21)

I think there’s one in pensacola at the Naval air museum. It would be worth making a weekend road trip just to see all the other cool stuff there, but I would certainly call to ensure the bat soup virus hasn’t altered the hours to make the drive untenable.

great project keep plowing the road, so to speak.

Flite-Metal

They have just reopened after being closed for a year. I am fortunate to have just had an offer from Oakland
to measure the one sitting in the Oakland Museum of Aviation.

RCISFUN

My Feedback: (44)

There is one in Florida at the Valiant air Command Museum,
I remember seeing it about ten years ago.

https://www.valiantaircommand.com/a6-intruder
I'll bet if you called they would take the measurements

Hydro Junkie

I believe there is one at Seattle's Museum of Flight as well. If not, there is a Prowler. The Prowler uses the same landing gear and wing as the Intruder so that might be something else to look in to

F900

My Feedback: (2)

If your out of options I can ask Steve Hazy who has one at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Yes, I know him personally and a lot of business deals done directly with him.

Flite-Metal

The Smithsonian one is probably the best maintained 6 as are the two in Pensacola. Jeff Whitney is a docent at the Oakland Museum. He will measure their KA6D. We went to the USN Museum of Aviation the week they were opening the new section of the museum containing their two 6's...no joy. We arrived to find that section still closed awaiting a delayed opening ceremony..

Thanks to everyone offering to help!

sc0tt

My Feedback: (61)

not exactly what you're looking for, but this drawing may help estimate the measurements you need...

Flite-Metal

Scott,

The issue with Grumman declarations is they are measured from "mounting location" to the ground. The only way I can measure
the proper mains height is measuring from the axle to the forward most inboard corner of the front gear door. I can use that as a
measurement point.

yeahbaby

My Feedback: (21)

There is a prowler at the museum of flight in Dallas love

Airforce7

My Feedback: (31)

Would physical dimensions from an EA-6B Prowler be applicable here? I can get access to one this weekend as a backup to your efforts. This jet is among the incredible aircraft on display at the Castle Air Museum. My friend volunteers at the museum restoring aircraft before they are put on display to the public. He is currently working on an F-100 that was brought in from Florida, which was used as a drone. Let me know.

https://www.castleairmuseum.org/collection

F900

My Feedback: (2)

There is a very nice 6B not to far away from me at AIR & SPACE MUSEUM in Denver.

https://wingsmuseum.org/portfolio/ea-6b-prowler-2/



You can see it here in the above video..

Flite-Metal

Thanks,

Yes, a B is identical except for 36" additional length of fuselage from wing forward. Everything else is the same. If its not asking too much...yes it would be great if both these were measured. Main and nose compression strut can be partially compressed/shortening the strut in museums due to leaks. I have an unassembled Trumpeter A6A 1:32 model with metal gear to use in calculation to mean out all measurements of a 1:1.
The mains would be measured from the fuselage forward corner of the forward (smaller) gear door (see arrows). All measurements are to the strut axle.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

FenderBean

I have a friend in Mobile that has direct access to an A-6 in the museum there who provided me with some measurements before. If you need help still

Flite-Metal

Yes, that will be fabulous!

Ed

FenderBean

Okay I will reach out to him, hes actually flown in one back in his Navy days.