Help!

I need an article guide or how to, instructing me how to make rc plans for rc planes (of course) using 3 views and such.

If anyone has any info it would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks

Shahid

I'm afraid that converting 3-views to plans is more of an art (based on many years of building experience) than a method. The type of aircraft, the size of the aircraft, the final projected weight of the aircraft will all be vital to decisions regarding how to build the model.

For most people, they will have built numerous kits before they ever attempt to build from their own plans. By that time they will probably have adopted favorite building techniques. What kind of prior building experience do you have?

Shadid,
The best way to proceed is to gather a bunch of scale plans, so you can see what they include, how they show things, etc. There is a broad variety of ways to do this so one plan is not enough - it will only be misleading.
Then.... decide what YOU would like to have on a plan set, and which plans are best at delivering those features, views, details, etc.
In the final analysis, there is no substitute for plunging in and trying it.
Good luck and don't give up.
Allan

Ive built some kits, proper kits not the ARTF stuff.

I'd really like to do my own Sukhoi one day. I always thought that there was a way to draw up formers (wings, tailplanes rudders. I know how to do, that just a case of the outline then selecting an approriate airfoil etc)

Its just the fuselage that gets me, using a 3 view of a fuselage, how would one make up the formers? I know some views also come with cross sections of the fuselage at various intervals. But how to come up with all the fuselage formers using these is something which is very much a black art to me.

Once I got all the formers sorted, hence the actual fuselage. I know exactly how I want to join up them formers, Its just a matter of getting those formers!

Try Dave Platts site. He has a video series called "Scratch This" Very inforamtive on creating plans and lofting techniques for creating fuse formers.
http://www.daveplattmodels.com/


Bill

Can anyone provide a quick and simple explanation of the term "lofting?" I've read enough on various web sites to know the term originated with boat-builders laying out hull ribs in their "lofts" and that the term has more recently been taken over by 3-D modelers, but what does it mean for scratch-builders?

Is there really some magic way to generate fuselage sections from a simple set of 3-views? I had always assumed that a 3-view WITH cross-sections was the absolutely minimum needed to do a scale model.

Lofting is the technique of taking the cross sections in a detailed 3-view (or other source) and calculating cross sections that would occure at intermediate locations. I too strongly recommend the "Scratch This" video/dvd from Dave Platts' Black Arts series of videos. It will provide a lot of information on designing from 3-views. Wheather you build from kits, plans or scratch, I would recommend all his Black Arts videos.

Scott

Scott, THAT I can understand. Thanks. Of course this is less of an issue with the squarish fuse shapes of most WWI aircraft but obviously of significance to builders of later aircraft.

Many of Dave's Black Art videos would seem to be of primarily interest to WWII (or "metal plane") modelers. Can anyone recommend a couple which might be of greatest interest to the WWI modeler?

Thanks for the recommendations chaps,

by the way here are the 3 views I have of the Sukhoi 26 M (If Im not mistaken)

Ive discovered something, the first 3 views, are of the SU 26 M2. The tips are atriaght on the wing and tailplane plus the air intake on the cowl is far more elongated. Also the cowl has a slight bulge left and right sides. Also the canopy blends into the fuselage sides more.

The colored view and the one with russian writing are of the SU 26 M, the first version. These have the angled tips and a different shorter air intake, also the canopy is more rounded and bubble like.

I have 3 views and cross sections, all quite detailed for the M variant. But I'd prefer to do the M2 variant, for which I have no cross sectional information.

Making fuselage formers requires a good 3-view to begin with. You make the cross sections using a technique drafting types call "orthographic projection". In the top view decide where the cross sections (bulkheads) will be by drawing lines perpendicular to center line and continue those lines down to the side view. Next, start a new view by laying out two perpendicular lines to describe the center of the bulkhead in a new view (like a gun sight). Measure the dimensions from center at the cross section on the side view and locate this top and bottom extreme on your cross section. Same with top view. You now have a front view of cross-section with 4 reference points. If the fuse is oval and you don't have a real plane to reference you will need to approximate curvature with a french curve. Projecting all the bulkheads on top of each in a single view often helps to make smooth transitions especially near the fin. An old drafting textbook in a used book store can be had for next to nothing and will explain the process much better than I did. Hope this helps.

Making wing ribs is a bit easier. Decide where your ribs will be on the top view. All you need is the chord length at each location and an airfoil number. Airfoil cross-sections are published in coordinate form as a function of chord length so they are infinitely scalable and remain precise.

Of course there is much more involved in making a scaled down plane that will actually fly well! Few plane models use the same airfoils or even surface areas of their full scale inspiration. Instead designers tweak this and that to account for the differences in flight envelope, Reynolds numbers and such.

If you want to know more, the book Basics of R/C Model Airplane Design by Andy Lennon is a great place to start and a classic. I got my copy in '86 and it's still in print!