Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
12-28-2006, 04:31 AM
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Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
I know this sounds like it is out there but if anyone is interested in trying to build a scale working aircraft carrier Im open for discussion, my background is fiberglass boat repair and custom work, i would be interested in talking about this project and seeing what kinda feesability there would be, via drawings and such. I am also interested in trying to start building rc scale boats that match there bigger cousins for those of you that own your own boat and would like a scale rc model of the boat. fully functional of course. Im just trying to get a feel for whether there might be a market for it, Now im not talking about plastic, Im talking fiberglass the gel coat and all. Right down to bow thrusters and working bilge pumps if I cant find them ill try my best to design and make them. I would like any and all input on this subject. Feel free to look me up on yahoo. at hpymarriedcuple
or [email protected]
or [email protected]
12-28-2006, 03:28 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
thanks for the vote of confidence
im new to rc world so i dont know what there is out there really. I do know that I can do anything with fiberglass that I put my mind to.
So I am relying on my knowledge of boats and how they work, to kinda be a starting foot for this little adventure in the making i think.
im new to rc world so i dont know what there is out there really. I do know that I can do anything with fiberglass that I put my mind to.
So I am relying on my knowledge of boats and how they work, to kinda be a starting foot for this little adventure in the making i think.
12-28-2006, 09:35 PM
#4
RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
Are you talking ships from the Lexington, Ranger, Yorktown, Wasp, Hornet, Essex, Independance, Midway, Rebuilt Essex, Forrestal, Kitty Hawk, Enterprise, America or Nimitz class?
12-28-2006, 11:23 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
Start with the smallest darn RC warplane you can make and fly. Then set your ships scale to that. I think you are talking about a 50' boat. *(just a guess)
Next go to the flying field and paint a 50' X 8' (again to the math to find the right size) rectangle on the field. Now try and land on the rectangle. Its not moving up or down, or drifting sideways. Grass has much more stopping resistance than a flight deck. Heck, even put an arrestor wire out.
BUT any landing attempt you miss the rectangle, GO OUT TO THE FEILD AND DESTROY THE PLANE. Then try again with a new plane. (You will need several) Isn't that fun! And I just saved you 6 grand in fiberglass.
Next go to the flying field and paint a 50' X 8' (again to the math to find the right size) rectangle on the field. Now try and land on the rectangle. Its not moving up or down, or drifting sideways. Grass has much more stopping resistance than a flight deck. Heck, even put an arrestor wire out.
BUT any landing attempt you miss the rectangle, GO OUT TO THE FEILD AND DESTROY THE PLANE. Then try again with a new plane. (You will need several) Isn't that fun! And I just saved you 6 grand in fiberglass.
12-30-2006, 05:57 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
find a used catamaran style sailboat, and see if the owner is willing to sell you one of the hulls or maybe let you borrow it to use as a mold (big ofcourse....maybe 50' as said earlier) and cut out and refiberglass the front and back of the newly molded hull to make it look more scale. that would decrese worktime (and cost...hopefully)
i think you might have to use those electric motors used to start car motors...maybe two or three of em to move the boat....
and then after a few months (or years) and a couple thousand dollars, it will be finished....and even at that size, to make the planes seem scale, they would need to be those little electric ones with 20" wingspans.... they can also survive a crash a lot better and if the esc, batterys, and servos are waterproffed properly, it will survive a swim...
im not saying im building it tho...
i think you might have to use those electric motors used to start car motors...maybe two or three of em to move the boat....
and then after a few months (or years) and a couple thousand dollars, it will be finished....and even at that size, to make the planes seem scale, they would need to be those little electric ones with 20" wingspans.... they can also survive a crash a lot better and if the esc, batterys, and servos are waterproffed properly, it will survive a swim...
im not saying im building it tho...
12-30-2006, 06:44 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
You all have good ideas and points, im thinking nimitz class, and the hull would be speically made and to scale, the nimitz class carrier is 1092 ft, 1/8 th scale is what i was thinking and yes I know it would be huge, Im more wanting to put together a build plan, this would take a very long while, but hey time is all I got.
12-30-2006, 08:21 PM
#8
RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
Why not go Enterprise class? It's 1101.5 feet long, so you would be gaining a couple of feet in length. In 1/8th scale, the Nimitz class ships are 136 feet 6 inches long, while the Enterprise is 137 feet 8.25 inches long. The only problem is that you would have to fly ducted fan or turbine powered aircraft to make them look right. Can you say:
24 F-14 Tomcats or F-4 Phantoms(for the Enterprise)
24-36 F/A-18 Hornets or 24 A-7 Corsairs and 16 A-6 Intruders(for any pre F/A-18 airwing)
4-6 E-2C Hawkeyes
4 EA-6B Prowlers
6 Seaking or Seahawk Helicopters
10-12 S-3A Vikings
Then, of course, you would need to match the aircraft markings to the ship depicted. For example, in 1984, Carrier Airwing Two on the USS Kitty Hawk consisted of the following squadrons:
VF-1.........12 Tomcats
VF-2.........12 Tomcats
HS-2..........6 Seakings
VA-145.....12 Intruders and 4 Intruder tankers
VA-146.....12 Corsairs
VA-147.....12 Corsairs
VAQ-130.....4 Prowlers
VS-38.......10 Vikings
VAW-126....4 Hawkeyes
I don't know if you want to get into that much detail as that's a lot of aircraft. BTW, the reason I know what was on the Kitty Hawk in 1984 is that I was an Avionic Tech with VAQ-130
24 F-14 Tomcats or F-4 Phantoms(for the Enterprise)
24-36 F/A-18 Hornets or 24 A-7 Corsairs and 16 A-6 Intruders(for any pre F/A-18 airwing)
4-6 E-2C Hawkeyes
4 EA-6B Prowlers
6 Seaking or Seahawk Helicopters
10-12 S-3A Vikings
Then, of course, you would need to match the aircraft markings to the ship depicted. For example, in 1984, Carrier Airwing Two on the USS Kitty Hawk consisted of the following squadrons:
VF-1.........12 Tomcats
VF-2.........12 Tomcats
HS-2..........6 Seakings
VA-145.....12 Intruders and 4 Intruder tankers
VA-146.....12 Corsairs
VA-147.....12 Corsairs
VAQ-130.....4 Prowlers
VS-38.......10 Vikings
VAW-126....4 Hawkeyes
I don't know if you want to get into that much detail as that's a lot of aircraft. BTW, the reason I know what was on the Kitty Hawk in 1984 is that I was an Avionic Tech with VAQ-130
12-31-2006, 01:06 AM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
Here is Andrew Jarbak's 1/96 scale Enterprise at approximately 11'-5 5/8" long(137.68 inches)
Are you seriously thinking 1.5"=1'-0"?
You would definitely need to register the model as a "boat", or maybe a yacht.
4200 square feet of model flight deck would make for a heck of a house boat, or sun deck.
[&:]
Are you seriously thinking 1.5"=1'-0"?
You would definitely need to register the model as a "boat", or maybe a yacht.
4200 square feet of model flight deck would make for a heck of a house boat, or sun deck.
[&:]
12-31-2006, 11:09 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
There is absolutely no reason that you could NOT build a scale R/C "aircraft" carrier.....! Just this morning I was looking through one of my old Model Boat Magazines and noticed a picture of an R/C helicopter (Bell 47G) landing on the stern of a model Aircraft Carrier....!
The magazine showed a separate photo of the carrier -- a full 31 FEET long --- on a two axle boat trailer. And it looked like it was about ready to "steam" right over the towing vehicle....
(I wish I had your knowledge of Fibreglass so I could "repair" my 61 inch long trawler hull!)
Best of Luck--
And Happy New Year!
Paul.
The magazine showed a separate photo of the carrier -- a full 31 FEET long --- on a two axle boat trailer. And it looked like it was about ready to "steam" right over the towing vehicle....
(I wish I had your knowledge of Fibreglass so I could "repair" my 61 inch long trawler hull!)
Best of Luck--
And Happy New Year!
Paul.
01-01-2007, 01:59 AM
#11
RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
I think this is a great idea but I would recommend going back to the OLD SCHOOL & think about something more manageble, both in terms of vessel size & flying compliment.
Why not consider the first real carrier to make an appearance: USS Langley commissioned as CV-1 in 1922 & sunk in action in the Java Sea in 1942. At 520' x 65' she would be a manageble in 1/32 or 1/48 scale & not break the bank. The open deck would allow you a better chance of landing unscathed on that small surface without colliding with an island. Electric biplanes with their added lift & light weight would allow a short takeoff as well as a slow landing approach.
Of course, you can also consider the same with a contemporary from other side of the pond by building an early IJN carrier like Akagi or Kaga.
Why not consider the first real carrier to make an appearance: USS Langley commissioned as CV-1 in 1922 & sunk in action in the Java Sea in 1942. At 520' x 65' she would be a manageble in 1/32 or 1/48 scale & not break the bank. The open deck would allow you a better chance of landing unscathed on that small surface without colliding with an island. Electric biplanes with their added lift & light weight would allow a short takeoff as well as a slow landing approach.
Of course, you can also consider the same with a contemporary from other side of the pond by building an early IJN carrier like Akagi or Kaga.
01-01-2007, 04:46 PM
#12
RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
I have to agree with herrmill,, though I'm thinking a little bigger. I would look at the CV-5 USS Yorktown or the CV-6 USS Enterprise. Also, if you scale them down to 1/12 instead of 1/8, you would still have planes in the 36" wingspan range, but with a length of around 67 ft, it would still be a monster
01-03-2007, 12:16 AM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
One has to remember that landing on a Carrier is a VERY first person evolution. Doing it from the shore would give your great glide slope but your alignment would be off. of if you were aft of the boat, your alignment would be good, but glide slope off.
You could put a camera in the plane, but the "flat" video would really screw up the depth perception.
I have landed on the real thing a few times, and its hard enough when you are IN the plane.
I have a 1/144 USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64), its a nice boat, and cost me a little bit of money to build from scratch. And when ever I show it off to people, the next thing they ALWAYS say is " You should land R/C planes on it.
Frankly not interested in watching my planes go in the water, or into my island. Would be fun, but its not practical.
You could put a camera in the plane, but the "flat" video would really screw up the depth perception.
I have landed on the real thing a few times, and its hard enough when you are IN the plane.
I have a 1/144 USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64), its a nice boat, and cost me a little bit of money to build from scratch. And when ever I show it off to people, the next thing they ALWAYS say is " You should land R/C planes on it.
Frankly not interested in watching my planes go in the water, or into my island. Would be fun, but its not practical.
01-03-2007, 03:19 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
Going on from ScottOram's post i was thinking that at the size you are talking about for the craft(no toy) you could have someone actually on board doing 'flight ops' for you. It may look a bit strange with a head poking up from the flight deck but it could work quite well
01-03-2007, 04:36 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
This is such an awesome idea. I would love to try to land a plane on a carrier. I once put a fake arrestor hook on a eaglet 16 years ago for fun. I hooked it to my throttle servo so when I chopped the throttle the tail hook came down. I can land a sport plane any where I want but landing on a small field with a scale warbird or jet would be very challenging. You could always fly from a separate boat near the carrier, that way if you miss you can get over to your plane quickly
Jay
Jay
01-03-2007, 11:15 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
Hey ScottOram, Earlier I posted about painting the outline of a carrier on your regular flying field and trying to do simulated carrier landings. I joked about destroying any plane that misses its landing. You spoke of hitting the Island which I did not even consider. But if you make a cardboard or foam sheet island and set it out on the field in the painted outline that would be a decent simulation for a carrier landing attempt. If you had a few guys around who wanted to try this you could score each other on sucesses/failed landing attempts. But failed attempts still will roll to a safe stop *(except for the island hits) without the fall off the edge of the real/model carrier.
Anyway since you have landed the real thing on a carrier, do you think that simply laying it out on the field would be a challenge enough without the need to build a vessel?
I just do not see the sense in spending a lot of money on a folley that would be fun for a day until you realize the incredible destruction you will experience trying to use it. The need for carrier based air operations was spawned from war. If not for military use, (and the inherent risk of all things millitary) there would not even be aircraft carriers. So to try to use this inherently dangerous platform for recreation makes no sense to me. But I could see taking a day at the field to conduct Carrier Operations just for a new challange without the destruction penalty for slight misses.
Anyway since you have landed the real thing on a carrier, do you think that simply laying it out on the field would be a challenge enough without the need to build a vessel?
I just do not see the sense in spending a lot of money on a folley that would be fun for a day until you realize the incredible destruction you will experience trying to use it. The need for carrier based air operations was spawned from war. If not for military use, (and the inherent risk of all things millitary) there would not even be aircraft carriers. So to try to use this inherently dangerous platform for recreation makes no sense to me. But I could see taking a day at the field to conduct Carrier Operations just for a new challange without the destruction penalty for slight misses.
01-03-2007, 11:48 PM
#18
RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
ORIGINAL: ScottOram
Head poking up for Flight Ops..
Say Hi Duncan!
Head poking up for Flight Ops..
Say Hi Duncan!
Can one get that sucker up on plane & waterski behind it?
Would love to see how the Florida DNR would classify that vessel!
Tim, I guess if the poster is so deadset about building a carrier, perhaps he should focus on a helicopter carrier. With the new micro helos on the market, you could build at a workable scale as I mentioned before. I agree with you that trying to fly fixed wing at anything other than a very slow speed, lightweight plane would be crazy.
01-03-2007, 11:52 PM
#19
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
hey tailhooks work great on rc planes if you put them on right. It was something I didi just for fun with an old seagull pc-9. what a blast. it was on the ground but still fun with elastic material to catch with the hook
01-04-2007, 08:18 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
Everyone I appreciate all your hard thoughts and considerations, on my project, i believe a slight scale down would be better, really i wanted to see one of those f18 jets (turbine land on it that was why i needed all the space i could get, but i know where to get the hull made for something that size and would give plenty of room, im going to look into it, I use to work for a houseboat company that made there own hulls. Great Idea, I also know where I can get enough aluminium square tubing, to build the flight deck with, put a layer of 7/8 ply down glass it and roll some of the recycled pavement over it and let heat or bake in the sun, then roll and paint. You got the makings of a wonderful flight deck that is reletively light compaired to real thing. one very good point that was brought up was licenseing because of size, something i hadnt thought about because it would mostly be a prop, very very expensive prop. and on that note, where could i find a 1/12 style monster of a wheel /prop, that the nimitz has. as far as a motor, just need to rebuild a 4cyl mercruiser and that would be more then enought to cover the propulsion I would need, we are looking at 67 ft. I cant think of any other option there.
Thanks for the input keep it coming im going to check on the price of a hull..
Thanks for the input keep it coming im going to check on the price of a hull..
01-05-2007, 12:39 AM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
ORIGINAL: barnstormerboats
Hey ScottOram, Earlier I posted about painting the outline of a carrier on your regular flying field and trying to do simulated carrier landings. I joked about destroying any plane that misses its landing. You spoke of hitting the Island which I did not even consider. But if you make a cardboard or foam sheet island and set it out on the field in the painted outline that would be a decent simulation for a carrier landing attempt. If you had a few guys around who wanted to try this you could score each other on successes/failed landing attempts. But failed attempts still will roll to a safe stop *(except for the island hits) without the fall off the edge of the real/model carrier.
Anyway since you have landed the real thing on a carrier, do you think that simply laying it out on the field would be a challenge enough without the need to build a vessel?
I just do not see the sense in spending a lot of money on a folley that would be fun for a day until you realize the incredible destruction you will experience trying to use it. The need for carrier based air operations was spawned from war. If not for military use, (and the inherent risk of all things military) there would not even be aircraft carriers. So to try to use this inherently dangerous platform for recreation makes no sense to me. But I could see taking a day at the field to conduct Carrier Operations just for a new challange without the destruction penalty for slight misses.
Hey ScottOram, Earlier I posted about painting the outline of a carrier on your regular flying field and trying to do simulated carrier landings. I joked about destroying any plane that misses its landing. You spoke of hitting the Island which I did not even consider. But if you make a cardboard or foam sheet island and set it out on the field in the painted outline that would be a decent simulation for a carrier landing attempt. If you had a few guys around who wanted to try this you could score each other on successes/failed landing attempts. But failed attempts still will roll to a safe stop *(except for the island hits) without the fall off the edge of the real/model carrier.
Anyway since you have landed the real thing on a carrier, do you think that simply laying it out on the field would be a challenge enough without the need to build a vessel?
I just do not see the sense in spending a lot of money on a folley that would be fun for a day until you realize the incredible destruction you will experience trying to use it. The need for carrier based air operations was spawned from war. If not for military use, (and the inherent risk of all things military) there would not even be aircraft carriers. So to try to use this inherently dangerous platform for recreation makes no sense to me. But I could see taking a day at the field to conduct Carrier Operations just for a new challange without the destruction penalty for slight misses.
Here is a great video of a carrier landing in the mighty S-3B Viking. http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arrier+landing
01-05-2007, 12:39 AM
#22
RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
Actually, the Nimitz would be 91 feet long. The 67 is a rough guestimate on a Yorktown class ship(the Yorktown or Enterprise) which would be considerably smaller, as shown in the following:
General characteristics
Displacement: 19,800 tons
Length: 809.5 ft (246.7 m)
Beam: 83.1 ft (25.3 m)
Draft: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Speed: 32.5 knots
Complement: 2,219 officers and men
Armament: 8 × 5 in (127 mm) guns, 22 x .50-cal (12.7 mm) machine guns
Aircraft: 90
Using the above listed sizes, the 1/12th scale Yorktowns are 67 feet 5.5 inches long, 6 feet 11 inches wide and draw 2 foot 4 inches of water.
General characteristics
Displacement: 19,800 tons
Length: 809.5 ft (246.7 m)
Beam: 83.1 ft (25.3 m)
Draft: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Speed: 32.5 knots
Complement: 2,219 officers and men
Armament: 8 × 5 in (127 mm) guns, 22 x .50-cal (12.7 mm) machine guns
Aircraft: 90
Using the above listed sizes, the 1/12th scale Yorktowns are 67 feet 5.5 inches long, 6 feet 11 inches wide and draw 2 foot 4 inches of water.
01-05-2007, 12:50 AM
#23
RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
I am sure that I'm speaking for many here when I say this should be one entertaining build to watch!
Keep us abreast of your progress, Tcopeland.
Keep us abreast of your progress, Tcopeland.
01-16-2007, 04:46 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
I think that this could possibly work with lots of time, money & technology. I would think that the Carrier would have to have someone actually drive it and manage landings....With the size of it, it would not be hard to design the interior for one or more people to be at different places in the carrier. and yes, a real engine should be used...Then, you can possibly have multiple people fly airplanes on it from shore or onboard if each plane was properly outfitted with cameras to receive and transmit from shore. 1 camera would be designated to fly to the ship and around and another would likely be placed underneath the front of the plane for descending and another would be for the hook to catch onto the carrier to stop the plane. or 1 may be designated to do all...The cameras can be in the fuselage with clear covers.....The pully system on the flight deck would have to work...probably an easy design can be implemented... I am sure that with all the available items located out there it would be possible to do or develop. I am sure that it would be an adrenaline rush to go in for a landing...i am sure that local flight clubs would want to part of your club....
01-16-2007, 08:20 PM
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RE: Scale aircraft carrier capable of landing scale rc planes on
...
With the size of it, it would not be hard to design the interior for one or more people to be at different places in the carrier.
...
With the size of it, it would not be hard to design the interior for one or more people to be at different places in the carrier.
...
A ships captain and several pilots would be nothing on board a 67 foot or longer model aircraft carrier.