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A C-47 on floats!


MustangManiac

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Hello everyone,

 

I needed something that I could build in a shorter period of time than a year or longer so I dug out the old 1/72 Esci C-47 kit and the AMC XC-47C conversion set it wasn't until I pretty much had the whole thing put together that I realized that AMC is short two V shaped struts that brace the floats.....Dang I wanted something easy and quick.

 

Here's where I'm at as of now anyway the fuselage halves are dry fitted together and the wings are dry fitted to the fuselage.

 

NxfZoOZ.jpg

 

I'm not sure if I should still tempt fate and try to make it a floatplane or just forget it and add the wheels. My main concern is that I'm not sure what to make additional struts from and know they'll be durable enough to take the weight of the plane.

 

Cheers,

Brady

Edited by MustangManiac
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Couple of good videos on the subject. I have the floats all drawn up and done for laser cutting for 1/48 and 1/24 (for a float on a flatbed dio). After the first cutting, I need to make some adjustments to the design. I may even just go full 3D printed. Still working on it.

 

 

 

 

 

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I would suggest some thickish sprue sanded to an airfoil shape.

 

 

Also, occasionally at some LHSs you can find aero shaped aluminum for small R/C ships too that may fit the bill. Some is probably larger than needed, but might be worth a look. 

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll see what I can find at the local hobby shop.

 

Brady

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Couple of good videos on the subject. I have the floats all drawn up and done for laser cutting for 1/48 and 1/24 (for a float on a flatbed dio). After the first cutting, I need to make some adjustments to the design. I may even just go full 3D printed. Still working on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are some good videos of a rare plane. Thanks for sharing John. I have a friend who has a 3D printer if you've got the drawings I could have him print it for you. I've got to say 1/48 would be pretty good size, I can't imagine how big it would be in 1/24 scale. I've got to say that if the struts and floats were all printed in a 3D printer as an assembly that just had to be attached to the bottom of the plane it be more sturdy. The other thing that my conversion set doesn't have is a way to plug the wheel bays completely. It would be cool to see your work.

 

Cheers,

Brady

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Thanks Brady,

 

The floats are EDO Model 78-29400 amphibious floats
Length: 42 ft
Beam: 5 ft 8 in
Depth: 5 ft

 

So, in 1/48 they are 10.5" long, and in 1/24... 21".

 

As for plugging the bays... To the best of my knowledge, they just fitted the strut to the mounting point for the wheels, and closed the gear doors. Since the tires normal poke through, there already was a nice hole for the strut. I have a few good static shots of the plane, I'll see if I can dig them out. Might not be till tomorrow though.

 

But here is my working drawings, and a pic of the laser cut stuff going together.

DC-3%20Floats.JPG

 

 

 

 

100_3491.JPG

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Very Cool John,

 

What software did you draw this up with? As far as the wheel bays I think your picture labeled DC33 and maybe the one ending in 624 are good ones to look closely at to see the wheel bays aren't open. One thing I noticed with your pictures is that the exhaust stacks seem to be a little shorter and closer to the cowling than the usual C-47 exhaust, I do believe it's faired over with stainless steel further back where there's usually an exhaust stack extending back. I've got to say your drawings done with a 3D printer would be awesome most likely.

 

Cheers,

Brady

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Guest Jessie_C

Bog-standard Daks never had wheel well doors. It was only Super DC-3s/C117s and postwar modifications which had the doors. I suspect that they just used some sheet-metal flanges attached to the struts to cover the openings.

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That's right Jessie, I'd say that they most likely didn't leave the wheel bays exposed, primarily to prevent the exposure to sea spray and getting sea salt up inside the wheel bays, that just leads to corrosion.

 

Brady

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Hi John,

 

Check this shot out, it's a little better shot of seeing the faired over wheel bays, because Folsom's plane is coming up the ramp out of the water, so it's slightly nosed up.

 

http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000478753L.html

 

I've got to say that views from underneath are the hardest to find with decent lighting so you can see the details.

 

Are you interested in me seeing if I could have your drawings printed on my friend's 3D printer?

 

Cheers,

Brady

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