tomprobert Posted March 8, 2023 Author Share Posted March 8, 2023 10 minutes ago, Derek B said: I have always considered that the Stirling undercarriage was actually two - an undercarriage within an undercarriage! (I am not sure why it was designed to be so long?). Derek You’re right, Derek. The undercarriage was so high because early tests using a half-scale model showed the take off run was very long. The proposed solution was to increase the wings’ angle of incidence by 3 degrees. However, the tooling had already been made and the prototypes under construction, so the easier and cheaper solution was to lengthen the gear legs. As we all know - it was prone to collapse and even the first flight of the prototype ended in a gear collapse and a write off of the airframe! TheBaron, Greg W and Derek B 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Derek B said: I have always considered that the Stirling undercarriage was actually two - an undercarriage within an undercarriage! (I am not sure why it was designed to be so long?). Derek Something to do with the incidence of the wing I think Derek. Ah, Tom’s just got in ahead of me but confirmed my thinking. “Incidentally” Jonathan Falconer’s excellent book “Stirling in Combat” is a great read, as well of course as Murray Peden’s “A Thousand Shall Fall”. Edited March 8, 2023 by mozart Archimedes and Derek B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 5 hours ago, tomprobert said: It's going to be a nightmare of epic proportions making this!!! Tom - it's one thing to accurately build the undercarriage for static display; another indeed for a retracting version! One being infinitely more difficult than the other. I take it your gear will be permanently extended? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted March 15, 2023 Author Share Posted March 15, 2023 On 3/8/2023 at 3:03 PM, JayW said: I take it your gear will be permanently extended? Oh God yes! The thought of making it be able to adequately support the model's weight is enough of a headache alone! Archimedes, Jack and Paulpk 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted March 21, 2023 Author Share Posted March 21, 2023 Well… progress has slowed a little of late due to work, but I’ve made a tentative start on the very complex landing gear. This is a bit of an experiment, if I’m being totally honest, as I’ve knocked up some gear using spare sprue. I’ve no clue about working with metal or solder, so this may (literally) fall flat on its face, but we’ll see. I always keep large sprue trees as it’s so useful when it comes to scratch work. I’ve chosen some that’s a little thicker (by 0.25mm) than the HK Lancaster gear legs as my logic is if such diameter can support the heavier weight of that kit, it should be able to hold the much lighter vacform Stirling. So… some sprue and lots of small metal pins which will be used to reinforce each join: Following plans, I cut the main parts of the structure and these were then slowly put together. CA glue secured the metal pins in pre-drilled holes, and then when each ‘leg’ was complete TET was run into each join and allowed to dry for 24hrs to make a very strong join: Great care was taken to ensure each part of the gear was identical: The joins were then reinforced further with Milliput and sanded smooth: Next, the main cross members were added using more sprue and again strengthened with metal pins: And with the wheels added, they are starting to resemble the complex structure of the real thing: What I’m now going to do is temporarily fix the gear to the bays and leave it standing for a week. I’m off to Italy skiing so when I return, if the model is still standing securely on its gear I can call this a victory and crack on making and adding the rest of the detail - of which there is lots! If not, and I come back and it’s laying flat on its belly, it’ll be back to the drawing board and I may have to invest in a soldering kit and a whole lot of reading… Stay tuned! Tom Dekon, Derek B, Landrotten Highlander and 27 others 28 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Courageous, ingenious, and fascinating all at the same time, Tom! Those cross beams are Evergreen or Plastruct though, surely - rather than kit sprue? Oh, and if I were you, I'd pop some foam under the belly of the model while you're away, just in case... Kev Derek B, Archimedes and Lee White 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archimedes Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 @tomprobert That is phenomenal work! Your ability to see the simple structure within the complex overall assembly is a fantastic skill and it gives real confidence that you will pull off these landing gear assemblies with aplomb! Nicely done. Kind regards, Paul Derek B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 Outstanding innovation Tom! I really hope this works for you. To make this in brass would be doable, but much more expensive and time consuming (not to mention a lot of jig work!) The gear looks great already; can't wait for the next post..... fingers crossed! Craig Derek B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted March 22, 2023 Author Share Posted March 22, 2023 9 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said: Courageous, ingenious, and fascinating all at the same time, Tom! Those cross beams are Evergreen or Plastruct though, surely - rather than kit sprue? Oh, and if I were you, I'd pop some foam under the belly of the model while you're away, just in case... Kev Thanks, Kev - and yes, the cross beam is Evergreen but is purely cosmetic - the gear doors will hang from here in due course. I've also got the foam at the ready! 8 hours ago, Archimedes said: @tomprobert That is phenomenal work! Your ability to see the simple structure within the complex overall assembly is a fantastic skill and it gives real confidence that you will pull off these landing gear assemblies with aplomb! Nicely done. Kind regards, Paul Thanks, Paul - when it's broken down it's actually quite a simple design. Keeping it all together is the issue! 6 hours ago, brahman104 said: Outstanding innovation Tom! I really hope this works for you. To make this in brass would be doable, but much more expensive and time consuming (not to mention a lot of jig work!) The gear looks great already; can't wait for the next post..... fingers crossed! Craig I'm really hoping I won't have to use brass as I have never done anything like that before and doing something as complex as this for my first try will be a big ask. However, if it's still standing good this time next week I'll stick with the plastic gear. We shall see. Greg W, LSP_Kevin, brahman104 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 Nice solution Tom - I like it! Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc65 Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 heck, it would never have occurred to me to attempt such an approach, especially with such a large aircraft and such an incredibly high landing gear, respect! about working with welded brass, if I may encourage you, it's much easier and cheaper than you imagine, and the results are really satisfying, Imho. cheers, Paolo Derek B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flarpen Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 A bit late now (maybe) but you could have used plastic tubing with the same O.D. for the main gear legs that attach to the wheels and inserted metal rods in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldbaldguy Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 3 hours ago, flarpen said: A bit late now (maybe) but you could have used plastic tubing with the same O.D. for the main gear legs that attach to the wheels and inserted metal rods in them. Yeah, but where’s the fun in that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenshb Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 Brass rod and tube would definitely provide stronger legs, and soldering brass is easy - as long as you use flux. Don't even try it without flux. A jig to hold the tube/rod in place is recommended, but once you have made it, the fabrication will be so much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted March 22, 2023 Share Posted March 22, 2023 Brilliant Tom! Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now