Man builds his own P-38

[N4521U]

Around 1991 in Livermore California (LVK) a bloke finished one of these small scale P-38's. Used Rotax engines. He had a small scale JN3 Jenny in his hanger that he built. I remember the test flights. Brilliant looking machine. I made stencils for the markings. It's incredible to watch the progress on something like this. LVK has a lot of home builders. Eagles, Long Easies, Lance Airs. I was lucky enough to get rides and control all three of these types, verrrrry lucky. You just have to commit to being a ramp tramp... cheers, Bill

 

[Wayne Little]

Man, that is sweet!

 

[109ROAMING]

My question, though, is why he chose to scale down to 2/3? Why not make a 1:1 replica?

Yeah I've always wondered that too , why not just say to heck with it and build it 1:1???

Alot of these guys are proberly pushing the boat out cash wise so maybe the full 1:1 is just too much?

In any case , I bet this guy among others like him felt a great deal of satisfaction when he got it done

Very well done to him on the awesome effort 8)

 

[Butters]

I'm always a little bit surprised whenever I stand next to a warbird in person. They look so small up in the air, and the pilots seem so big in the cockpit. My question, though, is why he chose to scale down to 2/3? Why not make a 1:1 replica?

Probably because he didn't want to spend many more years and way, waaaay more money getting his 'fork-tailed devil' into the air...

A 1:1 scale replica is not just a third larger than a 2/3 scale replica. Just as a 3 foot cube is not just a third larger than a 2 ft cube. The first is 27 cu feet in volume, the second is only 8. And because volume necessarily translates into mass (and cash...), the 2/3 scale replica can use proportionally much less stronger and expensive engines and load-bearing components.

I'd guess that the 2/3 scale is the smallest you can go without seriously distorting the proportions of the design. Unless you happened to be 'little person...'

I think he's done an absolutely extraordinary job. A true labor of love. And what a cool wife he must have!

JL

 

[Henk]

That is awesome! Wish I could build my won Fw-190 or a Me-262 or.....

 

[RabidAlien]

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to lessen his accomplishments in building a 2/3 scale plane! The -38 happens to be my favorite plane of all time (even edging out the Ho229, Me262, and A10), and I love to see one of any scale being brought back to life; I was just curious, that's all. The expense was what I was thinking (larger plane=larger engines), I didn't even consider the massive increase in volumetric size, although I did wonder if he was cutting down on structural support costs by going smaller size...same thought, just without all the blood-trickling-out-of-my-ears math work. I'd love to have one of these, myself!

 

[Airframes]

Beautiful job! The air to air pic looks just like the real thing, fantastic!

 

[Civettone]

anybody know what type of P-38 it is?

Kris

 

[RabidAlien]

...silver?

 

[Butters]

I didn't at all mean to imply that you were. Sorry if I gave that impression.

Anyway,even tho' the P-38 is my favorite warbird too, I've decided that I'm going for something a little roomier with my 2/3 scale replica. And a bit more modern. Big recip engines are just too expensive and hard to find nowadays...

I figure that I should be able to pick up a 1/2 dozen surplus J79's pretty cheap, and even if my 2/3 scale XB-70 Valkyrie only goes two thirds as fast as the original, I'll still be able to make pretty good time when all six 'burners kick in...8)

WHEEEEE!!

JL

PS: You wouldn't happen to have a few thousand spare barrels of JP-4 kickin' around, would ya?

 

[Clay_Allison]

Yeah I've always wondered that too , why not just say to heck with it and build it 1:1???

Alot of these guys are proberly pushing the boat out cash wise so maybe the full 1:1 is just too much?

In any case , I bet this guy among others like him felt a great deal of satisfaction when he got it done

Very well done to him on the awesome effort 8)

According the website of the guy building scale Spitfires in Australia, a 1:1 scale would use so much more material, need to have a lot harder to find/make parts and need a power plant that costs SO much more (gone Allison shopping lately?) that it would cost more than 20 times as much to get it into the sky. These scale warbirds can be built in a pretty normal sized workshop, and are powered by rebuilt (with special performance parts) aluminum block V-8s that cost maybe 7-10 grand. The single engine replicas fly like a bat out of hell pulling 500 horsepower. Try getting a 1700 horse engine at a price you can afford without selling engines. Making any of the airframe parts on a 1:1 scale takes tremendous space and larger equipment and introduces huge complications (like the possibility of a molded part drying wrong and coming out twisted or cracked). Read the blog of the guy making a 75% scale Corsair and you'll understand how hard it is.

 

[RabidAlien]

Butters....why not go for something a bit more realistically-sized....like the Spruce Goose?

 

[glzyp]

Look at the sheet metal work, what a master craftsman!