Some months ago I had an idea for a build that would pay homage to my private pilot friend Chris' old Cessna 172 airplane. He's not a modeler himself, but he's seen some of my past planes and has expressed enthusiasm for the hobby. Anyway, he and another pilot used to jointly own a 172, before it was demolished in an accident at their home airport in Virginia. As the story goes, the two of them had apparently just put about $5000.00 worth of repairs into it, and had been rolled out of the repair hangar and onto the tarmac, awaiting inspection and a test fly. Well, along comes a guy taking off in a rebuilt old timer biplane when his engine cuts out, and he loses control and crashes into the 172. Luckily noone on the ground was injured, and the guy in the bipe walked away relatively unscathed. Not so lucky for the Cessna, however.

Anyhow, my idea was to build up a stick-n-tissue model of a 172, and cover it with the same markings as my friend's original, in a kind of miniaturized memorium. I was going to present it to him when he and his wife have their first baby this October.

I did some research and found that EasyBuilt Models (http://www.easybuiltmodels.com) has a 20" wingspan version of the 172, so I ordered it and set about getting my modeling area set back up. (I've been relocated to the depths of the basement now that my wife and I have a newborn of our own).

Just thought I'd post my progress here as I build the thing. I can't promise that it'll be quick, as I am currently only midway through my master's program in electrical engineering and am typically swamped with schoolwork, real work, and housework. But on those odd days when I have a few spare hours to kill, I plan on putting this baby together.

Here's a picture of Chris' original plane - the one the model is supposedly going to look like.

Here's a picture of the aftermath of the wreck:

And another one:

Anyway, I finally got off my lazy duff last night and set my humble modeling area back up so I could get started building. As it turns out, cleaning out the basement storage area took the better part of 90 minutes, so that by the time I got down to breaking out the kit and cutting balsa, the wife was clamoring for me to help with the kid, so I didn't get too far. But here's a picture of my workspace anyway...expect it to get a lot more cluttered and dirty as the project progresses. Notice, in the square plastic bin in the upper left, that I've managed to cut out a whopping TWO wing ribs. That total is now up to (!!!) TEN. Well, the hardest part is over anyway...the starting part.

I'll try to post more progress pix on Monday - although I've got a midterm to study for. I'll see if I can get a couple of hours of build time in over the weekend.

That's it for now!

- Fat Jeff

Cool project! It's really nice of you to do that.

Did he (or will he) ever re-build it or fix it?

will it be rubber powered, just-for-looks, throw-it-and-it-glides type thing, or what?

I hope it turns out great, and you have more building time!

Originally posted by aeropenguin
Cool project! It's really nice of you to do that.

Did he (or will he) ever re-build it or fix it?

will it be rubber powered, just-for-looks, throw-it-and-it-glides type thing, or what?

I hope it turns out great, and you have more building time!

This is going to be a rubber powered free flight model. I'll fit it with some nice braided 1/8" Tan Sport. I'm also going to give the guy a 6:1 Sig winder so that he can fly it. Of course, I won't hand it over to him until I test fly it and make sure it's trimmed in real nice! Not sure if he'll be interested in getting a lot of flying time out of it, but at the very least it'll be a nice bookshelf knick knack.

Chris and his co-owner got a settlement from their insurance company after the accident, so they've got the funds to go out and buy a new plane. It's been (to my knowledge) close to a year now, though - maybe they're still licking their wounds and haven't yet committed to a new plane.

Jeff

Yeah, I built a 1/72 scale model of a Rapide for a guy that spent most of WWll in one, and gave it to him, complete with proper markings for his unit. Ever seen a grown man cry? It was truly a memorable moment, for both of us...

Jeff, rubber powered, huh? Sounds really cool!
I currently do not actually own anything FF.....

wouldn't it be so much cooler if it was equipped with ultra-lightweight radio equipment and servos, etc, and you gave it to him with a transmitter and a ready to fly plane with batt's - just turn on & fly?

anyway, that's what I'd do

T. Lyttle, man, you almost made ME cry with your story!
that's really nice...I cannot believe how he must've felt...I have a few Q's...did you present it to him right after war, or many a many years

-aeroP

Oh, and Jeff, if it's easy for you, you are very welcome to post as many pics as possible (giving you "the" look)
Oh, and that was a beautiful Cessna he had before all the mishaps
Some day, maybe some day, I'll have a plane all of my own as Chris did. A Cessna maybe? Piper J-3? D-H tigermoth?

-aeroP

Oh, no, he was demobbed in '46, and it was the mid-80s when I gave it to him. It was my best plastic model ever, with the finest ga music wire for the interplanes, just done to the 9s. He, of course, knew nothing about it: I asked his wife if there were any photos of him with the aircraft, and she didn't ask why. It was truly wonderful...

Originally posted by T. Lyttle He, of course, knew nothing about it: I asked his wife if there were any photos of him with the aircraft, and she didn't ask why. It was truly wonderful... [/B]

AAW, what a pity!!?? Well, he shed tears, and it must've been a "memorable moment", as you said.
How do you mean, he knew nothing about it? In terms of the "greatness" - "the finest ga music wire for the interplanes, just done to the 9s" - or what?

Thanx!
-aeroP

Originally posted by aeropenguin
Jeff, rubber powered, huh? Sounds really cool!
I currently do not actually own anything FF.....

wouldn't it be so much cooler if it was equipped with ultra-lightweight radio equipment and servos, etc, and you gave it to him with a transmitter and a ready to fly plane with batt's - just turn on & fly?

anyway, that's what I'd do

The wingspan is only 20" - I'm not savvy enough in RC to fit standard radio equipment in there. Anyway, he's not an RC pilot, just a real one - he'd probably bust it all up if he turned it back towards himself. The beauty of free flight is that you just trim it, wind it, and let 'er go! Hope you judged the wind right today buddy, because that tree looks awful hungry for an airplane...

Anyway, I was completely oblivious to free flight only 6 months ago, and since then have gotten sucked in *hard* to the hobby. There is something very satisfying about flying non-controlled rubber band powered airplanes in a neighborhood park, or inside a gym with a high ceiling. I went to the DC National Building Museum's indoor free flight expo a few months ago, and loved it. As one of the participants quipped, "This is the only hobyy I know of which actually reduces your heartrate." That about sums it up!

I've managed to get one wing structure complete, and will try to get the other one finished before tomorrow and take some pictures to post here. I have high hopes that this little plane will turn out to be a good flyer.

- Jeff

Sorry, bad grammar: he knew nothing about my building of the model until i presented it to him, then the tears flowed... I searched out the finest wire I could handle to do the interplane flying/landing wires, painted the tires so that they looked as if they had been in the dust, exhaust and oil markings on the nacelles, all that stuff. I spent many months on that model, and it was worth that one moment.
Sorry to have hijacked this thread for personal reverie; I hope your friend appreciates the work that you are putting into that Cessna, and I'm sure that you will get it flying right. Just let us know if you have problems!

Originally posted by T. Lyttle
Sorry, bad grammar: he knew nothing about my building of the model until i presented it to him, then the tears flowed... I searched out the finest wire I could handle to do the interplane flying/landing wires, painted the tires so that they looked as if they had been in the dust, exhaust and oil markings on the nacelles, all that stuff. I spent many months on that model, and it was worth that one moment.
Sorry to have hijacked this thread for personal reverie; I hope your friend appreciates the work that you are putting into that Cessna, and I'm sure that you will get it flying right. Just let us know if you have problems!

T. Lyttle, I am glad - I thought you meant that he knew nothing of how great the model was, and he thought it was crud, but there were still tears ! Anyway, I understand - we both now understand each other, so let that be.
oil makkings and dirt on the wheels? Man, he must've thought you used one of thems "miniaturizing magical-potion" machines and scaled down a real one!
hijacked this thread? Naah! Your posts were right "on topic", sort of, and fit. Nobody really cares (no no, I mean nobody is gonna bust you - I care...)
Jeff, the more pics the btter! Can't wait! I know what you mean by FF being cool...it's a lot easier and a TON more worry-free. to be a good FF guy, you have to be a good builder. To be a good RC guy, you have to be a good builder, and pilot, and a good spender too (FF - it don't matter how good your winder is - fingers work as well, but in RC, the better the radio, the better the results).

I wish I was more into FF! It's a bazillion times cheaper! Although, I can't imagine having to put my thumbs to bed, so to say...

Hi Aeropenguin
I think Rubber FF is the most difficult aspect of the hobby. Try to get a Rubber FF Sopwith Camel or something low winged and long tailed to fly well . You would probably change your mind.
But it certainly is rewarding when it all comes together. And of course some guys make it look easy! Check out Flailing's pnuts, truly amazing.

Jeff, I look forward to seeing your progress.

Have fun
Moon