Greetings all,
Here’s a collage of the way I’m going to mount my Modelcraft C-172 Skyhawk.
With “Speed Blur” affects added, it will appear to be about to touchdown “On the Numbers”.
I’m hoping to get this done in the next couple days, and will post the results.
Take care,
Frank
Very clever Frank. Should look great. Thanks for sharing.
Regards, Rick
I love it, very creative.
I didn’t know 172s had tailhooks…[:D][:D] Although, they ARE called Skyhawks… Looks great to me. Who made the runway?
Frank:
It is so strange you posted that today. This very morning on the subway I was thinking how much I prefer flying low-wing Pipers to high-wing Cessnas, and in an odd way, your beautiful model and ingenious mounting illustrates exactly what I was thinking, only in reverse. The low-wing planes I prefer for the very fact that I can drive them straight down the slot and plant them right on the numbers. (I never saw much point in the oldf “rule” that says you should aim to put your bird down a third of the way down the runway.) In my experience, Cessnas and other high-wing birds. (I had this same experience flying high-wing, tail dragging Citabrias (sp? It’s supposed to mimic “aerobatic” spelled backwards.). The Cessnas, maybe because I’m just more experienced in the low-wing planes, seem to float down the runway in ground effect forever. Pilots new in delta wing jets like the F-102 and 106 had the same complaint, only at much higher speeds, obviously. I’ve always thought of the far end of the numbers as my “three wire” and, as I said, drove the airplane straight down to that point, much to the chagrine of check pilots and instructors. In the end, I suppose it comes down to what you are used to driving, and which type you find most comfortable. Most private pilots are most comfortable in the airplanes that are closest to the ones they trained in.
But, as I said, that is one beautiful display. Makes me want to try again with an Academy Cherokee (I threw the last one away in disgust halfway through the build), and see if I can make something I’m proud of out of it, just as you have with the Cessna.
Tom
Frank…
Great approach…[;)]
most excellent presentation !!!1
Thank you Rick, TJ, Gary, Tom, and Ric! [:)]
Gary: The base IS the base of the Imex showcase. It had a slick finish, so I started sanding it down, and noticed the finish that created would do really good imitating movement over pavement. After a full length coverage (including sanding off the Imex name - sorry imex), I painted the runway numbers in flat white… the one picture that I made outside, the base is on my back deck railing, so the surrounding grass isn’t part of the diorama… (but it does give it a good affect, doesn’t it?) [:)]
Tom: It is true, the highwing airplanes do have a tendancy to float in certain conditions, which prompted my habit of dumping the flaps after getting into the flare. This particular Skyhawk represents the airplane I took my wife out, on what turned out to be, our first date. I was giving rides at the local airport early one Saturday morning, when her and her sisters showed up… she rode in the front with me… and you know how girls are when they give you the EYES, well she did, and the rest is history! We were married three months later, and will celebrate our 22nd anniversary this October. In the model, I have her arm on the back of my seat, just as it was when we returned to the airport… “On the numbers” has two meanings for me… [;)]
Thanks again fella’s,
Frank
Oldhooker,
You did a great job with the Skyhawk! You have caught just the perfect look of a Skyhawk flaring for the touch down - barn doors down and everything. That is really a beautiful paint job, too. When I see an effort like yours I can’t understand why GA aircraft models aren’t more popular.
Like sharkskin your effort makes me want to try my luck with the Cherokee I had in mind for the Civil GB. (I may be moving across the country so I don’t know if I can build it soon or not.) When I do I think I’ll make a base and pose the Cherokee just as you did with the Skyhawk. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
If I may I’ll just add one comment. I’m not sure whether I would paint a clear styrene prop or not. In fligh the prop always seems essentially invisible to me no matter what the throttle setting. I only notice a visible prop arc sitting dead still on the ramp with the throttle at low idle. To me the Cessna would look very realistic if you only added the prop cone.
As for planting it on the numbers, I have always heard it expained this way. Smaller Cessnas and Pipers are actually capable of landing in 1/8 to 1/3 of the length of the runway available at most GA fields. Landing anywhere in the first half of the runway still leaves plenty of room for the rollout. On the other hand, if you lose the engine, get an unexpected gust of wind, or both, on short final, the 1/3 rule gives you some extra runway underneath to play with. I think we can all agree that giving up unneeded room at the far end of the runway is better than landing short. Since there is usually more than ample runway length, the 1/3 rule just gives you a little extra safety. Admittedly, this cushion is one that very few pilots ever need. (Of course, that all changes on a short field.)
Sharkskin - for some reason I also find it easier to land low wing aircraft rather than high wing. You would think that the lower wing would float more because of increased ground effect. Somehow, though, high wing birds do seem to float more for me.
cool!! i wish i knew how to add text to a photo!! the only photo editing program i have is Micro Soft Photo Editor, and i never have played with it much. nice looking collage and build Frank!! later.
frank that looks great. you have done a very nice job of creating the movement.
joe
I’m not so sure about props being invisible. My heart still quits for a second every time I remember the first time my instructor caught me looking out the window the other way, and jerked the throttle all the way back to the stop, which is also what the prop did, and boy was it visible. And he continued to do that dirty trick until I instinctively learned to take that as my cue to set up an emergency landing in a field or on a road.
And, I’m afraid my crusty instructor, a Vietnam Phantom vet, made me fly the Cherokee as though it had two J79s. When entering the pattern, I was taught to get in the habit of jerking that mushy Piper up on one wing like an F-18 peeling off from a four-ship to a 360-overhead pattern (which we practiced, yes, in a Cherokee). But as for the habit of landing on the numbers, or just past them, like Frank’s Cessna, I always recall my instructor’s mantra explaining “The Three Most Worthless Things In the World”:
Altitude above you,
Runway behind you, and
Fuel that’s still in the farm
And, yes, Frank’s given us all a reason to take another look at a civil a/c project, I think it’s safe to say. They may not be sexy, but with a little work you sure can make them look pretty.
Tom
Hi Frank…thats a very cool setup! You really get the sense of motion with it and the flare angle is great.
Thanks for posting!
Joe Youngerman
Thanks Tim, Chris, Joe, Tom, and Joe Youngerman!
Tim: I am using a prop blurring technique I did one other time with satisfactory results, to try and replicate the effect seen in photographs. Here’s an illustration of that technique:
In regards to landing on the numbers, ever so often, we use to practice spot landings on a chalk hashed line drawn across the runway about 1/3rd the way down… whoever got the closest, got dinner bought for them by the others. Naturally, in time, we also practiced putting skid marks as close to the numbers as possible, which meant skimming the weeds sometime, and a practice that seemed rather harmless at the time (too young and foolish), but it didn’t allow any room for error in reality.
Chris: Thanks! I use a 1998 issue MGI Photosuite for viewing and manipulating images, including the addition of text. All of my illustrations are accomplished using this program, but I’m sure other programs have the same capability.
Tom: I learned to fly and soloed in a Piper J-3, then got my Privates in an Aeronca 7AC. After the Army, I started flying GA regularly once again, but then it was in the Skyhawk and 150 (because that’s all that was available at the airport at that time), so I guess I was spoiled in the High Wing aircraft. I have logged time in a Beech A-36, Cherokee 140, and Piper Tomahawk, but I always liked being able to have an unobstructed view UNDER me without having to roll the plane sideways to see over the wing. Again, it’s all what you learned in I guess. [:)] Sexy? I suppose that’s a matter of opinion. [;)]
Thanks again guys, I’ll post more pictures when I get it finished.
Take care,
Frank
My biggest thrill flying GA aircraft was in the Citabria, which was fully aerobatic, and looped and rolled with ease, based on the fact that it was incredibly light, with an airframe entirely of tubing and fabric. I wish there was a model of them somewhere, and if anyone’s ever heard of one, please let me know. I also used to fly my instructors Piper Saratoga (which, forgive the terrible lapse in taste, will forever be known among pilots as the John-John). It was mushy and big, but I loved that extra power and avionics package. There’s another one that nobody kits. There’s just no interest in GA aircraft.
Tom
You’re right, no interest by model manufacturers! I’ve always maintained the opinion that the General Aviation market (as far as modeling goes), is largely unappreciated because of the comparatively few numbers and types of GA aircraft available to the modeler.
Regardless of the time, experience, and types of aircraft pilots have accumulated hours in over the years, none ever quite compares to the tender place in their heart that’s reserved for the one they first took skyward without anyone in the seat beside/behind them! That’s just something special.
I asked a question of the son of one of my old High School friends, who flew F-14’s in the Gulf War, and a myriad of high performance Naval Fighters and Attack Aircraft during his career; “Which one was your favorite?” His reply: “The little 140 I soloed in!” [:)]
People will buy what’s on the shelves. If a kit’s produced that’s not accurate or with toy-like details, the word gets around and soon it becomes a poor seller… on the same note, if one hits the shelf that’s immaculate, they can’t produce enough of them! Not all, but a large percentage of fixed and rotary wing pilots have one thing in common… General Aviation Aircraft, at some point in their lives.
Take care,
Frank
This may sound unlikely, but I have turned down not one, but three requests for commissions to build Grumman Tigers by owners of these aircraft. If I were a real scratchbuilder, I could have obtained plans, made vac-form mold, and scratchbuilt the rest, but even if I had the skills, the price would have been outrageously prohibitive for three copies.
As for the pilot and his 140, I can understand that. There is no way you can adequately convery to a non-pilot what it feels like on that day your instructor orders you to land, let him out, then tells you to go take off and show him five touch-and-goes. The fear, which up till then feels as though it will completely consume you, immediately vanishes, because fear is worthless at this point. That moment of becoming airborn for the first time with nobody else in the plane is – forgive my lapse into lyricism here – right on par with how I felt the first time I realized I was in love with a woman. It is a feeling of complete exhileration and wonder. I wish I could feel it again. The first solo, I mean.
And though I rarely can afford to fly these days, from that first time on, I always preferred flying alone, and never cared for hauling passengers, not even women and good friends.
I don’t have much to add to the comments above, but it’s great to see not only a well-built GA plane, but an awesome diorama too. [:D]
Regards,
Frank,
The prop blur looks good - and it’s hard to tell whether the photo is real or your model. It’s that good.
Shark -
Shocking that you would equate your first love with your first solo! She must have been some awesome woman!!! I remember my first solo MUCH better than my first kiss… and with much greater fondness too.
You are absolutely right about the feeling on that first solo ride. There is a sense of determination, ability, and concentration that I have felt only once or twice in life. Once the wheels are off the pavement, you know the only way you are ever going to get them back on the ground is to put them there yourself, and it liberates you from your smaller worries.
Anyway, I wish someone would start a line of GA aircraft done to modern standards. Even some aftermarket sets - some PE or a canopy would be nice. The front windshield on the Minicraft Cherokee 140 seems almost as thick as the 1:1 article!
Yeah, and the engine block and cylinders on the same Cherokee model, at least on mine, was an utterly unidenfiable glob of white plastic.
A last flying comparison, and I hope it isn’t distasteful to anyone: One early morning I came down from flying my job in an F-104: I acted as ballast, since the fire control system had been removed. At least, that was our running joke. As I dismounted and started removing my “spurs,” some guy stuck a video camera in my face and asked the astonishingly original question: “How did it feel.” So I gave him an equally original response: “Better than sex.” My girlfriend, who was standing right next to me at the time, laughed derisively and said sarcastically, “Yeah, sure, he really believes that.”
All I could think at the time was, “If she really knew the truth, she’d leave me on the spot.”
Tom