HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

The world's first "hot" airplane.
This airplane is probably aviation's first attempt to build a "hot" airplane.Clip wing,large engine,large control surfaces and built expressly as a racer to fly faster at low levels.Building a similar airplane to the racer, I really get an idea of how far they were trying to push the envelope all in one foul swoop.This airplane was probably the first to be built with speed in mind.The forerunner of all that was to come later and which still continues to this day.Guys working and re-working their airplanes to get the last ounce of speed out of them.
The backyard flier also represents all the EAA guys to come later.Those who create and build their own backyard or basement fliers to this very day.I know because I was one of them.
Just imagine in those early days of adding and subtracting,modifying and re-modifying and then "taking her up" to see if it works! A day when every pilot was a test pilot.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I have managed to gather a lot of info on this airplane, mostly on the web.Lots of great pics,some of old builds and others more recent replicas.The most difficult part will be to figure out what design is original and what has been modified along the way.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Upper and lower wings woodwork is now finished and temporarily in a jig.Next step will be to prepare the wings for the strut and wire fittings.There are no internal drag and anti-drag wing wires required and no dihedral.The large inter-wing ailerons will have to be built and provided for with fittings etc....
Fortunately during this era the Wright's were involved in a lot of litigation about their wing warping patent ,I say fortunately as it forced others to think beyond this end of the road concept of longitudinal control. However, unfortunately it did have a somewhat negative effect of slowing down aeronautical progress in North America for awhile.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Yes it is 1/16th scale! the clothes pegs are of the miniature variety,not your standard peg.
The distance between the wings has been established and everything squared up.The vertical strut positions were located and coffee stir sticks set in place where the struts will go.The wing tips will be square and the outboard struts will be flush with the last rib.The center section area is five ribs wide while the middle and outboard sections are four each.
I have left myself lots of room to work inside the jig as I anticipate lots of "I wish that I had thought of that before" moments.The jig also affords great protection for the delicate wing structure and probably will be used until just before completion of the model.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

The strut is shaped to a streamlined cross section and then the ends were rounded.I slipped a short piece of aluminum tubing over the rounded ends.I prepared the wing leading edge with a small piece sticky backed metal. I tried various types and finally came across a sticker from my EAA membership which was just the right thickness and could be cut to the required size.(#1 rule for dioramists,never,ever throw anything out) The copper part was from the Jenny leftovers and the eyebolt behind was obtained from a fishhook with the hook part cut off.The completed fitting will be painted black.

[JohnReid]