• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Upscaling WAR plans

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

vhhjr

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2003
Messages
329
Location
Independence Airport, OR
I have read through many posts and responses about WAR plans and have built several, scaled WWII aircraft mockup cockpits. My conclusoion is that 50% is just a bit small especially when you consider the size of most of us. Redrawing plans based on upscaled RC models requires lots of engineering.

How about upscaling a set of WAR plans a modest amount, say 10% - 15%? Some engineering would still be necessary, but going to the next size hardware, say from AN3 to AN4 bolts or from 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch plywood increases the structural strength by factors of 1.8 to 2.25. Attention would have to be paid to weight control , but it's all doable. The upside is the cockpit seating gets 2 - 3 inches wider and 4 to 6 inches taller. Also, the wing area goes up by 15% to 30% reducing the wing loading considerably (assuming you watch the build weight). It is my undersrtanding that aircraft stability increases with upscaling

The easiest way to accomplish this is to get the plans in a digital format and import them into a suitable CAD system. If digital isn't available the drawings for components, such as bulkhaeds and wing ribs, can be enlarged by your local blueprint shop. That's how I made the plans for all three of the mockups I built. The P-39 plans started out as a Pepino giant scale RC model and a trip to Kinkos produced the mockup plans. The ME-262 and B-25 were also giant scale RC plans and were imported into Draftsite or Progecad, rescaled and patterns were printed. One downside is that any parts such as canopys, cowlings and fuselage/wing parts would have to be made in the larger scale thus increasing the build time for such a project.

Vince Homer
 
Back
Top