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Virtual Aerodrome Image Browser ( Small / Large ) Show : All | Parked | Flying | Build | Aerial | Reference
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Hangar Aircraft Category Date Preview
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild30-Mar-22 11:21
Views : 3718
Here is the tailwheel, which also retracts. Much simpler process here. Simple horizontal pivot. Wheel and yoke assemble was created in 3D and printed using my FDM 3D printer.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild30-Mar-22 11:21
Views : 655
Gear fully retracted in the Nacelle. Looking down into the top of the nacelle.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild30-Mar-22 11:20
Views : 602
Gear doors closed. Doors where created using the piece cut out of the nacelle as a buck, then vacuum formed styrene over the buck. The styrene was supper thin and flexible, so I built up the insides with many layers of tissue and EZ-Dope. The outsides where filled with spackling compound, sounded, tissued, doped and painted with sanding primer. I still need to add small magnets to keep the doors together when closed.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild30-Mar-22 11:19
Views : 577
Inside of nacelle looking down. You can see the hinges for the gear doors. The tee pins will be replaced with hinge pins before installing the nacelle on the wing.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild30-Mar-22 11:18
Views : 600
Did not estimate that it would take over a month of weekends and evenings to get the landing gear sorted, but here it is. Starboard landing gear down.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild14-Mar-22 10:56
Views : 612
Close up of the lettering on the tire. The plastic appears a little pink which is a reaction to the ultraviolet light it takes to cure the resin. The longer you let it “cook” the more pink it gets. Leave it in long enough and it takes on the deep skin pink color that the old William Brothers scale plastic pilots have!
Hangar Aircraft Category Date Preview
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild14-Mar-22 10:52
Views : 623
Tire/Wheel halves printed. Each took 6.25 hours! Not very fast, but the detail is pretty good. I could print these as one piece but there is so much cleanup and filling to do once the support structures are removed that it is easier to print as two pieces and glue together.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild13-Mar-22 18:29
Views : 665
Fully retracted from the top.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild13-Mar-22 18:29
Views : 691
Fully retracted
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild13-Mar-22 18:28
Views : 600
Gear partially retracted.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild13-Mar-22 18:28
Views : 575
Gear fully down from the top as if looking into the engine nacelle.
edtherendermanCleveland Westland WhirlwindBuild13-Mar-22 18:27
Views : 580
The landing gear is another engineering challenge. I was able to find an original drawing of the landing gear configuration, which was really helpful. I didn’t understand how the supporting struts worked until I found it. So I spend several evening trying to create the struts using brass and copper tubing, but realized I could 3D print them with enough detail and strength to work. I had already cut the gear doors out of one of the nacelles and was able to use that as a rig. After getting everything working, I created a test rig out of bamboo skewers for to build the other side. Here is the gear in fully down position.
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