Ever Wonder About Wind Tunnel Models (pix)
Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:03 pm
That old rattlesnake on the far is the foreman of this motley crew. They spent their careers at Hughes Aircraft, which became Hughes Tool, which became Hughes Helicopters and eventually Boeing, building models. They were called experimantal mechanics.
Dad got the drawing, turned them into the aircraft in the photo and then gave it back to the enginers who put itheminto the tunnel, put some wind on 'em and then saw if it would fly. I guess these two relatively minor aircraft flew ok. Let's see now...what are thay called??? Oh yeah, I remember..... the Blackhawk and the Apache.
Maybe a cool thread would be "What did your daddy do?"
Dad got the drawing, turned them into the aircraft in the photo and then gave it back to the enginers who put itheminto the tunnel, put some wind on 'em and then saw if it would fly. I guess these two relatively minor aircraft flew ok. Let's see now...what are thay called??? Oh yeah, I remember..... the Blackhawk and the Apache.
Maybe a cool thread would be "What did your daddy do?"
Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:09 pm
I believe we have one of those wind-tunnel Blackhawk Models.
Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:46 pm
Man would I love to get into that line of work! I suppose it's all done with 3D digital models and CNC equipment these days eh?
Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:59 pm
They are all hand made out of wood.
Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:38 am
i'm from elyria ohio, home of topping model company. i've wanted to do research on the company for years. i've got a topping salesman's catalog & 2 models, grumman tracker & an ov1 mohawk model. the company came to a sad end as the worthington golf ball company. there was another model company from elyria that catered to the pentagon / usaf brass that made models, but it's exsistence was short lived. forgot the name of the company.
Wed Jul 01, 2009 7:34 am
Those are neat.
That line of work is mostly gone just for the reasons you stated. Last project I had in the model shop was 1/1 scale sales models for the Igloo Cool Wheels (name got changed between mock up and production).
Not all projects were fun, but I did get to refurbish lots of trade show display models at home (never thought to take pictures, even of the 3' LM, and I kick myself a lot for that). Had a choice between going to Massachusetts for six months during the winter to work on Judge Dredd, or spend time with my new girlfriend. I chose correctly.
Chad Veich wrote:Man would I love to get into that line of work! I suppose it's all done with 3D digital models and CNC equipment these days eh?
That line of work is mostly gone just for the reasons you stated. Last project I had in the model shop was 1/1 scale sales models for the Igloo Cool Wheels (name got changed between mock up and production).
Not all projects were fun, but I did get to refurbish lots of trade show display models at home (never thought to take pictures, even of the 3' LM, and I kick myself a lot for that). Had a choice between going to Massachusetts for six months during the winter to work on Judge Dredd, or spend time with my new girlfriend. I chose correctly.