Well, this thread is sort of an off-shoot of the "How Crazy Are You" thread started by A2C a week or so ago. Sometimes, when you have acres of parts that you can't seem to sell, and you're bored, you come up with crazy ideas like this.......
So, here is my latest project. It's a mix between a C-97 Stratofreighter and a PBY Catalina. I call it the Stratolina. (I apologize for the incredibly poor quality of the pictures...these stinkin' iphones have the sorriest cameras on the planet, and my "real" camera is broken).........
I started on this project about five days ago I reckon, when I was walking around Austin Acres, trying to figure out something creative to do with some of these parts I've got laying around here that nobody seems to want (to purchase). So, after a lap or two around the property, I came up with the idea to make a little "composite" airplane out of several different components.
I cleared out a bunch of freakin' mesquite trees, cactus, and other worthless plant life, from an area directly in front of my house. I then moved the C-97 cockpit over to it's new home........
The cockpit will be a great place for Janet's kids, grandkids, and ME to make airplane noises in, while pretending to be a hot-shot pilot-type. Of course, any girls that play in there can just practice to be stewardesses, since women aren't allowed to actually fly, are they?
After the cockpit was in place, I brought the PBY Catalina wing center section over and laid it down behind the cockpit.......
After that, I brought the two outer wing panels for the PBY over and laid them next to the center section........
Followed by the outrigger float assemblies......
The next step was to attach the outer wing panels to the center section. This was easier said than done, as the wing attach angles are quite rotten with corrosion and the knuckleheads at the Rio Grande Valley Wing of the CAF cut the "good" attach points off, rather than just taking the bolts out when they disassembled the wing many years ago.
But I was able to get enough bolts in place to hold everything together for now. I'll have to build some spar straps or something and attach them at a later date........
After that, I picked the entire wing assembly up and drove it into place behind the cockpit section.......
While the forklift was holding the wing up, I manhandled the floats into position and got them bolted up. (THAT was a major chore by myself!!!).....
After getting the wing struts installed (yet another booger-bear of a job for a fat-boy to do), the wing was holding itself up. What I didn't realize until later, is that because of where I placed this project, it's the first thing you see when turning onto my street. I can only imagine what the neighbors think when they see a Stratolina looking at them head-on.
.......
The next day, a strange thing happened......it rained here in Midland!
So, about mid-day, while sitting here at the computer, checking out WIX, I heard what sounded like a Howitzer going off!!! I'm not sure who jumped more, me or my worthless dogs.
Anyway, I ran outside to see what happened, and immediately noticed that the Stratolina experienced a slight structural failure!
What happened was that during the rain, the sandy soil that was holding the wing up the previous day, gave way under the wing struts. So the center section of the wing started sinking, while the floats were holding the wing tips up. Well, the rotten, corroded attach angles (with only a few bolts installed at the time) couldn't take the pressure, and WHAMMO!
So, I rushed out, in the rain, with the trusty ol' forklift and was able to pick the wing and center section back up, taking the pressure off of everything. After some prying and hammering, I managed to get a few more bolts installed so that the wing could support itself once again. Unfortunately, the lightning started getting quite close, so I bailed out and went back inside.
Later that day, the wing sunk a little more and broke a few more places on the attach angles, but this time the rain & lightning had stopped, so I was able to get more than enough bolts installed. Thankfully, I've not had anymore issues with this...so far.
Okay, so the next item to bring over into the mix was the cargo section of the C-97. I wanted the cargo door (which still works, by the way) over on the left side of the airplane, so I had to turn this section around backwards for installation. Whoever cut this thing apart a long time ago, didn't really do a clean job of it, so I just evened up the edges a bit before putting it in place. Plus there were a couple of pretty substanitally damaged areas that really needed to be removed........
The next step was kind of difficult, as I had to drag the cargo section across a bit of a ditch in order to get it into place, yet also be able to get the forklift out when I was done. It all worked out, but it was a little challenging..........
The final piece of this puzzle was the tail section. Initially, I was going to install the Beech 18 tail section that I have. It looked pretty cool, but ended up being a major pain in the patooty to try to attach. There is a big section cut out of the roof of the cargo area of the C-97 (where somebody stole the navigator's bubble out of it) that the Twin Beech fuselage section fit in pretty well. The problem is that it put the fuselage inside the cargo area so far that it just took up so much extra space that I really would like to use. (Seems odd that I'm actually trying to make this thing somewhat practical, huh?
) So here's how it looked with the tail held up with the forklift, but unfortunately, I just couldn't find a reasonable way to safely attach it............
So after giving up on the Twin Beech tail, I just went over to my back yard and snatched up the horizontal and vertical fin off of the PBY. It is dang near as rotten (if not worse) than the wings, which made it interesting to watch it flex as I hauled it over to the front yard with the forklift.
But it just laid on top of the cargo section pretty well, and will be much easier to permanently attach............
So, there you have it. That's the craziness I've been working on all week. The plan is to paint the wing and tail sections silver, while leaving the fuselage sections natural metal. I've not decided if I'm going to put a rudder on the ass-end or not, or just how I'm going to close off the cargo section. I'll use the right wing for "outside storage" and will hang a swing set and maybe even a hammock under the left wing. Naturally, the plan is to make the landing lights work and possibly even the nav lights for Christmas time.
So if any of y'all get a two day pass from the mental institution, be sure to visit. I'm sure I'll be here, tinkering with something.
Gary
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