DANG!!!

OK, so this isn't stunt or even C/L but you have got to see this one!

Some say giant scale is getting a little out of hand...

[photo not recovered: B_52_d.jpg]

That's a B-52 spanning 23' and weighing 300 lbs.
EIGHT Wren turbine motors @ $3k per copy.
The site has video (and SOUND) clips of it in flight

I wonder how much that bad boy weighs? Or how much fuel it eats, or fast it goes, Or??---Richard Porter this is not!! Paul

I think it's insanely dangerous! One bad servo or broken wire, and it could get really embarrassing!

WHAT????........it is COOOOOOOOL......I am sure the guys that built it have made a good job of it...it is no more dangerous then you or I flying a stunter.......
it is just a LOT bigger.

I am also sure they do not fly over the public or properties....why is it dangerous???

>it is no more
>dangerous then you or I flying a stunter....

I don't know how you fly control-line, but I'm sure this aircraft is potentially more dangerous than me flying my stunter.

>I am also sure they do not fly over the public or
>properties....why is it dangerous???

It flys over someone's property. It weighs 300 pounds. I'll leave it to the engineers here to compute the energy involved. What if someone turns on their box on the B-52's frequency? What if the fail-safe doesn't kick in? What if the receiver or battery comes loose and it flys off into the next county? What if the pilot makes an error, faints, or lets it get too far away? Rarely do these things happen, but they do occasionally.

Failsafe's, aren't.

Can it do 5-ft. corners?

It looks like it HAS 5 foot corners......

The back up systems on these monsters make them like a control line model with four lines (2 up, 2down) and the CAA checks during construction are pretty much the same as full size. I think they are very cool in that they keep a certain type of modeller out of control line... But I do enjoy following their progress. Impressive..

Phil

Who is/are the "CAA"??

Civil Aviation Authority (full size, in charge of 747's etc)

Hmmm. I thought the CAA became the FAA some years ago.

Ron B.
F4Fguy

It's finally arrived,the SUV of model aircraft! The archetypical example of modern excess.It's bigger,therefore,of course,it's better.It's more expensive,therefore,of course,it's better.It's shinier,therefore,of course,it's better.No doubt the TEAM arrives in matching HUMMERS.

Of course it's stupid.Of course it's dangerous.Of course it was bound to happen.Of course someone will build one bigger and more powerful,and,most importantly,more expensive.I'm sure it will soon be available as an ARF.

As Queen Victoria said,"WE are NOT amused".

I think I will buy a Cessna 172 and install an RC system in it and call it an ARF.

Although it is a beautiful model, I do not want it near my neighborhood.

You could build a ****load of Ringmasters for the cost of that one plane.

> You could build a ****load of Ringmasters for the cost of
>that one plane.
>
> George

Especially at the 1952 price...

At that scale and all, He better be working for Byron's! (Double Exposure B29).

> You could build a ****load of Ringmasters for the cost of
>that one plane.
>
> George

One could build a load of Ringmasters for the cost of ONE of those 8 turbine engines.

That's just not right...

I'd bet it's actually easier to fly than a smaller scale version just do to Mr. Reynolds finally getting an airfoil to work on. But that do seem a bit extreme. Hopefully anything like this will be flown with extreme care of safety. The only flying that really has me concerned is the 3D flying with the airplanes that are powered with half a Volkswagon engine in them. One of those puppies goes into failsafe and watchout. Engine down and controls neutral for 7 seconds doesn't sound safe to me if you were pointed towards the pit when it went into it.

On a common thread, here is a guy getting ready for a PSS contest this weekend. Here's a similar but smaller version

And the guys documented build at http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173652&page=1&pp=15

At least there are no engines and this guy will be chucking it over a cliff on PURPOSE!

I find it amazing that it weighs ONLY 300 lbs..

A lovely piece of work.

[photo not recovered: 3e69bb3870f12ad5.jpg]

"My grandfather invented Cliff's Notes. It all started back in 1912... Well, to make a long story short..." -Steven Wright

Awesome! I have flown a number of Turbines from Bob Violet, but nothing like this!!!!

I have friends who have purchased people carrying airplanes that didn't cost as much as this thing!

They seem to have made the website off limits without being logged in. I'll see if I can put in a photo in case the other photo-link doesn't return.

>They seem to have made the website off limits without being
>logged in. I'll see if I can put in a photo in case the
>other photo-link doesn't return.

No, they had to take the photos and video clips offline - they were buried by bandwidth demands 'cuz everyone wanted to take a peek at this. I didn't save any of the jpegs but do have the .wmv video files offline.

Another "interesting" project is the guy with the B-29 which drops an orange X-1 - and fires it's rocket engine. Here's the link. (again, needs the Windows Media Player)

Now unencumbered by the X-1, he puts the B-29 into a flat spin, the crew ejects w/parachutes then he recovers and does a slow roll.

They did put up some new links to the videos. Looks like they went to a real airport for the test flights. It sounds incredible.

http://freecache.org/http://www.wren-turbines.com/B52_Test1.wmv

http://freecache.org/http://www.wren-turbines.com/B52 008.wmv

http://freecache.org/http://www.wren-turbines.com/B52 006.wmv

Ahh, and the range?? What size, Kilo or Mega pound, are the "scale" thermo nuclear devices?

What a beautiful model of the old BUFF! The pucker factor of flying something as expensive as that must be nearly lethal. I don't necessarily agree, but if it can be safely flown, it is his time and money, and if he can afford the fuel... (Cool Power, Sig Champion all castor, JP-4 or Cox Racing Fuel??? )

>What a beautiful model of the old BUFF! The pucker factor
>of flying something as expensive as that must be nearly
>lethal. I don't necessarily agree, but if it can be safely
>flown, it is his time and money, and if he can afford the
>fuel... (Cool Power, Sig Champion all castor, JP-4 or Cox
>Racing Fuel??? )

Ron B.
F4Fguy

The question is not always "can you?",it's quite often,"should you?".
Ability and wisdom are not always equivalent.

>and if he can afford the fuel... (Cool Power, Sig Champion all castor, >JP-4 or Cox Racing Fuel???

Not sure but I think the early model turbines ran on butane. The later ones burn kerosene, just like their big brothers. There was an interesting thread on Usenet years ago concerning the 10 engined Convair B-36 heavy bomber. It had six reciprocating (pusher) engines and a pair of dual jet pods hung outboard. The question was if they had to carry both AV gas and jet propellant. Someone said the jets would run just fine on AV gas (although pretty expensive to burn up in a turbine engine).

Oooh, I think I just hinted at the next monster scale project for these British modelers to tackle...

I used to "hop" rides back to the states with a refueling ANG bunch out of Knoxville, TN that were pulling TDY in Germany during the height of the war in Vietnam. They had KC97L tankers that had recip's and Jets hung under also to help them keep ahead of more modern aircraft. They would and did burn AV gas. The tailpipe looked like a good running auto engine of years ago that was burning leaded fuel -- almost snow-white.

The real question, as Ron B. points out, is whether it can be flown "safely", but SHOULD it be flown.

If by "safe" you mean it will get flown a few times a year and won't crash and cause a serious incident, it probably is safe. The big safety issue though is, what happens if some mishap causes it to crash and involve innocent bystanders? Something like this can easily fly a long way and hit hard enough to kill someone. The only saving grace is that not TOO many flyers are doing this!!

>I stand by my contention that these follies, while
>interesting, threaten the existance of airmodeling.
>
>When this guy loses the model and it drops onto a freeway,
>cleaning out a few cars, or a school, the headlines will
>read: "MODEL AIRPLANE KILLS XXX".
>
>While I marvel at the technical aspects, it still threatens
>something that I enjoy...
>
>And I would take issue that these large scale things are
>technical masterpieces.
>
>I believe that this is a case where a very few have the
>potential to ruin it for many.
>
>See Ya
>
>Peabody

I'm always amazed by the remark when this kills someone etc. Granted it could happen, so can a spectator walk into a circle and get killed. I saw that happen in 1954.
Your point is that your alarmed that it's going to happen. I guess that you also worry about getting out of bed in the morning.
It is always a very few that can either ruin or advance any sport or endeavor, so whats new there.
your point is noted but your fatilistic view is over reactive without knowing what is involved in the project. I'll cuncur if the AMA or any other licencing body denies hin the right to fly the thing on the grounds of safety considerations.
I would believe that at 300 lbs he's into the experimental aircraft catagory. Remember the first RPV's were private ventures also they were all at or above 300 lbs and some of those earlier ventures wern't that sophisticated in their equipment.
Dennis

CL fliers shouldn't be throwing stones at others, because others can point to cases where CL models have killed people. One CL model accident was the cause of one of the very few million dollar claims on AMA's insurance, ever. Given the close proximity to people, CL models are just as dangerous as anything else.

I love the term you use: "most". heh, heh.

a turbine powered model has a lot in common with an RPG round. Weighs a few pounds, goes several hundred miles an hour, and has a couple of pounds of explosive in it. No thanks. I'll stay far away from any RC model that has more than a pint of regular glow fuel in it.