R/C 108" Wingspan B-29 Superfortress build

Good to see the build is under way again, Rob!:)

Ok so the B-29 build is back under way after a period of time out due to lack of employment. The servo’s Y leads and extension leads have finally arrived after a three month wait from the joke that is Hobbyking which means now I can start the process of attaching the tail surfaces and plugging in the servos and leads.

All in good time gentlemen but thank you for the wishes and support.

The progress of Atomic Tom will start again at the end of this month when funds allow it 🙂 The wings and engine nacelles are all that really needed to be done now however we must not forget the fowler flap construction needed to be built into this wing section. It wont take long but I will need to perfect it first go so a lot of attention will be paid to this part of the build 🙂

Yes congratulations on your new job! Nice choice of finish for the aircraft as well. Now back to waiting for your updates when you can.

Congratulations on the job front, Rob :applause: and good to read the confirmation that “Atomic Tom” will be the end result of this ambitious project.

As those of you following this thread may recall, I had an issue with the fuselage nose section being twisted slightly making the nose out of line by about 3/8 inch. The strength of the construction as it is means I cannot twist it back so I have no alternative but to cut the nose off right behind the third former. I will then make a duplicate #3 former and plug it into the other section of the fuselage with epoxy and then mix up some 5 minute epoxy and glue the nose back on in line with the rest of the fuselage. I’m then gonna cut away the outer skin an inch from the join on both sides and put 1/8 balsa infills between each and every other gap in the stringers and again on the other side of the join do the same but in the opposite position of the first side so when its all done it will look kinda like a checker board……following me so far? lol 😀

Then when this is all sanded and flush I’m going to make a 2 inch wide cross grain balsa band and epoxy it into place wrapping it around where I cut the skin away and then sanding it all flush once dry. Hopefully it will be strong enough to withstand the impact of landings without the nose breaking off every time I land but we will see 😉

As an announcment to this news a long time has been taken to deciding the actual aircraft I will be modelling and can now tell you that I am going to be doing Boeing B-29 Superfortress ‘Atomic Tom’
USAAF 19th BG, 30th BS, Kadena AFB, Japan, June 1950

Only just found this thread. Great work:eagerness:

How did the interview go?

hank you sir. As you will see from above it went very well and I got the job. So building will commence very very soon 🙂

It’s good news week……..I got the job so the B-29 build will be continuing very very soon 😀

Only just found this thread. Great work:eagerness:

How did the interview go?

Good Luck on the job front. I hope it works out well for you.
I do have everything crossed for you

Paul

I have an interview in the morning and if all goes well the B-29 will be steaming back into action within the next two weeks as well as somethin else…..something else not Boeing so its not the Buff, although she is still being built after the 29 is completed 😀

So keep everything crossed guys and hopefully tomorrow I will have good news 🙂

Oh boy!! I can’t wait to see that brute fly!;) Nothing like the next project to keep the current build on track.

Well like I have said on the other forums for this build, it’s not going to interfere with the build of the 29 I’m doing at this time. I will be completing the construction of the B-29’s airframe minimum first before I start the Buff, but because the B-29 was powering along so quick, even quicker now I’ve decided to cut the wings from polyfoam, I needed to start thinking what to do next as a build project, but wanted something mightily impressive in size even compared to the Superfortress. It was a tough choice as I had many options to go with from aircraft such as the Shackleton, Super Connie, DC-6, Tu95 Bear and even another Lancaster. Then someone mentioned to me, ‘Why a prop job, why not a jet?’ It was a valid point, so the choices expanded. Whatever it was I was going to build it was going to be 15ft in span and the choices then became the B-52, the Vulcan, a Victor or an XB-70. It was a fight between the Buff and the Vulcan and the Buff won, however, if the build and subsequent flight of the B-52 is successful with the method of construction I am using, then a Vulcan will not be far behind, that I will promise 🙂

Oh boy!! I can’t wait to see that brute fly!;) Nothing like the next project to keep the current build on track.

Yes Don its exactly that reason as you have stated. Its easier to apply the planking to the airframe diagonally than it is horizontally. The planks cover a greater area when applied and it also adds a lot of strength.

Ok I think you have all waited long enough for it and now I have sorted the plans for it I might as well let you in on it 🙂

I’m keeping to the theme of the Fortress’s shall we say. This time I am going bigger still with a B-52G Stratofortress.

This monster will have an approx wingspan of 180″ (15ft) and be powered by 8 x 12 Blade High-Performance 90mm EDF Ducted Fan Units. Carbon fiber reinforced Nylon rotor with shaft adaptor to motor in either 5mm or 8mm. Revs max 45000rpm and powered by 8 x Warhead 3545-1350KV EDF Motors and 8 x 80Amp ESC’s run off 4 x 6C 22.6V Lipos.

Construction from mainly foam and balsa/ply. Scale fully working Fowler flaps and fully working twist and rotating retracts, bomb doors and nav lights. Big old project but gonna e awesome!! 😀

Beautiful work. I’m intrigued by the diagonal planking, clearly it’s a practical response to coverage over vertical formers and horizontal stringers, but does it also have benefits like perhaps added strength, easier to get a good sanded profile, etc.? cheers Don

Superb work, Rob – and a great read on New ear’s Eve!! Roll on the next report!…and a very Happy New Year to you.

Amazing work, keep it coming!

Festivities Gone!!!! Hurrahhh

Finally with the festive period well and truly scrapped, the more serious subject of updating the progress of the B-29 Superfortress can now continue. I hope you all had a great Christmas all the same

Now then, since my last update, a rather large chunk of the bomber has been done, in my standards anyway. You will recall on my final chapter before the festiities arrived I was about to sand the front section of the fuselage ready for skinning. This has now been done and I decided to plank the structure diagonally using 1/16 sheet balsa strips 1/2 inch wide. This has proven to be successful, albeit a rather long process.

The six images below show the process from start to finish before trimming. The more difficult areas were around the wing root section of the fuselage. For this area I planked upto the root and cut the strip at 90 degrees where it met the root, leaving me small elongated triangular sections to fill after. Because the surrounding areas of he root between stringers was filled with 1/8 sheet, this gave me a solid surface to CA the triangular sections too once cut to size.

This set of six images show the fuselage sections bolted back together. Some of the triangular sections still need to be added and the planking trimmed. This bolting back together process was merely a test to check planking the front section had not bent or twisted the framework and as you can see it is all still good. One slight alteration or modification I did however make was were the two sections join, I noticed a small amount of movement vertically was present. So I decided to drill two 4mm holes opposite one another at the top and the bottom of the formers that butt up together. I then cut out four 1 inch square 1/8 ply sections and also drilled these with a 4mm hole through the middle. I then Epoxied a 3M nut over the hole on two of the ply squares and again epoxied these to the inner areas over the holes on the rear sections former passing a 3M bolt through the hole to keep it all lined up. I then repeated the process on the other two 1 inch ply squares, this time with a 3M 1 inch diameter washer. These were then epoxied to the inner sections over the holes on the former on the front section of the fueslage, again using a 3M bolt to keep it all lined up. Once the epoxy set, I slid the two sections back together and bolted it all up. As well as the 6mm bolt in the middle, the two new 3mm bolts now made everything strong and movement free. Slight cutting away of the inner sections of two of the formers in the front fuselage section was needed to allow me access to the new bolts but has not altered the strength of the model so all is good.

Once again I added the tailplane and fin to the rear section dry, just to stand back and look at the progress of this monster model. The last image you can just see the 1 inch diameter washer and 3mm screw bolt head, just below and left of the main centre 6mm bolt.

The first image you can see the ply plate that travels from the front former back through the second and third formers that the front retract bay is epoxied too underneath. This ply floor will also make for good Lipo battery positioning incase I need to shift the CG forward more after set up.

The following images are of the building of the rear bomb bay doors. These were made by using the inner walls of the bay area to get the correct curve for the doors. Four curved sections were made and a sheet of 1/16 x 4 was cut too length and scored all the way down 1/4 inch apart. This allowed me to acheive a curve in the sheet. I then glued the four sections to the sheet and allowed it to dry. I then marked the centre point of the hatch and carefully cut it down the middle seperating the two doors. This was then followed by trimming back the curved sections to give me a better looking less drag free door when open in flight. Test fitting to the bomber was then carried out and at was great, although one door did need a little steam and a twist to remove a peskie warp but it all lined up good. Don’t be, like I was, put off by the seemingly totally out of line bomb bay doors in the image where they are shut. It is what I think they call an optical illusion because the direction I have planked the fuselage. Trust me, I measured, lined up, angle checked, god knows how many times before I was convinced haha

Anyway thats it for now guys. For all you weight watchers out there, total all up weight of everything constructed so far……… 455grams (16.0ozs)

All seems easy enough 😀
very impressive progress, it looks great.