One last thingabout weird: I am in the process of designing a 60% P-38, and that dictates very compact power-plants (not that I need to be at all convinced about the rotary=2
0engine), and the other thing that will make it work is to have the interior of the cockpit arranged like a sail plane - recumbent style. I am 67 and may not get there, but it's fun and it keeps my brain sharp.
Thank you, Bernie
Bernie;
That sounds like a very interesting project. It was the first model I built when I was a kid – loved it then, and always have. Has anyone done a scaled down P-38? You’d think with all the takeoffs on the Mustang; somebody would have done a Lightning.
Nothing wrong with being weird and turning an engine on its side. Doing things different just means you need a thorough understanding of what you’re doing. Since this is a project that is somewhat downstream; you’d probably want to be thinking renesis, or even 16B. Maybe someo
ne has checked the oil drainback passages in the renesis. Of course a couple of 20Bs would make that thing GO.
Best wishes,
Al G
Al, there is a guy in Livermore that built a semi-scale P-38, Walter Treadwell. His effort was a one-design machine done from scratch. It was a fiberglass over plywood done from original aircraft 3 views. The aircraft was powered by 2 four cylinder Suzuki Swift engines. Belt reductions he designed himself, custom retractable gear, and homemade radiators in the booms in the original positions. He tried the original Suzuki EMS but he had a ton of trouble. He solved the EMS problem by changing to Simple Digital Systems EMS. Walter and his test pilot were both over 65 when they started the project! I believe he donated the plane to a local museum when he wanted to start his next project. The "next" project is a scale version of the Johnson Wax S-38 Sikorsky flying boat. The plan w
as originally to use to of the 9 cylinder Rodek radials for accurate scale effect! A really ambitous project.
Bill Jepson