1/10 scale pilot for flying model

[Mark Braunlich]

In 2008, I started a scratch-built 1/10 scale free-flight flying model of the prototype (late 1926) Heath Parasol built by Ed Heath in Chicago with a set of surplus lower wings from a WW1 Thomas Morse Scout.   What follows is the build of the pilot for that model.  The pilot started out as a solid model but I had to hollow it out to cut down on weight.

The project begins with a WW1 era A. V. Roe Co. drawing of a pilot scaled to 1/10 and traced over in AutoCad with a set of red lines that I could import into the set of model plans.

This is the third pilot I've carved for a flying model.  The carving is not the hard part; it's getting the carving to fit in the cockpit and have the hands and feet end up in the right spots to match the rudder controls and the joystick.   This time I was determined to work all of that out on paper first.

[Mark Braunlich]

The CAD image of the head, upper torso and upper arms was positioned to match the photograph of the side view.  Then with rudder bar and control stick sketched in place, the lower body, legs, feet and lower arms were sketched in.  The pilot sits on the floor in the Heath Parasol.  Took two attempts to make him look right.

[Mark Braunlich]

Torso pattern fixed to old block of balsa and trial fit in the model's fuselage.  As can be seen, the full size Heath Parasol is a very small airplane.  (Ed Heath is said to have been only 110 lbs.)   There's only 18" inside the top longerons on the full size airplane so the pilot's arms would be tight up against them.

[lastvautour]

Looks promising Mark.

Lou

[dave_t]

Somewhere I remember seeing one carved from foam, but it was only an upper half and in a smaller scale. This looks interesting.

[Mark Braunlich]

Another narrower block for the legs is glued to the torso block.  Grain runs 90° to the first block.     A few hours of sawing, carving, filing and sanding produce the basics of the pilot seen here.  The left arm is carved seperately and attached to the torso.  At some point the carving is given a couple of coats of sanding sealer (clear Sig butyrate dope with talcom powder added) and then details such as pockets can be embossed.  Last two photos show a couple of patches where mistakes were corrected.

[lastvautour]

Superb.

Lou

[Mark Braunlich]

At this stage in the model I started thinking about the head and face.   I was looking around for head gear and found several photos of a 1920's U.S. Army leather helmet being offered on ebay.  The pilot was stationed at Rockwell Field in San Diego and had written the names of various aircraft he had flown with a fountain pen on the outside of the helmet.  One of the airplanes was a Heath Parasol so that cinched the headwear problem.    

The face was much more difficult.  The Heath Parsol was marketed as an inexpensive (today we would call it "entry level priced") simple airplane for the young men who wanted to get into the rapidly expanding field of aviation.   I considered it imperative to capture the facial features of youth.  Three attempts at carving the face only proved that I wasn't much good at it; the faces I carved looked like old men.  Looking around for a lightweight head that I could use, I found this web page: http://www.toyfanatic.com/heads1.htm  The heads were fine except they weighed a ton.  I finally purchased a 7" high plastic toy wrestler at Wal-Mart, cut the face off and hollowed out the dense solid plastic to a thin wall with a grinding stone in a Dremel tool.  

[Mark Braunlich]

The helmet block was shaped in profile to fit the face, the face tack glued to the block and the helmet carved, then hollowed out to keep weight to a minimum.

[lastvautour]

Keep those photos coming. This is highly interesting Mark.

Lou

[Mark Braunlich]

With much trial fitting of the pilot in the cockpit, I was able to make the right arm and hand and get it positioned where I wanted it to properly hold the control stick.  At this point I weighed the components and found them to be 30% over the weight I had allotted for the scale pilot.  After seeing a full size Heath Parasol and being amazed at it's small size, I was determined to somehow convey that size through the use of a complete body pilot.  Cutting him off at the waist was not really an option as the cockpit is so open, you can see everything inside.   So, the pilot was split open with my favorite propeller carving knife and the hollowing out process begun.  Wall thickness is about 1mm.  The knife is driven downwards vertically through the neck.  It only takes about 5mm of insertion and then the block just split apart on its own.

[dave_t]

This project makes me think of the movie "Futureworld".

[Mark Braunlich]

Our intrepid birdman has been hollowed out and glued back together.  He's a mere shell of his former self.

dave_t,
Never saw the movie but I see some similarity.  My pilot is as dumb as a tree stump though.

[dave_t]

So this is hollowed out entirely with a Dremel? That looks incredible.

[Mark Braunlich]

The head was trial fit in a number of positions, sort of like fitting a cork in a bottle.  I find the usual flying model pilot staring straight ahead to be boring and unnatural.  The shoes were also added.  Shoe laces are silk thread sewn though the balsa.  The shoes are also hollow, there being no soles.  

dave_t,
Yes, the model was completely hollowed with a Dremel.   It goes quite quickly. One uses a thumb and forefinger to feel the wall thickness and yes, I have milled/ground through the wall once or twice; easily patched from the inside.