Witold Jaworski

Thank you! Well, I have never used a scale plan where the cross sections were free of errors. In practice, I treat the forward and rear view of an aircraft, and their cross sections just as a kind of suggestions from the author of the plans. I prefer to create wings and fuselages by subsequent extrusion of the initial cross section, eventually "bridging" two key sections. In fact, these operations consume less than 2-5% of the overall time, so there is little difference in the tool you are using. About 25% of the work time I spend on preparing the reference materials and the key sectio

erik_g - thank you! In the post below I am finally "mounting" these engines into my SBD models: __________________________________________________________________________________________ In my previous post I have finished the second variant of the R-1820-52 “Cyclone” engine, which was used in the SBD-3 and -4. (It looks like the earlier R-1820-32 model, mounted in the SBD-1 and -2). In the resulting Blender file linked at the end of that post you will find two “Cyclone” versions: the R-1820-52 (for the earlier SBD versions, up to SBD-4) and the R-1820-60 (for the SBD-5 and -6).

In this post I will finish my model of the R-1820-52 “Cyclone”. (This is the continuation of the subproject that I started reporting in the previous post). Figure below shows the oil sump, used in this engine: Oil sump shape vary even within the same G100 family: I observed different proportions of the front “barrel” and its forward pipe in the early and the later of these “Cyclone” models. This particular oil sump (Figure “a”, above) was used in the later G100s engines, like the R-1820-52. Apart from the forward pipe, it was also attached to the front crankcase via a “

No, this model is intended for computer visualizations/making detailed scale plans. It is made in Blender. You can use its meshes as a "3D reference shape" in creating a model intended for the 3D printing. In such a case, the CAD tool like Solid Works can be a good choice, especially when you are familiar with it. Blender has some 3D printing adaptations, but I suppose that it is better suited for making simpler models/fancy figures of fantasy heroes... I thought about this possibility. Fusion 360, like other professional CAD systems, is really good at creating parametric s

Following the conclusion from my previous post, I have to recreate yet another “Cyclone” version: the R-1820-52, used in the SBD-3 and SBD-4. Fortunately, the R-1820-32, used in the SBD-1 and SBD-2, seems to be identical (at least – as viewed from the front), thus I do not need to recreate this “Cyclone” variant. I will describe the modeling process of the R-1820-52 in the “fast forward” mode, compressing the whole thing to two posts: this and the next one. Initially I identified just two differences: the shape of the front crankcase section and the different ignition harness. I as

I decided to write a post about the first decade of the R-1820 “Cyclone” development (up to the R-1820-60 version, i.e. 1940). This engine was used in many designs from 1930s, and you can find the references to its various models in many technical specifications. However, sometimes it is difficult to determine how such a referenced version looked like! The early models of the “Cyclone” were produced in small batches, so there is less historical photos. Sometimes even the specialists from the museums are misguided: in one of them, you can find a SBD-3 fitted with the engine and the propeller fr

In this post I will finish all the remaining details on the front of the R-1820 engine. (As I mentioned in earlier posts, this model is intended for the outdoor scenes, with closed cowlings. That’s why I recreated the more complex rear part in a simplified form, just to check if it fits properly to the airframe). One of the most exposed “Cyclone” details is the variable-pitch propeller governor: This is an additional unit that controls the pitch of the Hamilton-Standard propeller. (It controls the oil pressure, which determines the actual pitch of the prope

In my previous posts (published in May and June) I focused on the R-1820 cylinder. I think that it is the most difficult part of every air-cooled engine. Since that time I have made a significant progress, which I will report during nearest three weeks. Let’s start with the rear section of the crankcase (behind the cylinders). Do you know how difficult is to find a decent photo of this area? The original pictures from the “Cyclone” manual are of moderate quality: The modern photo (Figure "b", above) reveals more details. In general, it looks that the rear part of the crankcase is f

In this post I will finish the first cylinder of the R-1820 “Cyclone”. It will be the “template” object, which I will clone eight times around the crankcase when I finish the other parts of this engine. Although in my previous post the cylinder head received the full set of its cooling fins, it still lacks some details. One of them are the reinforcements of the valve covers: As you can see, these reinforcements break the symmetry of the left and right valve covers. Both of them resemble a thick plate, but one is oblique, while the other is vertical. They are not the most prominent feat

Basman, thank you for following! Today I will deal with the complexity of the cylinder head fins: _________________________________________________________________________________ The fins of the air-cooled cylinder heads are a state-of-art piece of metallurgy: At the first glance, it is hard to believe that they were cast as a single piece. But when you look closer, you will discover that these fins “grow up” from the solid parts of the head as naturally, as the hair from the head: Try to imagine the shape of molds used in the production of these parts, and the challe

In this post I am wrestling with the partially hidden shape of the cylinder head: ___________________________________________________________________________ One of the most prominent features of the R-1820 engine cylinders are their rockers. More precisely – their covers, cast as the part of the cylinder head: The R-1820 was a classic four-stroke engine. Its cylinders had two valves: single intake valve, connected to the supercharger via a wide pipe, and single exhaust valve. Movements of these valves were controlled by cams, via pushrods and rocker arms mounted in the cylinder head

Feel free to ask me, when you get stuck in a particular problem - I will help!

Not precisely - it is about 15 -20 hours per week since April 2015, but 30% of this time I have spent on preparing my "reporting" posts...

"Shade Smooth", which I use here, is not an object modifier: it is just one of two available mesh shading options (in the Edit Mode, menu: Mesh-->Faces-->Shade Smooth, also available under the [W] shortcut). Just select a group of the mesh faces and select this or the opposite, "Shade Flat" option (it renders the face edges as sharp). None of these choices add any additional mesh faces (so this is a relatively "cheap" option for the CPU). When you set the "Shade Smooth" option, you should also check in the mesh properties (Properties window, mesh tab) the "Normals" panel: enabl

In this post I will recreate the main and the front sections of the R-1820 crankcase, and the cylinder basic shape. Let’s start this model by forming the main crankcase: This section is always obscured by the cylinders, so you cannot see it clearly on any photo. That’s why I used here the original drawing from the manual. Generally, this barrel-like shape contains nine cylinder bases. It is formed by two steel castings, bolted to each other. (These bolts are hidden inside the crankcase, between the cylinder openings). It is always a good idea to start with a simplified model

While looking for the reference materials, I have also found an interesting article about the development of air-cooled aviation engines (more precisely, their most important parts: cylinders). I think that it provides a valuable “technical context” for the visual differences that I am describing below. There are also minor differences in the rocker covers: [1]The SBD Dauntless was a new impleme

Thank you for following! :) Usually I use moderate subdivision level (2 for large objects like wing or fuselage, 1 for details). However, this modifier is coupled with the Shade Smooth option, set for the mesh faces. In the "Virtual Airplane" guide see section "Smoothing meshes using Subdivision Surface modifier" (in the "Details of Programs Usage" part). I described this option on the second page of that article.

The SBD Dauntless had fixed tail wheel of a typical design among the carrier-based aircraft. The tail wheel assembly consisted a fork connected to two solid-made beams, which movement was countered by a shock strut. The beams and the shock strut were attached to the last bulkhead of the fuselage: The bottom part of this assembly was covered by a guard and a fairing. Both of these elements were attached to the lower beam. The archival photos reveal that the bulky fairing was often removed: There were two tail wheel versions: the smaller, solid-rubber wheel for the carrier-based aircra

In previous post I discussed how the SBD landing gear retracts into its wing recess: In principle, it is simple: the landing gear leg rotates by 90⁰. However, the parts responsible for shock strut shortening during this movement increase mechanical complexity of this assembly. The figure above does not even show the deformations of the brake cable, which follows the shock strut piston movements. For some scenes I will need the landing gear extended, while for the others – retracted. In practice, moving/rotating each part individually to “pose” my model would be a qui

Major Walt, thank you! In overall, Blender capabilities match (more or less) comparable programs (3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, Modo, ...) in handling of the complete workflow, from the model to the final visualizations. Of course, you can always show that, for example, Rhinoceros 3D is much better at NURBS modeling (but lacks a decent renderer and UV-mapping tools). On he other hand, Modo has faster renderer (it matters when you have to create many high-res pictures), but its modeling tools are at least comparable. (I know one author of the airplane monographs - Marek Rys -

The SBD shock absorbers had to disperse a lot of the kinetic energy of landing aircraft, minimizing the chance that the airplane accidentally “bounce” back into the air. (This is a key requirement for the carrier-based planes). For such a characteristics you need a relatively long working span between the free (i.e. unloaded) and the completely compressed (i.e. under max. load) strut piston positions. Indeed, you can observe that the Dauntless landing gear legs are much longer in the flight than in their static position on the ground: The working span of the SBD shock

Major Walt, southwestforest - thank you for comments :)! ____________________________ The current stage of this project – detailing – requires less frequent reports. (Otherwise the posts would become rather monotonous: week after week they would describe making similar things, using the same methods). I started this last phase of the Dauntless project by recreating its main landing gear. First, I had to finish it, then I am able to write about this process. Thus I will describe it in this and next two posts. The retractable main landing gear of the SBD was probably a direct descen

In my previous post I finished the case of so-called “two-color” U.S. Navy camouflage, which was used between September 1941 and January 1943. You can observe on the archival photos that its non-specular Sea Gray / Light Gray combination was especially prone to weathering, and accumulated every grain of the soot and drop of the oil stains. Simultaneously the weathered Sea Gray paint became more and more white. The new, “tri-color” camouflage, introduced in January 1943, fixed these flaws, and provided better protection on the vast, dark waters of the Pacific. You can see an example of this pat

southwestforests: I think that the crew/pilot shoes are responsible for these scratches, visible on the center wing. The flow of the fumes from the exhaust stacks went around the wing/fuselage fitting, covering it with soot and whiter (burned-out?) speckles, as in the lower photo. As you can see, it did not "scratch" the paint from the fuselage, so we can assume that it did the same for the wing.

As a hobbyist, I use the free, Open Source software: Blender for all 3D operations, rendering and postprocessing, GIMP and Inkscape for texture images. I also wrote a "thick" e-book, which teaches in a "step-by-step" manner how to build such a realistic model - see here: This guide assumes that the Reader knows nothing about the 3D modeling, and introduces into this field starting from the very basics. It describes how to build "from scratch" the P-40B model you can see it on the cover. It is intended for all those who would like to try this new branch of o