Pete "Pig" Fleischmann

Hi Guys, Just some vacuform 101 stuff here. I've separated both halves from the sheet, and have the left side just about cleaned-up. Having the master patterns available makes the fuselage sanding much easier. ..Just sand the edges to the master pattern: I removed the plugs at the intake and tailpipe areas-Remeber the plugs were there only to prevent the plastic from getting pulled thin around the corner..Once the plugs are removed, sand to the master profile again: Here's the intake trunk area roughed out after removing the plug. this will get all cleaned up, and will mate-up with t

Paul! WOW! Amazing progress- This model is so big...(I like 'em big) that it comes with its own unique challenges that you are tackling beautifully! This will be spectacular, and I hope to see it in person some day-Keep going, you are kicking butt! Regards, Pig

Hello Gents! Huge day for the AT-38B project today. After flying all night..through my front door at 2300..Up at 0500 for the 2 hour drive up to Kingston NY to meet the guys at Usheco, who were happy to thermoform the fuselage shells for me. The owner was facinating: 85 year old Bernarr Schaeffer- P-47 pilot from the ETO, tons of combat experience-Played ball for the Milwaukee Brewers, self-made millionaire-Awesome fellow and razor sharp. The building they are in was built during the cold war as a secure communications link facility, and looks like a bunker: These guys are plastic fabric

Hi Tim- Yes, great memories of flying both the T-38A as a student, and then the AT-38B at LIFT. Just a great little jet. also, my wife was a T-38 Instructor Pilot for many years, so for me, there are alot of connections to this jet- Regards, Pig

Hi Tilt-Well this thing will grow so big, It should be visible to you all the way up in Canada! I'm heading up to NY Thursday morning to pull the fuselage shells. I'm hoping the guys at Usheco will let me photograph the process- Regards, Pig

Not bad Aaron, the only correction I have is that the FLIR imagery from the NAV pod is what we ran in the HUD. The TGP video was displayed on (typically) the right MFD- Regards, Pig

I understand your line of thinking Dave, but in the Viper, the externals feed first. Puking them off is not a problem fuel system-wise..the motor will continue to run off internal fuel. Pig

Without getting into too much technical detail-You are correct Dave. Pig

Hey Guys- getting closer to finishing-off the tail...This section was filled with balsa sheet slightly thicker than the structure and sanded back to profile, flush with the tail ribs and bulkheads. Then I skinned the outside with .010 sheet. I made a new section out of brass for the aft area immediately above the rudder. My first attempt was a bit too thick where it met the vertical spar. The easiest fix was to just make a new brass section, which hits 2 of the most important rules of scratchbuilding: 1) Plan on building everything twice 2) If it's not right; tear it down and do it over agai

Thanks you guys! Here's the tail build up progress: The tabs keep the symmetrical airfoil up off the buildboard Regards, Pig

Hey Mike! Thanks for your support mate! I added no other support for the rudder and area above the rudder. The doubled-over .005 brass was rigid enough- The entire model will be sheeted in Aluminum, save for a few panels in .010 sheet that stand proud of the skin a bit. I needed to skin the entire rudder as the leading edge vertical panel has a recessed panel line. Skinning that only would result in a lap joint. Also, the trailing edge has a step on both sides-Easy to replicate by skinning in aluminum then cutting the aluminum back to reveal the step. The step still needs to be a blended t

Hey Guys, While I'm waiting for Usheco in Kingston NY to fit me into their schedule to pull the fuselage halves, I thought I'd keep pressing on the tail. I've built-up the rudder and the aft section from folded .005 brass sheet over a .040 styrene frame. This will all get skinned with aluminum: This is the aft fin top. The little curly-que was scabbed on and will be blended into the brass:This all gets covered as well. Most of the jet will be covered with aluminum attached with thinned contact cement- Here's the rudder covered with aluminum:The rivets were impressed with a beading too

Hey G-Dubz! Wow-what a burst of inspiration! It is always a treat to check on your progress. I always come away from this thread a little smarter-I appreciate that! What are you using for references? (sorry if you've already answered this) It must be good-The detail work is stunning! Regards, Pig

Hello dudes! Thanks Paul for the thought, but I've already got the markings figured out- The masters are essentially done-I'm ready to pull the shells. There are a few things worth showing you on the master patterns. First, there are some bulkhead locations that I needed to locate on the vacform shells; like the nose wheel well bulkheads, cockpit bulkheads, cockpit floor, side console locations, some bulkheads for the speedbrake wells and main gear wells, and then some at the aft fuselage for the engines, etc. All of these bulkheads are already incorporated into the masters. To locate them o

Shout out to my fellow fighter pilots- dudes- I need to run down some info for the old optical sight that was in the AT-38B. If anyone has the -34-1-1 laying around, please ident- Thanks Pig

I hate clowns. Always have...but I love junk food...and Grimace reminds me of my aunt..what can ya do? Pig

dudes, The whole friggin house needs an update..You should see the stonework we just completed outside though- Thanks for the kind words on the Jet- Pig

Here's a few other views: Little bit of clean up still to do on the belly: Thanks for looking! Pig

Hey guys- Thanks Nick for the links! Looks like I might be able to mod W's helmet- Pressing on. I've got the master halves together and am truing them up. I'm still tweaking the shape, so this is all still rough sanded. I've cut back the nose for the cone ahead of the windscreen: Here's the cone shape on the belly. I've spotted some more Bondo in here and will clean this up today: More next post Pig

Very well, Paul-Thanks! I've been in sanding mode for about a week, but both halves of the master are together for final truing-up..More to follow! Hey Nick! Thanks for thinking of me-Those are both great figures-I need the newer HGU-55 helmet, so it looks like that might be what the figure on the right is holding...Looks like President Bush..What figure is that? I can't seem to find it anywhere- Thanks! Pig

Mike! The jig is a brilliant necessity-super job on that! The nacells came out wonderfully too! Looking great- Regards, Pig

Good luck getting a civilian flying job after losing your wings for a blatant violation of flying rules..Bet they didn't think about that either. Pig

Sorry. I'm not playing.

Hey Fang- So nice to see you work again-You have so much talent. I'm glad you are giving us such a great tutorial! Looks awesome :) Pig

Thanks you guys for the info-and Paul, thanks for the photos and the kind offer..I appreciate that...I've got the flight gear covered already with a plan in place- warm regards, Pig