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Zvezda 787 - ignore the "experts"!


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Hi all

Happy new year to one and all! I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that in 2009 we got a gorgeous new 787 kit from Russia. What fun!! Thanks to my friend Kotey for getting me a couple of them right off the mark.

I've come into possession of some great data on the 787 airframe and have spent the better part of today re-drawing my 787 from scratch. The one I've been using was based on very preliminary data from back in 2006-07, and I knew once I got better hard data to work from that I'd have to re-draw it. That data is now in hand.

No matter what anyone says, you can rest assured that the Zvezda kit is, for all practical purposes, 100% on the money in almost every way. Pronouncements by "experts" about the windows & doors are dead wrong. They're correct (within a fraction of a millimetre) in size, shape, and location. The vertical fin is a 1/144 scale version of what Boeing is flying on the real 787, and it is most positively *not* too short, too tall, or anything else.

The minor issues I spoke of earlier - the curve of the aft lower fuselage, the wing/body fairing, and the profile of the main gear tires, etc are still valid, but they're all very minor. There are also a couple of panel lines missing on the wings. I'll try to draw up something to show what needs to be done. I agree with someone else who posted that the main gear struts are very anemic looking. They don't look fat enough to hold up a Dash-8, much less a 787!

Some other good news is that the nacelles for the GEnx engines are almost identical in size and shape to the Trent nacelles. There are minor differences in panel lines, and the GE engine has a larger t/r actuator arm fairing on the bottom (easy enough to add). But the basic shape of the nacelle and the entire pylon are identical between the two engines. You'd almost think that someone at Boeing was an airliner modeller! Again, I'll try to draw up some drawings to show the differences.

In answer to a question that was posed to me today - no, I am not re-launching Liveries Unlimited. I have neither the time, the energy, nor the resources to do so, especially as I'll be back to being a full time student later in 2010. I will still be working with F-Dcal, and we will shortly have some accurate windows, windscreen, and door decals (silkscreen printed) along with several full airline schemes. The latter will probably be laser printed, as I can't see investing in silkscreen printing decals for schemes that don't exist, and in some cases won't exist for several more years. You can rest assured that once the real things start rolling out the door at Everett and Charleston (another oddity to wrap my brain around - a Boeing airplane rolling out the door in South Carolina!), we'll have decals available.

More news as it develops!

Peace to all

J

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Pronouncements by "experts" about the windows & doors are dead wrong. They're correct

So... does that mean the windows are inaccurate? You're pronouncing them to be correct, yet saying the 'experts' are dead wrong.

Or do you mean that we should ignore everyone who cliams (or doesn't) to be an 'expert' except you? :explode: :P

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So... does that mean the windows are inaccurate? You're pronouncing them to be correct, yet saying the 'experts' are dead wrong.

Or do you mean that we should ignore everyone who cliams (or doesn't) to be an 'expert' except you? :) :rofl:

A. No, the windows, doors, etc are accurate.

B. I don't claim to be an expert on anything! Ever! I only claim that I've compared the kit to known measurements and that it matches what Boeing is pushing out their doors, only 1/144 the size. Other people have made pronouncements that this or that is inaccurate on the kit, and none of them is true.

:rofl:

J

Edited by Jennings
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Good news all round Jennings, except that one aboot you not being an expert. And here I always looked to you for expert advice... :thumbsup:

Keep up the good work, however you wish to define it. And have a Happy New Year!

Al

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Yeah, it's deceptively large. I'm not sure what it is about the lines of it that make it appear smaller than it really is. I think it may have to do with the cockpit glass. Your eye is fooled into thinking the proportion of glass to fuselage diameter is more like a 757 or 737.

J

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Yeah, it's deceptively large. I'm not sure what it is about the lines of it that make it appear smaller than it really is. I think it may have to do with the cockpit glass. Your eye is fooled into thinking the proportion of glass to fuselage diameter is more like a 757 or 737.

J

Jennings,

Thank you for your update regarding the Zvezda's 787 accuracy.

The only 2 last areas that hurts me, though it could be my eyes ;-), are the wing's airfoil section right at the wing root. Do your station diagrams show the wing in that area to be as thin as Zvezda tooled them? All the 1/1 photos I see make me beleive it is actually much deeper in its supercritical airfoil section, "à la" 777.

2nd area I'm not too comfortable with... what's your feeling about the main ldg struts? Aren't they too skinny?

Thanks,

Etienne

LYS

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The only 2 last areas that hurts me, though it could be my eyes ;-), are the wing's airfoil section right at the wing root. Do your station diagrams show the wing in that area to be as thin as Zvezda tooled them? All the 1/1 photos I see make me beleive it is actually much deeper in its supercritical airfoil section, "à la" 777.

2nd area I'm not too comfortable with... what's your feeling about the main ldg struts? Aren't they too skinny?

The information I have doens't cover airfoil profiles, but I think I agree with you. But I think the problem may be that the lower wing surface isn't deep enough. I think the upper surface is fine. That's just an educated guess based on looking at as many photos as I've been able to find, and is not scientific in any way.

The main gear struts are definitely far too thin. They look like they belong on a Dash-8, not a 787. Unless someone does new struts (from scratch) in white metal, I can't see much use in trying to fix the kit struts. Behind the doors they should be fine.

J

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