niart17 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Hey all, I know I've asked this here before and didn't come up with anything beyond what was already known. BUT since the shuttles have been officially retired perhaps it's easier to get a hold of. Does anybody know of a resource for some GOOD plan drawings of the shuttle that might include section cuts and/or bulkhead plans? I'm still tinkering with the 1/48 scale project off and on, and could really benefit from a set of plans. The drawings I used to generate my first generation cockpit section was sorely lacking in detail and accuracy. I know there is a guy out there selling a small set, but I'm not too sure about the site and I'd rather find if there is something free direct from NASA or Rockwell. Anyway, just thought I'd check again to see if I could find something. Thanks, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Discoveryov103 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Bill: Did you try this site? http://web.archive.org/web/20020806164507/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/sodb/ -Andy- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 One thing that might work for your purposes is a Guillows balsa space shuttle model. They did this as part of their "build and show" series as it wasn't designed to fly, yet it had a nicely designed set of loftings in its planset. The scale of the kit was 1/77, but with some work it could easily form the basis for a 1/48 plan set from what I see and you can always use different materials to make the thing. These kits have been OOP for about 15 years at least, but they pop up on eBay from time to time for a relatively inexpensive price since not too many people know what they are or are looking for them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) Bill: Did you try this site? http://web.archive.org/web/20020806164507/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/sodb/ -Andy- I did. I have all of these saved down and scaled to 1/48 and I could try to extrapolate cross-sections from them but that wouldn't be super easy and might not be totally accurate. Jay, I have looked in to the Guillows kit but haven't found any or anyone that could scan just the instructions for me. Also I wasn't sure how accurate they were. I know it is probably pretty darn close, but if I'm going to actually do this, I really want the plans to be right on th money. I'll keep looking. Thanks guys! Bill Edited October 11, 2012 by niart17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I did. I have all of these saved down and scaled to 1/48 and I could try to extrapolate cross-sections from them but that wouldn't be super easy and might not be totally accurate. Jay, I have looked in to the Guillows kit but haven't found any or anyone that could scan just the instructions for me. Also I wasn't sure how accurate they were. I know it is probably pretty darn close, but if I'm going to actually do this, I really want the plans to be right on th money. I'll keep looking. Thanks guys! Bill Bill, when I did the cutaway, I used that set of drawings that Discoveryov103 supplied you. They were the best I was able to find and I used 'em extensively. But I also used these photos and cross referenced them to those drawings. http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=7231.0 They are a series of pix taken while the orbiters were in various stages of assembly. This project of yours is definitely NOT gonna be super easy, by any stretch of the imagination, even if you DID have a comprehensive set of engineering drawings. But these little drawings in the web archive will do a fine job as your 'go to' references. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) Hey Pete, thanks for the reply and definately thanks for the link to those construction photos. THAT will come in very handy! As I said, I do have the set that he linked to, and they are very useful. But they only give two views (good views mind you) In order to get the curvature of it as accurate as possible, I need the section views or bulkhead plans. As I said, I can try to project them and develope the curves and it might be pretty close, but that's a lot of work and a lot of guessing since there is a very subtle and distinct look to the shuttle cockpit area. If I could find plans I would feel more comfortable. I have considered, and may still, using a contour gauge and pull the shapes off of one of the 1/72 scale models, but then I'm just making a model of a model and would depend on it being right. It probably is and I'd probably be close enough, but again having the real deal would be much better. Thanks again for the link! Bill Edited October 11, 2012 by niart17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Just remember one big thing. Even if you do find a set of plans, they will NOT account for the thickness of the shuttle's TPS in spots. That is a big deal especially with the leading edges of the wings which get their leading edge shape from the RCC panels. So don't follow it verbatim necessarily. The tiles also tend to be shaped a bit in spots for different aerodynamic characteristics as not all the subtle shaping to a shuttle is necessarily going to be in the structure itself. Plans are great and all, but they can also introduce little subtle inaccuracies depending on how they are reproduced. While a plan set is a good start, for something like a model, you will likely have to account for certain things not covered in it. So by that token, I think you could likely end up with a pretty good model by just going with kit dimensions blown up as opposed to trying to find a diagram. Maybe a windtunnel model diagram would help, but then you have to go about trying to resolve the differences between it and the full size article. Chances are NASA and the contractors likely have CAD files (I know they had hard copy engineering drawings at KSC through the 1980s based on some books I read), but thanks to ITAR, it will be almost impossible (if not impossible)to get ahold of something like that. So that being said, using model dimensions from one of the kits might not be a bad idea to consider actually. Are you trying to make just a display model or something accurate to a flight article? Probably closer to the former than the latter I suspect. I know Monogram's shuttle wings at least have that subtle upper curve on them while Revell's do not. Tamiya's 1/100 kit I also understand is pretty close to dimensionally accurate in several areas. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diamondback Six Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Contact the Boeing Archives and ask for "Modeler's Diagrams". Those are the ones the company's own model shop used in building wind-tunnel and publicity models. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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