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A few months ago, with the help and encouragement
of Oscar Azededo, I began the design and development of a 1/12 ME 323
Gigant. Since no good set of plans existed for a model of this size I
began looking at three views. After picking the best and most accurate
of all that I could find, I began to draw up a set of plans. After several
weeks of measuring and drawing I had a set of working drawings.
The Gigant was a German transport plane of W.W.II.
It started out as a glider but was later transformed into a six engine
airplane. It's original purpose in the war was the invasion of England.
With it's enormous size and cargo/troop carrying capacity, large amounts
of soldiers and supplies could be delivered in a very short time frame.
Due to Churchill's willingness to die rather then surrender to the Germans,
the British fought hard to defend their country, and thus the Gigant was
never used as it was intended.
The model that I am building is 1/12 scale.
It has a wingspan of 181", wing area of 3102 square inches, or 21.5
sq. ft., an overall length of 92", and an overall height of 28"
to the top of the rudder. The maximum fuse cross section is 10'' wide
by 17'' tall.
With six engines to power this beast, my intentions
for propulsion is to go electric. With a target flying weight of 16 pounds,
each motor would have to provide power for about 2 1/2 pounds of airplane.
The motor that I intend to use is either a Speed 400 or 480, operated
with a reduction unit. These motors will provide about 20 ounces of thrust
each, or about 7 pounds total. For a 16 pound glider, this should be more
than adequate power.
The construction of the Gigant is very straight
forward. With mostly stick construction throughout the fuse, and foam
core construction for the tail and wings, building is very straight forward.
I do plan on making several components out of epoxy/fiberglass from molds
the I am in the process of making. These parts will be the cockpit cover,
landing gear covers, clam shell nose, and a clear observation dome.
If all goes as planned, the first flight should
be in March. I will continue to provide pictures of the building process
throughout the project and welcome any and all comments or suggestions.
You may contact me at qualityfiber@cookeville.com
Bob Sealy, Quality Fiberglass, Cookeville, Tennessee 931-526-4770 |
