Author Topic: The Devil's Test Pilot; or  (Read 2729 times)

Offline Dr. YoKai

  • Was in High School when mastadons roamed the plains...
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The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« on: June 05, 2020, 07:55:51 AM »
 The Career of the mysterious 'B' DeBasher and Yo Aviation Industries by William Green and Mark Rogers

 
Quote
"I never saw him anywhere but in the cockpit of whatever we were flying that day. How he came and went, where he lived, I never learned. The one time I asked, he only chuckled, pointed vaguely over his shoulder and said 'thataway, Doc.' I don't brag when I say my powers of observation and my resources for gathering information are pretty substantial. But I never learned more than these three things: He was unswervingly...good. He had an uncanny knack for design, and he could fly anything you could point into the wind. He could be a little strange, but I saw him land a stolen Staaken on a barge in the Thames during the War. I had to hire him."- Clark Yo jr., TDTP, pp. 11

I have a few projects in mind, but I'm starting with his first job, the Yo-Northrop-DeBasher Psi...
DSCF0071 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr


 

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2020, 08:03:47 AM »
Hmmmmm ,  my interest  you have it  ;)

Mog
>^-.-^<
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Frank3k

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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2020, 08:06:16 AM »
Those are serious spats! Brian would approve. Interesting back story so far...

Offline GTX_Admin

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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2020, 03:28:36 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Dr. YoKai

  • Was in High School when mastadons roamed the plains...
  • A notorious curmudgeon who is partial to...hemp!
Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2020, 09:42:34 PM »
Got 'er mostly done over the weekend - just a question now of final paint details. Progress shots below.
DSCF0073 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

DSCF0076 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

 Kinda pleased with the technique I came up with for making fans, although I need a little more practice with the technique. If you have decent sized shaft, figure the diameter, cut a strip of thin sheet to that length, and then mark the strip at regular intervals, cut the blades as simple rectangles, tack them in with super glue, and when good and dry, wrap the whole strip around the shaft.

DSCF0074 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

DSCF0079 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

DSCF0080 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

DSCF0085 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

Offline Frank3k

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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2020, 01:34:04 AM »
Wow - a ductless motorjet! Nice fans.

Offline Kerick

  • Reportedly finished with a stripper...
Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2020, 02:42:31 AM »
That’s impressive!
Looking forward to the story that goes with this. Will it end with “this antique desk top model is all that remains of one of Northrup’s most fantastic designs?”

Offline jcf

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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #7 on: June 09, 2020, 03:09:56 AM »
 :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :icon_fsm:

“Conspiracy theory’s got to be simple.
Sense doesn’t come into it. People are
more scared of how complicated shit
actually is than they ever are about
whatever’s supposed to be behind the
conspiracy.”
-The Peripheral, William Gibson 2014

Offline apophenia

  • Perversely enjoys removing backgrounds.
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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #8 on: June 09, 2020, 04:33:03 AM »
--- Kinda pleased with the technique I came up with for making fans, although I need a little more practice with the technique. If you have decent sized shaft, figure the diameter, cut a strip of thin sheet to that length, and then mark the strip at regular intervals, cut the blades as simple rectangles, tack them in with super glue, and when good and dry, wrap the whole strip around the shaft.

Very cool technique!  :smiley: :smiley:  Looking forward to the backstory on that powerplant  ;D
Froglord: "... amphibious doom descends ... approach the alter and swear your allegiance to the swamp."

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
  • Would you buy a used kit from this man?
Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #9 on: June 09, 2020, 07:50:41 AM »
Very cool technique, keep that one in mind for the future.

Mog
>^-.-^<
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Buzzbomb

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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #10 on: June 09, 2020, 08:06:50 AM »
Oh yeah !

Nice work  8)

Offline finsrin

  • The Dr Frankenstein of the modelling world...when not hiding from SBA
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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #11 on: June 09, 2020, 01:02:01 PM »
Gamma kit always been attractive to do something with someday.   Never thought of powerplant like this has.  Gotta like that fan technology.  :smiley:

Offline Dr. YoKai

  • Was in High School when mastadons roamed the plains...
  • A notorious curmudgeon who is partial to...hemp!
Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #12 on: June 15, 2020, 12:43:22 AM »
 Thanks as always for the kind words. The Psi is largely complete, but as this is a civil bird, final finish will wait until I can get a sheet of appropriate civil code letters...alas, time has been kind of weird with my decal collection. Some of my ancient collection has survived just fine, others (like a thirty year old sheet of luftwaffe code letters) shatter the moment they hit the water. But here's how she looks with the canopy, landing lights, and anti-glare panel in place.
DSCF0088 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

From the side:
DSCF0087 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

and in company with something else that has been waiting on codes, The DeHavilland Comet II...

DSCF0091 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr

Quote
From Unusual Engines: The Magnofocus Motor Jet , (Air Itsirrational, vol. 38,#6, June 19__) "The DeBasher Magnofocus must rank as one of the most peculiar aero engines of all time. While six of the ten built are still flying, there is still only one source for the allotropic iron/high octane petroleum mix that powers it - and Wen Yo's Arctic Universal Fuels Ltd. steadfastly refuses to sell more than the 100,000 liters per year that has been their production quota for more than forty years. The principle of using focused magnetic fields to contain and direct thrust from compression fans had been tried ( See: DuQuene's Disaster: The Hampton Airfield Fire,AI V.29,#2), only Yo's seemingly intuitive understanding of quantum physics, and DeBasher's gift for metallurgy made it possible.   
More anon - I leave you with a preview of another flash of Debasher brilliance, from his European period (1912 - 1934), the Bloch/DeBasher
 "Attend'". ( The Armee' D'lAir liked the Spadicus, but wanted something with just a little more firepower...
DSCF0093 by VileDr.Yo, on Flickr


Offline Frank3k

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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #13 on: June 15, 2020, 01:08:13 AM »
Craig - nice, even metal finish on the Gamma and the DeHavilland spatty jet looks interesting.
What’s the 50’s looking space station ( or ray weapon) behind it?

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
  • Would you buy a used kit from this man?
Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #14 on: June 15, 2020, 02:40:06 AM »
Now that looks amazing.

Nice one !

Mog
>^-.-^<
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline Dr. YoKai

  • Was in High School when mastadons roamed the plains...
  • A notorious curmudgeon who is partial to...hemp!
Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #15 on: June 15, 2020, 03:03:23 AM »
Craig - nice, even metal finish on the Gamma and the DeHavilland spatty jet looks interesting.
What’s the 50’s looking space station ( or ray weapon) behind it?

Ah, that's the Lobaschevsky-Korsikov Gravity lens engine, for the Czar's Protected Aerial Cruiser Corona, right next to it.

Offline Frank3k

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Re: The Devil's Test Pilot; or
« Reply #16 on: June 15, 2020, 03:39:39 AM »
Oh of course! I'm behind on my Dr. Yo science reading... Looks good!