Current and Finished Projects > Aero-space
Cierva-Nemeth VSTOL, 1/35 scale
Frank3k:
The Nemeth Parasol was an unusual circular wing plane from the mid 1930s that flew fairly well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIFyBU83kME
The mid 30s also produced the Cierva autogiro. The autogiro/autogyros of the day flew well, but they suffered from poorly understood (at the time) edge case issues when landing that could cause a crash. Like an autogyro, the Nemeth had a very short takeoff length (see the video) and an even shorter landing distance. It was also reportedly "stall proof" and very easy to fly.
What if the Cierva corporation had decided to expand their lineup to include an airplane with performance similar to an autogyro (or autogiro) but with the mechanical simplicity of fixed wing aircraft?
I built a what-if Parasol Kaydet for the Brian da Basher/Brian Perri Memorial GB and building it had major challenges. I clearly forgot the issues building that model, because I decided to combine a Miniart 1/35 Cierva C.30a with 3D printed parasol wing!
The base kit is the Miniart Cierva C.30 w/ Winter Ski mainly because it was (strangely) cheaper than some of the other boxings of the same kit. It has nice looking artwork:
I whipped up the parasol wing in Rhino 3D and printed it on my filament printer. The wing was printed in ABS at a fairly low resolution. It would have looked far better in resin, but I wanted to use ABS for this project. Here are the upper and lower wing halves:
They look hideous, especially the lower wing (which is almost flat). I may skip the lower half and just glue on a sheet of styrene.
After much sanding, some acetone smoothing and a layer of primer, the upper wing is coming along. I left the supports in place, since they give the print some rigidity:
I also started on the kit. Miniart did a fantastic job with the C.30 - it's very detailed; the engine and cockpit could be models on their own. Here's the engine and cockpit:
The engine is pretty much finished. I added some ignition wires and a control line that's visible on the real plane:
The kit comes with a fairly extensive PE sheet, which included 28 small (1mm or less) wide connectors for the exhaust ports on the cylinders. I used 14 and skipped the rest. As you can see, (or not) they're not really visible.
Since this will be a fixed wing aircraft, I added two control sticks to the cockpit:
I now have to figure out how to attach the wing (which is heavier than it looks). I may leave one of the rotor pitch controls since it'll add another point of support. In the world of this design, the wing would have a variable angle of attack for takeoffs, which would provide an even shorter takeoff distance.
I'll also have to add a rudder. The Cierva has a vestigial rudder that looks more like a trim tab. I'll add a bigger surface in its place, to give this version some yaw control.
GTX_Admin:
:smiley:
Frank3k:
This kit builds up quickly, despite the seemingly fiddly parts. I despaired a bit over the "poor" fit of the tail, but the real Cierva looks like this. I moved the compass to the instrument panel in the rear cockpit as well:
The rotor head (or in this case, wing support) is just tacked in place. I drilled holes for small brass pins, but I may not need them:
Now it's on to finishing the wing, ailerons and flap, plus deciding on wheels or skis and the final colors.
raafif:
Grasshopper ! :D
Frank3k:
The German built Cierva autogiro was the Focke-Wulf Fw C.30A Heuschrecke... grasshopper.
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