DC-3 Display Project

Click Here for Construction Part 1 Click Here for Construction Part 2 Click Here for Construction Part 3

12-22-2003
I've been running far behind on the updates, so this one is probably a bit brief. First, here is the tail section that I worked out. I started out thinking that this was going to be really hard, but after seeing a few full-size versions, I was reminded that the original was made out of sheetmetal, so it isn't as complicated as I first thought. Here are the pictures:

Back several months ago, I was delivering an airplane to Pine Bluff Arkansas and came across a beautiful DC-3. A local pilot told me that they had imported it as military surplus from a far-away country. It was in great shape, especially in terms of few modifications. Most of the airworthy DC-3s that I've come accross are so chopped up and modified that they are hard to use for reference. Here are some pictures though, that should help anyone building a model of one.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe hosted the fall flying competition (which we won first in ground events, first in flying events, and first overall, for the second year in a row) which involved some fun times with other college aviatiors. After talking, I heard that they were also building a DC-3, and upon further inqury, the department chairman, Paul Karlowitz (pictured with Matt) gave us a tour. Here are some pictures of their project. They have some different strategies, since they have different resources available. You can see that they went with a one-piece wing, and are making good progress on the fuselage and other parts.

So this was certainly motivation to get going on the project at home. Here is the fuselage after much sheeting. If I've learned anything from building this airplane, I've gotten much more comfortable with sheeting round objects. Stick with small widths! It minimizes the stretching and bending. Here are the photos to document the updates:

I figured I would go ahead and cover the outer portions of the tail surfaces with metal and fabric. In retrospect, it probably would have been worth the $20 for a roll of 21st century fabric in silver. I figured I would be cheap and use some yellow scraps that I had sitting around, but painting them was certainly troublesome. I guess it helps make them look that much more weathered, which helps reduce the un-realistic "bright and shiny" issue. Also, you can see the painted aileron complete with trim tab. I've been sanding quite a bit on the fuselage, and you can see my single foam wheel cut and painted.

Here are some fun pictures of the sanding process, which were a nice break from the work.

Here I have cut out the windows. I didn't worry too much about where they were... there were so many variants, I'm sure there was probably one with windows like these. I worked on getting the proportions right, and getting them in an evenly spaced straight line. Pay no attention to the black line... I'm actually using little orange ones instead. I think I could have done without the forward most one, but other than that they worked out well. There are 8 on the right and 7 on the left. I applied the metal work to the center section of the wing and the nacelles, which went fast since it wasn't tapered.

In the wheel wells you can see the fake zinc chromate green paint that I mixed out of green, yellow, and black acrylic paints that were on sale at wally-world. This area is perhaps one of the most troubled from a detail standpoint... I'm not sure how far I'll end up going with the details of the exhaust and induction systems. I finally finished the metal process on the fuselage, except for the last foot or so. I've decided to not make the tail removable for simplicity, but I did want to get most of the fuselage manipulation done before I attached it. You know, one less thing to ding. On all of the components that I've covered since the wing panels, I've just applied the metal tape directly to sanded balsa. You can see that the results aren't spectacular, but they are good enough. Perhaps the largest weakness of this application process is the lack of dent resisitance... if this was a plane that I'd be getting in and out of a trailer every weekend, it wouldn't have worked. But it will do fine for hanging from the ceiling! I still haven't noticed any difference between the hardware store tape and the "sir grumpy pants" high dollar version. Do be sure to compare different brands of tape though; there are very subtle differences in luster between some of the brands of hardware store tape. Personally I think it helps establish the panel inconsistencies that will help with realism, but be sure to be prepared for it if you find yourself in the same position. Part of the problem may be the time frame... this material definitely looks a little better after a little exposure to the air. Notice the pile of backing tape on the floor, and how it grows as the pictures go on. At it's largest, that pile represents what it took to cover the center of the wing, the nacelles, and the fuselage except for that tail section.

Here are a few pictures of the fuselage mostly covered. I could have spent more time with the wing fillett area, but I think it will do as-is. I'm planning to have everything just about ready to hang before the end of December, as to complete the hanging process in early January.

02-17-2004
So this is how it ends, with a really shiny thing in a closet.

Due to a few poor choices of the leaders of the student fraternity, this is as far as I'll be taking this project. I was able to finally find an airline job, which means that I'd be moving, and rather than dedicate too much time to an unappreiated cause, I figured I would just put it in the closet and wait for the next student to feel motivated to pick it up. Matt said he might get it hanging, but if not, there will always be another student some time, just like me, or just like Andrew Ball, or any of the other unknown people who have worked on it over the years.

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