22 replies to this topic

[dhc6twinotter]

Hey all,

This Piper Cub float plane is my entry for the TSATS competition.  



Functions:

-Motorized fake flat 4 engine and prop (variable speed controlled by rechargeable battery and throttle levers in cockpit)
-Working ailerons controlled by left/right movement of joysticks
-Working elevator controlled by forward/backward movement of joysticks
-Working rudder controlled by rudder pedals
-Working water rudders controlled by rudder pedals
-Motorized flaps controlled by yellow levers in cockpit
-Motorized drooping ailerons synchronized with flaps
-Motorized variable pitch propeller controlled by levers in cockpit
-Motorized retractable landing gear with locks controlled by lever in cockpit

Specifications:

-2 m motors
-2 mini LAs
-1 Rechargeable Battery
-1 AA Battery Box
-Wing Span 56in (1.42m)
-Length 47in (1.19m)
-Height 17in (43.18cm)
-Length of each float 30in (76.20cm)
-Weight 9.3 pounds (4.22kg)

Cockpit:


Yellow lever lowers the flaps
Tan lever (upper right of photo) lowers/raises the landing gear
Grey lever on left side of cockpit controls blade pitch
Black lever on left side of cockpit controls engine speed
Black control stick in the center controls elevators and ailerons
Grey rudder pedals control the rudder


Gearbox:



The gearbox has 3 outputs, and each output has forward and reverse.   The gearbox controls the movement in the landing gear, flaps, and variable pitch propeller.   The tan gears in the upper left corner of the picture are part of the control mixer used for the drooping ailerons.   As the flap drive moves, it simultaneously moves the aileron linkages, and ailerons.    Separate aileron movement by the control stick is still possible.  


Landing gear extended:



Landing gear retracted:



Engine with variable pitch mechanism:



Underside showing some of the linkages:




The AA battery box acts as a counterweight and keeps the elevators in their neutral position.   Without it, the elevators would move down under their own weight.   It's a simple solution, and it works surprisingly well.

I'm fairly happy with how everything turned out, especially the motorized functions.  They work really well.   I wish I could have spent more putting the body together so it looks better, but time was short.     The float rudders don't work too well, and I haven't figure out why yet.  

All in all though, this was a fun project.   I definitely want to build another airplane.    

More pictures on my flickr

WIP thread here

I'll try to have a better video up in a day or two.

Thanks to Eurobricks for hosting the contest, and thanks to Sinner/Seigfried for running it!  

Thanks!
Daniel

Edited by dhc6twinotter, 25 April 2012 - 12:48 AM.

[Ape Fight]

This is beautiful! And with better functions than a set too. Really needs some good pictures

[DLuders]

Daniel, that's a REALLY NICE Lego Technic Float Plane!     It has excellent functions.  Are you planning on keeping it intact for awhile?  People attending the Brick Magic 2012 convention would probably love to see it.  Of course, you can always fly it cross-country to Seattle Harbor for Brickcon 2012!  

[K9DOG]

Hey Daniel. This is simply amazing! I can´t believed what you have done whit technic parts, and on that scale! IMHO a real winner.

Congratulations.

cheers

Jaime

[Blakbird]

So how big is this thing? I can tell it is huge, but maybe you can take a picture of it next to some actual set (or minifig) for scale.

What you have managed to do with this model is really impressive. I love that the all the cockpit controls (at both positions) are accurate. Working rudder pedals is especially unusual (and therefore awesome). I've flown in a few Cubs and have never heard of one with variable pitch so I was going to call you out on that, but a quick Internet search revealed that such animals do in fact exist, although rare. The floats are really well done also, in particular the over center mechanism on the wheels.

I really want to see this thing sitting next to Marius Postma's Twin Otter. That would be a hell of a photograph.

[timslegos]

Wow that is awesome, so many functions!  My chances of winning just decreased dramatically   .

tim

[dhc6twinotter]

Ape Fight, on 13 April 2012 - 08:01 PM, said:

This is beautiful! And with better functions than a set too. Really needs some good pictures

Thanks!  I went out and took a bunch of pictures by a lake.  Lighting should be better, and I'll have the pictures up in a bit.   I'll be working on a new video too, although I forgot to take a video of the underside, so I'll have to do that tomorrow.

DLuders, on 13 April 2012 - 09:47 PM, said:

Daniel, that's a REALLY NICE Lego Technic Float Plane!     It has excellent functions.  Are you planning on keeping it intact for awhile?  People attending the Brick Magic 2012 convention would probably love to see it.  Of course, you can always fly it cross-country to Seattle Harbor for Brickcon 2012!  

Yup, I'll keep it build for a little while.  I'll have it at BrickMagic for sure, but I'm not sure I'll make it to BrickCon this year.  I'm looking for work now, so my schedule is up in the air right now.  Unless I land a job, my plan is to take a 4-6 month long cross country trip, and I may be able to drive up to BrickCon.   My original plan was to bring the plane with me as I travel, but it turned out a bit larger than I thought.  I don't know if I'll have enough space for it and all my tools, camping gear, and food that I'll be packing in my car.   I do plan on making it to BrickWorld though.

K9DOG, on 13 April 2012 - 10:10 PM, said:

Hey Daniel. This is simply amazing! I can´t believed what you have done whit technic parts, and on that scale! IMHO a real winner.

Congratulations.

cheers

Jaime

Thanks!

Blakbird, on 13 April 2012 - 10:57 PM, said:

So how big is this thing? I can tell it is huge, but maybe you can take a picture of it next to some actual set (or minifig) for scale.

What you have managed to do with this model is really impressive. I love that the all the cockpit controls (at both positions) are accurate. Working rudder pedals is especially unusual (and therefore awesome). I've flown in a few Cubs and have never heard of one with variable pitch so I was going to call you out on that, but a quick Internet search revealed that such animals do in fact exist, although rare. The floats are really well done also, in particular the over center mechanism on the wheels.

I really want to see this thing sitting next to Marius Postma's Twin Otter. That would be a hell of a photograph.

Here are some measurements I just took (original post updated with this info too):

-Wing Span 56in (1.42m)
-Length 47in (1.19m)
-Height 17in (43.18cm)
-Length of each float 30in (76.20cm)
-Weight 9.3 pounds (4.22kg)

Placing it next to an actual set for reference is a good idea.  I'll have to do that tomorrow too, when I have more light.   I have some small City sets I can use for scale.

I knew you had a lot of experience with aircraft design, so I was wondering if you would ask about the variable pitch.     From what I gather, it was available on some military spec Cubs, and there may also be aftermarket kits for it, although I'm not sure about that.   I don't think the cub was ever offered with drooping ailerons from the factory, but I do know there are kits to add this feature.

I tried to make the cockpit controls as authentic as possible, and I spent some time doing research on the cockpit layout.   I wasn't sure where to put the variable pitch control, but it seems like most planes have it right next to the throttle, so I figured that was the most logical spot for it.   The throttle quadrant from the Grumman Avenger was kinda my inspiration for it.  

Marius's Twin Otter is my all time favorite Technic moc.   I have always liked the DHC-6 Twin Otter (hence my username), and to see pictures of one build from LEGO was awesome.   His float plane was the inspiration behind this, and I wish I could have seen it in person.   I think both planes are almost to the same scale, so they would look really good together!   His would dwarf mine I think.  

timr, on 14 April 2012 - 12:12 AM, said:

Wow that is awesome, so many functions!  My chances of winning just decreased dramatically   .

tim

Thanks!   I have yet to get the Unimog, and I would love to have it; however, it may go to one of the many other talented builders in this competition.    

Edited by dhc6twinotter, 14 April 2012 - 01:22 AM.

[efferman]

wow, very impressive

[Paul Boratko]

Can't wait to see this next month!

[Zblj]

Wow, that is just massive! And so many funtiosn to play with! I really like the variable pitch, is a great use of a differential. Respect!

[steph77]

Zblj, on 14 April 2012 - 02:05 PM, said:

Wow, that is just massive! And so many funtiosn to play with! I really like the variable pitch, is a great use of a differential. Respect!

Hi,
Well done!
the design is great, immediatly  recognisable as a piper.
Technicaly, you offer lots of functions.
The most original and technicaly difficult is the variable pitch.
It's very well realised!

but would it be possible to build this MOC 1/2 scale than actually?
When i look at the scale of the BB, it's just an enormous plane.
I don't think it's very easy to manypulate it.
LEGO are still a game and the playability is an important thing for me.

I wait the pictures to give me good idea of the scale.

However, you made a very good job.

Congrats.

[Technic Gearhead]

Wow!  Amazing work.  That thing is massive!  I'm a big fan of your work and I'm still drooling over your tractor.  I will probably end up building it at some point.  

[dhc6twinotter]

I've updated some of my pictures, and I'll try to get the rest updated later.   New video coming sometime as well.

efferman, on 14 April 2012 - 06:21 AM, said:

wow, very impressive

Thanks!  Your awesome harbor tug is going to be some tough competition though!  

Paul Boratko, on 14 April 2012 - 01:59 PM, said:

Can't wait to see this next month!

And I'm looking forward to seeing your Vampire GT and Porsche 911!  It's great that we will have more Technic models on display this year.  

Zblj, on 14 April 2012 - 02:05 PM, said:

Wow, that is just massive! And so many funtiosn to play with! I really like the variable pitch, is a great use of a differential. Respect!

Thanks!  It works really well, although in hindsight, I probably didn't really need to motorize this function.   It doesn't take very much turning of the worm gear to change the pitch, and I probably could have just used a manual lever in the cockpit with some gearing to get the same results.   This is probably how I would do it next time I build a plane with a variable pitch prop.  The motorized function does add some coolness factor to it though.  

steph77, on 14 April 2012 - 04:15 PM, said:

Hi,
Well done!
the design is great, immediatly  recognisable as a piper.
Technicaly, you offer lots of functions.
The most original and technicaly difficult is the variable pitch.
It's very well realised!

but would it be possible to build this MOC 1/2 scale than actually?
When i look at the scale of the BB, it's just an enormous plane.
I don't think it's very easy to manypulate it.
LEGO are still a game and the playability is an important thing for me.

I wait the pictures to give me good idea of the scale.

However, you made a very good job.

Congrats.

Thanks!  My original plan was to build the plane a bit smaller, but as I got building, I found that I needed the space for all the control linkages in the cockpit.  I think if I would have built a plane with a side by side cockpit (like a DHC-2 Beaver) instead of a tandem cockpit, I could have built a smaller scale airplane.   I don't think a plane at 1/2 this scale would have been possible, unless most of the motorized function get removed.  The gearbox takes up a lot of space as well.    If I had more time, I probably could have figured out a way to make it smaller, but since I built this in about 2 months, I really didn't have much time for trial and error.   I think my next plane will be on a smaller scale though (but maybe bigger, depending on what plane I decide to build).

Technic Gearhead, on 14 April 2012 - 04:33 PM, said:

Wow!  Amazing work.  That thing is massive!  I'm a big fan of your work and I'm still drooling over your tractor.  I will probably end up building it at some point.  

Thanks!   Let me know when you build the tractor.  I'd like to see what others think about the moc and the build process.  

Edited by dhc6twinotter, 15 April 2012 - 03:22 PM.

[DLuders]

Daniel captured some nice details on his Lego Technic Piper Cub Float Plane:  

  

[Lipko]

I knew it will be an awesome model.
This one is great by itself, being an entry with a relatively short time to build makes it even greater.

*continues to save money for the mog*

[dhc6twinotter]

Thanks for the comment Lipko!  

David, thanks for posting that picture.  That's a really good picture.


BTW, for those of you that wanted to see a picture showing the scale of this moc, I do have a picture on my Flickr account with the City dump truck set and a mini-figure next to the plane.   Sorry I can't post it directly here as I have already posted the maximum amount of pictures allowed by the competition.  

Thanks,
Daniel

[dhc6twinotter]

Now that the contest is over, I've uploaded a new, better video of my Super Cub.    



Original post updated with same video.

[timslegos]

Looks beautiful!  You did a nice job with the video.  how did you do the slider shots?

tim

[dhc6twinotter]

timr, on 25 April 2012 - 03:55 AM, said:

Looks beautiful!  You did a nice job with the video.  how did you do the slider shots?

tim

I built a really crude lego camera dolly and rolled the camera across the dock.   It works ok, but I had to watch out for the cracks between the planks.  

I'd like to build a nicer dolly with tilt controls.    I'd also like to buy a real camera dolly system, but they are $$$$$.

Edited by dhc6twinotter, 25 April 2012 - 04:02 AM.

[TimH]

This is a great technic model, its huge!!  Video is nicely done.

[Tropy]

Amazing job, do you plan to get some kind of instructions? Great use of the differential!

[dhc6twinotter]

TimH, on 25 April 2012 - 12:47 PM, said:

This is a great technic model, its huge!!  Video is nicely done.

Tropy, on 26 April 2012 - 06:43 PM, said:

Amazing job, do you plan to get some kind of instructions? Great use of the differential!

Thanks!  Unfortunately, I don't have instructions for any of my mocs.  Sorry.

[Burf2000]

Bloody good moc with so many functions!