Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 14, 2020 Administrators Share Posted September 14, 2020 Anyone know this? Any Canadian who knows early Canadian bush aviation knows how important this aircraft was for the development of the Canadian north woods and arctic. A simple dreamers conversation with my good friend Mike Swinburne has yielded this. A 1/32 basic shapes model of an aircraft that I expect would never have been kitted in any scale, never mind OUR scale. Everyone knows how Mike helped with my Lancaster project. And now this, totally unsolicited, out of the blue. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1to1scale Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Very nice! Mike is a really nice and generous dude. cant wait to see you finish this up! Looks like a great opportunity to practice some foil and engine turned finished. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted September 14, 2020 Administrators Share Posted September 14, 2020 Really cool. Saw it pop up on my timeline today. A piece of history of civil aviation. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 14, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 14, 2020 9 minutes ago, JeroenPeters said: Really cool. Saw it pop up on my timeline today. A piece of history of civil aviation. Yep. We were just chatting one day and I mentioned the Super to him. It’s obscure no doubt, but literally opened up a third of the free world, plus, license built in Japan by Nakajima. It’s just one of those forgotten aircraft that without historians, restorers and scale modelers, would be lost to time. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 14, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 14, 2020 54 minutes ago, 1to1scale said: Very nice! Mike is a really nice and generous dude. cant wait to see you finish this up! Looks like a great opportunity to practice some foil and engine turned finished. Actually most were painted. This is a typical Fokker in construction, and Tony Fokker built his postwar US designs exactly as he did the Dr.1 and D.Vll: steel tube fabric covered fuselage and tail with a wooden, internally braced wing. The Super Universal used a P&W Wasp Jr R-985, exactly the same engine as used on the Kingfisher, Vultee BT-13, Norseman, and DeHavilland Beaver. A very few had 600hp R-1340s hung on them, but that was too much engine for the design. The Super Universal was THE definitive Canadian bushplane until the Norseman came along as a design purpose built to replace the old worn out Fokkers. The very last complete Super Universal was lost in a fire in Idaho back in 1960, until a group of Canadian historians, restorers, and airplane nuts pulled a wreck out of the bush to rebuild. The aircraft was fairly complete, but like all Fokkers, the wing had long since disintegrated due to the ravages of time and weather. A new wing was hand built from original factory drawings, and along with salvaged parts from other wrecks, after an 18 year restoration, a Fokker Super flew again for the first time in over 60 years. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 14, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 14, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmkhNoHoziw 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Incredible ! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 14, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 14, 2020 I highly recommend this series on youtube: Fokker Super Universal: Back to the Sky just search it and it'll come up. It'll put lumps in your throat. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Great back story Ernie and congrats on checking off something from the bucket list. Who knows maybe we'll get a CF-100 one day. Carl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Yep, Mike is one of the best! I am pleased to count him as a great friend, and treasure our friendship. Thats going to look amazing Ern.... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Yep he's a keeper....harv 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Super project , and very generous from Mike ! Now I’m officially jealous ! Hubert 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Me too !.....harv 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Cool! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 14, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 14, 2020 2 hours ago, HubertB said: Super project , and very generous from Mike ! Now I’m officially jealous ! Hubert Hubert, of everyone here, I just KNEW you'd be blown away by this. I really wanted to do this in 1/16, but I was limited by what was available for a commercially available R.985. As it is, I'll need to lift an engine from a Kitty Hawk Kingfisher kit. I think you know how incredibly important the Super Universal was to 1920s civil aviation, and how one of their later designs, the Fokker F.10 trimotor, through a totally unforeseen fatal accident, directly resulted in the development of the Boeing 247, DC-2, and DC-3 airliners. That F.10 crash gave us our first glimpse into the dangers of Clear Air Turbulence, along with the need for proper maintenance to prevent hidden weakening of the structure through corrosion and rot. The trademark Fokker internally braced wooden wing failed in cruise, separating from the aircraft over the middle of Kansas. The F.10 didn't deserve the bad reputation it got, and for once, Tony Fokker didn't deserve the bad rap he received, either. The F.10 could run away and hide from a comparable Ford, all while carrying more load and sipping less fuel. I'm not sure if you know this, but the Fokker Standard Universal (open cockpit and slightly smaller dimensions with a Wright Whirlwind radial) was Charles Lindberg's first choice for aircraft to do his transatlantic flight, but Fokker execs refused to sell him an airplane because of the possibility it would hurt Fokker's recently restored reputation. A smart business decision, but in the end I'm sure they wish it was their Standard Universal sitting in Paris, not an unknown Ryan design. The Fokker could have easily handled the load without needing to be specially modified and built as a one-off. I truly hope I can do this one justice, because there were two Canadian bushplanes on my scratchbuild list, the Super Universal and the Fairchild 71C. I think I'll now add the Standard Universal to that list. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Well, I have had a R-985 in design for quite some time. I stopped and stumbled on the design of the cylinder head cooling fins ... Maybe I should resume my work on this one, although the availability fo the KH Kingfisher kits made it a less urgent requirement ... It was dimensionally designed in 1/32, but could be scaled up to 1/16 easily in a split second on a 3D-printer setup, especially with the level of detail I incorporated ... This is where I stalled : 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artful69 Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 WOW! ... This is 3D print stuff huh? ... Mike is certainly good with design work!! Looks like a gorgeous little A/C Rog 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 15, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 15, 2020 Hubert, that's solid work there and yes, the KH Kingfisher R-985 is a beautiful model in it's own right, if a bit fiddly to build. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 I consider my unfinished design vastly superior to KH’s one ( in case you wonder, « modest » is my third nickname ), although totally unfit for an IM process. It can only show on a high range 3D- printer. In this work, I have certainly developed a detailed knowledge of Scintilla magnetos and Stromberg carburetors Hubert 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 16, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 16, 2020 5 hours ago, HubertB said: I consider my unfinished design vastly superior to KH’s one ( in case you wonder, « modest » is my third nickname ), although totally unfit for an IM process. It can only show on a high range 3D- printer. In this work, I have certainly developed a detailed knowledge of Scintilla magnetos and Stromberg carburetors Hubert Huber, everything I’ve seen come out of your capable hands has been first rate. I’m talking to Mike to see if I can wrangle an extra one or two. I know you’d love a Super Universal. It’s one of those timeless designs that just fell through the cracks of history. It did have a military history with Japan a day Manchukuo, but nothing here. Just a pure people or freight mover. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 I would buy one from you ! Just saying....harv 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 16, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 16, 2020 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted September 16, 2020 Author Administrators Share Posted September 16, 2020 17 hours ago, Artful69 said: WOW! ... This is 3D print stuff huh? ... Mike is certainly good with design work!! Looks like a gorgeous little A/C Rog Rog, the Super Universal was physically pretty large, especially for a 1920s design. If you make it over here, they’re building a brand new world class museum building in Winnipeg for the amazing collection of which this aircraft is part of.. Heck, I’d take three weeks off to do the big museums with you. Start in Hamilton at the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum for the best flying and static collection in the Nation, then Winnipeg, then Edmonton, then Vancouver. Heck, id do that, followed by Oshkosh. That’s a trip I’d love to get a few guys together for. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Well Ernie, the second pic definitely saves you the trouble of finding an engine, just saying Hubert 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 2 hours ago, HubertB said: Well Ernie, the second pic definitely saves you the trouble of finding an engine, just saying Definitely not, it adds the trouble to cast crystal clear resin water to show the engine with a slight blue greenish tint in the freezing water with some of the cowlings bent or gone, which reminds me, that I want to make a broken ice dio since a long time. Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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