C17 Model Airplane

Got it in an email - pretty kewl!


C-17 Globemaster 1:9 Scale - Click here for more amazing videos

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C-17 GLOBEMASTER III.......nice toy


I've seen some other big jobs like this, but not this one.

This 1/9th scale radio-controlled C-17 model was built in the United Kingdom To date it has about 20 flights. It was built as the family centerpiece of a 15 program television series produced in the U.K. for the Home and Leisure satellite TV channel. Built with the aid of three friends, it took one year to build and is powered with 4 Jet cat P-120 turbines with a total thrust of 108 lbs. The models weighs over 250 lbs fueled, and carries 12.5 liters (3.3 US gallons) of 95% kerosene and 5% turbine oil fuel. Other details include 5 Futaba PCM receivers, 16 battery packs (93 cells), 20 Futaba servos, on board air compressor, electro/pneumatic retracts, etc. Wingspan is 20 feet 8 inches, and the top of the fin is 74 inches (6 feet 2 inches) above the ground. Takeoff weight is 264 lbs. The rear cargo doors open and they drop an r/c jeep on a pallet, as well as 2 free-fall r/c parachutists. The family model also has 20smoke systems both of the inboard turbines, and uses 2.4 GHz data link to provide real-time data to a laptop computer on the ground while in flight, this data includes airspeed, turbine RPM, EGT, fuel consumption, etc. It is covered in fiberglass and epoxy resin. Built mainly from balsa and ply wood with many glass and carbon fiber moldings to reduce weight. This C-17 Globemaster III is one of the largest jet models in the world today! Complete with retractable landing gear and pneumatically operated flaps. Although it is controlled by the Pilot on the ground, there is a tiny Flight Engineer in the plane to make sure the Pilot doesn't screw up.

There are plenty of websites that verify this data out there, and I'm gonna be lazy and not cite them.

Dad was really into R/C airplanes for quite a while. He was a hell of a builder - his planes were pretty much flawless. He never quite mastered flying, though. He started in the hobby in Control Line, where gross movement was the norm. Also, in the early days, R/C controls were pulse - which basically meant on or off. So, if you wanted up elevator, the switch was thrown and you got all the up elevator available. Control was achieved by sawing on the switches to try to achieve a happy medium. Later systems finally were digital proportional, which meant if you wanted a little up elevator and moved the stick a little bit, the elevator would go up a little bit. Continued input resulted in repeatable incremental output. This was quite the big deal in it's day.

I always figured Dad was pretty set in his ways and he was back in the pulse days driving a proportional radio. I only flew a plane of his once, and he was quite dismayed to see that I was far better. But, I was used to the early video games and "had the touch."

My uncle, Dad's brother, still flies R/C. He is into scale models and does very well, thank you very much!

H/T Road Pig