When I first started building my 180 (which I’m still building), I wanted to give it a fully detailed engine and an openable cowling.
butt
As I’ve done more research and stuff, and have kept building, several issues with this need have appeared. Let me show you through them.
1. Not happy with the shape of the cowling
This isn’t exactly an issue with having an engine, but it’s an issue with creating a cowling with an engine in it... and the blueprint I used to make the shape of this plane.
The curve here at the “B” location on this blueprint is actually too large. As you can see on this photo, the curve just in front of the door to the curve at the fore wall is almost the same, which I didn’t know at the time. It’s pretty clear in this photo (loom at the shadow) and this blueprint of a Cessna 185 (which has the same fuselage)
I made this mistake on my 180, and it will be an enormous job to fix it and keep the engine. The worst thing about this curve in my opinion is that it cuts into the footwell.
^^ Curve is clearly too big
The line should continue straight from the door here. Mine can’t even without the skin thickness >>
The bottom of the cowling is worth like 100 parts and it will be like a week of rebuilding to fix the curve with keeping the engine.
It would be so much easier to fix this curve if I don’t have to bother with the engine and the intake and stuff.
2. The cowling doesn’t have hinges in real life... so having the cowling openable (detaching the cowling more like) would be pointless because you wouldn’t be able to put it back on lol.
So basically the only cool aesthetic thing having the engine in there is you can look through the intake at the engine... not really worth the extra part count.
Yeah...that’s one of the only benefits of having the engine lol.
3. High part count
All up, the engine and the complicated cowling gives the plane about 150 extra parts. Noting that the gauges in my cockpit are worth about 400 parts, saving parts is kinda a good thing now.
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To summarise
Pros of getting rid of the engine:
- Can make the cowling and footwell look better
Lower part count
Cons of getting rid of the engine
No cool seeing the engine through the intakes
Pros of keeping the engine:
Got a cool engine you can see through the intakes
- One of the smoothest planes with a full engine inside? Lol bragging rights 😂
It’s not too bad and only I will notice the issues.
Cons of keeping the engine
If I reshape the cowling, it will be loads of work, frustrating
- High part count
That’s a lot of stuff to read lol.
Keep only the front half so u can still peep thru the lil ol holes to see the pancake cooling stack of buttery goodness but the other parts no one cares about get flicked
Ok. Good to know.@jamesPLANESii
Keeps
Ditch
i'd spend 6 months slacking before redoing the cowling
One day :) @AerialFighterSnakes
Do whatever would make you feel the most satisfied and accomplished with the final result. Or, follow my design rule: Does it look and function exactly like it’s supposed to? If not, fix it. @jamesPLANESii
Don’t worry about what others think. You worry about you. Your doing great man. Just build to your hearts content. Btw would you consider making an Aeronca 7AC Champion one day?
The engine fits, but the cowling I made for it is the wrong shape and it cuts into the interior and it triggers me every time I see it. And to fix it with keeping the engine would be like a week of work @Chancey21
keep it
Keep the engine but cut it down till it fits
Keep the cowl and make the bottom of the engine smaller, scale the engine down to fit inside, then also release a lo we part count version with like a simple 10 part cowl
I would try again but save the engine in subassembly. Try to incorporate it into something else.
Save the engine as a subassemblie and incorporate into another possible build. Then it wont feel like a waste of hard work.
Ditch that b███h
Sometimes you just have to let detail go. Take this from someone who's never actually had any detail on any plane
You don't have to keep the engine, it'll be a great build, even without it.