Introducing... the Northrop N-23 Pioneer!
Current features:
- Accurate-ish (see below) physical appearance
- Accurate STOL flight model (400ft takeoff distance)
- Beefy landing gear
- Three engines (yes, this is also my entry for the Tri-Engine Challenge)
- Currently 517 parts
Still to come:
- Cockpit interior
- Exterior lights
- Fuselage interior (cargo configuration, so basically just a floor)
Northrop's first post-war civil design, the STOL-capable N-23 Pioneer could carry 36 passengers or 5 tons of cargo, but was a complete commercial failure due to the cheap availability of war-surplus aircraft (ahem C-47). Only one prototype was built, and it was lost in a 1948 crash when an experimental new vertical stabilizer failed in flight.
The Pioneer is in a slightly different configuration in practically every single picture I've found, so this build is more of a general replica than a perfect match to any specific image. These are the only two color photos I have managed to find of the real aircraft, but they are fairly typical of the airframe differences I have encountered in other reference images as well. Note in particular the (or the lack of) engine cowling paint, cowl upper intake scoops, number of cabin windows (look closely at the bottom image and you'll see it only has one forward window on either side), etc.
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I’m excited to fly this thing
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@HuskyDynamics01 oh weird I hadn’t noticed that, they must have modified it throughout its lifetime
@asteroidbook345 Glad you like it!
Though, I do think both pictures (and others I've been using ) are the N-23, despite the differences. Both show the same registration, as does your second image (NX8500H, which was identified as an N-23 in the crash report). Also, the N-32 was the company designation for the YC-125, which - though based on the Pioneer - was a rather different-looking aircraft, as I'm sure you know. The N-32/YC-125 was not contracted until March 1948, and the N-23 had crashed the previous month.
My theory is that, as an experimental aircraft, the N-23 was modified quite a bit over its lifetime, with different engine nacelles (which would explain the paint variations), additional cabin windows (which, according to my research, were indeed added as a modification to the N-23 at some point), outer wing dihedral, etc. (and the new vertical fin that didn't end up working so well).
In light of this, here's an image that shows the aircraft with the larger engines, but without a noticeable wing dihedral. Maybe this was a sort of "in-between" configuration?
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Yes!!!! Something that isn’t a Ford!!! I like that it’s a predecessor to the YC-125, one of my favorite trimotors. I think the discrepancy between photos you’re seeing is the difference between the N-23 and N-32. My guess is the bottom image is the actual N-23 since the engines seem less beefy like the YC-125’s. The N-23 also seems to not have dihedral on the outer wing segments like the N-32 or YC-125
N-23
N-32
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C H O N K E RT