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Budd BB-1 Pioneer

288 Qui11iamSurLaFeui11e  8.8 years ago

So, for those of you who don't know, the Budd BB-1 was the first all-stainless steel plane ever made. It was a three-person flying boat, built in 1931, and only one was ever built. It's currently sitting outside the Franklin Institute, for any Philadelphians out there. It's a pretty cool little flying boat, for its four-year career.

Imagine my surprise when not one single copy has been uploaded to SimplePlanes.com! I was shocked. I'll be attempting to rectify this ASAP, but I've got a bit a queue ATM, so it'll be a while. Your challenge is to build the most historically accurate copy of this plane that you can.

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    @dsr1aviation Thanks, man.

    8.8 years ago
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    Oh, and I based my proportions off the pixel count of a profile on Google images (like, how far back the wing was). That could be improved.

    8.8 years ago
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    Never mind again. After checking the stats, my version is about right in terms of weight. I'd recommend going for 20x14 blocks, though. My version was actually probably 21x15.

    8.8 years ago
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    Never mind. Found it, uploaded it. It ain't great. I only built mine to 25x15, and eyeballed the height. A rush job, to be sure.

    8.8 years ago
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    I made an attempt today. It failed so badly I deleted it.
    Issues:
    Weight: my model was 3,500lbs, dry.
    Power: the engine in the Budd BB-1 was the Kinner C-5, which maxed out at 245hp. The prop wasn't that big, either.
    Balance: The engine pushed the nose down quite badly under full throttle. It could be controlled with the elevators, but only with great care.
    Also, I can't figure out the diameter of the prop. Probably ~100in, which would be good, but it's hard to say.

    8.8 years ago
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    Not gonna be the best performing plane on here.

    8.8 years ago
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    Empty weight is 1450 lbs, but since this is the stainless steel varient I'll estimate an empty weight of 2150 lbs, that's the gross weight of the sm-56

    8.8 years ago
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    Good thing it's a biplane.

    8.8 years ago
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    It will have to be 21 blocks wide, and 16 blocks long, as well as 6 blocks high, according to the Sovia Marchetti SM-56, the plane it was based on.

    8.8 years ago
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    8,434 dsr1aviation

    I will try :)

    8.8 years ago