Projects underway for NASM transformation project in Washington, DC

[Elbee]

davegee Outstanding. Thanks & Happy New Year's Day to you, too. Best, Steve

[davegee]

Thanks, Steve. Happy New Year to you and your bride, too!

cheers

Dave

[davegee]

Well, yesterday was a GREAT DAY!! After working on this shuttle model since last spring, we have essentially wrapped up the shuttle project and sent in something called a "submittal" to the heads of the NASM to approve the model and shipment to Washington, DC. We will be working to finish up any minor details in the meantime but hope to get the word that the shipping truck will be arriving to pick up the crate with the model secured inside maybe next week.

Once it safely arrives in Washington, it will be inspected and then kept in storage until sometime next year, when the renovated space gallery that it will hang in is ready to accept it for installation. I might go out there to assist with the hanging of the model which will be a bit tricky. I don't see a real problem doing that, but there are parts that must not be handled as they are not stressed to take the full weight of the model. I'm thinking that we might have to take the fuselage section alone up on the hydraulic lift to hang it and then add the wings, tail, pin the doors open and finally install theTDRS satellite to finish the display. Some of that could change as we work out the procedure for safely hanging it. The museum might have some ideas on how they want to install it, too.

So, for the time being, we are awaiting word from the shipper when they will come, and will work the packing of the model in the crate accordingly so we are ready to go when they are.

I still have the TDRS satellite that goes on top of the white IUS booster stage (as seen in previous photo posts). I have some people working on detail parts of that model, and should have all these parts in hand by the end of this month. I'll then assemble the satellite, attach it to the booster so it looks like the picture above, and submit that to the NASM for approval to ship it, too.

Cheers

davegee

[Elbee]

davegee bittersweet, yes? Great work, simply outstanding. CONGRATS! Best, Steve

[davegee]

davegee bittersweet, yes? Great work, simply outstanding. CONGRATS! Best, Steve

Hi Steve: I would say for this particular project, more "Joyous!!" Maybe I'm getting too old and crotchety these days, but this project was filled with a lot of angst, in how I wanted to have the freedom to display initiative, and artistic input, but was more or less forbidden to do so for the first time. I am also relieved, and now that is it done, will be happy to see it go on display sometime next year. I might go out to help in installing it, not sure yet. I hope it will serve to show the public the incredible talent, accomplishments, and supreme sacrifice of some of the astronauts, namely crews on Challenger and Columbia.

Cheers

Dave

[Elbee]

davegee

Hear, hear..."I hope it will serve to show the public the incredible talent, accomplishments, and supreme sacrifice of some of the astronauts, namely crews on Challenger and Columbia".

Well done, Sir. Best, Steve

[jetfool]

Davegee,

Fantastic work! Give a WELL DONE to everyone who contributed in this. It's people like you that put sweat and tears so future generations can enjoy these miniature replicas.

Now relax and start on another R/C scale model, Spring is just around the corner

Congratulations Dave, Rex

[davegee]

Davegee,

Fantastic work! Give a WELL DONE to everyone who contributed in this. It's people like you that put sweat and tears so future generations can enjoy these miniature replicas.

Now relax and start on another R/C scale model, Spring is just around the corner

Congratulations Dave, Rex

Thanks, Rex. I think once we get this model on its way hopefully next week, I can take a "little" breather. Still waiting for the 3D printed parts for the TDRS satellite that goes atop the booster inside the payload bay. Total length of the completed satellite in the bay will be a little over 29 inches, but I've worked to keep the weight down to about 4 pounds. I need to get that completed, approved, and shipped within the next couple of months.

But I did buy another P-47 a while back, put it together and ground tested the servos/receiver, but plan on working on that to fly next spring. I might start with the stock smaller prop, but once I get everything dialed in, I'll put the larger V3 FMS Corsair 1700mm prop that I have been using on the other jugs. This one will be my first silver NMF plane, Robert S. Johnson's Penrod and Sam. Looking forward to it!

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

davegee

Hear, hear..."I hope it will serve to show the public the incredible talent, accomplishments, and supreme sacrifice of some of the astronauts, namely crews on Challenger and Columbia".

Well done, Sir. Best, Steve

thanks, Steve. I might have mentioned before that I watched the Challenger blow up while flying down to Ft. Myers, FL on January 28,1986. We were at 39,000 feet, I believe, and saw the whole thing very clearly. After a short turn around in Ft. Myers, we flew back to Chicago O'Hare. That "Y" created in smoke from the departed solid rocket boosters when it blew up was still hanging there, motionless in the sky. It's something that is burned into my memory forever.

Davegee

[jetfool]

Davegee,

On my Yellow P-47 Silver Lady I used rust oleum Aluminum. It has held up great and my markings(stars and bars) were sprayed in latex after 3-M pad run over the alum. I have been looking at the FMS P-47 since it is back in stock and would do a olive drab version. If FL doesn't come out with a WW2 fighter this spring this is probably what I will purchase. Hard to believe I only got into electrics two years ago and now I have 4 motion and one e-flite planes. Hardly fly my nitro's anymore.-

Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

I’m still hoping someone like FMS or FL will come out with a nice bubble top jug. I will Definitely buy one if they do. I’d like to see some new jets, too. I guess I can’t complain; I’ve enjoyed many types of aircraft since I got into foamies in 2013.
I’ve enjoyed the variety of different aircraft that you can build on a budget with the foamies. And although it is always a bit of a bummer when you crash one, the financial and emotional hit aren’t quite as bad with the cheaper foamie models.

Dave

[davegee]

Well, today was a momentous day: the shuttle model in its crate started on its journey to Washington, DC! It will arrive in a holding facility next week, and will stay there for about a year before the museum is ready to install it in the new gallery. It should look pretty cool when everything is in place with all the other artifacts in there. Now, I will devote my attention to finishing the communications satellite that will go inside, and hopefully ship it to Washington, too, to wait for its time to get installed in the museum sometime next year.

Here's a couple photos of it being placed in the truck this morning.

[jetfool]

Congratulations Davegee, Job well done. Probably a load off your chest to see it go. Just one more museum piece then you can get back to your r/c models, OH WAIT----- your Sweetie will be expecting a big Valentine Gift and that may take up your time for a while. Rex

[davegee]

Congratulations Davegee, Job well done. Probably a load off your chest to see it go. Just one more museum piece then you can get back to your r/c models, OH WAIT----- your Sweetie will be expecting a big Valentine Gift and that may take up your time for a while. Rex

Thanks, Rex. It is indeed a relief to see it go after such a grind for most of last year. I've got a bunch of 3D printed parts coming from various sources in the mail now to put together the satellite part of the payload that goes on top of the white and silver booster part that can be seen in some photos that I have posted.

My wife of almost 43 years did much to help out, just as she has with other model projects the whole time we've been together. For this project, she helped reconfigure 15 diecast 1/72 scale B-17s that came in the colors of the 100th Bomb Group, carefully erasing a few of the specific markings to make it a bit more generic. (That wasn't my choice, but the museum's!) Those planes will become one of the hanging displays in the new WWII aviation gallery next year in a combat box formation suspended with rods from the ceiling. On this shuttle project, she helped me map out the sewing patterns for the thermal blanketing that goes inside the payload bay. We had a local seamstress do the fine-detailing (she normally does stuff like ornate custom wedding dresses.)

I have my latest FMS P-47D all put together and is ready for a maiden flight when the snow melts and it gets a bit warmer. I'm flying it initially as a totally stock airplane just as it came out of the box, including the smallish stock propeller. I want to get it all dialed in first, then it will be taken apart for repainting and new decals as Robert Johnson's last P-47 he flew in combat, Penrod and Sam. I've already advised Callie of the impending order! Incidentally, all the external markings on the shuttle in previous photos on this thread come from Callie. We had to adjust a few of them as we blew them up to 1:15 scale from a 1:100 scale Tamiya shuttle model decal sheet, mainly because our big model didn't quite perfectly translate to the enlarged Tamiya-based decals. We have a very talented sign maker Sheila here in Cody who did yeoman's work making the corrections, as necessary, but Callie was a Huge help all through this.

Cheers

davegee

[Elbee]

davegee It is difficult to express how impressed I am with your joint project.

Absolutely incredible work of historic pieces of American Aviation History, Sir.

Hope I've said it well enough with the understanding I am in awe of the talents, time, and perseverance required to accomplish these tasks.

Truly a job well done.

Best, Steve

[davegee]

davegee It is difficult to express how impressed I am with your joint project.

Absolutely incredible work of historic pieces of American Aviation History, Sir.

Hope I've said it well enough with the understanding I am in awe of the talents, time, and perseverance required to accomplish these tasks.

Truly a job well done.

Best, Steve

Thanks for the kind words, Elbee. Coming from you especially, it means a lot to me. I never got the 3D printing stuff mastered for this project, so I had friends in Phoenix and Denver who did the drawings for me, and in some cases printed up parts like for antennas and things like that.

Right now, I am delving into the top half of the payload, the TDRS satellite that goes on top of the lower white booster section of the model. It will be raised 30 degrees out of level for display to what they called the "checkout" position. After everything checked out ok, they raised it on the tilt table to around 59 degrees up from the lie-flat position. At that point, they released it into space, the added push given by springs on the tilt table. They let it float away about 100 miles or so before they let the two stage solid propellant booster bring the whole satellite up to a geosynchronous orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth. Most of the parts for this satellite are 3D printed parts.

I think with all the fancy foil colors, the beautiful solar panels (done by my friend in Denver) stowed to make a hexagonal tube, and the antennas sticking out the top, when the whole thing is on display with small spotlights shining on the satellite, it will really look like a "jewel" as it must have appeared to the astronauts who deployed it.

I'm hoping to have the TDRS satellite part of this payload completed in a few weeks. Then the entire satellite will be complete and I'll take a battery of photos to send back East to NASM for their approval to ship this model, too. Then there will be a wait of close to a year before the museum is ready to bring the model in to install it in a brand new space gallery at the NASM. That should be exciting, and I might go out there to assist in hanging and finishing up this project. That, For Sure, will really be a relief to have this project finally put to bed!

I'll post progress pics here of the TDRS build to whoever is interested in viewing them. I realize this is probably a "one-off" for the normal topics on this RC aviation forum, but for those interested in odd ball projects, it might be worth taking a look at.

Best,

Davegee

[jetfool]

Davegee,

Please keep posting your progress. I enjoy seeing how models are put together and before they are completed. I gain a lot of knowledge that's useful. Seems that there isn't a lot of builds going on this winter of airplanes but watching a lot of tank activity. I figured there would be a lot of B-25 modifications.but not much so far. I weathered my Tigercat slighty and put 4 coats of clear poly on. It really brought the dark blue out in a matte shiny way, just what I wanted. Its already to go this spring.
10 degrees F today but beautiful sky and no wind, some of us are going to brave the temp. and fly tomorrow. I'll probably be bundled up like my mom used to do before I went to play in the snow. Hope I'll be able to move. LOL

Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Davegee,

Please keep posting your progress. I enjoy seeing how models are put together and before they are completed. I gain a lot of knowledge that's useful. Seems that there isn't a lot of builds going on this winter of airplanes but watching a lot of tank activity. I figured there would be a lot of B-25 modifications.but not much so far. I weathered my Tigercat slighty and put 4 coats of clear poly on. It really brought the dark blue out in a matte shiny way, just what I wanted. Its already to go this spring.
10 degrees F today but beautiful sky and no wind, some of us are going to brave the temp. and fly tomorrow. I'll probably be bundled up like my mom used to do before I went to play in the snow. Hope I'll be able to move. LOL

Best Regards, Rex

Hi Rex: Good deal on your Tigercat. A fabulous looking airplane in the air and on the ground. I think if you dress warmly you should do just fine. We went through a cold spell where the lows were -28 degrees~ But that has moved out and we're seeing some great days coming up for flying in the low to mid '40s, which up here is nothing to sneeze at!

I'll post a pic I just took of the beginnings of the TDRS satellite. This part is the base that attaches to the top of the booster section. I had to precisely line up three screws to go in from the booster side into this black satellite frame, but I think it went well. I bought four screws at Ace today, I'll probably sink that one in near the end point of attaching all the parts.

In the picture is one of the six panels that will form a hexagon that is the major part of the satellite seen before deployment in space. A friend of mine in Denver took the job to do these panels, and three spares just in case something happens to one of the others...

Also attached is a pic of the real TDRS satellite prior to installing in the space shuttle. I hope ours will be close to this look.

Cheers

Dave

[jetfool]

Great pictures Davegee. I'm sure it will look just like the original when your done.

Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Great pictures Davegee. I'm sure it will look just like the original when your done.

Best Regards, Rex

Hi All: I got into finishing the TDRS satellite over the weekend and can call it now "done." Big Relief! I sent pics to my "boss" back East and they will put together another "submittal" with pics and explanations to the NASM staff to arrive at a decision if they give this a thumbs up or thumbs down to ship it. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, especially since there was a dearth of any engineering drawings, reference photos, etc., to go by.

Special thanks to people like Patrick, owner of Moonshine Signs in Denver for making the six solar panels that you see. Also, special shout out to Chad Veich of Arizona who drew up the STL files and had them printed up to stunning results. This entire satellite, or the upper part of this model, is 3D printed, with the exception of the solar panels which had a different manner of fabrication.

This is really a one of a kind model, as far as I know. I'm not aware of another model of the TDRS/IUS existing in the world, at least at this level of detail. When the shuttle model goes up on display next year at the NASM, we will mount the TDRS inside the cargo bay, elevated up from the lie flat position about 30 degrees. The entire model will hang upside down from the ceiling, about 12 feet above the gallery floor, with the nose pointed slightly towards the ceiling, and the tail angled towards the floor. I'm sure they will have some mini spotlights to highlight things like the cargo bay and the TDRS satellite, ready to be released into space as it was on mission STS-26R in late September, 1988.

I might have a few updates and am happy to answer any questions or comments from those interested, but once this satellite model is approved and ship to Washington, it will remain in storage until next year sometime, when that area has been refurbished to accommodate this new space gallery. I might possibly fly out there to assist with the hanging and set up of the models.

Thanks to all who had an interest to look at this project's progress to completion. It has been a long year in coming, with several great people giving me a lot of help in critical areas.

Cheers

Davegee