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This is a project I wanted to do for quite a while. I was thinking about a weather vane that had a plane on it and I first was going to make an A-10 Warthog but it had no prop. Then it was P51 Mustang and I finally settled on a PT17 Stearman bi-plane. I flew twice in one and it was great so that settled that.

This is about 1/17 scale according to the specs for the real one. The fuselage is maple, the prop is Osage Orange and the wings are aluminum, the landing gear and the struts are steel and the motor and wheels are nylon. I even had the automotive paint custom mixed to match the original color scheme on a lot of them.

It is 18 1/2" long and the wingspan is 22". If it were not perched on a pole, it would roll on the landing gear.The prop shaft is stainless and mounted on 2 bearings and the prop turns freely but it takes a lot of wind to move it because it is so small. It does swing in the wind freely on the bearing in the block right under the plane.

The fuselage is coated with West System epoxy and then it is painted with automotive paint and clear coat because it will live outdoors.

This was fun and took a lot of scaling photos of planes on Google!

I lost all my process shots …....................Cheers, Jim

Gallery

Comments

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So. Dumb question, considering who I'm asking. You did not build this from a kit? What am I saying. Of course you didn't. It's an excellent likeness. An F2F or F3F has a bigger tail, and would probably work better as a weathervane. I'm just saying.
 

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So Cool!

We have lots of private airfields around here. There's one about 2 miles from our house and the owner had one of these planes. You could always tell when it was airborne. That radial eight engine has a sound all its own! He would display it at the airshows but I never got a chance to take a ride in it.
 

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Reminds me of flying with my Dad when I was a kid about 50 years ago. Nice build Jim. Just curious… Is the plane on a bearing at the post pivot point to help it head into the wind?
 

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That is really cool, great idea and great job.

1 question. How is the West System to work with? I see it associated with the boat building companies for plans. I am curious since I would like to get into boat build. Thanks
 

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That is one beautiful project and so wonderfully made.
Looks like it's ready to head for the clouds.
 

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Neat build JJ, though pictures 3 and 4 better represent me… mention flying and I go two toes up… hate flying, though don't mind grounded planes.
 

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Only one word even comes close to describing this build!

FANTASTIC!
 

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WOW! THAT IS SO COOL!! This could fly if only engine is real!!
 

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JIM….....So Life Like and what a great concept for a Weather Vane.

Excellent Size too…It will really stand out. It looks very much to Scale. So lifelike as if it were about to take off.

GREAT WORK JIM!!!!!
It reminds me of the Tiger Moths I loved watching when I was a small child. They would Spin the Prop to start them.

Regards….Cliff
 

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Looks like it's ready to take off right down the deck rail. Great work!
 

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Wow, well done. Love it. Started building a biplane to fly in, with a friend, but we had ro sell it when i got my property
 

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WOW you done a GR8 job just on the model itself then to find out its a weathervane makes it sooooo much better very kewl GREAT JOB :<)) GRATZ TOP 3
 

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Wow Jim! With the rate you crank out projects, you probably started this one last night 8^)
The detail is amazing, you need a carved "Jim" to be placed behind the stick!

Really great idea for a vane, it'll out run a chicken or cow any day!
 

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Great weathervane. Like the detail and paint job.

Now I think you should make another one … A10 Warthog … since it takes so much wind to turn the prop on the bi-plane-so what if the A10 doesnʻt have a prop?

Thanks for sharing.
 

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That is so cool. I love everything about your weathervane.
 

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Very authentic looking .
Love the engine and colors .
 

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Thanks for all the nice comments. These are such cool planes. You fly right out in the open air. I sent this to my friend John at the saw mill in Arizona and he said he spent over 200 hours crop dusting in a Stearman! may of these had a bracket on the top of the wing for the wing walkers during air shows, but I decided not to put one ion it.

Hi Mark,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nope..no kit. I do have templates now for the wings and tail!!

Hi Mike, in the 5th shot you can see the nylon block on the bottom of the plan. the brass shaft is sticking out of the bearing that allows it to swivel in the air.

Hi Eric. West System epoxy is easy to work with. It has pumps on the containers and is a 1:5 mixture. One pump on each one insure the correct ratio. It takes overnight to dry and penetrates about 1/32" into the wood. I used it on my hovercraft and it took a beating and never broke a joint anywhere.

Hi Alex, now that you say it, an A -10 would be a great one to build. Maybe next year!! Be nice to have an operational gatlling gun on it too!!!!!!

Cheers, Jim
 

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Awesome! I'll second the request for an A-10 (or a Mosquito, which would be fitting to model in wood). Your deck has multiple corners; you don't want the others getting jealous.
 

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Excellent job Jim. Good work replicating the details. I have a few whirligigs around but nothing like this.
 
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