That is such a nice comment to hear. For this build I really tried to upgrade/improve my filming and make that part of it more watchable. Thank you so much for this feedback!
Fantastic! My dad started flying for United in the 50s with the DC-6. However, he was younger than many pilots in the Airlines after the war and when they offered Jet training for the DC-8 he got chosen. Because the older guys decided they didn't want to learn new equipment just before they were going to retire anyway! I wish my dad were alive today to see this beautiful model. Nice work.
An absolute genius design the level of thought in every system and individual piece part is astonishing. A "well done" comment would be an insult so I think I should say congratulations? I'm not sure
Thank you so much!! I kept this on the workbench just a little longer to admire it, before the maiden, just in case! Now I'm planning on hanging it up somewhere.
It’s really amazing to think that a little over 100yrs ago flight was still being figured out, to where we are in 1 to 1 scale planes to scale models, all those years trying to figure out lift to today where those same basic principles are being used and being perfected. Today a person with the basic knowledge of how a plane works can build a rc plane on a 3D printer or a real plane in his garage, when people of the past I’m sure several gave up thinking that it could never be done.
Troy this new video style is amazing. I love pop ups showing exactly what supplies you are using. This is next level for the RC community. I am running a club at my university that is starting to design 3D printed aircraft for the first time and we rely heavily on your videos for reference. I would love to see your design process in CAD for these types of aircraft.
Wow, so cool, that club sounds like a lot of fun! It's cool to hear my videos are a part of that. Thank you for noticing the pop ups! I would definitely consider doing a video on the design process in the future.
@@ShadowCake Brigham Young University. There is a 3D printed aircraft design competition hosted by the University of Texas at Arlington that we will be participating in.
Troy, your building skills are incredible. I don’t know the first thing about 3D printing. Excellent presentation and your final product is outstanding.
THAT'S what you've been up to for the last few months. Wow, what a great job with the 3D design. I've yet to see anyone do 3d printed gear unless they add carbon fiber rods as the actual structure. I see from the cults3d that you were trying to avoid CF. I think my favorite part was the nacelle magnets and making them uni-directional. Nice touch.
Very beautiful plane, you did great job designing it. I liked that you made a 4 engine propeller driven airliner which I don’t see very often. Looks like it is not very difficult to fly
You're gonna have a difficult time topping this one! The build video and flight were EPIC 👍 I do 1/6 scale rc tanks so I appreciate the work you put in...dozens of hours on Fusion. Believe it or not I did kinda cringe when I saw the nose gear printed in PLA! Probably wouldn't have been an issue on a paved surface
Thank you so much! Oh wow, that is neat, then you really now these designs are quite the task but so worth it! I agree, even though the first landing was that rough, it held up well, but on the second landing, hitting that hard terrain just snapped it right off. I think I would also like to find a nose gear with a strut!
I totally apreciate the work that has gone into designing and building this plane although im not a flyer im into 4 wheels but have designed and printed beadlock wheels and parts for my Tamiya buggies and rock crawlers. Fantastic work Kudos to you.
Wow Troy, this is a stunning model! I grew up a United Air Lines brat and spent many hours with my nose pressed against the windows, looking out at those big props as we flew back and forth across the country. Times were different so I was even given a tour of the front office IN-FLIGHT. (No... nobody asked me if I liked movies with gladiators). I fly a Dynam DC-3/C-47 RC foamy and have always wondered why some company didn't come out with a DC-6, and here you went and engineered it in the most elegant fashion! Wish I had the expertise to print and assemble your model. If you ever decided to go into manufacturing this one, I'd be first in line for it. My late father and and I have a combined 80 year continuous history of employment at UAL, so I appreciate your choice of livery. You definitely have yourself a new subscriber! I shared your vid on the "UAL Old Farts" FB group, so you may pick up some more subscribers from there. -Burt in NJ
You did an incredible job designing it ! All the details to assemble the fuselage segments, the magnets, the servos and good ideas like tpu hinges ! You are really taking advantage from the printing process and materials. Nice build !
Troy, that thing is so smooth in the air! Its actually the first scale airliner to fully catch my attention and I've been building and flying ww2 fighters and modern jets up to several meter scale, from ducted to pulse ramjet... Your DC is very well designed and it looks superb! I have to say it is your unique design techniques and attention to detail, combined with a mechanical knowledge that is comparable to a qualified aircraft engineer that has me sold. Most pilots don't have such a vast array of engineering skill, It matches your piloting expertise clearly on display here. I smiled very wide watching you flare that second landing which was better than textbook despite a nose gear failure! Having carbon brakes wouldn't have helped there at full scale🤣 I appreciate how difficult that perfection is at these scales. I also know what I'm doing for my next build, I'm now convinced on getting an Ender 3 s1 pro (and I know where my spare retracts are headed!). Thank you for sharing your brilliant work with us :)
You sir are brilliant. For those of us that are tinkerers and builders, RC enthusiasts, this was just an awesome watch. Best video I've seen in a while. Even my 3yr old who LOVES planes sat amd watched.
This is amazing. Your wing push together effect was cool. I’d love to see a video where you discuss important aspects of designing a plane. Keep it up!!!
Agree. Some details, discussion of the design aspect would be fantastic. Think would be better as a series (or playlist), with a focus on different aspects and/or components of a design. eg: the design the the DC-6 engine nacelle (here) could easily be the subject of a single video.
This design and build is next level. Amazing amount of effort and detail when into this build. Think a single video doesn't do the build justice, could have been a 2-3 video series. Similar content, just packaged differently to focus more on specific aspects of the build, with separate flight video.
@@TroyMcMillan yes I believe, hopefully your dream will come true. I have flew with many of these old planes, like Catalina, the flying boat, DC-3, DC-8( 60 and 63 series) Dc-9, never manage the DC-10. All the Boeing, B-707, B-720, B-727, B-737( many series), B-747, B-757, B-767, B-777, B-787. Airbus, A-A300B, A- 300, A-320, 321 Neo, A- 340, A-380, still missing 330 and 350. And more and more.
Was going to mention same. :) Remember the balsa DC-3 when I initially followed this channel. Troy has really upped his build setup and flying skills over last couple of years.
I just completed a 1.8m wingspan c-54/DC-4 for an organization and it's amazing how many similarities there are to your design. If this had come out earlier I would've just purchased and used your airplane because the design process is so much work! I even used the same servos and motors for everything.
10 years from now you will be 3D printing moon rockets.... Very impressive. I grew up building balsa airplanes. Then flew RC Heli. Now I can't hold all this info in my head fast enough to build something like this...
Your work is top notch, I can see evidence of experience in your design for sure. I would,d really love to work with you on a PC-12 but a really accurate PC-12 in a large scale, there is literally not one accurate scale PC-12 in our hobby and it's high time. I work on 12s and know every rivet and panel on the aircraft so can provide infinite detail
Troy, this is a well thought out and executed design. There is another aircraft that you should take a look at. The overall form is similar. Take a look at the XF-12 rainbow. It's a post war 4 engine aircraft that is really sleek and cool looking. It was also very fast. Someone made a balsa kit of it several years ago but, they didn't sell many because of the way they designed it. It was hard to build. Also, if you could have a few extra decal sheets printed and offer them for sale would be great.
Amazing work! I've always wanted a DC-6/7 and now it can be a reality. Now you need a Lockheed Constellation to complement the DC-6/7 for the golden Era of prop airliners...I'll be waiting :)
Oh man, for sure! It was literally between the Constellation and the DC6 for which one I was going to design. The DC series of planes are just my favorite. And, thank you!
I worked on these aircraft at Speke in Liverpool in 1960s. They have always stayed my favourite. That aside I find not only your skill but your intellect incredible. I still use balsa,, after 75 years of building model aircraft. I find your talents beyond my understanding. An absolutely wonderful video. I find your use of c/a as the only glue to hold a tubular fuselage and wing together !amazing. Congratulations.
Another fantastic build Troy! =) Thank you for sharing your build and process! Other people have mentioned; that is some big brain engineering going on that you don't need any sort of extra spars in those wings... even if you print in LW-PLA? Amazing stuff; I love your content!
Thank you Sooo much! I really appreciate that. There was a lot of trial and error that went into designing the integrated spar, but it works really well.
Have you ever thought about doing videos on the design phase of these projects? It would be really interesting to see what your workflow is, especially considering these are all thin wall planes.
This was fantastic, I remember flying on this plane when it was in service. I just wish someone of your skill would make a DC-8 and a 707 as I see so very, very few models of them. For as special as they were I don't know why they aren't more popular RC aircraft?
@@TroyMcMillan İ personally witnessed a tactical landing in one of those C130 s as a passenger on board.Turkish Air Force.Solid plane+talent to do that dive.
Does it fly so good simply because of the original DC-6 design or do you have to take extra care in designing the model? Never thought the option to simply 3D print a flyable RC plane would come on the table. The whole self stressed skin and riggers structure looks almost prototypical. Really enjoyed this!
It is a bit of both. The DC-6 has an incredible design to it already, with features like the dihedral wing and also the large SA of the wing as compared to its fuselage. I improved features that I know make an RC plane fly well, I increased the size of the aileron and elevator, and adjusted the foil of the wing.
No spars in the wings and tail? Are they molded into the interior of the wing? If so do you rely on the glue to make them continuous through the wing? I’ve been modeling for over 40 years and I’m very impressed, the precision is amazing!
Impressive I fully agree! Well....looking closely at his design, he doesn't use what you'd call a typical spar as when you 3D print instead of "construct" then other bracing and strengthening techniques can be implemented, which wouldn't work with other construction methods. He has used ribbing and geometric fill patterns that do the same job structurally with similar to less weight, which are only possible when manufacturing them as part of the outer structure. So while there are no spars, I believe his design would actually flex less and be less likely to fracture than a spar reinforced wing, CA glue can bond as strong as the material you bond it with. This design would not be practical in a 1:1 airliner due to the required fuel capacity and hardware enclosure that normally fills this wing space, A structure which we generally copy when designing model aircraft. Its actually refreshing to see such a well designed craft using out of the norm design in my opinion.
Troy I stumbled on your videos when you first started posting. I am always excited to see a new build/video. Congrats on all your success and I wish you the best for you and your family. It’s just nice to watch your videos. No drama, no clickbait thumbnails. Class act and you should be proud of your accomplishments sir. Keep up the good work and if all of you watching also like his content then but him a coffee. Thanks for everything Troy!
I think the landing gear issues are due to the roughness of the dry lake bed. I bet if the Douglas landed on a paved surface, the gear would not have snapped. Great looking DC-6
Here’s where aeronautical engineering, computer science and scale modelling come together! What I can’t understand is why someone with this advanced knowledge of model engineering would choose to conduct initial test flights on a surface that has significant potential to destroy this superb scale model!
Haha no, this plane is specially designed to be 3D printed, it would have to be completely reworked to be foam! 3D printing is soo much fun, I believe in you!!!! 🙂
If this was done in F360, I can only imagine how dreadful the history line must look in the end! This was not an easy or small undertaking, but you did a great job!
Even though I am rather into ships and ship models this is so awesome that I was rivetted to my phone's display watching this video. I wished I had your skills designing, printing and assemblying my ship models, well at least the hull, decks, superstructure, though I design my hulls with a CAD software for ship hull lofting/fairing already, however haven't yet the 3d printing equipment and thus built the hulls plank on plywood frames which I saw manually with a fretsaw. This is admittedly almost a waste of the digital 3d construction which would lend itself to be either CNC milled or the hull to be printed in sections like you did with the fuselage of your splendid DC-6 model. I would like to know how long it took you alone to design your model on the computer ready for printing? What CAD SW were you using? I find it really noble of you that you share the STL files of your design with other aircraft model makers!
I may be grabbing the STLs for this soon and building my own. It'll be my first RC build, but it's fitting. I plan to paint it with Northern Air Cargo livery, as I'm from Alaska and my dad actually recently retired from his position as one of the VPs of the company, after working his way up from a basic mechanic since before I was born. I got to spend a lot of time around the DC-6s and other craft growing up, so they mean a lot to me. I'm very eager and excited to get this project started.
I mean, if it is totally viable with models for RC, just think about simple or traditional plastic model kits. I guess manufacturers like Tamiya, revell, italeri, svezda and the rest, have their minutes counted. They've been contemptuous to customers, now they'll bend over.
