To all the folks who somehow think this an an R/C model- it isn't. R/C models are normally limited to 55 pounds and are limited to 125 pounds maximum weight with a special permit. This weighs around 3000. This is a piloted aircraft with 2 seats in tandem.
Hard to imagine someone being capable of designing and building such a thing. I work really hard in my free time on my car and motorcycle projects and just can't even fathom getting a project like this completed in five lifetimes lol. Just amazing.
You and me both but I,ll be back in the shed on my bike resto once I,m done here. This B29 an inspirational project and beautifully crafted. Just watched the first flight.
You have to look at it as compiles like BOEING that designed and built the B29 were made up of people just like Tom Hodgson. Durring WWII Mr. Hodgson would probably have been working at BOEING. The difference is that BOEING had thousands of engineers and people working on the B-29 and Tom Hodgson only has a fraction of that, but just because it's one man it does not take away from his level engineering quality.
Honda just celebrated it's 75th anniversary..it wasn't a company until 1948...though S Honda got bombed out of the piston ring factory he founded and worked in during the war...
That's not irony, it's just a coincidence. If his plans to use Honda Fit engines were interrupted because the factory in Mexico got A-bombed; that would be ironic.
It was way too underpowered for the extra weight. He had to remove the gearboxes off the hirth engines to make everything look to scale so It lost a considerable amount of HP
Someday! To make the B-17 a good 2-seater or more it would have needed to be closer to the size of this thing which would be like 45-50% scale for the Fortress. Bally did a good job for what he did, but that machine does need more powerful engines for sure.
@@PistonAvatarGuy the HKS might work but getting 4 of them would be a challenge and the cowls aren't very big so would still be a tight fit. I did some thinking and one idea that might work for the Bally is putting some kind of genset in the "bomb bay" and electric distributed propulsion in the nacelles. It would probably yield higher HP per prop and package well.
They are so reliable, In my 63 years I cannot recall ever seeing a dead Japanese engine that needed any thing more than a new set of rings and a bit of work on the valves, and when they do die they give you plenty of warning, you know fill up the oil and check the petrol.
I've been in this hangar. He built this as a test bed for experimental engine development. Mr. Hodgson decided the scaled down B-29 would be the quickest way to get his test plane built. Fascinating man.
wow..this thing is cool...the engineering behind this is incredible.... jeeze, im sweating trying to engineer turbines for my goose, cant imagine building from scratch......well done sir, cant wait to see it fly
Wow, with that amount of trust you'll even be able get a barn airborne. Amazing project. Would be nice to see it paired up one day in the skies with the Bally Bomber.
Absolutely dedication and amazing, please share flight test and more of the engineering side. How about a full documentary of the B29 project. Love to see.
Amazing! My grandfather was a flight engineer on a B-29 named Flak Ally Sally that flew out of Tinian island in the Marianas! Charles Doc Dougherty! You can google,there are pics of the Aircraft and it’s crew. Wish he was Alive to see this project,he would have loved this! Thanks for the fond memories. Good luck 👍
Astonishing! If there are any links to other build pictures/videos/blogs/discussion I would be fascinated to learn more - and I look forward to updates on this channel. Brilliant and awe-inspiring!
I was about to make this exact comment. Once this baby is airworthy they need to do a pass together over Mr Bailey's grave as a tribute to all he inspired. And someone needs to get cracking on a B-24.
@@karaayers2867 Was thinking much the same except I think the Brits are the ones who need to get in on the action there and no reason not to join the scale party.
Love the code speak this was undertaken to speed up the redrive development. Looking forward to when Tom is ready offer them we will know they have been vetted out.
The work he has done is AMAZING! I heard he had an accident, but everyone is okay. Will he be able to get it back up and running? I would love to see this plane! Wow!
Woah, sweet!!! Is it me or does that little (?) guy kind of scoot when the brakes are released??? Here's to hoping it performs better than Bailey's scaled B17. Thanks for sharing.
This airplane is beyond fantastic! At a 35% scale, I'm sure she would have to registered and licensed by the FAA and Tom would have to be a licensed multi engine pilot. Oh, to be able to have the money and enough time on your hands to be able to accomplish a feat like this.🤑💯💥🤩✈
Okay so I see what appears to be a set of engine/prop controls. Also lots of switches inside. So is this a pilot flown A/C, or is it a very large R/C model? Either way it's damn impressive. That's some serious fabrication going on there. I am blown away by the accuracy and remarkable amount of time it must have taken. Hell the preplanning alone had to be time consuming in itself before the first piece of sheet metal was cut!!!! BRAVO
So he’s sitting in the flight engineer area, with his head in that blister on top to see?? Wonder how he looks at the controls and instruments-maybe he ducks down and looks. 🤷♂️. Crazy amazing!!
And @007mwn, I think the narrator made a mistake in that, I think the Piper Cub in the background was used for the engine/redrive testing, the engines now well proven in that plane.
Is there video of the builder getting in and airborne the controls? That would put the questions to rest. Weight and balance seems nose heavy considering the fuselage length.
Are there any special considerations or design changes that need to be made when taking an airplane design intended for some full-scale aircraft and then using that same design to make a new aircraft which is only about 1/3 the size? For example, doesn't one have to re-analyze the aircraft structure and all the control surfaces to ensure that all mechanical stresses are still within safe bounds and that the control surfaces can still operate efficiently and safely? All this might not be necessary if this were an RC aircraft, but since it has human pilots inside it I would think that all of the possible safety issues would have to be studied.
I thought I was looking at a giant model, but giant models don't have throttle controls where I saw throttle controls. I gotta see this one. You also have me thinking about that bomb bay, and water balloons... but that's just the prankster in me.
Beautiful plane! Why 35% though? The one thing that throws it off (for me anyway) is the tall bubble. I take it that's for the pilots viewing? If it was 40% could you have seen from the glass nose perhaps? With some sliding side/top panels if needed? (Like a replaceable sun roof, though for static showing, could you pull the bubble down with a temporary cover panel?) You and Mr. Bally need to get together to share notes. :-)
