Can ya guess what it is ?

full · Feb 27, 2022

New project, coming soon......View attachment 86460

SeanTK · Feb 27, 2022

Oooh I know! Lol
(Looking forward to it)

full · Feb 27, 2022

SeanTK said:
Oooh I know! Lol
(Looking forward to it)

Lol your not aloud to tell !

heywooood · Feb 27, 2022

Spirit in the Sky was a great song...(Someday I hope someone will build a Lockheed Sirius in honor of that company, that airplane, and that same intrepid aviator..)

meantime anything by Ryan is also welcome

Bomber_12th · Feb 27, 2022

I am really looking forward to it, Craig! I've always hoped for a really accurate visual model version of the Ryan NYP to be done one day. Despite how inaccurate the visual model was, I put a lot of time on the old Microsoft FS2004 model, especially after you had converted it to FSX. I'm also really looking forward to seeing this aircraft with MSFS-supported PBR materials at work, with the silver-doped fuselage/wings contrasting with the bare metal turned aluminum of the cowl panels and bare metal spinner.

Are you familiar with the JNE/John Norman recreation? https://www.facebook.com/jnespirit/photos/?ref=page_internal

full · Feb 27, 2022

Hopefully this will be an acceptable rendition of the Spirit... watch the film last night, as I haven't seen it in maybe 20 years! What a great film, and Jimmy Stewart really played him well. The model will have all those lovely PBR textures, I've just started on the cockpit which will be the most time-consuming part of the modelling. I'm using the JNE replica as a reference because there are some great photos that I don't have of the original plane, One thing that I'm confused about is the shape of the rudder, I've used the original drawings as reference but there seem to be some shape changes and I'm not sure if they changed the shape from the plans to the actual design...

Some more pics for you

View attachment 86465 View attachment 86466 View attachment 86467 View attachment 86468 View attachment 86469
View attachment 86470 View attachment 86471 View attachment 86472 View attachment 86473 View attachment 86474
View attachment 86475

Paul K · Feb 27, 2022

full said:
Hopefully this will be an acceptable rendition of the Spirit...

That looks very good indeed, and a worthy addition to this great new simulator. All the best with it.

Bomber_12th · Feb 27, 2022

That is looking excellent, Craig!

The original/correct fuselage tubular structure doesn't have that "kink" in the upper line, aft of the pilot's seat, as portrayed in your model. Aft of the main box structure, it was a straight line across the back to the tail. There were wooden formers that were installed atop this structure, aft of the wing, which blended the upper wing contour into the fuselage back.

Here are some 1927 photos of the original, in-case you haven't seen them:

This photo clearly shows the wooden pieces added atop the tubular frame, including a beam running down the center of the upper fuselage, which blended the fuselage into the wing and horizontal stabilizers and gave the final shape once covered in fabric.

Also, I'm sure you know of the history of the aircraft's spinner. Originally, it was quite blunt/rounded (as you have modeled, and as seen below), and was covered in the same turned "swirls" as seen in the metal of the cowlings. However, it didn't last on the aircraft very long, as when it got to New York they discovered a crack that had developed in the aluminum. A new, more pointy spinner was quickly built and installed by Curtiss, which is what was used on the New York to Paris flight and which is still on the aircraft to this day (and which is what has been recreated on John Norman's reproduction).

As you can see by this photo, the lower shape of the rudder was quite different when the NYP was initially built. I recall reading about the shape of the rudder being changed, but I can't remember exactly when that occurred (I will work on finding out).

Bomber_12th · Feb 27, 2022

full · Feb 27, 2022

Thanks ! Excellent info there, I didn't know about the crack in the spinner, I will alter the spinner and maybe have as an option to switch between them. I know what you are saying about the top fuselage longeron being straight, here's another pic of the original and you can see the top of the fuselage has a kink in it, whether it's a trick of the camera angle I'm not sure.View attachment 86476

Bomber_12th · Feb 27, 2022

Bomber_12th · Feb 27, 2022

full said:
I know what you are saying about the top fuselage longeron being straight, here's another pic of the original and you can see the top of the fuselage has a kink in it, whether it's a trick of the camera angle I'm not sure.

Those changes in shape that you are seeing across the back of the fuselage (coming back from the wings, and then again when approaching the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizers) are due to the wooden ribs/formers that were added onto the tubular structure to give it that contouring. They can be seen when looking closely at the original Ryan photos and JNE/John Norman recreation photos I've posted. There was a central wooden beam as well that ran down the back of the upper fuselage, which also determined the shape over the back of the fuselage once covered in fabric.

BTW, Craig, it is great to see that you have the venturi modeled! It is a small item that is quite hidden, that I don't think many people notice.

For those that haven't seen it, on this website there is an amazing log of every flight that the Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" undertook before its retirement to The Smithsonian in 1928. It includes mention of the only other individual besides Lindbergh that flew the aircraft, as well as those that took rides with Lindbergh in the aircraft (sitting on the right armrest of wicker seat, those flights didn't last very long!). Many people don't realize that the aircraft and Lindbergh were very close to having been lost on one of its last flights, which would have led to a Burmuda Triangle type mystery that would have followed to this day. http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/log.asp

Bomber_12th · Feb 27, 2022

From John Norman's website here: https://www.jneaircraft.com/spirit-of-st-louis-by-jne This photo does a great job of illustrating the rudder shape, which was being traced in order to be built accurately for John Norman's recreation. I remember that the Old Rhinebeck replica had its rudder re-made, shortly after it was completed/flying, by also using a tracing from the original at the Smithsonian. Note the brighter area on the rudder and missing "winged R" Ryan logo, where it was patched after arriving in Paris when it was mobbed and had pieces of fabric ripped off.

Penzoil3 · Feb 28, 2022

Hat's off to Lindbergh. Flying with a periscope, and no windshield is just too crazy for me.

DennyA · Feb 28, 2022

Well, if this was being created by certain budget third-party creators, you’d have a full G1000 as your instrumentation so you could use synthetic vision instead of the periscope.

Luckily this one’s coming from full instead.

SeanTK · Mar 1, 2022

Ok I kind of want a modernized version with glass now lol. Looking forward to the NYP. With the right FM (and with that periscope system) it'll certainly be a challenge both in the air and on the ground.

full · Mar 2, 2022

SeanTK said:
Ok I kind of want a modernized version with glass now lol. Looking forward to the NYP. With the right FM (and with that periscope system) it'll certainly be a challenge both in the air and on the ground.

You will definitely get a forward-looking camera to help with landing, I'm still unsure whether to put a hidden GPS in.... maybe when you click on the route map it pops up ?

Anyone got any info on the storage shelf I can't seem to get a good shot of it to work out its shape.

View attachment 86493

SeanTK · Mar 2, 2022

Have you tried contacting the Smithsonian for info? They are usually happy to help with projects like this.

Bomber_12th · Mar 2, 2022

That shelf is really just a rudimentary flat rack. It can only barely be seen in this photo from inside the original (looking from the rear fuselage forward to the cockpit): https://airandspace.si.edu/sites/default/files/media-assets/NASM2015-03265.jpg

It was just a basic rack for holding maps/documents. More clear views of it can be seen in these photos of John Norman's accurate recreation:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/krislhull/26151617482/sizes/h/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/krislhull/25929262940/sizes/h/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/krislhull/26244064385/sizes/h/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/krislhull/27020641395/sizes/h/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/krislhull/26177789321/sizes/l/

Some more great detail photos of the John Norman recreation can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=28505201@N07&view_all=1&text=NYP

What might be confusing things is that there is also a separate wooden frame structure behind the seat onto/into which the flare tubes are mounted (as can also be seen in the photo linked to at the top of this post), with which some beams extend outward toward the walls of the fuselage as well. Note too the spare bungee cords on the right side of the cockpit of the John Norman recreation, which is exactly the same as can be seen in the original as well (the bungees are used for the landing gear shock absorbing).

https://dpa730eaqha29.cloudfront.net/lynnwoodtoday/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DSC04981.jpg
https://scontent.ffcm1-2.fna.fbcdn....Md6KKEHR3iH8LMMU05MgtXvnCE9Jj4A5A&oe=6244580C

Bomber_12th · Mar 2, 2022

Some more views of this area can be seen during this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWmO_aPhqTo

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