B-17 replica project.

[kapteenipirk]

I got inspired by @Columbia's neat B-24 Liberator to make something in the same style.

So, i created the B-17, B-24's well known brother, of sort.

Since this is my absolute favourite aircraft of all time (from the real world), i could bore you with technical stuff about the real aircraft, but i think we all know what the B-17 flying fortress is, and what it does.

 

I think that this time i will let the album do the talking for me since the aircraft has a little under 800 parts in it and is very, Very laggy. So i can't give you any accurate specs (other that dimensions and part count).

NOTE: I am working on making the Swedish passenger aircraft version of this. It has a pointy unglazed nose, witch means it can be made with a fairing (should help me shave of about 250-300 parts).

EDIT: Making a nose out of a fairing is not really going to work afterall, since it would eat half the windsield and the whole cockpit.

Here comes the edited new version.

I redid the engines, put ladders on the bomb-bay for crew entry and redid the elevators to look more accurate.

NOTE: I had to make the main gears bigger using tweak scale since they where so stubby that:

The takeoff distance increased and the ball turret on the belly of the aircraft broke off.

 

And, because it just had to be done, i also made a modded version with Firespitter engines and real squadron colors.

It is slower than the stock version (4 x 70kn of thrust instead of 4 x 125kn) and for some reason seems to have less lift (the floor of the interior was made out of wings). It also has 200 less parts but the same amount of lag.

 

And because i felt like i needed a version of the B-17 that works, i created the B-17 Lite.

Don't tell the boss that its actually just a larger version of a store bought r/c plane.

There is actually a bomb-bay big enough to fit a BD-armoury warhead installed.

You can fly this aircraft at 45% thrust for forever, aka meaning that this aircraft has unlimited range.

The Lite version is tons of fun to fly and best of all, it isn't laggy at all.

 

 

I wanted to make the full scale version as realistic as possible (didn't care about the scale too much). I think it looks pretty darn accurate (you be the judge of that).

The original idea was to make a full interior, but because the rear fuselage is pretty much empty, i just made it with a fairing instead of using radiator panels.

The biggest thing that needs fixing at this moment (other than the part count) is the elevator, it should be way more thin.

HELP: it would really help me if someone could tell me how to do custom engine cowlings with fairings. I know how to make fairings but don't know to get them to not be closed from the tip.

EDIT: i figured it out, so no help is needed anymore.

I was actually planning to make an armed version with machineguns and infernal robotics powered turrets, but i taught it would be useless since you can't really aim with the guns.

 

Length: 37m

Wingspan: 54m

Height: 10m

Part count: 778 (stock) 595 (modded) and 168 (Lite version).

Top speed: about 90 m/s (stock), about 70 m/s (modded) and 116 m/s (Lite).

Minimum takeoff speed: about 50 m/s for all versions.

NOTE: This project will get updated at some point. So, there will be more technical specs coming when i can make a version that is way less laggy.

EDIT: Even my modded version witch has 200 less parts is still as laggy as the stock version. It propably has something to do with the poly count of some parts being way more bigger, in turn causing more lag. And because i just removed a whole bunch of small parts, it didn't help much.

 

I hope you enjoyed looking at this replica of my all time favorite aircraft .

Mods: Nebula decals, Tweak scale (stock and modded versions only) and Firespitter (modded and lite versions only).

Download link:

Stock:I don't think you'll be enjoying a flight with about 15 or so FPS.

Modded: Ain't any better.

Lite: https://www.dropbox.com/s/li1fdjrw0d24400/B-17%20Lite%20%28unmarked%29.craft?dl=0 (the craft supplied will be unmarked)

Edited March 24, 2016 by kapteenipirk
3 new version added.

[Exothermos]

Wow, this is over the top.  Great modeling!

[kapteenipirk]

58 minutes ago, Exothermos said:

Wow, this is over the top.  Great modeling!

Thanks .

[Majorjim!]

This is spectacular! I saw it was voted 1 star, ahhh, the sign of butt-hurt jealously. And I can see why, it is an amazing creation, one that few could pull off. Great work on this mate. I will be very keen to see the performance of this after 1.1.

 Keep up the good work mate.

[kapteenipirk]

32 minutes ago, Majorjim said:

This is spectacular! I saw it was voted 1 star, ahhh, the sign of butt-hurt jealously. And I can see why, it is an amazing creation, one that few could pull off. Great work on this mate. I will be very keen to see the performance of this after 1.1.

 Keep up the good work mate.

Thanks . (no hard feelings) Why do people have to do that, can't they just accept that there are people how are better than them at this game . But how really cares, it's their headache, not mine.

Your not the only one waiting for the magical powers of 1.1. I have a boat load of designs that are more than the game/ my computer can handle at this point. It would be nice to get a boost in performance.

[Majorjim!]

25 minutes ago, kapteenipirk said:

Thanks . (no hard feelings) Why do people have to do that, can't they just accept that there are people how are better than them at this game . But how really cares, it's their headache, not mine.

Your not the only one waiting for the magical powers of 1.1. I have a boat load of designs that are more than the game/ my computer can handle at this point. It would be nice to get a boost in performance.

It would almost make up for it if they admitted they voted 1 star then gave an actual 'valid' reason why. Alas, they are cowards.

[kapteenipirk]

On 23.3.2016 at 4:31 PM, Majorjim said:

It would almost make up for it if they admitted they voted 1 star then gave an actual 'valid' reason why. Alas, they are cowards.

Exactly. Some constructive criticism would help me identify the problem. So then i could maby fix it.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Amazing!  From the pics, the wings don't look exactly in line.  That is, some of the wing pieces that the wings are made out of look to be on a different plane than the others.  But that cockpit is amazing!  All those levers.

[kapteenipirk]

On 24.3.2016 at 2:53 AM, Mad Rocket Scientist said:

Amazing!  From the pics, the wings don't look exactly in line.  That is, some of the wing pieces that the wings are made out of look to be on a different plane than the others.  But that cockpit is amazing!  All those levers.

Thanks . That tends to be a common problem that gets worse with wing flex.

The B-17 had 4 different levers per engine (prop angle, throttle, fuel mixture and turbos). There are official goverment instructional videos showing how to fly the B-17 on YouTube, lets just say there's a lot more to remember than these days.

[kapteenipirk]

Taught id just give a small update. Now that ive gotten my game updated to the prerelease version of KSP 1.1, i of-course had to see that do some of my stock aircrafts still work.

And unfortunetly this happened when i tried to launch it. (It will stay together with the power of cheats, but that's no fun).

I hope this isn't caused by a new "feature" or i'm in deep trouble.

I did also test some other crafts like the: Fireflash lite, Stormbird, SeaMaster and some others, and they all exploded on the runway.

Also my 747 exploded when i retracted the landing gears. This was because landing gear wheels for some reason still have the same collision boxes around them even when they are retracted, causing them to just push away stuff that they touch. Basically, if your landing gears are clipped inside fuselages, engines or wings, don't retract them or bad stuff will happen.

Like this:

So yea, i will have to wait till the full version of 1.1 gets released  and hope for the best that i don't have to start from the ground up (in most parts).