my DC-8 Project

[Mr.FaosFX]

It's your thread, so spam away! I'm delighted to read about progress.


Btw: Never ever compare your sim model to sim model of others. You don't knowhow accurately "the others" have done theirs.

As long as your model delivers the same optical impression as a photo of the "real deal", you're fine.

I know I was just curious and wanted to see how they compared. Next time I shall compare with some photographs to check my work.

 

[lionheart]

It pays off to stick to dimensions. I have a tape measure in my drawer beside me and constantly use it to measure with. I know about how big dials and levers are, but measuring them accurately will give you a very nice 'realism' to a cabin.

Looking good! Again, that cabin window structure is soooo difficult to make and you made this one very well.


Bill

 

[n4gix]

It pays off to stick to dimensions. I have a tape measure in my drawer beside me and constantly use it to measure with. I know about how big dials and levers are, but measuring them accurately will give you a very nice 'realism' to a cabin.

Actually, knowing the precise dimensions of "standard instruments" is how I cope with getting a virtual cockpit's panel properly "scaled..."

 

[Ztimbre]

Great progress!

Could you possibly write up a brief description of how you did the window frames? I'm really interested to see the process with splines.

cheers!

Z.

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Alright then on with the UPDATES, when I think I have something good to show, I'll just go ahead and show and besides, I looked at the beginning of this thread and you can actually see the DC-8 being built, pretty cool.

I was looking through some photographs in my DC-8 Project folder and noticed that two of the windows on my DC-8 nose were just a little on the big side, so ... I opened up my project and began work to correct this issue.

It took several hours because I had to re-align all of the vertices around the mesh since the nose is no longer a spline but it worked out very well and I corrected my problem, so here are the results.

THIS IS THE OLD DC-8 NOSE, the WINDOWS AT FAULT are the ones left and right from the center cockpit window.

I also observed a "cheek bone" effect on the old DC-8 and told myself...oh man that's gotta go, the real DC-8 does not have that characteristic.

This is the NEW NOSE picture bellow.

I optimized the mesh at the nose around, re-aligned all of the vertices, got rid of some stuff I didn't need, re-worked the inlet ports a bit, on the new nose, the lines are more inline with the mesh ... there was a ton of smoothing errors when I modified the cockpit positions but it is all good now, phew! *wipes sweat off face*

Also, look at this :-]

Lot's of gMax files from saving every so often, this is a good thing, should I make a fatal mistake at some point, I can just go back and open a previous file, learned my lesson from past projects.

You're probably wondering what is up with all the pink ... lol don't ask. The answer is in another thread some where, so I'll leave you to find it! =P But just to re-assure ya guys, I love the ladies.

I was anxious to start work on the wings but I think I'm just hungry for detail. I keep alternating between the nose and the tail section adding snippets of detail every day I touch this project, so I'll stick around these areas until they are fully completed.

*** For my technique on making the cockpit windows, I'll try to get a video of how I go about this on my youtube channel .... youtube.com/faostube if you guys want to go check it out. Making videos is another hobby of mine and I've managed to rack up 204 subscribers, probably not a big deal but it takes time and effort to get that many. I have to make some of my race vids this week and get some up.

 

[Heretic]

Cockpit windows can be a real PITA. *Shudder*


Nothing wrong with pink. It certainly gets people's attention, lol.


Btw: GMax files compress really, really well. So just zip up the oldest backup files and shrink your project folder a bit.

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Updates for 9/11 and we all remember this day as the day of infamy, that is if you are an American. May those that lost their lives rest in peace.

I finished skinning the rear aft of the tail cone, you guys saw a spline section, now you will see the skinned spline, it took a very long time to get it skinned [smoothing abnormalities you have to fix afterwards but all good now]

Looks very nice, I am happy with the results. The goal was to achieve a flat surface around where the elevators pivot, this is on the real DC-8 but you can't see it unless your looking for it but I've finally got it right after 3 failed attempts.

You probably think nothing much has changed but lots have changed. The model looks a lot more elegant now

Anyway, it was time for another export test...

Looks really good, man I love that color at the nose and aft, looks like key lime, lol.

I went through the 3 most annoying captchas to get those images uploaded at Tinypic.com, rrrrrrr I hate those things.

Well I have a head ache, gonna take some Motrin and head out to get something to eat, later folks.

 

[Heretic]

Try Photobucket for shots of your FS projects. It's a lot better than Tinypic swince it doesn't have captchas.

 

[Tejal Bernardo]

Good work, , becaming a really nice airplane.

 

[JCRL]

Awesome man

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Just got finished correcting some smoothing errors, the aft tail section is complete or atleast I think so. I fixed up the trim tab to proper size, etc. Tomorrow I will begin work to complete the tail section, finish up the vertical stab, the elevators, ad antenaes and so on and so on...sorry guys no pictures today but I did post some pictures of the models current state over at flightsim.com in in the FSX forum in a forum tittled "Is it about time for an DC8 in fSX" or something like that ... I go by the name of faostube over there, so you can see new pictures there if you like.

It seems that interest on the DC-8 is growing rapidly. I've been keeping an eye out, when my DC-8 gets its wings, I can almost guarantee that someone out there will approach in an attempt to make my project payware ... you guys can be assured that I will not take that route, this will be freeware.

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Another update for you fine folks here at FSDeveloper.com, I ran through a period with no internet access, so for the most part, I worked on my DC-8, here is where I'm up to so far.

The tail section is nearly complete, I added the elevon fairings that connect to the trimtabs.

Here is a pic of the tail, freshly exported.

Note the NEW fairings under the elevators, these are what actuate the trimtabs for the elevators.

Here is a pic of the entire model.

So I've been showing these pics over and over again ... you guys must be asking yourselves, "when is he going to show us something new?" well, today I will :-]

I started work on the wing root and wings, here is a picture.

It took several hours to layout the splines for the wingroot and magically DSMA-277/-280/-281 revealed itself to me!! This wing has the weirdest profile, it is cocked in at an angle into the wingroot area ... I bet other people who have modeled this aircraft must have gone nuts trying to figure it out but it really was not that hard ... with the help of photographs I refined the area and immediately saw my wing profile! I extruded the wings out immediately and they look awesome!!

My next task now is to continue to touch up the wing root area, adding the rest of the missing splines to shape up the surface, then it is skinning time, should be a piece of a cake and I thought it was going to be hard!

Here is a last minute picture, to see where I stand in polygon count. This also shows the top of the wings.

5,796 polygons total so far, pretty good. I have set a budget of 25,000 polys but we will see how it turns out .... the FPS start hurting at around 35,000 polys and I don't like to wander around that area.

Well, that is it for today, later folks ... I work a night shift, so now, I am going to ZZzzZzzz...

 

[Heretic]

Remember that the -8 got a wingtip extension with the -20 or -30 sub version, so you might want to account for that now instead of later.

(Same for cargo doors and any extra emergency exits or galley doors.)

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Remember that the -8 got a wingtip extension with the -20 or -30 sub version, so you might want to account for that now instead of later.

(Same for cargo doors and any extra emergency exits or galley doors.)

Yes I have that data at hand but thanks for pointing that out. I was not sure if the extension was the entire wing or just the wing tip. At the moment I am working backwards, so the first aircraft rolling out will be a DC-8-73F this one will have the enlarged wings.

 

[Heretic]

I think it was just the tips.

The longer Super Sixties *might* have gotten another extension, too.


Btw: Here's a nice digest on the DC-8 series.

http://tonymadgehjg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=jetlinerfacts&action=display&thread=774
http://tonymadgehjg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=jetlinerfacts&action=display&thread=768

 

[liberty1]

Very nice detail in the tail and the wings. Phenomenal work

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

According to my data...

The DC-8-72 and the DC-8-73 were straightforward conversions of the -62 and -63, replacing the JT3D engines with 98.5kN CFM56-2 high bypass turbofans in new housings built by Grumman. The DC-8-71 achieved the same end but required considerably more modification as the -61 did not already have the improved wings and relocated engines of the -62 and -63. Maximum takeoff weights remained the same but there was a slight reduction in payload because of the heavier engines. All three models were certificated in 1982 and in total 110 Sixty Series DC-8s were converted by the time the programme ended in 1986.

And the Super Sixties...

Super Sixties

In April 1965, Douglas finally announced belated fuselage stretches for the DC-8; with not just one but three new models, known as the Super Sixties. The DC-8 programme had been in danger of closing with less than 300 aircraft sold, but the Super Sixties brought fresh life to it. By the time production ceased in 1972, 262 of the stretched DC-8s had been made. With the ability to seat just over 250 passengers, the DC-8 was easily the largest airliner available, and remained so until the Boeing 747 arived in 1970.

DC-8 Series 61 was designed for high capacity and medium range. It had the same weights and engines as the -53, and sacrificed range to gain capacity. Having decided to stretch the DC-8, Douglas did not do the job by halves: they inserted a 6m plug in the forward fuselage and a 5m plug aft, taking overall length to 57m and giving the aircraft a very long, lean look that was (and still is) unique. Bending forces required strengthening of the structure, but the basic DC-8 design already had sufficient ground clearance to permit the one-third increase in cabin size without requiring longer landing gear. It was certificated in September 1966, typically carried 210 passengers or 269 in high-density configuration, and 88 were sold.

The long-range DC-8 Series 62 followed in April 1967. It had a much more modest stretch of just 2m (with 1m plugs fore and aft), the same JT8D-3B engines as the -53 and the -61, and a number of modifications to provide greater range. One metre wingtip extensions reduced drag and added fuel capacity, and Douglas redesigned then the engine pods, extending the pylons and substituting new shorter, neater nacelles, all in the cause of drag reduction. Slightly heavier than the -53 or the -61 at 151 tonnes, and able to seat 159 passengers, the -62 had a range with full payload of about 5200nm, or about the same as the -53 but with 40 extra passengers. 67 were built.

The DC-8 Series 63 was the final new build variant and entered service in June 1968. It combined the aerodynamic refinements and increased fuel capacity of the -62 with the very long fuselage of the -61, and added 85kN JT3D-7 turbofans, giving a maximum take off weight of almost 159 tonnes and a range with full payload of 4110nm. 107 were built, a little over half of them convertibles or dedicated freighters.

I'll double check the dimensions this week at every location for the current DC-8-73F to be but I've already have the fuselage to size. It is strange tho that to me it does not look very long in gmax, rather some what "short" but the dimensions are accurate, it may be that the fuselage radius is not to proportions so i'll check that when I come from work.

Basically all the DC-8s kept the same exact air frame, the only modifications were stretches and wing extensions and some engine relocations.

I have to go to work now but I will check every single part of this to make sure everything is within spec.

Also thanks for the HJG links, really good stuff there.

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Alright, I've checked all the measurements for the current aircraft in the works, the DC8-73F, wingspan currently not in spec but thats because the wingtips are missing, doh. Fuselage width is in spec, fuselage height is in spec, tail height is in spec, elevon wing span is in spec, fuselage length was out of spec by about 1m!! *corrected* now in spec.

Everything seems to be in place, I will continue work with the wing root section today to get it skinned, then I will begin work on modeling the engines for this type, I have to model the engines and place them on the wings before I attempt to cut out any wing control surfaces, there is a section that opens to allow for the jet blast from the turbines to avoid damaging the flaps, with out the engines in place, I can't accurately see this, having the engine in space will provide a good reference.

So obiously yes, when you guys see her again, the wing root will be completed and the engines and pilons will be completed, I intend to fully complete the engines and duplicate them across the wings, so this plane is going to start looking good on the next update, even I myself, can't wait to get to this point, see you guys later.

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

Here is a sneak peek at the skinning proccess of the wing root. Note that the top is already skinned, this is NOT A SURFACE modifier skin, it is a plane snapped on top of the spline vertices, easiest way to skin a spline mesh is to cover it with something, in this case, a plane mesh!!

I'm working on the rest of the mesh work at the bottom of the wing root, should finish this in the next 2 or 3 hours maybe.

 

[Mr.FaosFX]

The wing root has been fully skinned and the results were really good, very, very good smoothing, the planes proved to be a good source of skins :-]

I will be taking a break now, then work on the engines will start but not before I collect enough pictures of them. The engines will be modeled in a separate gmax in full splines, then I will merge the splines into the dc8 gmax file and make the needed adjustments and then re-check the ground clearances to make sure all is in spec, after that I'll complete work on the engines.

No promise on any pictures any time soon but this is the big milestone, once the engines are on, all thats left is pretty much the wing control surfaces, landing gear and external cockpit [low quality] this doesn't mean the model is complete after that begins the tedious task of optimizing the mesh to make sure the vertices precisely kiss each other on parts that aren't attached so that texturing goes well ..... we are far from this but getting closer.

Thanks for reading guys, see ya next time. Heading to the mothers to eat.