Author: Sal Calvagna
Edition: Model Aviation - 2014/04
Page Numbers: 113,114,115
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Don Smith Plans 1/9-scale B-24 by Mike Laible and Herman Burton

by Sal Calvagna

[email protected]

Friends Mike Laible and Herman Burton, from Seabrook, Texas, collaborated to build a 1/9-scale B-24J from Don Smith plans. Mike agreed to build the fuselage and tail surfaces while Herman constructed the wing. The model spans 146 inches, weighs 53 pounds dry, and is powered by four O.S. Alpha Series 110 four-stroke engines driving 15 x 7 three-blade propellers.

The model uses Century Jet Models landing gear and Glennis Aircraft wheels and brakes. The team made many changes to the original design to increase the model's scale fidelity. The plans called for fully sheeted rudders, elevators and ailerons, whereas the full-scale airplane had cloth-covered control surfaces.

The plans were altered and cloth covering was applied to the control surfaces. Each aileron changed from a simple sheeted surface to one with 19 exposed ribs on each side that show beneath the cloth covering. The rudders and elevators also required additional components such as a faux trim tab.

Other notable scale features and details include:

  • Approximately 15,000 rivets and panel lines.
  • Full crew complement, including period flying suits and hardware.
  • Handmade seats, instrument panels and gauges.
  • Oxygen bottles.
  • Operating bomb doors and bomb release mechanisms.
  • .50 caliber Browning machine guns and belts of ammunition.
  • Belly turret and tarmac jacks that extend down behind the turret and retract into the fuselage; these are air-operated and mechanically linked.
  • Nose and top turrets with azimuth and elevation movement driven by servos for added realism.

To aid transport, the empennage is removable and the delicate turrets are removable to avoid hangar rash. The B-24J was painted using Klass Kote epoxy paint with dry-ink transfers from Aeroloft for the markings.

After researching numerous sources, Herman and Mike found an airplane that started flying during the war and was identified only as 395E (after its tail number). After one particularly devastating flight over Germany in 1943, it sustained heavy battle damage and barely made it back to England. Because of its miraculous return, the crew named the airplane Homeward Angel. Homeward Angel flew with the 466th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, and completed 231 missions during 1943–1944.

Herman and Mike chose this aircraft hoping the same good luck the World War II crew experienced would accompany them. The first test flight of Herman and Mike’s B-24J appropriately took place at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The model flew magnificently. A video of the maiden flight can be found in the Sources section.

The entire project took about 1,800 hours over a two-year period. Herman notes that the build-team concept can save much time. Scale projects are rewarding and plenty of fun—very nice work, Herman and Mike!

A6M Zero

The last two photos are of Gene Oshrin’s version of the Akutan Zero (also known as Koga’s Zero), constructed from a Byron Originals kit. The model spans 88 inches with a length of 78 inches and is painted in US markings for flight testing.

The full-scale aircraft was found mainly intact in July 1942 on Akutan Island in the Aleutians after it flipped over during an emergency landing while piloted by Petty Officer First Class Tadayoshi Koga. The aircraft had participated in the attack on Midway a month earlier when it was damaged by ground fire. It was repaired and extensively flight-tested to determine its capabilities and weaknesses, dispelling the myth of its invincibility.

Byron Godberson, the man behind Byron Originals, was a unique and talented individual. During World War II he served as a paratrooper in the Pacific Theater and is credited with more than 50 patents. In 1976 he founded Byron Originals to produce a quality line of large-scale models and accessories. To demonstrate his products he established Byron’s Aviation Expo in 1982. Some of the air shows included a simulated attack on Pearl Harbor and featured aerial dogfights using many of his company’s designs. The air show became so popular that thousands attended.

That’s all for now. See you in June.

SOURCES

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.