Some B-17 Flying Fortress History:
In 1934, the Boeing Aircraft Company of Seattle, Washington, began construction of a four-engine heavy bomber. Known as Boeing model 299, it first took flight on July 28, 1935. The government ordered production of 13 of these aircraft, now designated the Y1B-17. Delivery of these first production models was between January 11 and August 4, 1937.
The B-17 received the name Flying Fortress from a Seattle reporter who commented on its defensive firepower. The B-17 underwent a number of improvements over its 10-year production span. Models ranged from the YB-17 to the B-17-G model.
Throughout the war, the B-17 was refined and improved as battle experience showed the Boeing designers where improvements could be made. The final B-17 production model, the B-17G, was produced in larger quantities (8,680) than any previous model and is considered the definitive Flying Fortress. With its 13 .50-caliber machine guns – chin, top, ball and tail turrets; waist and cheek guns – the B-17G was indeed an airplane that earned the respect of its combatants. In addition, air crews liked the B-17 for its ability to withstand heavy combat damage and still return its crew safely home.
Between 1935 and May 1945, 12,732 B-17s were produced. Of these aircraft, 4,735 were lost during combat missions.
At one time, more than 1,000 B-17s could be assembled for mass combat missions. Today, fewer than 100 B-17 airframes exist and fewer still are in airworthy condition. Today, approximately 46 B-17 aircraft are known to survive in complete form, approx 10 of which are airworthy, and approx 39 of which reside in the United States.
About the LEGEND HOBBY 125" B-17G FLYING FORTRESS
The LEGEND HOBBY 125" B-17G FLYING FORTRESS model is an exciting replica of the original WWII Bomber that helped turn the tide of WWII and was loved by its crew. This amazing bomber penetrated deep into AXIS TERRITORY, delivered heavy bomb loads, shot down thousands of enemy fighters and yet managed to bring many crews home to safety thanks to it's rugged airframe, 13 .50 calibre machine guns on board and determined air crews that refused to give up! Legend Hobby proudly brings you this historic bomber in an impressive 125-inch wingspan model that results in a great flying bomber that is easy to see, manageable to fly, but because of its two-piece wing, removable stabilizer, the model breaks down nicely to fit into most vehicles.
Though not intended to be flown or built by the novice modeler, experienced modelers will find this B-17 easy to assemble and versatile enough to handle gas, glow and electric power systems with ease!
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Features:
- - Plywood,balsa wood with fiberglass and clear plastic trim-piece components
- - Factory-covered airframe and painted cowls
- - 2-piece wing for easy transportation
- - Wide selection of power systems can be used
- - Exceptional multi-engine scale warbird flying qualities
- - Final Production model has 4.5 Degrees of Dihedral, same as the full-scale B-17
- - Clear molded windshields/turrets
- - Chin ,dorsal, ball Turrets can be servo operated/enabled to allow turret movement out of the box!
- - B-17 styled bomb bay doors (servo operated doors)
- -Detailed interior cockpit with Norden Bombsight for increased scale fidelity
- - 3D Printed Radial Engine covers, machine guns, and more details
- - B-17 Aluminum Wheels and retractable landing gear available separately (not included)
- -Qualifies as Giant Scale with its 125 Inch Wing Span (1/10 Scale - Full Scale is 104 ft Wingspan)
Available in (3) Versions without decals applied allowing owner/pilot to apply your favorite B-17 final markings/nose art.
Specifications:
- Wing span 125.5" (10 ft 5.5 inches)
- Wing area (incl. ail. & flaps) TBA sq." (TBA sq.ft )
- Overall length 91.8"
- Height (top of vertical fin) 30.83" (on mains, tail up in take off position-tailwheel off ground-level for take off)
- Horizontal Stabilizer span 49.5" (removable)
FLYING WEIGHT: Demo aircraft weighs 36.5 lbs with Stinger 15cc Gas Engines, Robart Scale Landing Gear, Scale Wheels, ready to fly (if you add replica bomb load, you add approx 1.25 lbs)
- Optional (8) Piece Bomb Set with simulated exploding/separating bomb halves will be available (coming soon).
- Engines ----------- Four Stinger 10cc-15cc Gas Engines, or .55-.60 two-stroke or four .70-.90 four-stroke engines (Pitts-style mufflers can be used), or electric power electric equivalent
- Propellers -------- 3 blade 14x7 using 15cc Stinger Gas Engines
- Main wheels -----5.5" diameter
- Tail wheel ----- 2" diam.
- Retracts(not included)- LEGEND HOBBY 124" B-17 Scale Retracts and Scale Wheels custom made by ROBART; Available in electric and pneumatic versions through LEGEND HOBBY.
R/C Control :
- Requires a 6-8+ channel radio with 11-14 servos (see below)
- (7-8) Functions: Rudder, elevator, ailerons, flaps, throttle, retracts, bomb drop, turret movement
- If you use electric motors you don't need the (4) throttle servos, if making turrets functional add (1) servo per turret, if adding bomb release add (1-2) mini/standard servos
- Servos :
- (6) Mini Metal Gear servos (2) Turret Movement, (4) throttle if using gas/glow engines and not electric)
- (7) Standard size servos (2) elevators ,(2) ailerons, (2) flaps, (1) Rudder/tail steering (metal gear servo with long arm like Hitec HS-5645 MG)
- Long tail moment aircraft and "heavy metal WWII aircraft" usually require a modest amount of nose weight. More weight will likely be required with glow engines. We have designed in a battery ballast tray above the motor/engine area to help place batteries forward of the CG and help to minimize electric motor/ignition wire length. On such a large aircraft ,the weight is really not an issue - but as with all airplanes, the CG is important for proper flight performance. For flight controls, good-quality ball-bearing metal gear servos are recommended. Due to the extra forces on the tail gear/rudder combination, a metal gear servo is also recommend for that.
* Does not include: radio gear, engines/motors , retractable landing gear, bomb ordnance, adhesives, battery packs or silicone fuel line, finishing supplies, this is airframe kit only. *Note PRE-PRODUCTION MODEL IMAGES do not show the included detail parts as we have not fully installed all accessories on this test model.
LINK TO VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/dmXIoyO9Kgk
