Things to do during pandemic.

[Slavs]

For some of you folks in small towns and the countryside the pandemic crisis may seem distant, but for us in the big cities, it's very real. I've been looking for things to do while in confinement. So, I dug up my Yakovlev , Yak-3 fighter plane, pictured here sitting on top of an ash trey from a 67 BMW 1600. I scratch built it ten years ago in honor of the glorious Red Army. While there are plenty of kits for American P-51 and German Messerschmitt BF-109 fighters, nobody makes a kit for this war bird, one of the lightest, fastest and most agile piston engine fighters of WWII. So, I undertook to build it from scratch; I drew my own plans, picked different grades of light weight balsa for the various parts of the fuselage and wing structure, cut out balsa parts and glued everything together to form fuselage and wing structure, made the cowling from styrofoam, constructed balsa frame for canopy which consists of three pieces of thin plastic sheet, printed decals on printer, wings attach to fuselage with small magnet. Prop and rubber motor gear are also held to the fuselage with magnets. Balsa structure is covered with tissue which is shrunk over it, but some holes have developed in the tissue due to additional shrinkage over the years (Hanger Rash - Time to make some repairs).

 

I built this to competition specs for endurance rubber powered flight. It  only weighs about 20 grams without rubber motor and just under 30 grams with it. But, I've never flown it, as I was afraid of destroying it. It took hundreds of hours to build and think through all the details,  kind of like building a race prepped 02. Due to its very low weight, I probably need to reduce the size of the prop. When everything is sorted, these flying rubber powered models are capable of staying aloft for quite a long time. I may build another one with micro RC gear and movable control surfaces.

 

While Italians in Milan and Rome are singing from their Verandas; "Bella Ciao" and "Bandiera Rossa" in solidarity with the Proletariat of the world, I shall repair my Yakovlev to spite the  bloated "Capitalist Pig" at the helm of this country.

 

 

-The  02 Commissar

 

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Slavs

[M3M3]

Nice, but off topic.

[maharaja]

Virtually no incidence of the virus reported in the USSR, I mean Russia. The elected President for Life attributes it to the county's extensive network of surveillance cameras. Got my tickets booked on Aeroflot.

[irdave]

11 minutes ago, maharaja said:

Virtually no incidence of the virus reported in the USSR, I mean Russia. The elected President for Life attributes it to the county's extensive network of surveillance cameras. Got my tickets booked on Aeroflot.

 

Staying with the off topic theme, I bet it's an interesting place.

[rcf925]

3 hours ago, maharaja said:

Virtually no incidence of the virus reported in the USSR, I mean Russia. The elected President for Life attributes it to the county's extensive network of surveillance cameras. Got my tickets booked on Aeroflot.

Uh, There's tons of Covid19 in Russia, Reporting 800 plus cases but way under reported they think

[tech71]

And you aint booking anything in or out, at all. Unless its somewhere you dont want to go.  Too off topic.

Edited March 27, 2020 by tech71

[Conserv]

4 hours ago, maharaja said:

 

... reported...

 

That’s the key word. And the U.S. had virtually no cases “reported” just three weeks ago. That’s the beauty, and the sad consequence, of no testing.... ?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Slavs]

As far as "Off Topic", that is a result of "Cabin Fever".

 

COVID-19 is the name of the disease and not the virus. “CO” stands for “corona”,  “VI” for “virus” and “D” for disease. The name of the virus is actually “SARS-CoV-2” which stands for “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”.  The first version of SARS appeared back in 2003. And, it was very deadly, but not as contagious. Unlike this time, China got a hold of it pretty quickly, but not before somebody took it to Hong Kong where it caused a mess. They are probably not calling it SARS-2 this time around because of the connotation of the the name . “SARS” would just add to the existing panic. While Trump is attempting to brush it off as merely a flu, it is not. It is “SARS”. It also appears to be mutating into different strains, some deadlier than others.

 

Considering its long border with China, Russia is not doing as bad as expected.  Its optimistic  stats are also due in part to the test kit they are using, which is not as sensitive as other test kits.  They only test positive once the disease is further on the way.  The Russians are rushing a more sensitive test kit to their people. But, that may be a little too late in the game.

 

I stand behind my Yakovlev before the Nazi 02s. Yes, the Nazis made good cars, but that will never atone for the nasty things they did.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Slavs

[TobyB]

Since we're off- topic here (I think we get a pass for SARS-2, and I got the Avian Flu back in '09, so there!)

 

I bought a Swedish car.  It's nuts.  They put the transmission in the oil pan, but unlike the Leyland mini,

it has a separate oil supply.  The center of mass seems to be at about the mirrors.  And it's proud to say 

"Understeer is the primary handling characteristic"

 

Now that you bring it up, Slavs, I'd love to read a good book on Russian/Soviet flying history. 

For that matter, any and all of Eastern Europe.

 

t

 

[Deilke53]

Cool model,  I never knew about the YAK-3.  A quick Wikipedia visit reveals that it probably sent many BMW engines quickly into the real estate business.

 

[Einspritz]

Bit by bit, I am cleaning and organizing the shop and garage; consolidating parts, projects and tools.

 

Found parts and tools I hoarded that I never thought I had, or knew I had them, but just didn't know where.

 

Creating a little bit of order in chaos.

 

Cathartic!

 

Now, where are those hang tags and that label maker? :)

 

[tech71]

1 hour ago, Slavs said:

As far as "Off Topic", that is a result of "Cabin Fever".

 

COVID-19 is the name of the disease and not the virus. “CO” stands for “corona”,  “VI” for “virus” and “D” for disease. The name of the virus is actually “SARS-CoV-2” which stands for “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”.  The first version of SARS appeared back in 2003. And, it was very deadly, but not as contagious. Unlike this time, China got a hold of it pretty quickly, but not before somebody took it to Hong Kong where it caused a mess. They are probably not calling it SARS-2 this time around because of the connotation of the the name . “SARS” would just add to the existing panic. While Trump is attempting to brush it off as merely a flu, it is not. It is “SARS”. It also appears to be mutating into different strains, some deadlier than others.

 

Considering its long border with China, Russia is not doing as bad as expected.  Its optimistic  stats are also due in part to the test kit they are using, which is not as sensitive as other test kits.  They only test positive once the disease is further on the way.  The Russians are rushing a more sensitive test kit to their people. But, that may be a little too late in the game.

 

I stand behind my Yakovlev before the Nazi 02s. Yes, the Nazis made good cars, but that will never atone for the nasty things they did.

Please stop,  we are all being bombarded with  enough Rona news,  I come here in hopes of escaping it for a few moments.

[Slavs]

5 hours ago, TobyB said:

Now that you bring it up, Slavs, I'd love to read a good book on Russian/Soviet flying history. 

For that matter, any and all of Eastern Europe.

They always had some very good engineers and designers even though they often worked under duress. During the Stalinist era the top engineers could be sent to the Gulag if they came up with an unworthy design.  Some were allowed to still work while under “Arrest”, where they came up with good designs, redeeming themselves.  It all sounds crazy, but it is true.

 

Western propaganda has often depicted Russian engineering and design as inferior. But, nothing can be further from the truth.  Yakovlev’s Yak-3  fighter  is an example of innovation and excellent engineering and design.  Faced with the Nazi onslaught at the beginning of the war along with a lack of materials such as aluminum, the Yak-3 was built mostly of wood.  The Russians experimented with  laminating thin sheets of wood  (Plywood) which they used for most of the structure and  skin for the wings. Other parts were covered in fabric. The plane was small and built around their  V-12 1,100 – 1,400Hp Klimov  engine, similar to the Allison used on many of America’s fighters including the early version of the P-51.  Both, the Klimov and the Allison were good below 15,000ft., but were limited at higher altitudes. That’s why the P-51 only became a great fighter plane after it was equipped with the Rolls Royce Merlin Engine which was good at high altitude as well.  But, due to its light weight and small size, the Yak-3 performed better at lower altitudes than the P-51 or any other fighter. It climbs and rolls faster and turns better than any other piston engine fighter produced at the time. German pilots were given specific instructions to avoid engaging it below 15,000ft. But, it was also fairly lightly armed with one 20mm or 30mm cannon and two 50 Ca.l machine guns, all in the nose. So, you had to be a good and accurate shot. They didn’t put any armament into the wings because that makes them heavier and reduces the roll rate.  The canopy is also innovative and light. It lacks all the framing  and structural support of most canopies from the era, resulting in excellent visibility. This plane was built with performance and maneuver in mind.

 

Lydia Litvyak “Lilya” (Aug 21, 1921 – Aug 1, 1943), a Russian Jew, went on to become the record holding top female fighter pilot ace, having scored 16 victories before being killed in aerial combat during the Battle of Kursk on Aug 1, 1943, just shy of her 22nd birthday. Lydia was a young aggressive pilot who downed a good number of decorated German pilots and aces, flying her agile Yak-1M (which became the Yak-3) during the aerial melees over the Eastern Front. In her last engagement she bravely faced eight German BF-109 fighter planes. She was posthumously awarded “Hero of the Soviet Union”.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Slavs

[Deilke53]

Wow Lydia.  Thanks for the story!, we've got it so easy. 

[conkitchen]

8 hours ago, mlytle said:

Nice, but off topic.

And it's not even German. 

Edited March 27, 2020 by conkitchen