I'm thinking of making...

space boy

Well-known member
I just thought I'd let you guys know that, now that I'm getting closer to actually making my own aircraft, in this thread I want to share some of the ideas that I've considered.

At first, while I'm developing my skills, I'll probably stick to aircraft that aren't real-world airplanes. Then I'll see what happens after that.
 
The simple cube tutorial got me thinking about...

the Borg spacecraft
ddimpi4-0da61be1-6e32-4e31-abb7-b1afb098459e.jpg

Even though it's just a cube, it's not simple at all. It's got crazy-complicated surface texture and varying levels of specularity, not to mention areas that glow.
  • An easy version could be done with a simple image texture...
  • an intermediate version could be made by adding layers of alpha channels...
  • or a complicated version could be made with actual geometry. But that sounds just too difficult and probably wouldn't even render well in RealFlight.
There's also the issue of... how would it even fly! What the heck would be appropriate physics for the Borg cube!? ?
 
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The Flying Spaghetti Monster
Screenshot_20220218-224817_Chrome~2.jpg
This one is even less sensible than the Borg cube, but it sure would be funny... maybe... depending on your perspective.
(Google it if you're intrigued.)
  • it would have very complicated geometry, because all of its noodly appendages would need to be modeled, and its eyes.
  • it could be a fun test of my modeling and texturing skills.
this also would be a mysterious physics challenge, because, again, how the heck should it even fly! ??
 
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Hot Wheels Daredevil airplane
20220228_184047.jpg
  • it's just such a fun looking little thing isn't it?20220228_184134.jpg 20220228_184111.jpg
  • I think it's based on the P-51, especially because underneath it has the oil cooler scoop. 20220228_190622.jpg but those silver oval vents behind the wings are mysterious. 20220228_184058.jpg
The physics on this one would be a little closer to reality, but there's no way it could be flown enjoyably at Hot Wheels scale. So it could be upscaled to fun fly size, but the wings are so stubby that it would probably be really difficult to control. I think if it had a really light wing loading, it might be fun.
 
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My father's modified Easy Riser ultralight.
easy riser motorized.jpg
This photograph isn't actually my father's ultralight, but it's somewhat similar to what he designed and built in the 1980s. He added an inverted V tail.

My father died last month, and one of the coolest memories I have of him is when he got an Easy Riser ultralight, which is foot launched, and modified it with an engine, wheels, and an inverted V tail. He also repositioned the control surfaces at the ends of the wings to be closer to aileron configuration.

I remember at least one photograph of him actually flying it, which has unfortunately been lost, but I paid so much attention to him creating it over the years that I could possibly do it justice as a 3D model. As a teenager in the 1980s, I was fascinated by his skills and ingenuity, and he gladly explained what he was doing.

It would be a tremendous tribute to him to fly it in RealFlight.

This is also not my father, but the airplane is somewhat similar to what he made:
Moody-Easy-Riser.jpg
My father added an inverted V tail.
 
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My father's modified Easy Riser ultralight.
View attachment 128089
This photograph isn't actually my father's ultralight, but it's somewhat similar to what he designed and built in the 1980s.

My father died last month, and one of the coolest memories I have of him is when he got an Easy Riser ultralight, which is foot launched, and modified it with an engine, wheels, and an inverted V tail. He also repositioned the control surfaces at the ends of the wings to be closer to aileron configuration.

I remember at least one photograph of him actually flying it, which has unfortunately been lost, but I paid so much attention to him creating it over the years that I could possibly do it justice as a 3D model. As a teenager in the 1980s, I was fascinated by his skills and ingenuity, and he gladly explained what he was doing.

It would be a tremendous tribute to him to fly it in RealFlight.

This is also not my father, but the airplane is somewhat similar to what he made:
View attachment 128090
I love this so much!
 
Hot Wheels Daredevil airplane
View attachment 128083
The physics on this one would be a little closer to reality, but there's no way it could be flown enjoyably at Hot Wheels scale. So it could be upscaled to fun fly size, but the wings are so stubby that it would probably be really difficult to control. I think if it had a really light wing loading, it might be fun.
It will be so neat. Can't wait to see the finished product.
 
The Flying Spaghetti Monster
View attachment 128082
This one is even less sensible than the Borg cube, but it sure would be funny... maybe... depending on your perspective.
(Google it if you're intrigued.)
  • it would have very complicated geometry, because all of its noodly appendages would need to be modeled, and its eyes.
  • it could be a fun test of my modeling and texturing skills.
this also would be a mysterious physics challenge, because, again, how the heck would it even fly! ??
I'm skurred.
 
The simple cube tutorial got me thinking about...

the Borg spacecraft
View attachment 128080

Even though it's just a cube, it's not simple at all. It's got crazy-complicated surface texture and varying levels of specularity, not to mention areas that glow.
  • An easy version could be done with a simple image texture...
  • an intermediate version could be made by adding layers of alpha channels...
  • or a complicated version could be made with actual geometry. But that sounds just too difficult and probably wouldn't even render well in RealFlight.
There's also the issue of... how would it even fly! What the heck would be appropriate physics for the Borg cube!? ?

I made something similar a while back

 
My father's modified Easy Riser ultralight.
View attachment 128089
This photograph isn't actually my father's ultralight, but it's somewhat similar to what he designed and built in the 1980s. He added an inverted V tail.

My father died last month, and one of the coolest memories I have of him is when he got an Easy Riser ultralight, which is foot launched, and modified it with an engine, wheels, and an inverted V tail. He also repositioned the control surfaces at the ends of the wings to be closer to aileron configuration.

I remember at least one photograph of him actually flying it, which has unfortunately been lost, but I paid so much attention to him creating it over the years that I could possibly do it justice as a 3D model. As a teenager in the 1980s, I was fascinated by his skills and ingenuity, and he gladly explained what he was doing.

It would be a tremendous tribute to him to fly it in RealFlight.

This is also not my father, but the airplane is somewhat similar to what he made:
View attachment 128090
My father added an inverted V tail.
What a fantastic idea I wish you all the best in this !
 
My father's modified Easy Riser ultralight.
View attachment 128089
This photograph isn't actually my father's ultralight, but it's somewhat similar to what he designed and built in the 1980s. He added an inverted V tail.

My father died last month, and one of the coolest memories I have of him is when he got an Easy Riser ultralight, which is foot launched, and modified it with an engine, wheels, and an inverted V tail. He also repositioned the control surfaces at the ends of the wings to be closer to aileron configuration.

I remember at least one photograph of him actually flying it, which has unfortunately been lost, but I paid so much attention to him creating it over the years that I could possibly do it justice as a 3D model. As a teenager in the 1980s, I was fascinated by his skills and ingenuity, and he gladly explained what he was doing.

It would be a tremendous tribute to him to fly it in RealFlight.

This is also not my father, but the airplane is somewhat similar to what he made:
View attachment 128090
My father added an inverted V tail.
Definitely worth not procrastinating on this idea, his plane will potentially be eternal, so cool!
 
I recently re-found some of my 3D illustrations and animations from the '90s. I figured I'd share some of it with you, especially the ones that are airplane-like:

The following are stills from animations for an interactive corporate presentation.
I modeled this biplane to be low-polygon for quick animation:
Screenshot_20220610-225814_Drive.jpg
Screenshot_20220610-225838_Drive.jpg
Screenshot_20220610-225846_Drive.jpg

these spaceship-like vehicles represented the new software that this company was installing and wanted their employees to be excited about:
Screenshot_20220610-225405_Drive.jpg


...And finally, this was part of an unfinished project, and unfortunately, I've only been able to find this thumbnail and not the full-resolution rendering. You can see that there is a Fokker triplane model on the desk:
puresandraT.jpg

I used Strata Studio Pro for all of these, which was the successor to the 3D software Cyan used (StrataVision 3D) to create the graphics for the game Myst in the '90s.

The screenshot on the monitor is Strata Studio Pro as I was using it while creating the monitor itself!
 
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