A-10 Warthog
11/29/2001
Back in 1999, I set out to build the most detailed airplane model I could, and the result was the P-51 Mustang. Two years later, I'm a little better at building, and have a few more pieces, and figured it was time to try it again. This time I wanted to include as many features as possible again, but this time with pneumatics as well.
The A-10 is built to a scale of about 1:20 (technic figure scale). It took about a month to build, although since I was unemployed at the time, there was a significant amount of time spent on it. The A-10 has a wingspan of 35 inches, is 33 inches from nose to tail, and weighs about 5 pounds. It has the following working features:
There are three individually controlled power switches. Each can be operated independently, and are powered by an internally mounted battery pack. All three switches can be on at the same time, to run all the powered features at once.
- Switch one controls a technic motor that spins the Avenger cannon in the nose
- Switch two controls a technic motor that runs the pneumatic compressor
- Switch three does lots of good stuff. It spins the turbines in the engines via a technic motor, and operates the fiberoptics in the engines. It lights up the red and green wingtip lights, and also operates a micromotor in the nose that runs the fiberoptic cockpit lights. There are three pneumatic switches as well. They can be operated by the compressor, or can be manually pumped.
The three pneumatic switches control the following features.
- Switch one, mounted right under the canopy on the port side, actuates a large cylinder that opens the canopy
- Switch two, also on the port side and just behind the canopy switch, operates three large cylinders that lower and raise the landing gear
- Switch three, on the starboard side right over the wing, operates a small cylinder that extends the flaps
Finally, there are some manual features.
- The control stick in the cockpit operates the ailerons on the main wings and the elevator on the tail
- The rudder pedals in the cockpit operate the rudders on the tail
- The rudder pedals also steer the nosewheel when the gear is down
- There is a removable entry ladder that mounts on the port side
- Finally, and possibly the coolest feature on the entire model, is the functioning ejection seat. The pilot's seat is pushed down against a pair of suspension springs. A bar latches onto the back of the seat. When that bar is pushed back, the seat shoots about six inches out of the plane.
The control stick is based on Eric Brok's design from Lego On My Mind. It is heavily modified and miniaturized to fit in as small a space as possible. The use of the differential in this application is ingenious, and I'm very pleased with the way it worked out.
The model balances on its landing gear okay, but it's a little tail heavy. Thus, there is a little bit of non-Lego in the nose to keep it balanced. I'd use a Lego weight brick, but I don't own any. So 6 quarters do the job. The gear takes the weight, but there needs to be a LOT of pressure in the cylinders to keep them from collapsing, so you will be able to see some pedestals in many of the pictures that I use to support the weight of the plane. I made extensive use of flex axles to route the various controls everywhere, and there are more pneumatic T splices, tubing, and wiring in there than you can shake a stick at.
Despite its weight and unweildy shape, it's actually quite sturdy. I can pick it up and woosh it around the room quite easily. I have to be careful of the wings, though. The model's designed so that I can (somewhat) easily remove them for transport. Getting the angles on the wings and the engines to look authentic took a lot of unconventional strengthening, but I thought it was important for the overall shape of the model. And if you're wondering what that little red and black thing hanging underneath the cockpit is, it's called the Pave Penny, and it's a laser acquisition system. And I know the Avenger's supposed to have 7 barrels. You tell me how to make with seven barrels and make it look good :) I think six is fine enough.
Finally, there were some of the features that unfortunately didn't make it into the model that I wanted to have. These include weapons hardpoints and bombs. I couldn't figure out a good way to make it work without them looking kludge-ey. Also, the rear landing gear wheels are much too small in scale, and should only have one arm (like the front wheel) and not forked, like I modeled. Had I done it more realistically, the gear wouldn't have fit in the wing pods, and they wouldn't have been able to take the weight. At any rate, I think I've babbled enough, so here are the pictures. Enjoy!
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