[MINI] Tilt Rotor Aircraft

[Cumulonimbus]

I wasn't happy with the way my MINI airplane was turning out, so I decided to start over. I wanted to build something which was a bit more unusual.

While searching for something to build, I came across the Bell XV-15, an experimental tilt rotor aircraft, which combines the advantages of a winged aircraft with those of a helicopter.

More info about the real thing can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XV-15

This is the progress so far:

- Tilting rotors, controlled by turning knob (not yet visible on the photo's below)

- Automatic retracting landing gear, linked to the tilting mechanism

- Free spining rotors

- Opening rear hatch, manually operated

- Part count: 181, but need some part for the control mechanism once I found a suitable spot.

- Bonus: very swoosable

I'm not satisfied with the cockpit section yet and as said, the controls are not completed at this point.

What do you think?

Edited July 27, 2014 by Cumulonimbus

[Jeroen Ottens]

Cool idea. I like the two greens. I also like the retractable landing-gear being coupled to the tilt-mechanism, that's really cool. The area below the wing looks a bit open. Just a few days left, so keep on working

[Boulderer]

Great work! I have a soft spot for tilt rotor aircraft

[Rishab N]

Nice work!

[Zerobricks]

Reminds me of my unpublished MOC, but mine also has rotating propellers and tilt and its bigger, yet still 200 parts...

[grum64]

I like this very much. Great work.

[Cumulonimbus]

Thank you for the comments,

@Zblj: Cool, it would nice to compare them after this competition. I had a version with working ailerons and elevator at roughly the same scale, but the part count was way over budget. Additionally, my previous MINI had ton of functions, but the looks lacked the "gimme-factor". With this build I invested quite a lot of parts in the looks, in the hope it would convince a kid (or a voter).

This is how it looks so far:

Part count is 206, so still some work to do. It really feels solid and swooshable. The "landing-lever" is under the wing, right where your thumb is while holding it, so a smooth transition between the flight modes while playing is possible with a flick of the thumb.

The mechanism has no gears so it is nice and smooth, and when the wheels are down, the mechanism self-locks to prevent the landing gear form collapsing under load. Inside, it looks something like this:

Edited July 27, 2014 by Cumulonimbus

[jantjeuh]

Very cool idea, but I think it all looks a bit squarish (sp?). Maybe you can add some curves using soft axles, if the part count allows it.

[Cumulonimbus]

Very cool idea, but I think it all looks a bit squarish (sp?). Maybe you can add some curves using soft axles, if the part count allows it.

Thanks for the tip, I'll see what I can do.

[Boulderer]

Reminds me of my unpublished MOC, but mine also has rotating propellers and tilt and its bigger, yet still 200 parts...

I think the lines look good. If you look at the AW609 and the V-22, both have fairly straight lines in profile. In fact, the V-22 actually has a square fuselage cross-section too.

I'd stick with it

Edited July 28, 2014 by Boulderer

[Tommy Styrvoky]

Nice compact build, it reminds me of the technic set that TLG released a while ago.

[Cumulonimbus]

And it has been officially entered in the competition ...

[Jim]

And it has been officially entered in the competition ...

Cool entry!! I really like your box image. Nice touch

Color scheme is great too.

[PhyBuilder]

I would marry this plane. Seriously. Refreshing colors!

[barman]

Very nice and interesting entry. Nice improvements and I really like the mechanism of the rotors tilt and landing gear. Colors are great too.

[Cumulonimbus]

Thank you for all the nice comments. I'm very curious to see how it will do in the voting. Seeing the competition, I will need all the points I can get.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Cumulonimbus

[Cumulonimbus]

A big thank you to those who awarded me some points so far, but my entry is really lagging behind.

Time for some shameless advertising:

I have designed a compact, structurally sound airplane with attention to proportions and its design. The mechanism is childproof as you can only land when the rotors are in the correct position and the landing gear locks automatically to withstand any landing forces.

If you have the iconic 42025 at home, you simply must have this little gem parked next to it. It has been build on the same scale and really put emphasis on the size of the 42025.

In short: vote 35! Thank you in advance.

[Energo]

Pretty work, I like it)

[Boulderer]

Hi Cumulonimbus,

Do you have a copy of the LDD file that you'd be willing to share? I'd really like to take a look at building your model. Doubt I have the correct colour pieces but, you never know