GiantScale R/C Flying Boat Page

DH61 Replica

Trailer Sailer Yachts  Ross 780 , Airwave 9.9m 

.Quicktime movie of Sunderland taking off.
With a video camera inside the model looking out under the wing through the float and under the engines. To view this movie you need to have Quicktime Player. It's a free download.

Movie of Sunderland model crashing.

This is a 15 second movie of the Sunderland model stalling and from about 70 feet altitude.

Click here to see more photos.

Introduction

I make fibreglass model aircraft using composite fibreglass with vacuum bagging techniques.

A spinoff from this has been the construction of a number of static model and full sized displays for Museums and Restaurants.

My most rewarding model so far has been the giant Short Sunderland that I have flown regularly at the Hinze dam on the Gold Coast.This model has finished its' flying career and has now been donated to 10 Squadron RAAF at Edinburgh near Adelaide in South Australia.

Geoff (r) with David Boddington, magazine editor legend.

Jan Hermkens drew the plans for this Sunderland.

I built a plywood Sunderland from his plan, and made moulds from that.

Jan, from Netherlands, is one of the great scale model builders and fliers of our time. You can visit his website at http://www.janhermkens.nl/  .

His Sunderland won scale model competitions in its day, flying from the land with its beaching gear.

Here are some of his other winning models.

Here is a picture of Jan's original contest winning Sunderland taxying on one of its early flights.

My Sunderland model flying past (picture by Bruce Virtue)

banking

Sunderland on final with full flap 
 

takeoff

approach

final glide

Sunderland flaring for landing

touchdown

stalled landing

On final at Lord Howe Island

taxying at Lord Howe Island.

Landing on the lagoon at Lord Howe

Peter Phillips,Abbey, and myself at Lord Howe

At Lord Howe we flew the Sunderland for the local residents and schoolkids who were allowed out of school to watch.

We took off...

flew around a few times

dropped a few depth charges

The details of the model are:
 

Scale:	1:10
Wingspan:	3.45m (11 ft 2 ins)
Weight:	23.5 kg (50 lbs)
Engines:	4 x A.S.P. .46 two stroke with Bolly 3-blade 11 x 4.25 props
Radio:	JR X3810 8 channel with 11 servos with control to the following: Rudder, Elevator, Ailerons, Rudder, Throttles, Flaps, Bomb drop. The rudder is mixed with port or starboard throttles for taxiing on the water via a mixing switch.

The static models of the Sunderland, (four to date), are on display in four "Trader Duke's" restaurants in Southern Queensland, at Maroochydore, Caboolture, Coomera, and Southport.
Sunderland in Action
Sunderland model depth charging a huge Submarine Model "Surcouf" by Patrick Drake. The powerful plume from the Depth Charge has destroyed the portside tailplane of the Sunderland.

(Pics by the late Bruce Virtue)
Note the tailplane blown off by the depth carge. The model continued to fly and landed normally.
Considering that the model is flying at approximately 50 knots, the photographer did rather well to capture the moment that the tailplane was deflected.
Another shot of the Sunderland at speed, Depth Charging "Surcouf".

And another, this time bombing Patrick's U-Boat .

DC's straddle the u-boat

Fighting back! Surcouf fires its' guns!

This is EK594, the Sunderland of 10 squadron RAAF that the model was based on: My father F.W.(Bill) Reichelt flew this aircraft:

This is Ross McMurtry talking to Dad at a Sunderlanders meeting. Ross and Dad were crew together on the same Sunderland in the last months of the war.

Dad in 1945

My workshop looked like Shorts factory at Rochester for a while

Here are some of the Sunderland models made for Trader Duke's Restaurants at Southport,Coomera,Maroochydore, and Caboolture. Also a Catalina at Maroochydore.

New Project:
Empire Flying Boat Model:
Our next model project is to make a flying 1/10 scale model of the Empire Flying Boat, using the moulds we have made from the excellent drawings of the Empire Boat from Brian Cassidy .
I have already made a static model from these moulds, which is presently hanging in Pancho's Restaurant on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

As stated above I'm also dead keen to make an electric flying Empire Boat from that mould.

my friend Peter Phillips from Lord Howe Island below

Pete has written an excellent book about the Flying boat era at Lord Howe Island and Eastern Australia called "The Flying Boat Days". He has scoured the available sources to make a very comprehensive record in print and pictures of the 'Big Boats' and their contribution to history.It's a 'must have' for Flying Boat enthusiasts.

Museum Replicas and Models

A full sized DH61 "Giant Moth" non-flying Replica.This replica was installed in the original QANTAS hangar at Longreach at Easter, 2002.

This picture was taken in April 2002 when the DH61 replica was finally installed in the original hangar
where it will now be permanently located.

Compare with the real one, this picture taken at the same QANTAS Hangar at Longreach circa 1930

Photo courtesy of QANTAS Founders Outback Museum and Duraprints Australia

Some details on the DH61 replica:
Wingspan 15.85m (52 feet)
Length 11.89m (39 feet)
Weight approx 2 tonnes
The original had a 500hp Bristol Jupiter 9 cylinder radial engine which I have recreated in fibreglass for this replica.

The aircraft has seating for 7 passengers and a pilot.
Construction is mainly fibreglass over a welded steel tube framework.
747
The QANTAS Founders Outback Museum has recently been given a Boeing 747 by QANTAS for permanent display at Longreach. It makes an interesting comparison with the DH61.

Here are a few more pictures of the DH61 "Giant Moth" replica

The DH61 project was kindly sponsored by Rob Tolmie.

Here we are, Trish and I, with Rob and Caroline.

The following models have been made for the QANTAS Founders' Museum at Longreach. All are 1/5 scale.
They feature in a display called the "Plane Spotting Display" where the models  move around a track in the ceiling with the propellers rotating.
Below are pictures of the models which are suspended on the moving track at the museum.
Avro 504 Dyak

RAF Be2e

 

Armstrong Whitworth FK8

 

DH50

Another model that is part of the 'Plane Spotting' Display at the QANTAS Founders' Museum is the DH 86 model made by Greg Hardcastle and Peter Reichts. This excellent model has actually flown, and was refurbished for this display.

Another display for the new museum is the Propeller Building Display , based on some very detailed large-format photographs from 1918 showing the process of making the big wooden propellers used on World War 1 aircraft.
A propeller being made in the jig.

The original propeller beside the first propeller from the jig.

The Avro 504 model with working controls which can be manipulated by a stick control outside the cabinet.
It has been a popular exhibit. \

This 1/12 scale C Class Empire Flying Boat is also on display at the Longreach  QANTAS Founders Museum

Two Avro 504's

 

For the Lord Howe Island Historical Society I made a 1/10 Short Sandringham "Beachcomber"/"Pacific Chieftain" (painted as Beachcomber on one side and Pacific Chieftain on the other).

and a 1/10 scale PB2b2 Catalina,

as part of their celebration of their long history with flying boats.

Go to top

Contact Me