My inspiration for this
build was a photo of the one to one scale aircraft that I found on the Internet.
This aircraft is used as a jump ship for a Swiss skydiving team. I initially
started with the PC-6C/H-2 but wanted the newer nose minus the huge exhaust
pipe. So I then purchased the PC-6B-2/H-2. Using the kit nose,
I had a friend of mine cast a new nose for the PC-6C. This resulted in
being able to build both kits as PC-6B's.
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After studying numerous
photos of the aircraft, I determined that a few modifications to the kit were
needed. I started with the propeller which had to be converted from a
three blade to a four blade. To do this I scratchbuilt a new spinner and
fourth blade. Not happy with the kit exhaust, I scratchbuilt new exhaust
stacks. The tail fillet was enlarged per photos of the aircraft. The
interior was modified by reversing the copilot seat to a rear facing position
and installing a bench seat at the rear of the cabin. The real challenge
to this build was the STOL wing tips.
My research shows that
almost all the Turbo Porters have gone to the STOL tips. The tips in the
kit are the old style. The complexity in the shape of the tips had me
frustrated and after a couple of attempts at scratchbuilding them with no
success, I sent an email to Pilatus requesting any information they could
provide. They answered back with line drawings and specs. I was then
able to construct the wing tips. Now watch, with my luck, Quickboost will
come out with some aftermarket tips in the near future.
Other mods or additions
include scratchbuilding the many antennas, nav lights and the homemade decals.
I used the Testors decal system, PrintMaster fonts, press type letters and my
own artwork for the decals.
Model Master paints were
used throughout the build. I want to give a big thank you to Pilatus for
their assistance. Without them, this kit would still be in my "I will
finish it someday" pile.
Enjoy the photos.
Terry Davis
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