The original Abrams P-1 Explorer made its maiden flight in 1937 and was the first aircraft in the world designed specifically for aerial photography. Only one was built at the time, and very few historical photos and videos exist. 

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From a simple three-sided view and these few images, we have recreated this aircraft in as much detail as possible, bringing it to life. It was an incredible moment to see this historical time witness take off again for the first time after many decades, even if only as an 3d printed RC model airplane.

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For the construction I decided to design the major part for PLA or better tough PLA. There is a wide range of filaments and you have more possibilities to design complex and detailed shapes than for LW-PLA, which prefers retract-free design. Nevertheless, we were able to achieve a flying weight of only 2100 grams and thus a relatively low wing loading of 54 g/dm2.

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Our prototype has working landing flaps, but they proved to be unnecessary in flight, so we removed them from the production model to save on parts and servo costs. Visually, of course, they have been retained. In general, this aircraft does not need much electronics, the two rudders and the nose wheel are controlled by a single servo.

 

A special highlight is the possibility to build the canopy in clear glass optic. Most windows can be bent with flat foil, for the convex corner windows simply cutouts from PET bottles from the supermarket are used. Included in the package is a credit card sized bottle finder (download here) to find the right bottle.

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If you are looking for a truly unique scale aircraft, the Abrams is a hot contender to surprise your friends on the flying field.