Republic RC-3 Seabee!

**N2056** · September 21st, 2011, 20:29

That's a pretty classy offer! :salute:

***falcon409*** · September 21st, 2011, 20:34

Originally Posted by jdhaenens

These two liveries? I have plenty of pics of these two from Fallon a couple of years ago.

Attachment 48764

Attachment 48763

Jim

Two of my favorites. . .did those liveries for the PAD Seabee. . . .good choices Jim.:salute:

**Helldiver** · September 22nd, 2011, 04:57

That ribbing looks terrific, i know it effects the count but it add so much to the plane.
I understand Luis Pizzaro of "Operation Repo" flies a Sea Bee.

**roger-wilco-66** · September 22nd, 2011, 05:37

Originally Posted by Helldiver

That ribbing looks terrific, i know it effects the count but it add so much to the plane.
[...]

I second that, the 3d ribs look great! Would be interesting how much this would actually effect the frame rates if you would do them all.
Maybe it's not that bad after all.

Cheers,
Mark

**AckAck** · September 22nd, 2011, 06:14

That ribbing looks terrific, i know it effects the count but it add so much to the plane.
[...]

I second that, the 3d ribs look great! Would be interesting how much this would actually effect the frame rates if you would do them all.
Maybe it's not that bad after all.

Perhaps I misunderstood Gibbage's comments, but aren't the renders being gushed about as 3d renders actually done with normal maps? At least that was the impression I got from "The final textures will be a lot better, I assure you! You simply cant this sort of detail modeling it in without TONS of polygons and a big loss in performance. Hope this helps people!"

(Although he did say the right wing, which in the renders appears to not have anything done to it, so I assumed he meant the one on the right of the picture, not the right of the plane.):isadizzy:

**jdhaenens** · September 22nd, 2011, 07:25

Yeah, I think Kevin is snickering under his breath as the geometry folks fawn over his normal maps. Normal maps will generally always show a shadow so the ribs will be visible all the time even in lighting conditions (rare) where they shouldn't. I think they look great and Kevin has made his point.

Jim

**Gibbage** · September 22nd, 2011, 08:59

Yep. What your looking at is normal maps, not geomitry! =) I didnt intend to trick people, but it shows the power of a properly made normal map.

As for the Navy livery, YES YES YES! Its one of the best looking Seabee's out there! I also plan on doing the James Bond Seabee from the movie "The Man With The Golden Gun" =) I hope that there will also be an active skinning community adding to the Seabee, so I will enlist Jankees to test the paint kit and make sure its easy to paint on!

**khaast** · September 22nd, 2011, 10:01

Superb model and superb bump maps/normal maps ;-) I look forward to this one :-)

**Helldiver** · September 23rd, 2011, 05:34

I notice that both "Navy" airplanes have been rengined with a six cylinder engine and are sporting four bladed props

**OleBoy** · September 23rd, 2011, 17:51

Kevin, the Seabee is a nice vintage craft. I was at my local airport about a month ago and crawled all over a 1947 type that was being restored. I spoke to the man doing the restoration, and learned that a man from Seattle, Wa was the owner. I spoke to this person (the restorer) for a lengthy time and got to really eye over the SeaBee as much as I liked. Great little craft it was. I was told that they weren't much good for anything really, not even as a mail carrier or cargo type due to the lack of weight that they could carry to remote areas. I paid no mind to the negativity really, considering that I was not concerned about becoming the owner (it was getting sold after restoration was completed) But they are rather unique for the era. I believe that the Navy was one of the first to have them built (if I recall the conversation correctly) and they later found that they were not the right plane for the intended use as planned. Anyway, not meaning to throw a curve in the topic!!

Your mastery of modeling abilities shine. It looks real nice from the renders!!! A great asset the the FSX reality!

**Gibbage** · September 24th, 2011, 12:26

The Navy painted bird had an engine change. MOST flying Seabee's today have one of three engines. The original Franklin 215HP engine, a newer Lycoming GO-480 from Simuflight that has 295HP and is much ligher engine, and new coweling. The Navy painted Seabee uses the 3rd engine, a Chevy V8 from a Corvette!!! These engines produce between 350-500HP (depending on the model) and use both 100LL and premium unleaded automotive fuel. They also add air conditioning

The V8 engine is also SMALLER then the original Franklin, and can fit under the original coweling, were the Lycoming cant.

You can get more information on the V-8 Seabee here, http://www.v8aircraft.com/ along with photo's of the Navy painted Seabee. I would like to do the V8 powered Seabee, but its all up to what the customers want.

The Army and Navy did have interest in them for coast guard duty in 1944, but cancled there orders after VJ day. Only 3 Seabee ever saw service in the US Army, so the Navy Seabee is a myth and a hypothetical livery. I still love it though!

And yes, Seabee's are NOT practical. But a Lamborghini is also not. Its a good bush flying aircraft and very versitile. It can carry 4 people and has a good useable load with the 295HP Lycoming and extended wings. To put it bluntly, the 215HP Franklin Seabee is and will be a DOG. Like pushing a brick through sand one pilot told me. The 295HP Seabee seems to be the right spot when it comes to performance and reliability, and the 350+ will be a lot of fun!

There is also an outfit in So-Cal thats putting a PT6 turbo-prop into a Seabee!!! Thats 450SHP!!!

I will NOT be building this one-off Seabe. Sorry!