For the USSR

Foward to the West

About the I-16 The tiny I-16 was far ahead of it's time when it first appeared in 1933. It featured a retractable landing gear (manual crank mechanism), cantilevered wing, constant speed propeller and other design innovations that had previously never been seen in a WWII fighter. The first mass-produced I-16 appeared in WWII in 1934 as the Type 4 with a 480 h.p engine. After only 55 units were built, the type 5 emerged with a 725 h.p. engine. Production on the type 5 continued into early 1939 with more than 3,289 aircraft being produced. The aircraft when through additional revisions designated as the type 10, 12, 17, 18, 24, 28, and 29.

Design Documentation and Process

Why Model the I-16 I became interesting in the I-16 after "discovering" it in the IL2 Forgotten Battles World War II flight simulator program by UBISoft. IL2 is an excellent flight/combat simulator and the aircraft in this package are meticulously researched by the software designers and are considered very scale replicas of the real aircraft. Click Here for a series of screen shots of the I-16 from IL2 Forgotten Battles.

This electric powered model is based on the type 24 version which featured a 930 h.p. M-63 engine. The type 24 was very similar to the type 18 except for the larger engine, a tailwheel, a revised cowl air intake, structural modifications to the wing, a new spinner shape and a few other minor attributes. The design process To develop the model design I did extensive researched on the Internet and found several good sources of information, including drawings, photos and text. I always begin my design by either working with a good three view and/or profile drawings. In the case of this model took available resources and developed by own three view drawings using the information sheets shown below. I imported these drawing into my CAD software (AutoCAD) and traced over the sketches making adjustments for different views as I went. Once the three view was developed I scaled it to the desired wing span of the proposed model. I then develop structural drawings for the model over the three view drawings for an accurate outline. Click Here to view the 3-view Drawing I developed for this model.

Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 "rata"
Design Introduction	3-Views Drawings
3D Assembly Renderings	Simulator Photos
Wing Construction	Fuselage Construction
Airframe Photos	Finished Model Photos
Flight Video - Fly By's	Purchase Plans or Laser Cut Parts

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