[mustangdriver]

Hey just so you guys all know, I am a big guy and pilot, and took no offense to anything you all said.

[SKUNKY]

But just for the heckuvit you should beat them up anyway,Stang......I'll hold your goggles for ya while you do.......When we goin' up in that T-6 anyway???.....

[mustangdriver]

Very soon. I just got results back from a prebuy inspection. We had planned on taking it apart and trucking it here. It looks like I will be able to get a ferry permitt, and fly it back gear down the whole way.

[SKUNKY]

Awesome

uh oh,... I think I just got us off topic!.......

[bsmith13]

Originally Posted by Canucklehead

So don't ridicule him for being a fatty, instead admire him for being able to pilot an aircraft at all with what must be a very challenging physical condition.

Very well done, Canucklehead. It is good to know that Gemini Pilots don't in fact need to go on a diet with exercise. They just need (ha ha) plastic surgery.

[Bluenosed Bastard]

Originally Posted by Canucklehead

This discussion got me to thinkin', which is never good.
In 1/72 scale, a 6' pilot would be 1" tall. That would be an exceptionally tall pilot for the WWII era. As stated previously, the cockpits of fighters were rather cramped to begin with, so it would be rare that you would find a pilot of that height (6 ft.) or greater.
I happen to have a Matchbox pilot handy, so I checked to see how he measures up. He's approximately 1/2 an inch from the top of his helmet to the seat of his pants. That would translate to 36" (3ft.) in 1/1 scale. Add another 1/4" for the length of his leg from knee to hip and that brings the total to 3/4" in 1/72 or 4'6" in 1/1, from knee to top of the head. Since MB pilots are cut off below the knee, you'd have to guess at the remainder, but assuming that he is close to average proportions, another 1/4 of an inch would be a close guess, bringing the total close to 1" (6 ft. 1/1 scale). The difference between 5'8" and 6' in 1/72 would be hardly noticeable, so let's say he's of average to above average height.
With this part done, I decided to crack open the Gemini Bald Eagle. It was then that I found out what the problem was. It's not that the pilot is fat, in fact he's fairly trim. The problem is that he's deformed to the point that he has no neck and his head begins in what would be, on a normal person, in the middle of his sternum. He has all of his legs though, which made it easier to measure him. 7/16" from head to seat, 3/16" from heel to knee, and another 3/16" from knee to seat. Total is 13/16", which would translate to 58.5", or 4'10.5". So don't ridicule him for being a fatty, instead admire him for being able to pilot an aircraft at all with what must be a very challenging physical condition.
I then tried to place the MB pilot into the Bald Eagle, but he's too tall for the job. They've got a bit of a booster seat in there though, so if it was trimmed out a larger, more accurate pilot would be able to fit.
Attached is a picture of the boys, Gemin's "Quasi" O'Sullivan on the left (I think his Mom has to dress him), and Matchbox's "Shins" McGuinty on the right.

Good work Canuckle!!! I had already yanked O'Sullivan from the GA aircraft and realized as you did that he looks like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The pilots from the MB planes are done nicely and have found their way into a couple of the Dragon Mustangs.