Up Close: Boulder man has carved a niche for self by Aimee Heckel, Boulder Daily Camera Staff Writer, 11/1/2012 http://www.dailycamera.com/features/ci_21904443/gene-korte-hand-carves-airplanes-wide-body-dc-10-messerschmitt-262-lockheed-c-5
Along with my work with Diana in travel photography and public radio programming, I also create museum-quality custom wooden airplane replicas. They range in size from 1/40th to 1/6th scale with wing spans up to 8 feet. The scale number represents the fraction of the size of the actual aircraft.
My collection of two dozen replicas are made to within one-inch accuracy and include both military and commercial planes ranging from the Caravelle and Concorde to the P-51 Mustang and the F-14 Tomcat. My largest replica in width and length at 1/30th scale is the C-5, and certainly one of the most complicated — though they all had their challenges – is the SR-71 Blackbird, as it has few straight lines.
I’ve had a lifelong love of aviation, carving wood and the mathematical exactness of scale drawings. I have an engineering degree from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from Colorado State University. For nearly 3 decades I traveled in the US and abroad for IBM, collecting US patents for optics and mechanics, as well as gathering a world of experience in test labs, developing new products and working with customers in the US and Europe.
My airplane replicas are constructed from standard one-inch white pine planks that I buy at the local lumber yard and are sealed with neutral color stain. Although the planks are laminated to prevent warping, white pine doesn’t readily split. The wood is easy to work with hand tools and, of course, is inherently beautiful with color tones from rose to off white.
Handmade scale drawings are created for every component including the wings, fuselage, rudder, stabilizers and engines. These drawings include cross-sections that are typically located at every replica-inch and closer, if necessary. I can make a replica of any military or commercial aircraft, including helicopters, as I have drawings for virtually all of them, gathered from aviation companies, obscure bookstores and collectors from around the world.
This is a list of my replicas, followed by the scale:
Boeing 707 1/40th, Boeing B-52 1/40th, Boeing 747 1/40 scale, Boeing B-29 1/20th, Caravelle SE-210 1/20th, Douglas DC-10 1/30th, Lockheed SR-71 1/14th, North American P-51D Mustang 1/6th, Concorde 1/24th, Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk 1/10th, Grumman F-14 Tomcat 1/10th, Lockheed C-5 Galaxy 1/30th. I’m currently creating the Messerschmitt ME-262 at 1/6th scale.
To see a list of all replicas with details of weight, size and date finished, go to http://www.dianaandgeneontheroad.com/genes-aviation-scale-replica-summary/
To match the photos with each of my replica names including the scale, tap each photo below. Or click the Photo Gallery on this site labeled “Aviation Scale Replicas” to watch them all come by in a slide show.
You can tell from the photos that include me (I’m in the photos to show relative size) that these replicas have taken many decades to complete.
Contact me at gene@aviationscalereplicas.com
