combatpigg

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The main boulevard is only 600 feet to the west of that plane and a mobile home park is about the same distance.
The interstate hwy is about 1/4 mile from where these planes loaf around at 150-200 feet. This field is about 5 miles from the airport.
The rest of the area is dotted with houses, shopping centers, etc.

If the plane didn't tend to climb so much into the wind, I could have laid down some 2 way passes worth clocking. Downwind passes are still fun on days like this. If there is anything good to say about the weather here, it's usually not very windy, never too hot or severly cold.

The AME with the stock needle is still pretty critical to set on bladder. The larger tubing just barely works inside the fuel compartment. Inflated, it has .840" of girth..I'll bet the compartment is no more than .875" deep...so I got lucky.

I'm beginning to draw Blink II and am going to pencil in a 1 oz plastic tank and go with CC pressure.

Pond Skipper

In the last vid you had hit 29k in dives etc.. the consistent longer down wind passes exceeded your past speeds with the steady fuel flow, what do you think a 1oz tank will get you about 2.5mins?

combatpigg

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I'd say 2 to 2.5 minutes sounds about right with an AME.
Most of the 1/2 A videos are done wih 2/3 to 3/4 oz if they were done on bladder with a fuel guzzling Cyclon and there is a little over 1 minute of air time with those..
Those runs seem long enough between pit stops, because you never know what might shake loose.
Today, one of the 6 fin / hatch screws kept backing out almost all the way. Same screw, same amount of unscrewing each flight.

combatpigg

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After sketching a Blink MK II it looks like more work than a AME .061 is worth. It would be much easier to just say that it would make an improvement after coming out of a dive.
The wing could be 2 layers of 1/16" balsa wrapped around a 1/8" CF tube and some skinny little riblet formers. Framing up such a skimpy little delta frame, then sheeting it would be tricky.
I could try hot wiring it out of dense [sandable] foam, then do what little it takes to make it strong enough to hold together in flight.
Skip the sheeting altogether [and total waste of good balsa].
This plane would end up being similar to the Cyclon Bat Outta Hell, but with less span and slightly more area.

Pond Skipper

Hard skin would be better for more speed known fact over shrink covered surfaces.

Could make the fuse fully symmetrical to aid in function and give you a tad more gear room.

Drawing looks good CP but couldn't help myself moved more fin further back and underside should help it drill up with less fuss having more surface to push against.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

PS....that looks very nice..!
Every time I've tried anything other than iron on film or tissue and dope with 1/2 A planes they turn out too heavy.
I don't like film over bare foam so much either. That method dents real easy after slaving to make it as smooth as possible.
I've heard people rave about some sort of paper over foam with thinned white glue, then painted.

Pond Skipper

Yes I was referring to typical open framed shrink covered surfaces, the indoor guys have used the paper and glue soaked method over soft foam to provide a tough smooth skin for painting detail.
What sort of paper I wonder, rice paper, tissue or brown wrapping paper?

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Very interesting..l ooks snazzy. I was riffling through sketches and papers last night, and found some sketches remarkably along the same lines. Hmm.. time to draw it up on CAD?

aspeed

I kind of started one of the "Crazy Herbs Cheap Delta" It is made from 3/4" foam, but I used 1/2". It was designed for a, .06 Norvel, but I thought maybe I could use up my AP .09, maybe pipe it later or go to the AP .15 if it doesn't fold up. Anyway, it is easy to block sand the airfoil shape onto whatever design you wish with that foam. I have glued on the plywood motor mount, hinged it and added a skid underneath to toss it easier since that pic.Some guys used to cover their foam with silkspan and wallpaper paste, or thinned white glue. I don't think the yellow glue was invented yet, that is how long ago it was.

Andrew

Here's mine -- 1/2" foam with thin packing tape for covering, NORVEL .061.

aspeed

I put in a carbon fiber tube in the back of mine. I think it may end up a bit nose heavy with the .09. Might go with the standard servos for tail weight. Was going to use HS81. I may just wrap the leading edge with tape to seal the fuel out. The rest looks pretty non porous. Hope it is a good flyer, I spent a fortune on the foam. :-)

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Andrew.. didn't know you were a Bread fan. That's a lovely tune you have on the piano there, do you sing it to the delta?

:
2nd verse:

If a man could be two places at one time,
I'd be with you (out flying instead of stuck at work)
Tomorrow and today, beside you all the way.
If the world should stop revolving spinning slowly down to die
then thank goodness I got out of the spin.
And when the world was through,
Then one by one the stars would all go out,
Then you and I would simply fly away.. (hmm, better grab a spare can of fuel and a couple of plugs on the way)

Oh yeah.. cool foamie delta! That is inspiring, I was staring at Depron and tiny engines last night in fact..

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Aspeed, that's a nice tight and smooth looking job..! So, you had to buy an entire 4 x 8 sheet of foam..?

I've tried hot wiring delta wings and it's hard to avoid over heating the outboard area of the panel . I think sanding with a long board between 2 templates is the way to go.

Andrew, how does your plane go..? That is the best looking way to get a nice return on your building time to flying time ratio.
I met with the guys at the Arlington Airport today and we had a nice talk about the recent epidemic of low flying aircraft over "my" field.
I sent them videos of the close encounters.
Hopefully, the airport managers can get the word out to the local flyers to remind them about minimum altitudes over this busy area that has become a "mass of humanity" every where you look.

MJD

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Minimum altitude over inhabited areas here is 1000', open country 500'. If you're 5 miles from the airport and they are that low, I think you got a problem with low flying pilots. That Cessna can hit 1000' in a whole lot less than that. Heck, I crawl up at 400fpm at 65mph and 1000' would take half that distance, or less with any headwind component.

aspeed

The sheets are only 2 x 8'. I think they were only $7 or $14. I think it was either Home Depot or Lowes. I had to go into a bigger city to find it. The blue fan fold stuff is nice for some little foamies too. I like it better than the depron dollar store stuff. It is a bit hard to find. I am trying to get away from balsa, mostly because I am tired of painting it. There isn't many fuel proof paints around any more. Just a few overpriced ones. I like the idea of complaining to the airport. We have to keep 5 miles from airports and give right of way to all full size planes of course. If you ***** loud enough, you may get them to think you are the boss of things. Can't believe I got deleted for that.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

As a crow flies, I'm actually closer than 5 miles. This is private property just outside the city limits / jurisdiction, so it's legally OK for me to operate from out of here, but it has proven to be hazardous. Yesterday was the first time in my "RC career" to do a full loop around a "full scale" ship.
Years ago, this spot had virtually zero traffic overhead, even though the airport has always been a busy place for full scale ops. I do not know why or what has changed their flight pattern, but it is from just a common sense point of view unwise for them to be so low over the public areas when they can comfortably land from a much higher approach if they want to.

combatpigg

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I started out the day with visions of creating nice thin wing panels out of blue foam and after one failed attempt threw in the towel and commenced to whittling out a proper wing out of solid balsa.
I used a plank of 1/2" thick balsa, drew centerlines around the 5 perimeter surfaces and in short time created a usable wing.
It won't need any spars and once it's embedded into the fuselage it won't tend to warp much.

aspeed

Killin trees? Looks good so far. Will you have it flying in a week like usual?

combatpigg

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It's hard to say because I plan on shaping a male fuselage mold out of foam, then glass it, dig out the foam, make a separate cowl for the engine....too many variables, too many rarely used techniques.
I'd never make it in the real world of bidding work because of a lack of a sense of time.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Ever dissolve out the foam with gas or naptha? (recommended to do this outside)

combatpigg

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I've tried that with gooey results.
What I do is shape the foam, then cover it with clear packing tape to act as the release membrane. After the FG cures dig into the foam with a wood chisel the weaken the heart of the foam plug. Use a vaccuum cleaner while liberating bits and pieces of the foam core. Once the foam plug has been scooped out enough the remainder will pop loose from the FG and come away cleanly.
This plane could have the entire top side of the fuselage unscrew from the wing to access the equipment, so the wing itself would also be taped off prior to doing the glass work.

aspeed

That gooey stuff is Napalm. What it the fuzzy stuff you used on the wing for the shape? I have one that is distantly somewhat similar with the tip plates pointing down so it is somewhat like a skid, and it maybe keeps it straighter right up to a stall. I'd show a pic, but it is embarrassing.

MJD

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Yes it is indeed home brew napalm, fun too! Again, not a great technique for indoor use.

combatpigg

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I didn't realize that was napalm. I thought napalm was gasoline and laundry detergent.
The fuzzy stuff on the wing is balsa saw dust. I save it to use as filler to mix with epoxy or CA.
It's helpful behind a firewall to smooth out sloppy carpentry work with the balsa tristock reenforcement.
this wing still needs elevons yet, but what you see here weighs 2.4 ozs so far. I'll end up bracing it in the middle where the servo rails need to go and to replace any lost strength where the wing needs to be scooped out to make room for the tank and battery.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Napalm gets it's name from napthenic acid and palmatic acid, used to gel it up. These are just basement bomber napalm substitutes.