flyswatter

Hey pt, if you are looking for something durable, maybe you should investigate Kevlar Ballastic fabric. Buy a couple of yards of that and stick it on your plane. I have a feeling you would last the day in the sky!

willflyforfood

They make Tyvec suits for painting in. You can find one of the suits or if you need some, I've got rolls and rolls of it. This stuff is unbelievably strong.

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Willfly, I'm sure that I can find it around here somewhere! Time is starting to run short. Between my wife and work, I just haven't gotten any modeling done! Anyway, here's some updated pictures. The fin isn't covered yet, nor the engine mounted. I did toss everything on a scale. I'm well on my way to a sub-6oz delta! Now, at 6oz, I guarantee that it'll go around the pylons without losing as much speed as an 8oz SWR.

BTW, that's just a regular Killer Bee you see there. That'll be the maiden flight engine. (I ain't crazy!)

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

That looks awesome, dude! It's as close to an all air 1/2A model as I've seen here in awhile. Another plane where finding the perfect control set up might take some trial and error. I think with deltas you want to be balanced on the bubble, if they flair on final and pass the dive test that's a good start. With your submerged elevon linkage, I'm guessing that the push rods will need to pass through the hatch cover [to hook up close to the pivot point of the servo arm]?

Let it be MY turn to say that fin looks iffy[X(], but if it works, then that's all that counts. That fin is almost exactly the same size [and shape] proportionally to a .15 powered delta that I built a couple of years ago that would fly just great until you started to mess around, then it would just spin in with zero chance of getting straightened out. Looking back on it [the plane is still in one piece, deltas are tough] I should just increase the fin and try it again.

That white leading edge really jumps out at you, white and red show up good. Good luck, can't wait to hear how it goes with that KILLERBEE you had ABC'd by GLEN DYE.

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

CP, here I was about to cover the fin and decided to cross-check the fin area on my other deltas. Gonna prove you wrong. Well, it turns out that scaling down the Lil Streak shows a need for around 12 square inches. The fin I had was only 7sq in. I kept the look, but added some height to being it up to twelve squares... Oh well, I can't always be right. Just don't ANYBODY tell my wife.[>:]

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

On the first delta I ever built, the LIL TOAD, the fins were just big enough to keep it flying straight, but if you gave it cross controls and held it, it would spin like a frisbee, and all you could do was let go of the sticks, and watch it land like a flying saucer. It had a rubbery prop on an OS 10, and for quite awhile I thought it was the coolest plane in the world. Sliding servo tray and all.

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

You shoulda seen the first Lil Streak to ever be launched. It went straight out about thirty feet and at the first input it just started flat spinning. I had to double the area of the fins to get it ot the point that nothing would bother it.
The Lil Toad sounds like alot of fun. Did it's expiration date come up?

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

In a way it expired. The covering was some BS fabric that was not fuel proof, it steadily soaked up oil and the planes' bottom sheeting was crushed from all the vertical landings, but it never went into the ground in the classical way that you look at a crash. It flew for maybe 5 years with that anemic .10 and belly scraping launches. I pulled it apart and used the original parts for templates, it is rebuilt and hanging in the barn and waiting for a chance to redeem itself with a bigger fin. I have experienced the same exact thing you did with the GZDELTA. Remember all the fin discussion? It was totally aimless, with a pissed off GZ screaming away, but no place to go. It flies great now, but I don't like the looks of that whale tail it has now.

BMatthews

Lil Toad? Was that published in RCM years ago? If so I built one and set it up for elevons with my old Galloping Ghost equipment. Things didn't work out well as I was very new to RC flying back then and it was about a 3 minute love affair of excitement and lack of control that ended in toothpicks. Let it get out too far and totally lost orientation. Coupled with terribly sketchy control and that was all she wrote.

Dang! I was in my TEENS when that happened.

Andrew

Geez Bruce -- if you put a Galloping Ghost in that delta, it would have been called the Hoppy Toad. I flew one plane for a long time on a Rand GG rig with a Controllaire TX -- it flew fair, but looked like it had an advanced case of Parkinson's in the air.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

That describes it perfectly, ANDREW! It wiggle waggles its' way through the air. I think this design is from RCM and dates back to the days of those primitive radios. Could it have been flown single channel? I thought at the time that the designer was nuts to put a .15 on it. The plans I got showed a couple of different ways to make the controls work and a couple of paragraphs about the planes' history. I used yellow NYROD riding on wire rails for my sliding mixer tray. I'm sure all this design needs is more fin area towards the rear to fly right

Andrew

I don't see how a single channel could control it. One channel (elevator) drove the sliding tray back and forth and the servo riding the tray controlled roll. Using Nyrods was a good idea. Some the sliding tray design rode in grooves -- I never built one, but always thought it would be prone to binding. There was a commercial mechanical mixer available for use with V-tails around that time -- DuBro still manufacturers one, but it is not one I remember -- that would have worked more smoothly than a slider.

Pretty brave flying a Toad on a mechanical slider.

SGC

Simplest Mechanical mixer I know of is a nylon door hinge, just cable tie 1 servo to one side of the hinge, the other side of the hinge is fixed to the airframe, second (elevator)servo is mounted solid to the airframe and push/pulls the servo on the hinge( roll servo).
This type of mixer is not prone to jaming and is very light.
Stewart

Zack999

Ive talked to a coulpe of guys about making 5 or 6 for combat porposes with fandango brushless motors and since you gave out the plans I started construction on mine today I am going to fully sheet the wing paint dark red with black tips{ontop} and black and dayglow orange stripes for the bottom what do you think? sound like a hoot what do you think about fully seeting wing with paint to much weight?

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Zack, sheeting the wing won't add that much weight. I'm probably gonna do that to the VA powered one. As for the electrics, you're on your own! I know nothing! Weigh all your equipment and it shouldn't weigh more than 6oz. That would leave 2oz for the airframe and covering to keep it under a total 8oz. That would probably be the most weight you can get away with and keep a reasonable wing loading.

BMatthews

First off the plans were for an 09 to 15. I used an Enya 09 with probably about the same power as a Norvel 061.

The GG was three function with elevator and rudder/aileron. I hooked up the Rand to run the two ailerons off the top triangle plate and the elevator arm ran the actuator back and forth on a sliding tray. Yes it was ugly and I had to reduce the pulse rate so the poor thing could keep up with the commands but it worked... sort of. It was hairy in the air and coupled with my lack of flying ability at the time resulted in a short life. I was just barely keeping up with it but as it got further and further away I lost perspective and that was all she wrote....

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

When I brought my TOAD to a club meeting before its' roll out date, [1987?], there was mainly doom and gloom forecasts from the elderstatesmen. One guy said that there were only maybe a couple of guys in the UNITED STATES who are capable of flying it! When it flew in front of the disbelievers, it really was a big deal for some of those guys to see such a "tiny" delta plane actually controllable. It needed all the power that the OS .10 could muster, almost never used the throttle except to kill it. It doesn't seem that long ago, it would be fun to go back in time with some of the stuff that is out now!

xanaphyst

My Feedback: (17)

nice delta ya have there !!! The flight report will be interesting...

xanaphyst

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

I remember a guy who used to be into deltas...

Here's an updated picture. Elevons and linkages are all that's left. First flights will happen this weekend!

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Cool! Although, pointy fin tips are draggy.. might want to clip that unless you think it looks too cool to do so.

We'll be waiting with baited breath[where's I put the Clorets?] for the flight report! Good luck!

MJD

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

MJD, of course it's too cool! Drag was NO problem! It took off with little help and accelerated to well over 100mph in about 100ft. No kidding! Unfortunately, there was too much reflex and not enough trim. I spent the entire flight pushing forward on the stick while flying. Video was taken, but I gotta wait on the feller to email it to me. The end was quick, literally. That engine was smokin' fast! It was taching at least 25k on the ground and close to 30k in the air. What cause the early termination of the flight you ask? A feather receiver and a fast airplane are a BAD mix. That particular feather has been an excellent receiver and all that went wrong was I got too far out. I'm not heartbroken or anything. That airframe is now PROVEN! The fin was plenty, even at the low speeds during take-off.... all three seconds of it.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Wait just a dog gone minute......which engine did you go with? I'm glad to hear that you got at least enough of a taste of it, to want some more! You probably had enough adrenaline pumping afterwords to take on that bull, I'll bet.

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Uhh... I couldn't stand it. I mounted the engine you fixed up for me. That thing went like H*LL! The lower weight compared to the "Killer Buzz" made one heck of a difference! The engine is ok, and another airframe will be fixed up. There will be NO reflex at all next time!

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Can't wait to see serial #2 roll out! Can you please draw a picture of this thing so I can build one? The acceleration must have been AWESOME!

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

I'm telling you, the acceleration was unlike anything I've seen. Now, I didn't have time to scrounge up a balloon, so that was with the Sullivan tank and an AUW of 7.25oz. A balloon tank would put you down in the 6.5oz range and even more incredible flights! The link is www.ulmer-rc.com/files/delta.zip

ps. that includes the updated fin!