skylane42

My Feedback: (53)

You know, I look at all the electric 1/2A size planes and wonder if anyone has been converting these nice foam electrics to .049 or .09 power glow? I have been really tempted to give it a try. Have you?

propjobbill

I have been considering doing just that. I think the biggest thing would be reinforcing the area where you mount the engine. I have a post here under the glow to electric fourm. so far only one person has responded. they suggested that I try it and let them know.

I also am very interested in seeing if anyone has done it. I may made a conversion myself. The problem is at this point it may be close to spring before I get to fly and find out, our good weather is all but gone.

I tryed to convert one of the foam glider to electric, but it was winter and windy. I realy didn't have much success. but come to think about they might work good for Glow.

skylane42

My Feedback: (53)

I was on RC Groups and found a thread on the subject in the 1/2A forum.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=740846

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

The questions that need to be answered are; Is the foam fuelproof? Do you need to seal the foam? Can you attach a firewall or can you insert hardwood sticks into the foam for beam mounts?

Some foam is fuelproof, some ain't. So it depends on the particular airplane you want to convert. Good ol' white foam is fuelproof I believe. But it will sponge up fuel and exhaust residue over time and fail. You could fill and paint or cover with a low-temp covering like econokote.

Quick and dirty your thing? Search for wal-mart gliders and foam flyers. Here's the first thread I saw on the subject and may answer some questions for you:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10...tm.htm#1054008

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Hahaha, man that brings back some memories,,I remember that just about the time I had mine balanced and flying good,,,a nice straight pass down the runway and it fluttered itself into "chicken feathers" as DB put it....Rog

skylane42

My Feedback: (53)

I agree, there are some things that need investigation. The foam can be fuel proofed with a coat of clear poly U on it. I think that if nothing else, some gorilla glue would bond any wood and foam. There may be some extra reinforcement needed on spars, stab etc. The other thread talked about power equivelents to the electric .. I think all you would need is the weight and then the power for glo would be indicated. Under 30 oz and a good 049- 51 - 61 would do.. up to around 40 -44 ounces maybe a 09 or 10.

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

10-16oz AUW is good for a reedie or AP .061, A TD or Norvel should be good up to ~24oz. The upper weight ranges there would fly like bricks unless you're dealing in gliders. A lot depends on which engine and what type of airframe. dF had a powerloading chart on his site that would help a lot and I have it at home if you're interested. Combine that with your desired wingload and you'll be hitting the nail on the head swapping over to glow.

NorfolkSouthern

Most of the folks I've talked to at my local club have recommended installing an OS 10 or 15 on the smaller electric ARFs. The cost is lower, without sacraficing performance. Plus, there is no worry about charging batteries two hours for a 15 minute flight. Or, having to deal with a stack of LiPo batteries.

NorfolkSouthern

Mr. Mugen

Well I have about 40 electric foam planes and can say that most of them will melt wiith fuel dripped on them. I have had fuel splatter and put holes in some of my planes. Being a electric guy myself and recently going glow I can say that foam planes fly nothing like balsa....what so ever. I now quit considering them planes at all. They do not stall like a plane should, or taxi, or land or or or or. You get the point. I have messed with the idea of converting one to nitro and just might. I have a new in box AP 061 that needs a project.
You can cover these planes with your favorite covering to fuel proof them. However if you get a pin hole where fuel gets in then your gonna have issues. I will do a weight test with a few tank/motor/flight pack combos and see if I can get it in the weight range. I wonder which plane will see the test now? I was thinking the typhoon would be a good candidate. Or the Super Cub. They both have a good start for placement of tank and flight packs. Also both have a solid nose to the fuse for mounting motor mounts.
Gorilla glue, epoxy, or foam ca works best on these from exp. Kevin

skylane42

My Feedback: (53)

As far as weight is concerned.. I had a 1/2a skylane at 42 ounces, and it flew with a medallion 09. One that weighted 28 ready to fly on a td 09 and it would do continious 12 foot loops all day.

Andrew

I haven't converted a lekkie to glow, but have built several foam planes for glow. Here's my experience:

1) Some WBPU is fuelproof; some is not. If it's not, you end up with a gummy mess so testing is advised.[:@]

2) Adding 1/2 oz or 3/4 oz fiberglass cloth adds a lot of stiffness -- it can be applied using WBPU, sticks very well and has almost no weight.

3) I prefer Elmer's Pro-Bond to Gorilla Glue and find it a little easier to apply. I've also read that Pro-Bond performs a little better in strength testing.

4) The big problem with foam, beaded or extruded, is that only the surface beads or skin adheres and can easily peel off. I use Pro-Bond to skin foam wings -- just for an experiment, I applied a section of 1/16" balsa, then broke the skin loose. It took the first layer of beads with it. I dipped it in acetone to dissolve the foam to see how far the Pro-Bond penetrated -- it had put fingers of adhesive 1/32" to 3/64" into the voids between the beads. The glue was applied so thinly that the wood was almost dry; I misted the foam by spraying into the air and waving the wing thru the mist -- I had added a drop of detergent to the mist bottle so the water wouldn't bead on the foam core.

5) Foam to foam joints can be significantly strengthened by pinning with bamboo skewers.

6) For firewalls or engine mounts, I try to run rails to add more glueing area. For a firewall, make sure the foam surface is flat and clean, Pro-Bond and clamp. When dry, I'll usually drill 2 to 4 holes in the firewall, run a bamboo skewer thru the firewall into the foam 2 or 3", pull out and add glue, then push back in. After it drys, cut the skewer flush with the firewall -- if it comes loose, there's usually not enough of the plane to mess with.

7) For foam glue joints, shear loads are always better than tension.