WhtBronco

I thought since this is a little known plane I would do a build thread on it. Let me start of by saying my time for building is limited so it will take a while, atleast for a foamy. Anyway, upon opening the box and inspecting the parts I was pleasantly surprised at how perfect the cutting is. The foam was in near perfect shape, 1 small blemish, but it's on 1 of the wing caps and can be glued to the wing on that side so no problem at all. The wing caps are what make the 3D Foamy planes so special, called G-Force wings. This is my first foamy from 3D Foamy and I'm very excited about it. The lite ply used in construction is laser cut and perfect. There's lots of CF rod, push rods and control horns included.

Another thing about this plane is that it has a 35" wingspan, nearly 400 sq in wing area and yet it should be the same weight as most of the 30" Ultimate bipes.

So far all I have done is parts inspection and I have begun removing the parts from the blanks they are cut from. There's a few small sections left uncut to hold the parts in the blanks for protection which I like. I have decided to paint like my Advantage like my Eflite Ultimate(which this plane will replace), black, yellow and silver. I know I have little imagination, but that paint scheme is attractive IMO, easy to see in the air and with little paint used it will help to keep it light weight.

Components will be a Berg 7 Rx, GWS naro servos, CC 10 ESC, Himax 2812-0650 and a TP 3S 730mah pack. This has provided excellent 3D performance in my Ultimate.

VictoryRoll-91

Can't wait to read your thread! The G-dorce wing design makes my 3DFoamy Katana S fly great, it's really innovative , and it really works! Good luck and kep us posted.

WhtBronco

Well I got everything cut out and laid out this evening and couldn't resist the urge to stick the fuse side rails on. I am going to print the plans out tonight or tomorrow and really get started. I have a few pics of the parts that I will upload ASAP.

I didn't remember that the rudder is designed for pull-pull, but that is something I really like since it provides terrific control.

VictoryRoll-91

i can't find thid plane on the 3D Foamy website, when did you buy it?

WhtBronco

It's still there, it's just hidden. Here's the link:
[link]http://www.3dfoamy.com/advantage_bipe.htm[/link]

I bought it recently, in fact it arrived last week. This is the first Advantage John has sold since he took over from Levi.

WhtBronco

Well things are going well and progressing about normal for me, SLOW. First thing I'd like to point out is that the plans have not been updated to reflect the newer design which includes the G-Force wings. However, this is not an issue for the wings. That said the plans suggest cutting a groove in the wing struts and use the CF rod left over from the wing spars. That sounds great and I plan to do this except with the new G-Force wings the CF rod is now 2 pieces that are cut to the perfect length so there's no left over. The good news is I have some CF rod to , you only need about 14" though. The other thing is that there is no instruction manual for the Advantage, this also has not been an issue as the assembly is basically identical to the Pitts model for which the included CD has instructions. Oh yeah, the included CD is sweet. It has plans for all the 3D Foamy planes both tiled and normal, instructional manuals for most of the planes, videos and help with 3D flying techniques and maneuvers.

The plane also includes control horns that are 3 pieces each. A vertical piece and 2 horizontal pieces that fit tightly against the top and bottom of the control surface. The assembled control horns slide right into precut slots with a little glue their done. These are the nicest control horns I have ever seen in 18 years of flying.

Okay on with the assembly. I have all the wing CF wing spars glued in, the lite ply joiners for them and the motor mount. I also have the top wing skins glued on. For the wing spars and torqued motor mount(3D Foamy motor mount design that's superior) I decided on Gorilla glue, that some really nice glue just takes a while to cure. For the wing skins I decided on 3M Super 77 spray adhesive. So far everything has been simple assuming you are not new to assembling planes, but you aren't likely new to it if you are building a 3D plane. There's no guessing at all in these steps, the parts fit perfectly you simply apply some glue and insert them.

I think I spend more time than most do making sure things are sanded near perfect and such and I still only have at most 2 hours into this plane.

Next thing to do is get some pics in this thread, then glue to the bottom wing skins on, sand the wing leading edges of the wings and control surfaces and then paint it.

So far every piece of foam has been perfectly cut and it looks like the few pieces left are as well.

WhtBronco

Well I am making some progress. The wings are ready for sanding and paint, the fuse and rudder have 2 of the 3 paint colors so far. I finally have some pics to upload.

WhtBronco

Here's a pic of 1 of the laser cut foam sheets.

[img][/img]

WhtBronco

A pic of the laser cut ply parts.

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WhtBronco

A pic of the laser cut wing skin, 3mm foam, this also shows the servo cut out that's in the wing and the wing skin.

[img][/img]

WhtBronco

A pic of the wing with skins, ready for sanding the leading the an airfoil shape and then paint. If you looks you can see the areas in the main wing, under the skins cut out to reduce weight as well as the control horn slots in the ailerons. I have not cut the ailerons off yet, but there's only 3 tiny tabs to slice to seperate them.



[img][/img]

WhtBronco

One more pic for now, a close up of the aileron servo cut outs.

[img][/img]

WhtBronco

Here's a pic of the fuse that I missed yesterday.

[img][/img]

WhtBronco

Well as I said I don't have much time to work on my models so I am still trying to finish painting my Advantage. I will say that it seems as though it has taken forever to paint it. I don't paint many models, and now I remember why. I hope to finish the painting this weekend, but that will depend on how much I get called in to work. The rudder and fuse are ready for the last color. The horizontal stab and elevator are ready to start painting and the templates are already cut for them. The wings need to be sanded to shape and the templates cut.

WhtBronco

Well I have the fuse basically finished. The paint is done on it, just have to finish the cutout for the motor. The only issue I found during the fuse was installing the side rails. The tabs that ensure proper alignment required a bit of trimming, about 1/16" on each, in order to fit into the slots on the fuse tighly. Without cutting them they were crushing too much of the foam for my liking. Here's a few pics of the fuse painted.


The H stab and elevators have been joined, waiting for the glue to dry to paint them. The top wing has been sanded, all I have to do is bevel the ailerons and it'll be ready to paint. In case you don't know with the 3D Foamy G Force wings you sand the leading edge to sort of an airfoil shape.

HPIracer4

lookin good, i too am building a foamy from 3dfoamy, but im building the tibouron bipe. i havent worked on it in awhile, but i got the servos in the wing, and the fuse is pretty much done. im not sure if my dad had bought this straight from 3dfoamy or what but the wing struts were missing, so i had to attempt at cutting my own.

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

hpi, PM me your info and Ill send you one if it was missing.

HPIracer4

ok john i sent you a PM, and thanks!!!!!

WhtBronco

HPIracer4 , John is a good guy. He'll take care of you.

I think the Tiburon bipe will be my next foamy. It just took me a while to get over the fish look of the fuse.

I've run out of painters tape so I won't get the painting done on my Advantage until next weekend. In the meantime I'm getting the ailerons done so the wing is ready to paint when I have some tape.

HPIracer4

ya so far from when ive had to talk to john he seems like a very good guy, and great customer service too! but ya the fuse on the tibouron looks goofy, but it looks like a great flyer, and im hoping to use it as my main 3d flyer, i need a nice solid plane and it looks like its the perfect canidate. i just hope he got my PM i havent heard from him.

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

Heya HPI, got it, Ill get it on its way tomorrow. Thank you.. PS. post pics of your plane when its done

John

HPIracer4

alright sweet, and yea when its done, ill definitly have to make a post and share some pictures, maybe even some video!!!

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

now were talkin'

WhtBronco

I agree, the Tiburon bipe looks like a great 3D plane, I think better than the Advantage. Course I'll need both to be sure. LOL.

Well the ailerons are hinged for the top wing and ready for the hinges to be glued on the bottom wing. I hope to get the painting completed this weekend so I can get the airframe together. I amazed at how light and rigid this little plane is getting. To be honest I was really wondering since Depron is not very rigid by nature. I thought my Eflite Ultimate was Depron, but it' obviously not.

WhtBronco

Well no real progress here, but I couldn't resist the temptation of putting the Advantage together for a quick pic. The center wing strut is not in yet, I just have not yet cut the slot for it. I have not found any tape locally to use to make templates to mask off the wings that is appropriate. I found the tape I want online so I will likely have to order it, UGH, before I can finish the painting. Since I going to make the rudder pul-pul and most likely the elevator as well I am going to fill the stock cutouts in the fuse to atleast make some progress. BTW, in case you noticed the ailerons for the bottom wing have not yet been hinged, they're just sitting in place on the desk for the picture.

So far I am very pleased with the way the plane is going together. I am very displeased with the paint though. As you can see in these photos the black and silver ran under the tape a little bit so lines are terrible.