Go Back  RCU Forums > Electric Aircraft Universe > Foamies! - RC Electric Foam Aircraft
Reload this Page >

Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Notices
Foamies! - RC Electric Foam Aircraft Discuss rc foamie electrics here (i.e. Zagi, Tazz, ProJeti, wingo)

Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Old 12-03-2010, 10:39 AM
  #576  
saucerguy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Good to hear from you again Critterhunter, perhaps Fisher might chime in here as well. Have been tinkering around with my other hobbies, ie. guitar, now back into the trumpet with a vengeance, and I recently started making home made wine and cider. One positive thing about this sour economy, it forces you to get back to the basics and explore areas you wouldn't normally do.
Old 12-04-2010, 06:43 AM
  #577  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

You too?! I just started trying my hand at making home made wine as well! I had a 5 gallon carboy (glass jug) laying around doing nothing that was going to hold change, and my neighbor has a pear tree that was loaded with fruit, so I figured what the heck let's try that hobby. So far the pear wine is about 7 weeks out or so and doing well. Plan to bottle it within the next few weeks or so. Pear "wine" is really called a Perry and it will clear and can be bottled sooner (like a month or two) then grape based wines usually can. I also froze 30 more pounds of cut up fruit for the next batch. Went out and picked up two more 5 gallon carboys for $17 a piece from a guy on Craig's List. Plan to devote one to "fast" wines taking two months or less, and the other will be used for stuff that takes longer. Also plan to get into some beer making. You should go on the site I'm on. Go to Google and search for "wine making forum" and the first one that pops up is the site I'm on. Mostly in the beginners forum. I've got a thread on "Fast" wine recipes going right now looking for info. Another thing I plan to make is something called Skeeter Pee. It's a hard lemonade drink with about double the alchohol of store bought Mike's Hard Lemonade type stuff and you are done and can bottle in under a month. Planning on also doing juice based wines/drinks that you can make with store juice from Walmart and such. It can be pasturized but it can't have any preservatives in it which would stop the yeast.
Old 12-04-2010, 06:45 AM
  #578  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

A blurb from a friend who has used my So builds as inspiration for a few of his. This is his latest...

"What about the De Havilland Vampire or Sea Vixen? These would be good EDFs.

Or then again, there's my indestructible Wraith V2 EPP covered in silt screen plastic mesh just waiting to get FPV gear loaded. This one is going for tree skimming and obstacle dodging under the FPV hood. There's nothing better than fearless flying. I designed it to take a 60 mph impact without damage

So I built this one in a bit of critterhunter style. Lots of carbon and a few beers

Specs:

Wing: 41" Clark Y wing with 8.25" central chord tapering to 6.5" tip.
Booms: Carbon fiber arrows. Thanks for the tip on the $2.50 arrows, Tom!
Structure: Reinforced EPP foam. Coroplast lined fuse and mesh screen covered wing.
Motor: GBX double - wind unknown as of now. Perhaps a 7X5 or 8X4 prop.
AUW: ~29 oz with all FPV gear on board.
Range: 2 miles

-Alex"

Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version

Name:	Bz77337.jpg
Views:	67
Size:	64.6 KB
ID:	1530067   Click image for larger version

Name:	Dz80749.jpg
Views:	50
Size:	24.4 KB
ID:	1530068   Click image for larger version

Name:	Kp35214.jpg
Views:	41
Size:	43.8 KB
ID:	1530069  
Old 12-04-2010, 06:46 AM
  #579  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Foam Flyer has moved his website and “So†plans location a few times over the years.

Foam Flyer’s website…

http://www.foamflyer.info/

The plans…

http://www.foamflyer.info/plane.html

And check out his build logs at the bottom of the page. Photos of various builds and info on them. Many of these designs are variations on the “So†dual boom pusher.
Old 12-04-2010, 06:49 AM
  #580  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Javabased, if you aren't cutting wings out of EPS using jigs then you might want to try using flat foam such as fanfold or even corruplast and wrapping it around a wood spar placed near the leading edge to make a wing. It will both strengthen it and provide a natural air foil. Cutting wings out with EPS is so easy anyway that I never build them with anything else these days.
Old 12-04-2010, 11:45 PM
  #581  
saucerguy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

critterhunter, I can't wait that long to see if it's working, lol, I'm using Champaign yeast, takes 5 days to do it's stuff, and leaves a pleasant champaign tinge to it, as well as fast acting high yeild, which takes only 2 days to reach 15%. The important part to observe is the yeast settling, if it's clear, it's ready to bottle, or pull some out for quality control, and let the rest age. I'm having a couple of glasses from the first decent batch I produced, simply amazing the simplicity of it all, buy a couple bottles of grape juice, add yeast, get up to proper temp and hook up an airlock, and let it sit for a few days, it's now wine. My brother has a massive beer making system, total overkill, and have had a few of his brews in the past., Don't think I'll take it that far, but who knows, we can always use another microbrewery, lol. Even if it's just for neighbors to hang out and enjoy the fruits of the land.

It's something I should have don a long, long time ago, to think of the money I wasted in the past, when I can simply create something comparable in my kitchen for pennies on the dollar. Dude, I was stationed in Germany, I know the benchmark of what "real" beer should be like, also know what quality "french" wine is, so have a couple of cool little things to aspire to with this little hobby.

Your newest So looks good, you'll be happy you didn't sweep the wings dramatically forward, they are just a pain to fine tune when they sweep too far, you got to nail down in exacts, where you and I simply are winging it and having fun. It looks like it will be a nice flyer, be it a bit more nimble then the others, but not dramatically.
Old 12-05-2010, 11:03 AM
  #582  
javabased
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Bedford, MA
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

critterhunter,

I found out that what I had accidentally created was a KFM airfoil. The next iteration had steps on top and on the bottom of the wing and it flew better than any other plane I own. The maneuvers I could make with that plane simply blew people away and it had an almost zero stall to it. The only issue it had was that there was no decent glide ratio, so a dead battery resulted in a hard landing, which actually did it in. I am planning to make a new one and will stick with the KFM wing because it is just SO easy to make and works just as well as a Clark-Y.

I use 1/2" blucore foam as the root and the booms, and 3mm depron for the steps and control surfaces. When I build the new version I will post pics of it for all to see. It might be a little bit, though because I have a foamy F-14 in progress, a foam Lil Ripper almost complete and a flat wing scheduled as well.

To be honest, I will probably pre-empt one of the other builds because the So was my true go-to plane and I miss it dearly.
Old 12-05-2010, 01:14 PM
  #583  
BJ64
 
BJ64's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Posts: 1,505
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Mmmmm.....

Home-made booze...

That reminds me, I haven't put down a brew in years. Started getting the knack of making beers with various 'boutique' flavours - using chocolate malts, stout brews etc. Yum!

Would be nice to have had a few varieties for this Xmas.

Oh well, there's always next year...

BJ
Old 12-05-2010, 01:20 PM
  #584  
BJ64
 
BJ64's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Posts: 1,505
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

PS - nice pic of the Vamp

We used to have them down here back in the late 60's and early 70's when Dad would take us to the Laverton Air Show.

The 'Telstars' aerobatic team...

BJ
Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version

Name:	Sq45983.jpg
Views:	37
Size:	123.4 KB
ID:	1530625  
Old 12-05-2010, 01:29 PM
  #585  
saucerguy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

One of the biggest drawbacks to rcu is that they sell your information to spammers. I received a confirmation about this one directly, and it's only RCU that's doing it. So, as par for the course, the moment I start posting here again, I get spammed right afterwards, apparently they only want to email to active users. Here is the following one I received:

[email protected]> Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 11:00 AM

Dear Sir,



Glad to hear that you're on the market for R/C model. We specialize in this field for 8 years in China, with the strength of BRUSHLESS MOTORS, with good quality and pretty competitive price. Hope to establish business relationship with you.



Should you wanna know more about our company, pls visit our website or contact me directly.

Thanks for your valuable time.



Regards,
James

KEDA MODEL
Website : www.kdmodel.com
Mail : [email protected]
Tel : 0086 731 8243 6299
Fax : 0086 731 8243 6298

1206US rc model/01

Ok, kd model, this is your plug, you don't need to spam us anymore. I'll also tell the public NOT to go through this company, it's bad practice to stuff our email boxes with junk like this, and who in their right mind is going to purchase gear from some obscure company that has no defined shipping system one can track, nor are you even allowed to get pricing on anything. If I want a motor, I'll search for it, and the last place I'll start my search is my own email and spam box.....Also, lovely grammar they used, you would think after 8 years they could form a correctly worded email message, afterall, it's being spammed out to us, it shows clearly how clueless the company is.

Old 12-05-2010, 02:24 PM
  #586  
BJ64
 
BJ64's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Posts: 1,505
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)


ORIGINAL: saucerguy

One of the biggest drawbacks to rcu is that they sell your information to spammers. I received a confirmation about this one directly, and it's only RCU that's doing it. So, as par for the course, the moment I start posting here again, I get spammed right afterwards, apparently they only want to email to active users...
Interesting that you should mention that.

I have recently been getting emails from some clowns (can't remember the addy just now) that put these "1 week specials" up.

I followed the link, only to find that the articles they have listed are buried somewhere in some massive catalogue - where the same thing is listed by a stack of different sellers. The thing that narks me the most is that not one of those ads has a price listed - you have to email some obscure place in China just to get a price. Nuh-uh - once they've got your email addy, they'll never let you go...

BJ
Old 12-05-2010, 02:48 PM
  #587  
saucerguy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

If you want to find more amusing info on these guys, ask them where they got your contact information. Then tell them you want to order one item and need an estimate for shipping. lol. Most of the time I get these minimum quantities with outrageous numbers, like I'm in need of 10 thousand screws or something. Then those horrible Chinese servers they are using with the awful web designs they are using that look like they were put together using a crayon and scanner.
Old 12-05-2010, 07:51 PM
  #588  
saucerguy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Also wanted to show a comical view of the spoils of my first little experiment. You see how the color changes, it was originally much darker juice, you couldn't see through it, now it's far different.
Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version

Name:	Rp42825.jpg
Views:	47
Size:	131.1 KB
ID:	1530781  
Old 12-06-2010, 01:56 AM
  #589  
BJ64
 
BJ64's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Posts: 1,505
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

MmmMmmmm...

Homemade headaches... [:'(]

LoL

BJ
Old 12-06-2010, 06:24 AM
  #590  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Saucerguy, I too feel I should have got into wine/perry/beer making a long time ago. It's fun and also for me as well saving money is a big factor. I also don't have the patience for making wine that takes 6 months or more before you can bottle and drink it. That's why I started the "FAST" wine thread in the beginners forum on that wine making forum I told you about. It's the first one that pops up if you do a Google search for "wine making forum". Since I have three 5 gallon carboys now I can afford to use one or two of them for the slower stuff that takes 6 months or longer, while the third will be devoted to faster stuff that takes 3 months or less to bottle. The pear is our first attempt and like I said making wine with pears is really called a Perry and takes like 2 months or less to bottle. We are over two months into it and we plan to bottle about a week before Christmas to give away as gifts. Regardless of how fast or slow the wine takes, they say to wait about two weeks after bottling to get rid of what they call bottle shock which takes away from the taste.

Our next "fast" wine is going to be using Great Value Walmart brand Peach/white grape juice. You can bottle it in like two to three months. I'm also going to make that Skeeter Pee which is hard lemondade with about twice the alchohol of something like Mike's Hard Lemonade and can bottle in a month.

Yes, we used Champain yeast for the pear wine. We had put 10 pounds of sugar into the primary and it was done fermenting in about 12 days and it's a dry wine now by taste having converting all the sugar to alchohol, because champain yeast can survive in higher alchohol contents. We then back sweatened it two months down the road with 4 or 5 cups of sugar to taste. To do that you put in more Campden tablets at 1 per gallon and then Sorbate to stop the yeast from working anymore so it doesn't convert the sugar and stays sweet.

We are using wine bottles with screw on caps which is fine. You just buy new caps at the wine store. However, I've got a friend saving me corked wine bottles from a restraunt he works at and I'm going to buy a corker for the next batch we make. For the Skeeter Pee and beer I plan to make I've been drinking beers with caps that need a bottle opener and have about two dozen saved so far. I think you need 52 12 oz bottles for 5 gallons. For 5 gallons of wine in normal wine bottles I think you need about 27 of those bottles or so. I've found a good 24 beer bottle. It's the pint/8 oz Heiniken green bottle, so I'd need about 26 of those.

A friend also just bought a copper still for making his own distilled alchohol. Man, 5 gallons distills down to only about half a gallon or so. That seems like a huge loss to me. They don't even use anything but sugar and Turbo yeast to make the stuff they distill down, then add it to whatever for taste when bottling.

The thing about getting wine to clear from what I've been told is that so long as there isn't a ton of sediment in it from the initial racking (the fruit) or a lot of dead yeast then it really doesn't affect the taste. It's more of a looks thing because some people get funky about drinking a cloudy drink.

I know what you mean about beer. I mostly drink cheap like Miller High Life but if a dark beer or lager is done right I like the taste so much better. I've had some homemade dark beer a friend made and it's so much better tasting. Most of the commercial stuff around here tastes like water to me with no flavor or character, unless you are willing to fork out big money for the imported stuff.

The version of the "So" I posted above is not my plane but rather a friend's who I got into using EPS foam. The remarks posted were in quotes because that's him talking there above. He is heavy into First Person View video flying and he built that plane for that. Yes, sweeping wings too far forward gets real tricky with COG. I've build a few severly swept planes so far including a bird of prey and none of them flew. Could never get COG and other issues worked out. My glider with the 6 foot wingspan and now this stick glider have only the trailing edge swept forward and only mildly so it doesn't get picky about COG and things. What I like about forward sept wings is they seem to track better and also aren't as prone to tip stalling.
Old 12-09-2010, 08:56 AM
  #591  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

I'm happy to say that our first wine making attempt using Pears (wine made with pears is called a Perry) came out great! We just bottled it yesterday at almost 9 weeks, and I'm sure we could have bottled it sooner as the first 3 or 4 rackings we didn't know what we were doing and kept putting most of the sediment back into the jug. At our last racking about 3 weeks ago we knew not to try to recover any juice from the sediment by running it through a mesh bag. That should only be done when moved from the primary to the secondary. About a week ago the wine really got super clear with no clearing agents used or anything. At that last racking 3 weeks ago the wine was a dry wine, so we put in Sorbate, Campden, and two cups of sugar to insure the sugar wouldn't be converted. We got lucky, because we didn't use a hydrometer yet the wine is just slightly sweet like we wanted it. Having used 10 pounds of sugar along with 37 pounds of pears and 6 pounds of white rasins along with champain yeast in the primary (7 gallon, 5 gallon secondary) it had converted all that to alchohol, so though it doesn't taste strong it sure will hammer you back after about 16 ounces of the stuff. Gave me a nice buzz.

I couldn't be happier with it and I'll post the recipe in that wine making forum I told you about in the "fast wines" thread in the beginners forum in a day or so along with another "wine" (perry) recipe using pears that uses apples as the secondary fruit instead of the rasins. This one also says it can be bottled in weeks as well.
Old 12-09-2010, 09:33 AM
  #592  
javabased
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Bedford, MA
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

critterhunter,

The wine stuff is totally off-subject, but I have to say that the coversations have peeked my interest. I just started making beer through a local place for doing this stuff and have found that I love how flavorful it is and have thought about doing the wine stuff with my wife. Your feedback got me talking with the wife about possibly doing some of this at home.

THANKS!

Now as far as the So goes... I destroyed my last one due to an insufficient motor and need to rebuild. Thinking of trying a V-tail on it just because I don't have one.
Old 12-09-2010, 10:41 AM
  #593  
saucerguy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Well, topics tend to mesh here, as in the original was about simply building a plane from scratch using only cheap and/or free stuff you can find locally. Saves money in this process significantly, and this theme now bleeds into other areas, it's now very much more fitting with the times we live in now then ever.

I've polished off my batch of cider, lol. It was the best I've ever had in my life, and seems that it's harder to screw up this brewing process then it is to get it right. As long as you are being conciece about sanitation, it's a little hobby nobody should avoid doing, and again, saves a ton of dough. So, posting a simple recipe here for those that are wanting to try this out.

1 bottle of juice, make sure there are not preservatives in it.

1/2 teaspoon of yeast, bread yeast will do fine, but pro yeasts have a little better flavor.

1 balloon, dollar store ones will do.

Toss the yeast in the bottle, shake well. Remove the cap, attach the balloon in it's place, making sure you put a tiny hole in the tip of it.

Let sit 1.5 weeks in a dark room temperature area, preferably let it sit long enough for it not to be cloudy.

Enjoy the results, place sterilized cap back on and place in refrigerator for future consumption. Do not drink the sediment in the bottom, it will give you the runs....

If you desire carbonation, place in a soda bottle, add some sugar, a pinch of yeast, and put the lid on tightly. But be aware, this step is potentially dangerous since the build up of Co2 can cause the bottle to explode.

That all said, I've been tinkering with yet another little hobby, alternative medical herbs and edible plants. It's taking me to some pretty cool areas, now looking at the land around me, combined with the home brew system, with new eyes of appreciation. Amazing how many things there are to eat, just growing like weeds. Also, along the herbs, I'm trying to stop smoking, so have been seeking out something that can help fill in the gap while I transition, this latest one I came across seems to fit the ticket in more ways then one, it's called Damiana. It has the added benefit to treat depression and does give you a pleasant I guess you would call, mellowing affect. I don't recommend the stuff they sell in the head shops, those are laced with chemicals, and the latter, the FDA is pulling from the shelves as of the 24th of December. I have some more coming in different herbs, via. Amazon.com to test out along what they can do, but needless to say, I'm the type that loaths pharmaceuticals, it's nice to have viable natural alternatives.

Congrats on your first fruits of your labors in wine land, you see now it's rather hard to justify spending big bucks on the premade stuff now. You get a far better product at significantly less costs, and have fun in the process as well.







Old 12-09-2010, 11:12 AM
  #594  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Yea, a little diversion into other hobbies/subjects is a good thing for a thread. Like you said, too, it goes along with the money saving theme of this thread by cutting out your own planes, or in this case making your own beer or wine. I just posted a good fast pear wine recipe in that wine making forum I told you about (first one to pop up on google when searching "wine making forum") in the beginners forum under the "Fast" wine thread. It's not the one we used but I'll be posting that one too in a day or two.

Once you buy the initial hardware (stay away from the kits and just buy what you need) wine or beer making gets very cheap. I already had a 5 gallon carboy, so I only needed a 7 gallon primary (bucket with a lid) and some odds and ends as far as other hardware. Probably south of $50 in stuff, with bottles and screw caps being extra. Luckily one of the local shops sells screw cap bottles and corked ones that are used for $4 a case (12). It'll take about 27 standard wine bottles to hold 5 gallons of wine. One of the 12 we used were used techila bottles that are I think a "fifth" in size, so we ended up with 20 & 1/2 bottles filled in total. I have a friend who works at a restraunt saving me corked wine bottles because I'll probably buy a corker down the road but using screw cap wine or liquor bottles with metal or plastic screw caps works just as well for wine.

I found out a few other things...Your primary fermation container can be a plastic food grade bucket, but your secondary should be a glass jug (carboy) otherwise it might affect the taste of the wine or oxidize it. There are, however, certain grade plastic carboys (not your standard water cooler bottle) that are designed to work as your secondary and won't allow air in or plastic to affect the wine's taste.

One other thing...Bottle fillers are a MUST. It's a $2 plastic tube that sticks on the end of your siphon hose. Push it's button end into the bottom of your bottle and it lets the wine flow. Let it flow to the rim of the bottle and when you pull it out the wine stops and the wand being removed will put the perfect amount of headspace (air) at the top of the bottle. Works like a charm and is so much easier then trying to pinch the siphon hose or stop it some other way.

Yeast...If you use bread yeast or something it will not taste as good and will foam a lot, requiring a lot of head space in your primary or secondary. Many yeasts made for wine making such as Champain yeast don't foam much at all, so you can fill the bucket up to say 2 or 3 inches from the top and not worry about it foaming over. Air is killer, so when you fill the secondary you use the "three finger" rule in that the air space between the wine and the stopper should only be three fingers wide. Only "splash rack" (pour through a funnel) your wine the first one or two rackings so any bad sulpher gas/odor gets released. After that you want to avoid exposing it to the air by siphoning the wine and keeping the tube at the bottom of the jug your are siphoning to so it flows in and doesn't pour in.

I've got some more pics/progress on the stick glider that I'll be posting in a day or two. It's almost done.
Old 12-09-2010, 11:15 AM
  #595  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Here's that thread on that forum since I've probably talked more than I should in this thread about wine making tips...

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/...ad.php?t=10645
Old 12-12-2010, 07:50 PM
  #596  
saucerguy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Looks good critterhunter. Am winding down for the eve with a glass of cider. I think I'm digging the cider more then the wine, so may opt to take some spins in that area after the next batch is polished off, lol.

I made more progress on the latest foamie, it's in the final stages before gearing up, want to do a test glide to perfect the COG, but still, not a bad little design. I'm just not noticing a whole lot of difference between high wing and low wing designs, flight and performance wise, so probably at this stage, it's more of a matter of visuals then anything.
Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version

Name:	Ge96134.jpg
Views:	52
Size:	78.7 KB
ID:	1533543  
Old 12-14-2010, 06:12 AM
  #597  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Looks good! Is that flat carbon you are using? I prefer that for things like strengthening tail feathers but have been using bambo skewers in my tails here and there. So long as you double them up it's pretty stiff and of course much cheaper.

If you like Ciders than I'd suggest trying a pear based wine. When wine is made with pears it's called a Perry and it's sort of a cross between a cider and a wine, though this stuff we made tastes very much like wine to me. Also, I was surprised to find out that pears have more sugar than apples and so higher alchohol potential without adding as much sugar. Pretty soon here I'm going to be posting the recipe we used for our Pear. 5 or more pounds of pears per gallon. If you go heavy on the fruit you can add water to make up for lost head space when racking without fear of watering things down. 10 pounds of sugar (7 gallon primary, so we went with 37 pounds of pears before cutting. Weighing after that it was 30 pounds). 6 pounds of white raisins. This recipe didn't use a Hydrometer or acid test, but rather gives you the amound of citric acid or acid blend to put in along with the yeast and yeast nutrient. Very easy/simple instructions. I'm updating them to include what we did and will be posting that.

The stick glider is just about done. Wing and tail are covered. All electronics mounted. I placed the 750ma lipo and wing on it to see if I could achieve COG by moving them around but no dice. I'd need to slide the battery all the way forward and have the ESC under it, but I don't want to do that so I'm opting for my standard size 2250ma lipos and will see if I can get COG that way where I want things. The only reason why I have these 750ma Rhinos is because I bought them to lighten up the weight of my metal detector and power it. I dropped a good pound and a half off my detector by building a custom carbon fiber shaft and used a bike end bar for the hand grip. The stock setup was just too heavy for long 7 hour hunts. Oh well, I guess I can build another plane to use those lipos in. I prefer 2200ma lipos anyway and I should have gobs of run time with the little blue wounder (south of 10 amps) powering the stick glider.
Old 12-14-2010, 12:21 PM
  #598  
saucerguy
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chico, CA
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Critterhunter, I haven't purchased carbon fiber anything in years. My material of choice for stiffening these up are pilfered plastic strapping. You can usually find it in the waste bin at Home Depot or Lowes, they discard it after removing it from palleted goods and lumber. The thicker stuff, which I used here, makes the plane practically indestructible and there is nearly zero flex on the areas I apply it upon. I picked up that tidbit of info when I built a Mountain Models Magpie for this guy, they included it in their kit and I was very impressed with the system, so have kept on using that type of material ever since. It's also light, so doesn't weight the plane down.

This is a good example for those wanting to get into bashing together a foamie without figuring out the hot wire cutter, I just used a hack saw blade to rough out the areas, it's end worked fine for the internal concave, and finished sanded it to it's present shape. It's messier, but clearly, it's the same caliber as the ones using the wire cutter and jigs, so don't be intimidated getting into this one, what we talk about with the more refined approach is not mandated at all.

Old 12-15-2010, 06:46 AM
  #599  
critterhunter
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
critterhunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Out There, PA
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Good way to save some money. I've got enough flat carbon laying around from salvaged planes to keep me from having to buy any for years. I just re-cycle it and carbon tubes whenever possible, but the bambo skewers I used in this build's tail feathers made things pretty stiff too.

I've got a few pics of the stick glider's progression. I couldn't get it to balance with a 750ma lipo, so I used my standard 2250ma lipo and it turns out it's perfect for COG with current electronics placement. The 750 3 cells were just ones I had on hand that I bought to power my metal detector anyway, as I prefer 2200ma sized lipos. With the low amp draw of the custom winded blue wonder south of 10 amps being powered by this big of battery, along with this plane's intended low wing loading and generous wing area, I should be able to ride the lightest of thermals all day long with this thing.

I've got to cut the wing bolts down to size yet, shorten and clean up the ESC/motor connection wires, and glue in the battery velcro loops. Unlike the pictures show, one strap of the velcro is going to be positioned from front to back of the battery to avoid it sliding forward on an impact. So this plane is just about done. I'm also going to build some removable landing gear for it that I can throw on or take off as wanted. There won't be a tail wheel but rather I'm going to glue a head from a zip tie on the bottom of the tail boom to act as a skid plate. I decided to use a JR Sport RX I had laying around in this plane, as with it's 47" wingspan and thermal intentions this plane will be roaming off at some pretty far distances. These JR RXs are the most glitch free RXs I've ever used and I trust them more at very long distances.

The color scheme of the plane is intended to insure high visibility and with the markings on the left side of the wing and tail along with a black tail surface area, it show increase my ability to figure out orientation of the plane in a pinch.

The current prop is an APC 7x6SF using a prop saver, but I intend to eventually put either an APC 8x3.8 on it or more likely around an 8x4 folder to reduce the low drag design even further. ESC is a 20 AMP Mag 8 Tower Pro. Servos are HXT900s. The boom/fuse is two carbon arrow shafts glued side by side for maximum stiffness and ease in mounting components to a more broad area. Wing is a 47" slightly modified USA27 airfoil with the trailing edge swept forward. Plane length from tip to tail is roughly about 33". Anxious to complete it and figure out the wing loading. By far it should be the lightest plane I've ever built in those terms.

Does anybody think the low wing stance (not much fuse area hanging lower on this plane like most would have) might cause some issues with stability using a rudder and no ailerons, or do you think the dihedral will more than compensate like it would on more conventional designs?

Excuse the mess in the garage. I'm over due to give it a good cleaning. The pack of smokes on the table provide scale.
Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version

Name:	Yw66972.jpg
Views:	51
Size:	87.9 KB
ID:	1534433   Click image for larger version

Name:	Mk26432.jpg
Views:	55
Size:	84.2 KB
ID:	1534434  
Old 12-15-2010, 07:24 AM
  #600  
BJ64
 
BJ64's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Posts: 1,505
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

A words of advice, if I may...

Regarding yeasts used in home fermentation.

Steer clear of bakers or bread yeasts - their fermentation is far too rapid for beer/wine making. There's yeast, and then there's yeast. A good quality brewing/wine yeast has been cultured so that it does its work over an extended period of time, and in relatively cooler and more stable temperatures. Bakers yeast is designed to do its work in tepid temperatures and within a couple of hours - even shorter.

The upshot of that is that 'fast' yeasts can produce undesirable 'fusil alcohols' when used for fermenting malt/fruit extracts. The 'fusil' alcohols are the higher order derivatives of Ethanol (booze, as most of us know it). This can lead to the production of a whole raft of nasties on your ferment. Or, conversely, the production of Methanol. In tiny quantities, their obnoxious taste and odour is almost imperceptible - but they're still there. And their presence can lead to 'headache' wines and beers. And we've all come across that sort of thing somwhere along the line. Or even just plain toxic results when created as a bi-product in larger quantities.

As a basic rule of thumb - the slower you can ferment at, and the longer the process, the better the quality of your project.

A fine purpose-cultured yeast doesn't cost that much more than a basic bread-making yeast - yet the end-product can be worlds apart...

BJ

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.