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

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

Old 02-21-2011, 08:13 AM
  #651  
Tsavah
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Yes, indeed! An excellent choice with two ESC no less, but ... I am wondering how big a motor and amp draw this little receiver can handle? I am very new to this side of the hobby, but willing to learn all I can. I am also thinking if one is into flying scale models of warbirds, the 1/48 size, or about so would be the better option. I am not sure I can foam build a lite enough warbird in this size without taxing the Rx servos and ESC. Maybe there is a thread on the limitations of this Rx in the forum already? I am also very new to the website and learning how to get around and find threads.
Old 02-24-2011, 02:35 AM
  #652  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

mods told me I was banned here again, testing this thread to see if I'm still not...apparently they are trying to wring money out of me, 5 bucks, for trying to sell stuff that's free for the rest of us here, but since I upgraded my account, with this stupid badge, comes with the price of I have to pay every time I post anything for sale. Now they are desperate for cash, they have came down hard on me, and we are talking years since I last attempted to sell anything here. Are we sweating in this little economy rcu? To take it to these levels, pitiful. Do NOT upgrade your account guys, you end up having to pay for stuff that's normally free to do.

I'm going to resign upon spending much more time with this place. Critterhunter, you can find me at RCG or WF if you want to look me up bro, PM me from either of those and we can chat on the phone of your finger is still in bad shape. The rest of the place here, honestly, I really don't have friends here at all and my efforts have been wasted even bothering with the place.

Signing out, and likely the last. Ban me all you want mods, you aren't getting that five bucks for delivering absolutely nothing, and I don't care how desperate you are, coming down on years past accounts and the small players here will NOT be enough to fix your dilemma....

Brian Millar

Owner, and still doing well, Espresso Outfitters (google it up, don't need to post a .com I own the search engine listings)
Old 02-24-2011, 03:22 AM
  #653  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Well...Man...

Stick around if you can.

We ain't always seen eye to eye, but you're always giving thoughtful input.

If you do decide to go (or get blacklisted), pop back sometime just to say hello. I'm sure you know how to do that...

Stay safe, be well...

BJ
Old 03-03-2011, 11:49 AM
  #654  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Thanks for all the support. Still typing with one hand but looks like I get to keep the finger tip. Stitches are out. It turned black on me but doc said that will peal off like a scab and that it heals from inside out. Just bored out of my mind since i am not allowed to use that finger yet and that limits my things i can do, not to mention the weather here near cleveland has been real bad. one of the worst winters i can remember. it's starting to break now so i look forward to at least going on walks in the park. feel like i'm in prison. hope he lets me start using finger by april or may because i always plant a big veggy garden. will be harder to do if i can't use the finger yet. i'm allowed to bend it, just not to pick things up with it or touch/push with it.

Yes, the parkzone micro spectrum gear is the way to go, and you can buy a cheap radio for that stuff south of $50 if you want. I fly that gear in my Ember 2, which comes with the radio you can use if you buy the radio package for like $99. Best micro plane i have flown yet. real lazy front yard plane.

I'll try to stop in more often. just hate typing one handed because i can normly type very fast the proper way.

Saucerguy, pear/rasberry wine came out great. we used real pears but juicy juice rasberry/apple juice to add to it....about 3 gal of juice but with 30+ pounds of pears you can hardly taste the rasberry.
Old 03-05-2011, 01:28 AM
  #655  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Good to see you're on the mend, mate

Let's hope you get back to brand-new soon.

The bit in between sucks, but it can make the recovery sooo much more worth it.

Hang in there,

BJ
Old 04-27-2011, 06:18 AM
  #656  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

I finally got my second generation twin boom up in the air. Had some other projects that felt more important, but now that it's flying again I realize how much I truly missed it!

No pics yet and I have some minor changes to make, but here's the gist: The original had 1 aileron and one single boom rudder and sported a kfm wing design. The repaired version was similar with some tweaks. That plane flew some incredible high alpha moves and could harrier better than anything I've had since. Looking back, I really am surprised at some of the moves I could do with that plane, but back then it was my first aileron plane that wouldn't fit into a box for transport... the first one I could fly, anyway. I flew that one into the ground (many times) and decided to scrap it and build an updated version.

The new version now has a flat wing to facilitate a simpler build, half flaperons (each aileron is tucked under a wing and only goes down, flaperons to be enabled and tested) for slower flight without harriers, a central rudder in front of the pusher prop (at the end of the center section) and now sports an 11" prop and 1300 Kv motor (that's what I had available).

It flies pretty good! The half ailerons work excellent although one horn needs to be fixed before testing roll rates and such. The rudder works, but needs to be modified a bit to get it into the airstream better. I am very pleased at this point, will modify it tonight and take her for another test flight tomorrow morning. I'll try to get some pics as well that I can post.

Java
Old 04-27-2011, 07:31 PM
  #657  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Not sure the type of model, but it sounds like one you have grown to like a lot. I recently modified a Nutball into a Arup like design with a very large step from the now straight and shapedleading edge. Ihad cut away the front part of the circle due to too many nose impacts,which removed the foam forwardof the kit reinforcement carbon fiber strip. I also cut a bit further back to remove the bamboo skewer stick Ihad installed to reinforce the broken 1mmx3mm flat carbon fiber strip. The Blue Wonder (BW) motor Ihad been using (1300 kV) didn't seem to have enough "umph" on a 2 cell LiPo battery pack after the modifications that included a short nosedfuselageto stuff the battery, ESC, and Rx into. Since I don't yet have any 3S, 1000 mAh (1 Ah) battery packs, I dug around in my motor collection and found a motor rated for 2s or 3s packs, 1500 kVand was only 6-8 grams heavier. The extra 200 kV was enough to handle the extra weight on the same 8x6 propeller, but ... I had some serious trim issues to work out.

The hard landing proved the foam skid/floatstyle landing gear of the Snowball design didn't survive well and I am repairing (glue) the parts and going to add another 3mm EPP skin to each side to fatten and strengthen. What can I say, I have grown to enjoy flying the Nutball design, but want the advantages of the Snowball skids/floats, andthe straight front leading edge (LE) of the Arup. I am betting I can trim this mixed up design to fly well and am calling it an Arupy. If it does trim out better, I will build a larger one (24" circle, instead of 20" of the kit) and may go bigger if the other motors Ihave can handle the extra weight. I do want to keep the construction simple as the original Nutball, but I also want to make a "build up wing" in the bigger size because I think this would help keep the larger model light weight. EPP foam is heavy for a foam, but it has great bounce with little or no damage most of the time. Of coursea high speed nose in will still be a bit of a disaster most of the time, but repairs are often still possible. Ihave learned the glue used for repairs can add too many grams for the motor over time and epoxy is one of the worse.
Old 04-27-2011, 07:37 PM
  #658  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)



I am wondering if anyone else is mixing various designs together for the possible advantages?

Old 04-27-2011, 07:45 PM
  #659  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

The gnet link is broken, so I still have no idea what this "first foam build" looks like.
Old 05-06-2011, 08:13 AM
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Here is a pic of my plane. I planned to show more shots of the aileron setup and mid-rudder, but before I took the pictures, it disintegrated in mid flight! Ok, maybe that was after it hit the ground... it happened so fast it was hard to tell.

It actually flew really well in this setup; I changed the rudder a bit to give it more authority and launched it as a test flight and came in too hot. When I hit a divit in the ground the force was too much and ripped the thing apart. I originally named this thing the Alpha, since it was my initial plane that I wanted to learn with and expected it to progress into something cool looking that I could name properly. It flew so well that I never changed the design, just a few components (such as half flaperons). After the crash, though, I decided that the next one I build will be made out of Dollar Tree foam and will be named Beta.

The Beta version will be designed for complete simplicity of build and easy repair, hopefully making a very good trainer that I can teach my son on. The next version will be a few weeks out at the least, but I'll post what I come up with.
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Old 05-06-2011, 08:32 AM
  #661  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

There's your problem right there - the labels on the wing foam aren't equidistant.

It will drag the starboard wing down every time

BJ
Old 05-06-2011, 08:35 AM
  #662  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

I actually got a bit of praise on the first version of this thing, since the labels just happened to be cut almost perfectly aligned. Everyone thought I did it on purpose and said it showed attention to detail. Lol
Old 05-06-2011, 08:40 AM
  #663  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)


ORIGINAL: javabased

I actually got a bit of praise on the first version of this thing, since the labels just happened to be cut almost perfectly aligned. Everyone thought I did it on purpose and said it showed attention to detail. Lol
DOH!

There goes my theory then - since Alpha 1 flew better than Alpha 2.

Maybe your LiPo had more electrons on one side then....??

BJ
Old 05-06-2011, 10:25 AM
  #664  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)


ORIGINAL: BJ64

ORIGINAL: javabased "... praise..., since the labels... perfectly aligned. Everyone thought I did it on purpose and said it showed attention to detail."
"your LiPo had more electrons on one side " BJ
Now those areworth repeating! You just know those sneaky electrons can do a job on the balance of a LiPo and unaligned labels are deadly. LOL! Got to love inspiration and the observations of experts, or novices. For some reason the above really tickled my funny bone today. Thanks, I needed that.

On a side note - working on Arupy No.#2 since No.#1 (recycled Nutball into Snowball with 20% of front chopped off) is a bear to fly. Three times I took the freshly repaired Arupy out for a test fly and three times it crashed soon after take off. It might have been a too strong puff of wind, but itcould be my slow reaction time. This design seems to need more trim work and a slower take off speed. The stronger (higher KV) motor is proving a bit much to handle even with a 2s battery pack and has made this flyer a speed demon. A 3s battery pack would be a bear to manage on this bird.

The repairs have been limited to the flimsy ground gear I glued up from 3mm sheets of EPP foam since I didn't have any thicker. I am starting to think I should have sandwiched some thin plywood in the center of the layers of EPP to make the skids tuffer to break. Imay have to give it up and buy some 9mm sheets and make some Fat Bob floats with some sort of stiffener between a few layers. Imay even add wheels on No.#2 to make the rotation during take off a bit easier. The Zip tie on the bottom of the skids don't show any wear yet, but I really need something slicker and as tuff.

Icould be trying to make a tuff as nails foam plane that is light enough fora 2 or 3 s battery pack and protects the propeller; the Holy Grail of cheap and easyRC park flyers. May be a mission impossible with this design, but I just cannot let go of the idea just yet.
Old 05-20-2011, 01:20 PM
  #665  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Well, thought all was well for the finger. I have been able to use it digging in the dirt and such for a while now. There was a bit of bone sticking out the end where the dead tip have pealed away like a scab but figured that was a simple matter to snip off by the doc on the next visit. Turns out I needed minor reconstructive surgery to remove that bone and also to remove some flesh near the end that was causing the fingernail to turn upwards. He shortened the finger a little to address all that and have enough skin to pull over things. Still got a fingernail, just it'll be a bit shorter and things.

Doesn't hurt nearly as bad as the initial injury did. I'm just bummed that I'm back to having stitches for another month and it'll be close to 2 months before I can use the finger tip to do things like dig in the dirt again. I've also been out of work and so it'll be around 2 more months before I can restart the job hunt. Boredom is an evil thing.

You can just see the new fingernail growing out. He cut a lump of flesh off that was in front of it and the rest of the finger in front of the nail for that matter. Still a lot of dried blood I need to clean off and he only used 2 or 3 stitches. He said once it heals and the fingernail grows out more the finger will look pretty normal, just a bit shorter. Surprisingly it really doesn't hurt even when I haven't taken a vike for 10 or 12 hours. As said, it should heal faster this time because it's not as damaged as the initial injury. Doc says in under 2 months I can start using it again like normal and start my job search again.
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Old 06-08-2011, 05:47 AM
  #666  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Got one exaclty the same - same finger and all.

But on the left hand.

Those suckers hurt, huh?

Did mine back in '67 - no fancy Doctors around then.

Just rip the nail off, let it bleed like a b*stard, and hope for the best

Same problem with the bone-bit sticking out. Local Doc said "Oh..my God...who did this to you??"

Turns out it was a Vet they fished out of the Balranald pub - and he wa'nt too pleased to be dragged out while the Horses were still running.

My GP used some kinda goo on the bone to chemically burn it back, and we used about 5 gals of Dettol until the thing heeled. It ain't perfect these days, but I've still got the finger, hey?

It's also my fret hand on a guitar, so you have to learn to improvise...

BJ
Old 07-08-2011, 08:06 PM
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Critter,

Bashed up again? Last time I checked the thread you were sidelined with a broken something or other. I hope this accident streak does not get any more serious.

I just finished building a Phlatprinter III. My first 3 axes CNC cutter. Not cheap but far more affordable than anything else on the market.

Thanks for keeping this forum alive. I still think this is the one of the best designs ever! I need to build a new SO and get back to flying fun!

For the folks who have not seen the original here is a photo of the first one I made a few years back.

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Old 07-09-2011, 07:37 AM
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Yes, it is good to get back to the original subject of the thread from time to time. Isuppose that means one of these days I will need to build one and post a picture or two. Man am I getting behind on the build list! Just too many projects and not enough energy. This heat isn't helping either.
Old 08-19-2012, 08:55 AM
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Figured I would bump this back to the active page for those looking for a good first build project.
Old 08-20-2012, 02:10 AM
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Now you're making me feel guilty - coz I still haven't gotten around to starting my first hand-build - a Polaris.

Got all the foam etc. (I think). Just haven't pulled the starter chord yet...

BJ
Old 03-20-2013, 09:42 AM
  #671  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Hey all, been a while since I've logged in. Other hobbies have kept me out of RC for the last year or so, but with spring am looking to scratch that itch again here. Hope all is well with you guys. Life's been getting great for me as of late. God has blessed me. Am now working in the HVAC trade I went to school for and training as a service tech. Always was a passion of mine to fix/repair stuff and troubleshoot electrical issues on cars and such. Figured might as well do what I love to do, and being on the road somewhere new every day meeting new people and seeing new sites has me really loving that aspect of it as well. Still in training so the hours aren't all that much yet but that will come.

Hope all is well and shoot me a PM or chime in here with how life has been treating you and any new projects you are working on. This plane design to this day is my favorite. With some small changes in dimensions and stuff I pretty much got what I want in an RC plane. Very durable, and will huge the air with good traction even at low speeds.
Old 03-20-2013, 09:48 AM
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Hey Critter, good to hear from you.

For me, this was the very first RC plane that I made and learned to fly on. I changed the design a little bit and created something that was truly unique, in hind site... I've never had another plane fly so well and there some maneuvers I could make with this plane that I have not been able to reproduce. It might be time to break out the blue-core and make another one.
Old 03-20-2013, 10:20 AM
  #673  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

Nice to hear from ya. Yes, it's a nice design for sure and very unique in it's ability to grab the air and turn on a dime and such even at low speeds.

Hey, by the way, tried to PM Saucer man and Fisher as I saw they haven't been on in about a year like me. It wouldn't allow me to PM saucerguy for some reason. Hoping at least Fisher gets a PM notice in his distant email account off this site that he'll see and chime in.

Also, am wondering if there is a way I can just skim through any pics I uploaded over the years and not posts to find them, so I can grab a few photos of long lost planes I've since wrecked or forgotten about, just to walk down memory lane here. If there is a function on this site to do that please explain how it's done. Thanks, and keep us updated on your builds to come here, as I will too.
Old 03-20-2013, 10:25 AM
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

While I'm thinking of it, the last version of the dual boomer I posted here, red with black straps, is still intact and in flying condition. Last time I had it out though about a year or so ago it started to have randomly motor shut downs and pulsing. I suspect the ESC vent holes I had on the belly got some snow in them and was making the ESC act funky, so I pulled the battery. Here's hoping she works fine will I pull her out again and I didn't cook the ESC with a wet short for good. I'll let you guys know...
Old 03-20-2013, 11:12 AM
  #675  
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Default RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2)

I don't know any way to look at just pictures.

I could get my plane to do incredible high-alpha turns, even though it only had one aileron and one rudder! Then I started playing around with different types of ailerons and changes to airfoil and destroyed the last one... maybe I'll get time this spring to build it again.

Here's a pic of the latest one I had
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