CHOCOFAN

Hi! ,I'm currently in search of a Cessna Grand Caravan kit, is there someone that know's a company or somebody that makes this kit?

GarySS

My Feedback: (13)

HI CHOCOFAN
I did a quick search on the Caravan and note that it is a single engine, highwing, rather longish passenger plane with fixed tricycle gear. I seriously doubt that you will find a kit ready made. If you are a builder with some experience your best bet is to alter an existing kit to try to arrive at something that comes close to looking like a Caravan.

Since it has such a long looking fuselage you would have to be careful to not wind up with unwieldy weight in the tail which would required lots of nose weight to compensate.
Sorry I can't offer a better suggestion.

Elwood

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This sounds like a cool project. Always loved that oversized 152! Has anobody made plans for this?

shyml

Hello! I am on the drawing board for Cessna Caravan-I plan ( This is the earliest version). The three views have been taken from Jane's all the World Aircraft book 1985-86. Other views from Flight simulator. The proposed engine is 1.08 to 1.60 and a span of 86-90 inches. The wing will be foam covered in 1/16 balsa with top and bottom hard wood spar till a little ahead of the struts. The airplane has very large span flaps and uses spoilers and ailerons . ( the spoilers cannot be deployed together in full size version). They are too outboard for that purpose. I am planning to put working spoilers with seperate servos, where they would be deployed first and then the aileron would kick in. I think the plane will have no adverse yaw because of this.

This cessna has very different wing planform from the patent Cessna straight and then taper wing. The Caravan has a constant taper and is higher aspect ratio and would be super efficient.

I have already designed, built and flown an Embraer Tucano, 72 inch span, 1.08 engine with exact scale dimensions, semi-symetrical Eppler airfoil with 14.75 inch root chord. That beautiful airplane also has constant taper wing and root chord was only 7 inches. So I diverged a little and put in leading edge droop on outer panels ( Ref: Mr. Andy book on aero design... a must read) These work like magic and there are no tip stall tendencies. The Tucano is Club favourite for endless touch & gos, with and without flap and is a joy to fly.

For next project , i.e Club aero tow plane, a friend & I decided to make a 80 inch Pilatus Porter with .90 engine. This time we experimented with keeping everything exact scale dimension. PLUS we selected original Porter airfoil NACA 64-514 as an experiment with Reynolds numbers. That plane flies very well in the air with little loss of airspeed in turns but loses airspeed rapidly when you raise nose on final. With flap it has some nose up tendency so we have to mix some down elevator with flap. It comes in for landing with steep nose down attitude when flaps are deployed, like other high aspect wings, eg Fokker friendship F-27. The scale position of undercarriage is a bear on landing and take off and so airplane is for rated tail wheel chaps only! So far no tows.

Hence next project Cessna Caravan, with releasable tow attachment one inch from trailing edge of wing. The series 1 Caravan has a wide but not too long a fuselage and since it has a PT-6 turbine in the nose, the 1.08-1.60 will balance it out neatly. Plus the turbine engine exhaust is very near in looks to a stock model engine muffler with scale placement if engine is mounted inverted.

Since I started aeromodelling with free flight models, I have a clear bias for upright mounted engines. ( Tucano's looks spoiled by this but what an easy to handle situation).

Will report project success or failure. I can send three views from Janes ( Very small size, for keen vision only) if you want.

CHOCOFAN

Shyml, hey did you build that Caravan yet?I thought I was the only one interested in the caravan. Well any way if you did finish your caravan I would like to see it can you send a foto of it?I'm really looking for some plans that some body has already made.

shyml

Chocofan: Yes the plans have been drawn and I will start cutting the wood in March 04. It should be a two month project. It uses ply fuselage sides lightened by window cut outs and further lightening holes. Finally decided to use a one piece wing even though it is 90 inch span and has struts.

The wing uses six servos : 2 std servos for ailerons, 2 HS 85 MG for spoilers which are mixed with ailerons. They stay put when aileron goes down ( 10 degrees) they start rising when aileron goes up by 10 degrees and extend to 70 degrees max with full aileron deflection of 20 degrees. Actual flight tests will show results. 2 high torque servos for the long span slotted flaps.

Side mounted MDS 1.48 with O.S 61 FSR carburetor, will power the plane. Other than elevator, rudder and throttle, an extra servo for glider tow release and a 2000 mAh battery will be used. Since the original is turbine powered and turbines are lighter in weight than equivalent piston engines, the nose is longer than usual and will offset the longish fuselage aft of wing.

The wing area on exact scle will give a 32 ozs/sq ft wing loading. An extra inch added to the chord all along will bring it down in the twenties and two wings have been designed.

The control surface areas meet or exceed model airplane thumb rules, except ailerons which are half the area otherwise required. Hence spoilers better work . spoilers are also of scale area.

Plans are drawn in pencil and I will ink them or have them drawn on CAD after test flights. I will send you or other interested persons a copy for reference, for your own design. Regards

FHHuber

Modelers tend to want aerobatics... the small ailerons will probably be adequate for realistic... transportation... performance.

If the average C-182 were handled the way modelers handle the GP ARF... no one in the airplane would be very happy with the pilot. (if the airplane survived it...)

shyml

The project finally started when I realised I wont have time to build myself. It has been given to a builder . I supply material and plans/guidance. There is a performance as well as penalty clause. 1 month project and so far they are on time.

The only changes from my original drawn plans are now it has a two piece wing, OS 1.60 FX power. The undercarriage has been raised 1 inch for bigger two blade prop but I intend to use three blader after initial air trials. The spoilers were to be individual HS-85MG servo powered but now will be actuated with a cord from the aileron . after 5 degree up deflection of aileron, the cord becomes taut and thence onwards the next 8 to 10 degree deflection will pull cord to raise spoiler through approx 60 degree. there is no return spring as without force the spoiler cannot deploy against the airstream. In a stall condition it can raise itself but cannot effect any force on the wing.

Hope to fly in July in 45 degree centigrade!.

Amer Ahmad

DALE PABAJO

shyml, that's really nice I like it do you have plans for it? although I think you'r missing the airbrakes on top of the wings.do you think I could get a copy of those plans?

shyml

You can definately have the plans. I am just waiting for the model to be finished so that any detail changes are incorporated in the plans, like flap details etc. then i have asked a friend to plot it on CAD. i will send you a copy when the airplane has gone through testing.

Yes it has the airbrakes, only I also found out much later in 2003, when I visited Brussels and took a ride in a caravan which was going up for a para drop, that these are only spoilers augumenting the ailerons and cannot be deployed together as an air brake cum spoiler. they would have to be further inboard for that. The very large flaps can slow d

These have not been put in yet as they are flat ply sheet which sits flush at the outer leading edge of the flap right next to the ailerons. In fact when the flap is full down and the spoiler raised you can see aright through the wing it, like in a 747. They deploy when ailerons are approx 5 degree up.

One thing i have not done is to make the a symmetrical chamfer cut on the iner trailing edge of the left flap only. if you look closely you will notice it is on the left side only!. check pictures.

Does anyone have an explanation. Only a caravan pilot would really know. Probably to clear door opening etc. I wonder if it makes a difference when deployed.

shyml

The work is progressing well. The caravan has received its covering. The windows are to be cut out and transparent plastic fitted. Not too happy with the weight of the prototype. Its a very good loking airplane. The colour scheme and the wide body make the horizontal stab quite small. Its 100% scale dimensions except 1 inch wider chord on the wing on the prototype. Scale wing also designed. We will test the final weight and wing loading. Aircraft has very large flaps and I have added NASA droops. Test flight is one week away. Farbricating nose gear blocks is only thing remaining, other than radio fitting and under carriage/ wing struts. The Test pilot has made 1st inspection. He is also Clubs secretary and self appointed inspector of new airplanes specially own design scratch built ones. Aircraft O.K so far. He has suggested a +1.5 degree incidence on the wing ( E197 modified airfoil 14% thickness) so airplane does not fly with nose up attitude. There is 1 degree down and 1 degree side thrust on the engine. The servos will come in the aft fuselage to balance the engine.

Amer

shyml

The Caravan prototype was delivered yesterday on time. it is very well built strong model for repeated touch & go's and high performance take offs as glider tug. The fit and finish is excellent however with servos it is , at 14 lbs, 2 lbs over design weight. The CG comes bang on with servos in the tail. The airplane has cost $300 todate in material and labour.

The O.S FX 1.60 fits the cowl perfectly as may be seen. I have three days to connect the spoilers, put on the wheels, put in servo for nose gear etc. for Sunday maiden flight.

The Builder is Mr. Imran a professional in this work. The test pilot is Mr. Junaid Ali, Club secretary and airplane scrutinizer.

Will report flight performance. Next project is is the longer grand caravan with same span, which will be built to lesser over design and light duty work!
It differs in having a fuselage section added behind wing trailing edge.

Amer Ahmad

shyml

here are some pics of the Caravan dt 20-6-06

richblin

Hello Amer A!
I would be most interested to obtain a copy of plans for your nice looking Cessna Caravan. We are looking to scale up such a model eventually to a size suitable for a Wren or similar turboprop .
In the meantime, here is a shot of our latest Cessna 182 model, which is now in the final makings. It is to exact scale 1:3 in fiberglass composite, and will have a 4-cyl., 4 stroke boxer engine. Also I enclose a picture of a Norwegian Cessna Caravan (long version) which flys for the regional airline Kato Air.
Best regards
Richard Blindheim
Oslo

shyml

I will definitely send the plans as soon as they are made into a CAD drawing from my drawn plans. I think you are making models to a superlative level and detail and my design is much humble in comparison. I strogly urge you get larer drawings from Cessna and scale down from an original, and up from a plastic model if available. Will report flight performance. It would be an amazing project with a wren if the similarly powered Tucano is an example. Looking forward to your project.

The Cessna 182 looks great. I learnt to fly on a 152 which is a very fine flyer. The 182 in full size is a brute of a working horse and a worthy project.

Amer

gizmo8012

My Feedback: (15)

your awesome!!!

shyml

The Caravan flew its maiden flight today in the hands of Mr. Junaid Ali. 37 degree Celsius temp and 70 % humidity! It was superb. It was so stable and well coordinted that a couple of learners also took turns to fly it. The 1.60 FX is a right choice for the size. It flies just like the Cessna Grand Caravan on the Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The first flight was delayed for two weeks as we were not satisfied with the flap operation. The flaps are huge and are fowler type. I used robart pin hinges courtesy Mr. Saquib Saigol. The hinge line is 1/4 inch below mating line. The servo placement and the normal control horn gave very small moment arm and in the up position there was too much free play because in the initial movement the fowler flaps move away from the joining line and then start going down. Curved horns of 1 1/4 inch size suggested and supplied by Mr. Aamer Waheed, Pakistan's champion flier, solved the problem eventually.

The nose wheel needed more movement and the control rod was moved in one notch on steering arm. It still needs a bigger diameter servo disc.

The NASA droops ( non scale exception) work very well. The stall is very gentle with left wing droping first, probably torque related. Landing speed is quite slow and no one could guess that it was at 33 ozs/sq ft wing loading.
10 degree flap does not require any down elevator mixing. Full flap does require some down pressure on elevator but will be mixed . The flap servos go in channel 7 & 8, ailerons in 1 & 6 with 5th for tow release.
The spoilers augumenting the ailerons and countering adverse yaw were not used as I could not devise proper mechanical linkage. The aileron area was more than adequate for normal flying, as advised and foreseen by Mr FH HUBER earlier. Thanks .

Landings were tried without flaps and then with 10 degree flap. The Caravan come in rock staedy and is very positive on control inputs. One problem was that it would not slow down after a beautiful touch down and rolled all the way to the end of runway. Need some drag in the wheels.
Sudden Large aileron inputs displayed some adverse yaw so spoilers would be worth the effort for purists. If I could lose couple pounds weight, I would simply put HS 85 servos on the spoilers. They would work swell and make the club buddies drool.

I will post flap linkage photos soonas well as the take off & Landing movie which is all our intrepid camera man could capture.
Next week the caravan will start its duty as glider tug after initial trials with my Major Hobbies Mystery Ship. Will report.

Lot of support from club members and close friends Mr Irfan, Mr Zahid Khan , Mr. Urooj and Mr. Osman Khan without which it would not be posible to complete it.
Amer Ahmad

extratorker

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Very nice bird indeed, do you any in flight pics? I've been fly Caravans for a few years now and have always wished for a RC kit of one. Here's the current one I'm flying now. If you ever need any pics of anything let me know.

cmsrp

Shyml, I would love a copy of the plans for this caravan also. I am looking to build a new drop plane for my RC skydiver and this could be perfect...

gykairlines

I would like a copy of the plans too if possible, thanks already

Michael Gykiere ( antwerp belgium )

[email protected]

Beef

My Feedback: (10)

I imagine you are going to get a LOT of requests for your plans for this Caravan. I would like to get a copy too, especially if you decided to print/sell them. Very nice job!

shyml

Gentlemen I will send copies of my hand drawn plans as I have been unable to find time or someone to do a CAD. In present form it is for experienced builder. Please send postal addresses to my e mail [email protected]

The guy who built mine from my plans has the mould for the cowl and the wind screen. I will get a quote from him for these and post it. You would need to buy it from him direct, but I will help of course.

Towed 120 inch Mystery ship (major Hobbies) very successfully. Next to go up is HF DG-1000.

If you are a touch & Go addict, this is your machine.

Amer

shyml

Wow what an airplane. Can you shed some light as to why the left flap has a cut off at the root making it different from the right flap??

I only flew Cessna 152's and the odd cherokee 140 at Ohio State University when I was training for my private pilot certificate. A caravan is best apprciated standing next to those puddle jumpers.

shyml

Caravan fans should like this photo by my friend Mr. Efan Riaz of my Caravan returning from a successful tow , full flap text book landing. Its a very fine flying airplane and on finals the throttleis use to control the glide path with a steady nose slightly down attitude. The big flaps slow it down very well bleeding air speed. A little down elevator has been mixed with the two position flaps. On a high performance take off sans glider it is very impressive. it can take a 3 meter glider on a 125 ft tow line , up to release altitude of approx 600 ft by the time it s on mid down wind leg. ( APC 18X6 prop).

shyml

Another shot by Mr Effan, Cessna Caravan on long final, steady on the glide slope, full flaps deployed.