Posts: 2308
Joined: 10/27/2002 From: Woodstock, GA, USA Status: offline
After a year of designing, testing, mid-airs, rebuilding and testing some more, I'm happy to announce that the Black Magic plans, templates and parts are here!
I've been asked by quite a few people to make this plane available, and after much head scratching I've finally reached a point where I can make it happen. I have quite a few pictures of the building process, so I'll be sharing those as we go. if you have any specific questions, email me at MikeHester@customairframes.com and I'll be glad to help you as much as I possibly can.
The version I'm offering is the V-2, a slightly refined form from the prototype. With the -07 FAI schedules in mind, a few changes were made to the prototype to make this plane capable at all levels of competition. The prototype flies P-07 as well or better than most "top end" planes out there, but it needed slightly more fuse and vertical stab area for the rollers and integrated "S" segments in the new pattern. So this was addressed.
The nice thing about this plane is the simplicity of the construction. It's basically sheeted foam and formed composites attached to a wood box, but when finished you'd never guess it's not a fully composite plane. This offers quite a few advantages, longevity and ease of maintenace and repair being foremost. With the belly pan being all composite and held on by 7 screws, and running from the chin all the way behind the wing, you can have one heck of a bad landing and not really damage the plane. Just replace and paint the belly pan, and voila, back in the air! (I've already done this twice now myself).
A few notes about the parts and prices: I've done the math and looked at saving pennies everywhere I can. These prices are in line with the classic Patriot 3D; the construction is similar in many ways...but easier. The composites are made to order by me personally. Don't expect european gelcoated TAVS stuff here, these are hand layed parts. They have a decent finish with not too many pinholes and defects, but there are still seams and imperfections to deal with. Such is the nature of composites.
Most parts are made from fiberglass, with carbon tow reinforcement in the corners. I will in the future make super light carbon canopies by special request, but realize that the material cost for this alone is about $40. The belly pans come from me with phenolic hard points already bonded. Note that all parts are untrimmed.
Also realize I'm NOT a web designer; this is my first one and it's only 3 days old. I'll be adding a ton of stuff to it over time, so bookmark it and have a look from time to time.
For all of you I've spoken with, over the phone, PMs, Emails, etc, I haven't been ignoring you....I just haven't had an answer until now. Thank you for your patience and kind support from the bottom of my heart, I hope you enjoy this plane as much as I do.
So without further delay, let's get cracking, the 2006 season is right around the corner!
-Mike
PS the 3rd picture shows what the new version is shaped like around the tail as opposed to the prototype.
Update: Cores are available, all prices are finalized. Now taking full orders!
< Message edited by MHester -- 1/22/2006 7:47:17 PM >
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Team Cool Power, YS Parts and Services, Mercury Adhesives, Dragonfire Customs, owner Custom Airframes of America
Posts: 2308
Joined: 10/27/2002 From: Woodstock, GA, USA Status: offline
Let's start with some general building notes.
Wood: This is one area you simply cannot compromise. Get the best 4-6lb hand picked balsa and the flattest ply you can find. Trust me, good wood makes building this beast a pleasure. Bad wood will turn it into a flying brick, and make your build that much harder. Don't skimp; get the best. You won't regret spending the money and effort.
Fuse jig: Gotta have one. They aren't expensive, but they are necessary. You can build one yourself if you have the patience, or gator RC sells one like I use. You'd need one set of rails and 2 sets of stations. I have made a couple of modifications to mine and I'll show those when I get to the fuse assembly.
Flat table: Gotta have one, unless you get someone else to do your sheeting.
Wing and stab tubes: PBG Carbon fiber, no question. They are the lightest and strongest, and the difference in cost from aluminum tubes is WAY more than worth it.
Landing gear: The prototype was built with retracts; but the 4 I'm building currently have ES fixed gear. Fixed gear is lighter and infinitely less trouble, but it DOES require more trimming and mixing on your part. Most people don't even bother, but it's definitely worth the effort. If you use fixed gear, put in the time to trim the plane correctly. But this plane can be built either way, and both are shown on the plans.
IC or electric: One nice thing about this plane is it's low weight for it's size. Of course this only applies if you listened to me about the wood. (hehe). I'm currently building 2 with OS 140s and Hyde mounts, and 2 with Plettenberg Xtra 30-10 outrunners. The difference in construction of the 2 planes is fairly small. But with the correct technique, making weight should be no problem with this plane. So electric is definitely a viable option.
It's 2:30am here, so I'll write more tomorrow.
-Mike
< Message edited by MHester -- 12/11/2005 7:45:21 AM >
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Team Cool Power, YS Parts and Services, Mercury Adhesives, Dragonfire Customs, owner Custom Airframes of America
Engine/motor mount *NOTE* The cowl on this plane is made light. Do not mount a nose ring to this cowl unless you add a reinforcement strip of 4 oz glass or 2.5 oz carbon weave. ESPECIALLY if you intend on using a 4 stroke. I suggest using the Hyde ARAI(S) or a mount. You can use an ARA or Budd mount, but realize you will have to add some strength to the cowl to support it. An OS 140 for instance probably wouldn't give you any trouble, but if a DZ kicked back hard, it could turn your nose into confetti if you don't use reinforcement.
Flat table!!!!! I use various different tables, my favorite is a piece of 3/4" MDS board (flooring) with a frame built to bottom.
Fuse jig- I ue the gator jigs, but you can build your own if you wish. I installed it on a 90" length of MDS board and built a unique but simple attachment on each end. It consists of a "C" section of wood, approximately 14" tall with a piece of tubing, music wire, whatever drilled down through it so the wire stands exactly vertical on each end. This allows me to run a string top and bottom, so I can sight down the string and cut a prefect center plane down the fuse formers.
Sanding blocks- Man, can you get crazy here. A good builder has every kind of sanding tool you can imagine, and some he invents for special applications. I have long sanding blocks of various grit (80 is my favorite for general building), small hard squares of MDS board with stick on sandpaper (about hand sized, various lengths of brass tubing with sandpaper wrapped around the ends, and small sticks to use as files. Use your imagination here, you'll be happy you did.
Hole saws: These are the type with saw teeth encircling a 1/4" drill bit. Use a 7/8" bit for the wing tube holes, and then use a piece of wing tube with some standard 180 grit paper to open up the hole to a perfect fit. Otherwise I have quite a few sizes for lightening holes here and there.
Sharpened brass tubing: It's cheap, so get a lot. This is how I do a lot of perfectly round hole cutting, and I consider this essential.
Dremel: Need I say more?
Scroll saw: If you only have one power cutting tool in your shop, this is it. If you don't have one, put one on your Christmas list!
Drill press, band saw, power drills, hand tools, etc....
< Message edited by MHester -- 12/12/2005 5:11:49 PM >
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Team Cool Power, YS Parts and Services, Mercury Adhesives, Dragonfire Customs, owner Custom Airframes of America
Posts: 2308
Joined: 10/27/2002 From: Woodstock, GA, USA Status: offline
Prepping the cores
Foam cores by nature have a little bit of melted foam on the surface. Like long strings of hardened crap.
I have a special sanding block for this job. It's a piece of 3/4" MDS board (can you tell I like that stuff?) about 12"x5-6" wide.
Attach a piece of standard sandpaper to it, about 220 grit. Just use 3M 77 contact spray....spray the block and paper. Just mist it, it doesn't take much.
One thing to make sure of is that you don't have any ragged edges or you will gouge the foam.
Now just sand all the cores until they are nice and smooth, and all the gloss is removed.
You'll note in the fin and the turtle deck cores that because of the taper, there is a little burn out at the small ends. Don't stress over this, just block sand it smooth and all is well. Be careful you do not change the shape, just make it uniformly flat.
Do this to all of the cores and we'll start sheeting with the tail.
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Team Cool Power, YS Parts and Services, Mercury Adhesives, Dragonfire Customs, owner Custom Airframes of America
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Pattern Flying >> Black Magic v2 builder's thread! *Updated* 
Black Magic v2 builder's thread! *Updated* - 
RE: Black Magic v2 builder's thread! - 
