Posts: 5
Joined: 11/28/2003 From: Union City,
PA, USA Status: offline
quote:
No need to paint...I love the newspaper look... especially the large sheet right in the middle like a diamond....cool...effect....reminds me of an "M.C. Escher" drawing...almost mosaic...pattern.....I'm hypnotized....
Now that you brought that up, the idea was to make the wing a little stronger in the middle and tapper out the further away from the middle. No idea if it's a good thing or not!!
Posts: 4
Joined: 8/2/2003 From: Greenville, OH, USA Status: offline
Hello All, Here are a few pics of my 96" span GD. The Silver one was made with white foam, the kind with the plastic covering (very smooth). I installed two wing spars (1/4 X 3/8) into the foam, evenly spaced, on the top of the wing. I also installed two spars, evenly spaced, front to backon the bottom side of the wiing. This made the wing very strong. I covered the wing with clear packing tape and then foam cut two diagonal slots for the vertical stabilizers. I then painted the entire wing wint a silver metallic paint that proved to be not very fuel friendly. The stabilizers are made from 2 (3/16" corrugated plastic pieces that were Super 77 glued together. I used a 4X18X1/4" sheet of ply to make the motor mount and accessory tray. The control surfaces are made from 3 layers of 1/4" foam core board cut to 4X40". I used playing cards for the hinges (I forgot to punch holes in them). HS-700 servos were used for controlling the GD. I used a Magnum .75 for the power plant and hid all of the accessories in a foam core board compartment. The model weighed 12 pounds.
The first flight was from a soy bean stubble field on a calm day. The drag from the bean stubble made the roll out very slow. I started about 70 yards from a fence row and got it air-born about 10 yards from the fence. After becoming air-born the .75 took the GD nearly straight up and over the fence. I was surprised at how easy the GD was to fly. At half throttle the GD was moving at what looked like to be 50-60MPH. At an idle the plane just didn't want to slow down. I made about ten passes before I was able to slow it enough to land it. I guess I was worried about the bean stubble tearing it up. Never-the-less, the first flight was a success.
The next day I took the GD to our soccer playing fields and had a 12 MPH wind. This time I used the asphalt parking lot for the run way. I set the throttle to 75% and began the roll out directly into the wind. This plane came off the ground so smoothly you could swear it was a B2 Bomber. I put it in a bank and started a pattern around the fields. I lapped the fields once and started the second lap at full throttle. With the wind at it's back, it looked like the GD was going at least 90 MPH. Just when I was thinking how cool it was, the hinge, made from the King of Hearts, decided to pull out. The GD made a nice high speed ARC from an altitude of 200 ft to the ground in a matter of seconds. The only damage was the plywood motor mount broke loose about 12" back from the nose. I will repair it in the spring. If you use cards for hinges. be sure to punch holes in them for extra biting power.
Posts: 4
Joined: 8/2/2003 From: Greenville, OH, USA Status: offline
Hello again,
After crashing the Silver GD I went out a bought another sheet of 2" inch foam to repair it. After looking at it I decided not to repair it until spring. Now, I had new sheet of foam just waiting to be an airplane. With winter around the corner, I decided to make a snow scooter GD. This GD was made without spars and tape covering. I did cut a full length fuselage including the tail section. The receiver, battery and fuel tank all fit under the fuselage. Two yards sticks from ACE hardware were used for motor mounts and were glued to the wing with Elmer's Ultimate Glue( Great Stuff). I brushed the painted surfaces with a clear Minwax Polycrylic (Water Based) paint before spray painting the color, and followed the color with another coat of clear Minwax. The snow runners are also made of white foam, painted blue, but have a white thin plastic strip Super 77 Glued on the bottom. This should allow me to take off and land from the grass without damaging the runners. This GD has a Tower .46 for power and has a rudder for ground steering (hopefully). I will let you know how the GD fares, Love Deltas
Posts: 391
Joined: 3/13/2002 From: CA Status: offline
Love Deltas, Awesome job on the Giant Deltas!! I love the SKI RUNNER idea....I like the profile fuse look on the GD as well!! I've started adding profiles to my designs too like Plank and Plank 40...makes em look a little more plane-like and gives you something to grab...oh ya...and better tracking in flight. Sounds like you found a good way to paint the foam too.... I'm SO happy people are enjoying this plane as much as I do. A couple people at the field have told me to kit them...my response is "BUT WHY??" When you can go to local hardware store and have one built by tomorrow for less.
I love all the variations too... this airframe is so "modifyable".
I'm actually going to be working another Giant wing in a couple months based off a large "raptor" style bird (falcon/eagle/hawk/owl) for an experiment with airport bird control. I've read that many birds have an innate fear of birds of prey. I'll be using design methods I've learned from the Giant Delta....should be a fun project.
Nice Big Pink Video. Is that trapezoidal building on the left end of the runway a phased-array radar? I've got some pink foam that's going to have a second life as an airplane soon!
Posts: 111
Joined: 1/22/2004 From: Grain valley,
MO, USA Status: offline
has anybody thought about doing a twin with this thing? I got a pair of .40s on the shelf waiting for a home (all that's left of my twinstar after radio interference) and I think it sounds interesting.
CrashHawk, this would make an interesting twin....just get the motors wide enough apart so the props don't hit.... But really....you could fly this with a single .40.... twin would sound COOL though.... Naturally, you may have to adjust the CG a bit to accomidate a wider nose (less sweep overall)....but VERY do-able.
I really appriciate everyone's positive feedback on this airframe, and I think it's AWESOME that others are having as much fun with it as I do.
As time permits, I'll keep refining the drawings and dimensions...so, if I happen (or have in the past) to not reply to e-mails...sorry about that.. Feel free to e-mail if you have any questions...I'll be glad to answer.... You can also post a message on my little foamie forum at www.crazyherb.com
I'll try to get replys on there as well... I wish there was a way you could EXPORT this thread and paste it there....that would be cool....maybe....I can figure out something.
Thanks again all!! Keep them Giant Delta's Flying!!!
Posts: 4
Joined: 1/23/2004 From: syracuse, NY, USA Status: offline
I'm hooked!!!! picked up some 2 inch pink foam, cut two airframes, got em glued. I am planning on doing one with single wood spar and glow power, the other with mutiple carbon-fiber spars(arrow shafts) and 45cc gas power, will probably cut the LE/TE's this wekend time permitting.Much thanks to all, especially crazy-herb, for starting the gears turning, will post some pics as construction progresses.
Attached are photos of my latest project. The trailing edge is folded Bristol Board that is then glued to the foam with Probond. .7 oz fibreglass is applied over the EPP foam wing and fuselage. The glassed Bristol board is then cut on the underside to create the control surfaces. The Bristol Board is also used as the hinge and the rear spar caps. Bristol Board is comparable to a thick playing card.
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD >> RE: Giant Delta...has it's OWN site now... 
RE: Giant Delta...has it's OWN site now... - 
Just kidding Chip... 
corrugated plastic pieces that were Super 77 glued together. I used a 4X18X1/4" sheet of ply to make the motor mount and accessory tray. The control surfaces are made from 3 layers of 1/4" foam core board cut to 4X40". I used playing cards for the hinges (I forgot to punch holes in them). HS-700 servos were used for controlling the GD. I used a Magnum .75 for the power plant and hid all of the accessories in a foam core board compartment. The model weighed 12 pounds. 
RE: Giant Delta...has it's OWN site now... - 
