critterhunter
Posts: 2510
Joined: 9/24/2004
From: Brook Park,
OH, USA
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: saucerguy
Good idea to create a part two of this Critterhunter, that other one was simply huge, kind of ominous for someone that hasn't been involved with it from the beginning.
I put together the latest so, using the gear from a cheezy rat shack rtf called the Night Flyer. It's using a coil instead of a servo, the wingspan is 19.5" on this one since it was all scaled down. There is a resister, or diod looking thing soldered onto the stock 180 motor, I had to reverse it's direction in order to rewire it to reverse the direction of the motor, the original plane was a tractor, but thought I'd throw in that tidbit for those that are wanting to reuse gear from that particular plane. It never flew at all just FYI, so don't go out and buy it thinking it's anything flyable at all, I pretty much knew this from the beginning, I wanted the LED module it came with mainly.
This version of So is only 2 channel, so it will be a balancing act, I have the COG set at the aft 20% of the wing since there is no elevator, which means, full thrust should get it to climb. I also went with the one aileron on it, since that is the only channel that was not used up for it. I used the table saw to cut up the basic stock, sanded the rest by hand, I couldn't see myself dragging out my wire cutter for such a small job, I did a little revison since the last time I showed it, I went with a chunk of EPP for the nose section, that's going to help it handle some abuse I also gave it a couple of wingtips, one of them is attached the the aileron so I hopefully will get greater authority as a control surface now. I have yet to maiden it, I'm in build mode, have several planes ready for their maidens and am working on more as well.
Along all of the So.'s that I've built and kept it somewhat close to the original specs and design, they all have flown quite well, I still have a couple of them tucked away in my rafters for fun in the future with enough reinforcement, you can make them last pretty much forever. I also like how Critter mentions it's ability to stop on a time, change direction and continue on it's new path, literally, that's how this plane performs, it's funny, almost feels like you are driving rather then flying at that point. The original specs call for a speed 400, that is a good combo for you new pilots, it's fast enough to enjoy, but not too quick, I geared mine up with brushed, geared 370's and 390's with various props as well. If you go that route, be sure to build light, which means, stay closer to the original specs. If you go brushless and lipo, it will turn this plane into something alot more enjoyable for us more advanced pilots. From what I've learned on my past versions, stay away from using coroplast or anything heavy for the tail section, I also tuck my motor's just under the aft end of the wing, leaving enough room for the prop to stick out, this allows me to use the lighter packs and get the COG correct. If you aren't sure about what you are doing, leave extra room in the nose to let you adjust where the battery pack finally will be mounted. Also, if you carve out an area for it's final placement, be sure to line the walls of it with balsa stock, or something that's going to keep it's shape since the intertia from the battery during hard landings as well as simply replacing the pack on a regular basis will weaken up that particular spot.
I look forward to hearing more from you guys on this bird, I think everybody should have one, they are cheap, easy to build and fly and when done right, will last a very long time. FoamFlyer stumbled on this particular design, it's proven itself to him as well as us.
Exactly why I wanted to create a new thread. I can blame a lot of the old one's murk to us learning as we went but most of it was my tendency to ramble on.  I wanted a thread with what we learned as condensed and to the point (as is possible for me) on the steps to building the tools as well as the plane. Which reminds me, somebody dig up the info in the old thread on the flight simulator for the So 11. That was great stuff.
Great job on the little So! Give us some more pictures and updates on it's maiden.
Yea, if you have the COG at around 2" the plane had great "stop and turn around on a dime" ability. So #3 was very nose heavy which eliminated that feature, so be aware that you are probably way too nose heavy if you aren't seeing it. This plane flies like no other plane I've piloted. It's thick (high lift) clark-y airfoil and huge h-stab, along with the increased stability of the v-stabs, makes for some excellent slow speed crawl ability...the high level of drag on the plane also helping to keep it slow when you want to. Even with builds #1 through #3 being of mine being around 27 ounces or so they still had good lift at low speeds.
I agree on strengthening the battery comparment if you don't have a carbon tube nose to tail in the belly to prevent the front of the fuse from crushing. On build #4 I lined the battery chamber with thin ply. Only carbon I used on this build was one arrow shaft in the wing, but again I'm using really dense EPS. I also got away with using only one strip of strapping tape on the belly to top of fuse, then went back over that with Tyvek paper. The Tyvek holds paint FOR GOOD with no flaking and that's why I wanted it over the Extreme tape on the belly. The sides of the fuse as well as the bottom of the booms and outside sides of them are in Tyvek paper as well, as is the entire wing top/bottom. This stuff is VERY strong, won't rip or stretch like Monocoat, and like I said the paint aint coming off this stuff. It is heavier then typical coverings but I don't care when it's that strong. Tyvek tape is my new favorite over clear packing tape for those things, like taping on the control hinges. It sticks much better than box tape and there is no need for 3M spray glue. H20 paint is what I prefer on foam as it won't melt.
I got So #4 in the air Sunday and it flew well. Second flight I smoked the BP21 custom wind so I'm going to give it a little more venting under the cowl when it's re-winded. I wanted a re-wind anyway because the 1260 k/v custom wind (to keep the amps down on my old Common Sense packs) was a little too slow on the 8x4 APC E. It's going to be wound this time about halfway between that and the 1760 k/v of the stock BP21 wind, so about 1500 k/v this time. I'll either settle on a 8x4 E or a 7x6SF prop and the amps will probably be around 14 to 18 somewhere. The stock 1760 k/v of the BP21 is just about perfect for this plane. An 8x4 will give you decent speed and tons of torque. A 7x6SF will pop the amps up from around 13 to about 16. Speed will be much better and torque will still be decent. Fisher prefers the 7x4 prop and it will for sure run smoother on that.
I'll be throwing some pictures up in a day or two of the rest of the build steps, final dimensions, and AUW weight. Wait to you see the funky paint job on this puppy. I'll give you a hint....it's either going to be called the Sand Cow or Sand Leppard. Maybe Ringworm.
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All Forums >> Electric Aircraft Universe >> Foamies! - RC Electric Foam Aircraft >> RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Part 2) 
RE: Here's A Simple & FREE First Foam Build Plan! (Par... - 
, I am also thinkin of what happens when you go to hotwire the foam and you hit the glue??? your prob better off with 1.5" and 2" being used wherever needed, ya, didn't see the other stuff that is blue, pink..... hey, that is what monocote and/or tape is for, FYI fillament tape works AWESOME for taping up wings, as well as any old cheap packing tape 
, I am considering this kindof 