RC-Captain

I did some searching on the net last night , and found a company that makes security gates out of square pvc. I emailed them and didn't get a response as of yet. Another product I found that uses square pvc are mailbox post. I have actually seen some today , but obviously they where being used to hold somebody's mail box .

I went to the dollar store and bought a 25" plastic baseball bat . I'm going to really kick back and make a nice park flyer out of the bat.

This post is to get ideas about different materials to use for the fusalage, not to knock anyones ideas that are already perfected. good luck and keep the ideas comming.

chris6414

My Feedback: (10)

I plan on using a 4X4 PVC fence post from Lowes($7) for my 33CC glow conversion. I'm still deciding how I can build a three piece 7 or 8 ft wing to fit in my car so I can get it to the field.

Chris

RC-Captain

Nice , I saw some of the fence post today . Its real nice but heavy for my style of flying . As far as a wing that can be collapsed, you may want to go into the CAD post to get some good ideas.

If I was building a collapsed wing I would try to duplicate the spar used in most trainers and make it bigger of course . Good Luck and keep us posted.

RC-Captain

Ok looks as if I haven't attracted any one with ideas, so I think I just struck gold. My last service call for today was a glass company. They make windows from scratch , using aluminum frames and what-not. I explained to the owner , that I was looking for material to make a fuselage. I even explained the SPAD bit , so out of the kindness of his heart he decided to cut me a piece of 1" 3/4 square frame pipe. He also told me since I service his shop I can have as much as I want. He's not interested in shipping it but I told him if I sell it I would pay him for the frame. The pics are below . I also have a guy at a hardware store trying to locate some of the 2" 1/2 square pvc or vinly downspout. I will have to buy the entire load but I think I will be able to get rid of it very quickly.

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

Did you ever check the DoitBest stores in you area... according to their website there's one in Newark and one in Staten Island... they should be able to order one or more 10' sticks of the 2.5" American gutter pipe for you...

RC-Captain

Ok I am making progress with this aluminum fuse. It is a job to cut but is very sturdy so far.

O2man

My Feedback: (5)

Fiend,

Cutting the aluminum looks a lot like work. Although if you have the right tools, anything gets easier. How is the weight doing?
What length fuse are you trying?

RC-Captain

Hey O2man, the weight started at 2.5 pounds, then I cut it and installed the bottle, wood stock for engine mount , and the engine then the wieght was 3 pounds . I weighed it after cutting it and it stayed at 2.5 pounds go fiqure. I may need an ounce scale. The only tool I can use right now is a dremel with cut off wheels, and living in an apartment, its loud . So I can only do it at certain times of the day.[&o] Do you have any other sugestions ?


I haven't gotton a chance to even give them a call. I will try this week . but I have been many other places within my travels while working and I keep comming up empty handed. If I had the PCV I would have been done with this plane a week ago But I will continue with the project with the aluminum just to see the outcome . Thanks guys.

O2man

My Feedback: (5)

Fiend,
The dremel sounds tedious! My hat's off to you for your tenacity. Can you tell me the length of the fuse?

RC-Captain

Oh yea I cut it down to 36 inches and cut the main wing down to 56 inches. I left the length reduction out of the first weighing , but it doesn't matter the weight is 3.0 pounds as described above. I may just take this thing to a shop ,ie auto body ,the glass company where I got it , and have them finish the cutting. []

O2man

My Feedback: (5)

Fiend,

When you work out all the attach points you need, be sure to get the fuse drilled as much as possible. You are probably way overstrong, unless you are building a heavy lifter, and even then, there is a lot of weight in that aluminum that is not adding to your strength. Just be sure to polish all the cuts so that you avoid a starting place for stress fractures from the vibration of your engine.

Looking forward to seeing how things come out.

RC-Captain

Thanks O2man I plan to finish mounting every thing before swiss cheesing the heck out of it to drop the weight. But you are right , the dremel is really no match for this aluminum. Remeber they use this stock to hold very heavy glass plates on buildings. So it has to be rated for a certain strength after being cut. I will post the weight again once I finish cutting the servo mounts in it and the gear pit.

I.C.O.N.

My Feedback: (1)

RC-FIEND,

Some alum can be VERY tough. Get some carbide bits for your dremel and you should be ok.

May take a little bit of time but you should be able to get through it.

As far as drills goes, any high speed drill should go through pretty much any alum.

first punch a hole with anything sharp and then put the drill though. It will want to grab on thin alum so keep the RPM high and the preasure on the drill light.
A dremel with a small carbide bit will probably work best. It will still be a little noisey though.

Good luck!

RC-Captain

Here is a link to a fence company that makes raillings,fence post, lamp post, etc out of vinyl. The only down fall is the price for the stuff . I will continue searching until I come with a replacement for the traditional 2 1/2" square pvc /vinly pipe the pioneers of SPAD planes used. Any help will be appreciated.

[link=http://www.hooverfence.com/vinyl_fence/index.htm]vinyl fence post 3.5"x3.5 best size found[/link]

I went to 2 more places today and call the place in Newark NJ and nobody had the stuff. [&o]

RC-Captain

making progress.........I cut the reciever and battert pit today , it took me about 30 minutes , I keep breaking cut off wheels but I'm starting to learn the technique of dremel cutting.

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

The wheels that come with the dremel are terrible. I spend more time changing them then cutting with them. Try one of the aftermarket tougher blades you will spend a lot more time cutting and less time changing blades.

rrh

There's a wheel and arbor kit I sometimes see at Ace Hardware for around $3.50. Bigger diameter wheel and thicker, lasts a lot longer, there might even be 2 wheels in there. I'll look in the garage, maybe I still have one in the pak with a brand name.

rrh

RC-Captain

Thanks both of you , I was going to check home depot for better wheel asap.

swede-RCU

RC fiend-
Quote- I will continue searching until I come with a replacement for the traditional 2 1/2" square pvc /vinly pipe the pioneers of SPAD planes used. Any help will be appreciated.-Quote


I stopped using PVC gutterpipe for fuselages several years ago. I use 4 mil coroplast to make my fuselages now. Just wrap the coro(flutes along the length) around PVC pipe and glue the coro flaps together, let dry and slide the PVC pipe out of the coro and you have a durable coroplast fuse. Stronger than PVC.

Swede

RC-Captain

Unfortunately I can't do this because I have never had a piece of 2 1/2 square pvc pipe.

I have actually managed to make a fuse out of coro . I think it is stiff enough for regular flying , but I fly a little more extreme than regular. Thus far I would like a fuse that will hold up in a rough crash. I can't beleive a coro fuse will not crumble on a horrific crash, especially in extreme hot or cold weather, and at the same time protect my receiver,servos and batts. Some say they have crashed ,blown off the dust, and kept flying . I would like to a pic of such event.

Any way thanks , the pic is of the first fuse I have attempted to make.

kregan

A simple way to strenghten a coro fuse without gutter pipe is to take
a 2" square peice of foam (blue or pink) and glue it inside the fuse
when you fold it up.

You seem to be making it harder on yourself then nessesary. I would ditch
that aluminum tub now and save yourself a bunch of time. Take a 2" thick
piece of foam and cut it 2" wide x however long, wrap the whole thing in
coro and you will hve an extreamly strong fuse.

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

RC-FIEND...

It looks like you folded the coro the wrong way for the fuse... the flutes should be parallel to the long dimension of fuse, and then corner folds are actually on flutes that have been cut on one side. From the pictures you show, it looks like you have the flutes running perpendicular to the fuse length. Take a look at the first 3 pages or so of the SPAD Stick plans, and they'll show you how to make a coro fuse...

http://www.spadtothebone.com/SPAD/SpadStick/index.html

If you fold it the wrong way, I doubt it well be very strong...

BTW... Did you ever check the DoitBest stores in you area for the 2.5" square PVC pipe? According to their website there's one in Newark and one in Staten Island... they should be able to order one or more 10' sticks of the 2.5" American gutter pipe for you...

RC-Captain

Among other things too....


Yep and the four stores in my area don't have the stuff.


Not on my life .......I put to much work into the aluminum already....besides I'm not really concerned with time, but more concerned with making a SPAD that will fly flawlessly.

I decided for the next SPAD I will use round PVC , I picked some up today .
















the weight of the bundle is 5 lbs.

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

Did you ask them to order it for you??

My local store doesn't stock it either, but if you show them a printout of this page on their website (with the part #) they will order it for you...

[link=http://doitbest.com/shop/product.asp?mscssid=DRDNSAKFAWLK9HFCHK58FK5CEB8K7S 78&dept%5Fid=2292&sku=105736]DoItBest's Gutter Pipe Page[/link]

RC-Captain

Thanks I will look into that ASAP. It's funny though, I call and ask about it and most say they don't have it but know what it is , why wouldn't they just ask if I wanted it ordered?

If I needed something from a LHS and they didn't stock it thats the next sentence out of the LHS employee's mouth. "I can order it for you" .