theradioflyer

Hi All,

I built this 51" out of 1/2" rigid pink insulation foam. A 4'x8' sheet of foam is just $8.00 at Home Depot. The motor is equivalent to an E-flite Power 10 to 15. The batteries used are TP 3S 2200 mah and 6 minutes of 3D flight. I went overboard on the aileron servos using Futaba standard digitals but I used Hitech HS-65 MG's for the elevator and rudder. Long arms were used on all servos. The foam glues up great with gorilla glue. For hinging I used a clear hockey tape, much like blenderm but much cheaper. I made my own control horns out of light 1/8th inch ply, I wrapped with thin fiber glass cloth, and soaked with thin CA. Let that dry before getting near your foam I decided against cutting into the wing to mount the 1/4"x3/8" spar so I did one better, I mounted it to the leading edge giving the needed support and also protecting it. I glued it on with Gorilla glue and then wrapped it with the hockey tape.
A 45 amp ESC does well but I'm going to install and ultimate BEC for future flights.
The whole plane weighs in @ 2# 6.2 ounces giving it a wing loading of 8.13 oz per sq ft. You can't beat this for $8.00.

A big thanks to "Get Real" for getting this project off of the ground[8D]

Easy to do and makes you grin from ear to ear while flying with no pucker factor!

Video~
www.vimeo.com/4579614

lejongleur

My Feedback: (10)

that's fantastic! Where did you get the plans? What type of foam is it?

theradioflyer

No Plans, I just drew up the plane as 51" wing span and 50" for nose to rear. All drawn out onto a piece of pink Owens Corning 1/2 rigid foam that you can buy at Home Depot for $8.00... no kidding. If there is any interest I can't post basic measurements to get your planes built. It's not really hard to do and goes together very easily. It flies better than the planes on Aerofly Pro Deluxe.
The wind died down tonight and I really got to know this plane. Hovers and torque roll are locked in, I've never done a turning rolling harrier with authority until tonight, and there is zero coupling in KE. I'm really not that good, this plane just does everything slowly enough that I can do it

Here's a video I got tonight. 3 flights into one video. My helmet cam gave me fits and shut down at the most inopportune times[:@] The music is my Mom playing the piano!
http://www.vimeo.com/4583547

God Bless,

Jay

cayars

That's pretty awesome for $8 worth of foam!

Any chance you could take some measurement of the plane. I'd build one.

Carlo

Zim-uh-tosa

Hey Radio Flyer,

I have been flying the Yak55 (flightflex) and I had fixed it over 30 times with glue-stick. I finally decided to part it out and start over. 20 glue-stocks of extra weight were finally taking it's toll. I had so much fun with that plane though. I did reinforce the entire fuse and stab with carbon fiber.

In your pictures I do not see any reinforcement to the foam. Is this possible with the pink foam? It seems to fly real nice....I would like to build something like your plane but maybe a tad more Yakkish...LOL I do like the shape of your plane a lot though.

Any more details or critical steps would be great. Can it be painted or colored without sacrificing a ton of performance with the weight? Is this stuff better to use than the blue foam at Home Depot?

Thanks for any tips. Nice to see you and one of your builds after all the times I saw you in the Esky area.

Z

theradioflyer

Carlo, I'll put some basic measurements up in the next day or so... I have to help a friend tomorrow or I would do it sooner.
I got two more flights in tonight and it was incredibly fun. I've never flown something this big that was so responsive and predictable.

Basic drawings to come.

Blessings,

Jay

theradioflyer

Z good to see ya
My Home Depot only had pink 1/2" and no blue. My guess on difference with strength would be weight and density. I bet they're close enough. I designed a Yak54 2 years ago as well with very similar flight characteristics but i went with my latest design.
My only thoughts, that worked well, were length of fuse and wingspan. Add wing tip length and chord length at the fuse. Next would be the stab and fin measurements. After that free hand what ever design you want because profile planes will lock in and fly great.

Here's a vid of a Yak54 that I did a few years ago and it flies no different than my Cap3DX(smaller version) other than slight coupling in KE~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uXUA...e=channel_page
The next build was the small Cap3DX which I felt flew better~ http://www.vimeo.com/4541138

I scaled up the Cap3DX to 1:6 and hand drew in the points. You can't go wrong if you wanted something that looked more like a Yak.

As far as reinforcement~ I thought I would have to do more but that's not not case. In fact I put the 1/4x3x8 inch "spar" at the leading edge which seems to work very well in that spot. No other reinforcement were done, seriously. I mildly beat on it tonight and smack the tail quite hard but I didn't have to repair anything.

Blessings,

Jay

Zim-uh-tosa

Thanks for the info Jay. I am dying to get a plane back in the air. I don't think that I would need to buy much of anything other than the foam. I have so many different parts lying around...I will probably get some more blades for a fresh clean cut....I'll keep you posted when I start this project as well. I have lab and school tomorrow but I think I have a free evening on Wed. Lol.

One more dumb question: Since I am not much of a plane builder and I have only bought ARTF, Is there a root chord and/or tip chord I should attempt to build at? Don't wanna make it so large that I run out of Pink stuff...Too small and the plane might not lift correctly either....I will be running 2200mah batts and a nice little Himax motor....Prop sizes? Or, Maybe I should just go for it to see what I can come up with that might fly??!!!

Peace,

Z

theradioflyer

Hey Z,

I'm running a 13x6.5 E-APC prop and the 3s 2200, I feel like I'm slightly over weight with this set-up. I believe 4S would cure it for sure. You could always scale it back a bit to a 48" wingspan and same motor prop. I know there is a calculator on the web for watts and weight but I don't know it. I just try to get things close. Tomorrow I should be able to get some measurements up. I'll just draw it out, scan it, and post it. My preference in flying is more floaty but power to pull out. The first foamy I designed, ( the white on in my avatar) flew well but I thought the wing was too small. The second was the Yak which had a bigger tip chord and main chord and it flew much slower but still rolled when asked. The small Cap3DX was designed for the forward stab and elevator. That way there was no interference in the throw of the rudder and the short moment meant less movement of the elevator for the control. I was Blessed with this design and scale up only made it's flight qualities better. You could scaled it back for a particular power system and have no ill effects, even changing the profile mildly would have no effects.

Blessings,

Jay

Zim-uh-tosa

Jay,

Since I will be using the 2200mah as well, I will leave it as the configuration you first posted. It looks to me like the weight of your plane works well. I am off to the Home Depot after I pick the kids up today. I look forward to see your measurements when you can get them posted....Thanks for all the help.

Z

theradioflyer

Hey Z,

Here is the drawing I made and it is NOT to scale just free handed. If I missed a measurement please point it out. One thing to consider is lengthening the nose by another 1" or moving the wing back a 1/2" as my battery sits right behind the motor so if you use a lighter pack you'd need to add weight to the nose. I don't like adding weight to any plane.
Ask any questions I'll be happy to help.

Right click on the picture and " Save Link As" , download, and print it out.

Edited for correct downloading information

Blessings,

Jay

Zim-uh-tosa

Jay,

So I downloaded the pic, however the picture is so small(3KB) that I can not read any of it. When I give it any zoom at all, The pic distorts real bad. Any suggestions or a larger image?

Thanks,

Z

theradioflyer

Changed post to next post

theradioflyer

I just did this as well and found that if you " Save Link As" it saves the scan to 43 kb big enough to read.

Blessings,

Jay

Zim-uh-tosa

Yah that worked!!! Thanks....

Bad new though. My Home Depot's in the area do not carry any of the pink sheets yet. They said that they had ordered some to start carrying but it might be a few weeks. I have since looked at Owens Corning web site and see that they have four different types of 4x8' sheets....

* PROPINK® Rigid Foam Insulation
* FOAMULAR® 150
* FOAMULAR® 250
* FOAMULAR® IS

Maybe I will try Lowes or OSH next....Don't want the price to skyrocket because of driving around all over town. i have been there and done that already with my homemade Crawler...LOL

Peace,

Z

theradioflyer

Z,
Mine is Foamular but it didn't have the #'s after it or anything. It did say R rating of 3 for 1/2" foam which on checking my foam must be FoamularIS. That stinks your Home Depot doesn't carry it. Our Lowes usually carries the exact same thing as our Home Depot. Do you have a Menards? If it's not there just call around to different lumber companies in the aera. Bad thing about that is you'll likely pay more[:@]

Blessings,

Jay

Zim-uh-tosa

Jay,

Thanks for the follow-ups with me. I called around and I will most likely have to wait for the Home Depot in my area to get their shipment(whenever that may be?) of Foamular(I hope it's IS, the 150-250 might be too flimsy). The closest I found was at a Lowe's in Gilroy (40 miles from me), but that was the Dow blue FFF and it was only 1/4" thick. Cost was $36 for 50' of it...

I ran into your communications with Get Real on RCG last night while I was researching other possibilities. While on RCG I saw a few planes that were full fuse and I fell in love. I know it would be heavier but I am thinking that if I ever get that Pink stuff in my hot little hands, I am going to make a hybrid of your plane with a full fuse. I like the idea of having the electronics out of sight and tucked away. My Yak was that way as well, so I have a slightly better understanding on how to mount everything.

I'll stay tuned here and get back to you when I start the build. Thanks again for the help.

Peace,

Z

PS...A stupid thought: We are going to attract quit a few googling Jay-Z fans with all of our posts, yah? Hmmm?

theradioflyer

That's pretty darn funny right there

Real is the one that got me started on mine. He's got a great design that flies great as well.

Can you post some of the links to the full fuse design. There's always room for improvement

Blessings,

Jay

Zim-uh-tosa

Built like this:



But with this style instead of the above, which is a Bipe:



....And using your measurements for a 50" plane....

LOL....I think it would be sweet if I had patience and the talent to do it. I am not sure that I do, but am willing to try!

Z

Zim-uh-tosa

Original links are:

[link=http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=680193]SU-26[/link]

and

[link=http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=703671]SE5a Bipe[/link]

Z

theradioflyer

The Sukhoi looked to have a walking problem in an aileron roll and looking at the pics the aileron is the same width from tip to root. If that wasn't the pilot and the stick it can be cured with programing but that is also why I drew the ailerons out so harsh on the wing with the tip @ 3" and the root @ 7". this way it has a better chance at an axial roll instead of the ailerons making the plane look like a snap roll when applied. Also in a hover more mass of the aileron is in the prop wash.

Just posting some thoughts

Blessings,

Jay

Zim-uh-tosa

Exactly why I am building it with your plans but with a hybrid full fuze!!! Huh? huh? Hehehe I think that your design is great Jay. I will basically just cut more of the same parts adding cavities for electronics and shape it all to flow using the technique used for the Bipe. The only deviation of the original shape other than mine being a fatty, might be a yak canopy instead of the Cap.
..Now, if Home Depot would hurry up so I can take my time.....

Z

theradioflyer

Z,

I look forward to seeing your plane[8D]

Blessings,

Jay

Zim-uh-tosa

Bump....still waiting on HD to stock foam that will work. Not going to drive to Gilroy to buy the FFF at 1/4" sheets....*sigh*


Z

ajm11

First time posting, long time flying

Its been a few years since Ive flown alot. This is quite the design. I used to make my own duraplane wings out of this foam.

Can we get the plans/ specs on that smaller plane in the picture. Im not looking for a massive and expensive 3d. Just looking to build a backyard 3-d plane. With all these new electronics I'm lost as to how to choose a brushless motor system.