First of all I want to say this website rocks!

I have recently delved into the realm of R/C combat (thrilling and very addictive) and can't get enough. I am surprised that it is not more popular than it is so I came up with a few reasons why.
1) Build time is too long to risk destroying the planes.
2) Cost is a factor, who wants to throw planes away?
3) The spads, gutter tube, and other coroplast planes may be tough but they are damn ugly. I want my combat planes to look like combat planes!

So here is my idea: Some people have recently started making combat planes out of wiffleball bats. Now these things are tough as nails! Instead of making a plane that looks like a modified bat, take the same plastic and make molds of real planes.

These could come in three sections: Fuselage, tail assembly and wing assembly. Built time would be really short, and easy. Heck, they could be set up so the control surface hinges just snap into place and are then glued. Same with the Horizontal and vertical stabilizers

The control horns could be molded right in with the ailerons, and elevator. Even rivets, panel lines and other details could be part of this, now that would be awesome!

Once assembled the whole thing would just need a coat of paint.
I don't think weight would be a factor since we currently use coroplast and bats to fly now. Best of all these should be really cheap. Look how inexpensive bats are at Wal-Mart and such (3-10 bucks). I would spend more than that for something like this!

I put this post in the ARF forum because these would be ARFS, and I think this group is a bit more active than the combat section. Let me know what you think of this idea...........

What about the wing? I've been flying combat for over ten years and it's the wings that take the most time to build. My planes cost about $20 (complete).

My 2 cents;

1. Those bats are cheap at Walmart because they are produced by the hundreds of thousands. I'm wondering how much they would cost at a low production run.

2. Why stop at the body, do the wings the same way. Just add yardstick, a little glue here, a little glue there...

3. Most people I talk to don't want to do combat not because of the plane, but because of the other expensive stuff that can get ruined in a mid-air. Engine, receiver, servos, etc... I can't tell you how many needle valves I've gone through.

How about finding a retired guy, get him hooked, and let him build them and buy them off of him. There is someone here that is building them for $40 all ready to add equipment to.

And no, I don't really have a point....

Kurt..

Any links on how to make these cheap combats......or any pics?

Jimbo

Nice planes... do u have the plans ??

cheers

http://www.spadtothebone.com

can we use foam boards ? for this coz where i am they dont have sturdy coroplast !!

Whatever floats your boat rocketwing...

Both if you're really bored...

I've got the perfect Kombat plane,I will post a pic as soon as I get a chance.

Spad ARF's are available from many builders at the spad site.

The plane you suggest sounds very heavy, and that translates to poor performance. I build "B" class combat spads in about 1 1/2 hours that weigh just over 2 pounds.

Want something that looks like a real plane - try the "corospit or Corostang". (Spad originals)

The spads and everything are great but........they don't look like real planes. Sorry, but I like to fly WWII stuff. The Corospit is better but doesn't follow my train of thought. They are heavy and take some tome to assemble, plus you have to hunt down all the parts. My idea would eliminate the built time, increase durability, and be cheap! And also look very scale.

I think the Fuse, wing, and tail should all be made from this plastic. It can be done I'm sure. It just needs to be engineered correctly to work. Try lifting up one of those bats sometime, they are very light and strong!!!

All we need is some Taiwan manufacturer to pump them out! Or a big established company like World models to do it.

Also, special compartments can be molded in to protect all of the expensive gear.....the possibilities are truly endless.

I think we can do better....we have the technology!!!

Here it is!The wing is made of coroplast and the fuse is 1\2X1\2 square aluminum tubing.This thing is very fast and virtually indestructable,and flies awesome.It is made by The Airplane Factory,designers of the Kombat 40 plane.Their web site is www.kombat40.com

Here is another pic,these are pics of the Prototype,the newest version has the pipe underneath,and all the servos are concealed in the wing,it is very clean.If anyone is interested I will post pics of the newer version as soon as I get them.

I got a 404 no-find on the Kombat40 website. DO you have another location to recommed?

Sorry looks like inadvertently put a dot at the end of the address,It works fine now.
Mike

The molded fuse could come in 2 halves. This way you could create a slot or groove in the front for a firewall to be placed. So when the 2 pieces are snapped together to be glued the firewall would be held in place by the mold of the fuse. It would work like a clamp around the wall, you could put a bead of glue in the groove before the wall is held in place by the 2 halves.

Also, it would be much easier to install pushrods, and wires with the plane wide open, I have big hands so working in tight spots is a real pain.

Again, I want to stay away from the spads and such because They look like crap. Besides, a realistic looking combat plane like this would be great for sport flying as well.

A much larger more expensive example of what I have in mind are produced by http://www.aerotechmodels.com/P51.htm

These are made from carbon fiber and look sweet, picture this in 1/12th scale and made from cheap/lightweight/tough plastic.

This could be done in small scale, no doubt!


http://www.aerotechmodels.com/P47.htm