Long endurance plane?
 

I am thinking of building a SPAD, but my mind is not totally commited to this. What I am looking to do is to build an airplane than can stay aloft for at least 45 minutes. I've got a little .25 OS motor to use with this setup. I don't really care if it can do aerobatics or not. I'd like to be able to go out to the field on those somewhat windy days and take her up and fly with the nose in the wind like a kite for a long time without having to land. It would be mainly for this purpose, although I could fly it on the less windy days as well.

Is there a plane that comes to mind that can do this?

I am thinking of going with SPAD, because they are light and durable. I am trying to do this for CHEAP. I've got other balsa planes that are taking all my money. Its also kind of a game unto itself to try to do this gig for as little (both time and money) as possible. Here's the plane I am thinking of: [link=http://www.spadtothebone.com/freeplans.htm]Buhor 25[/link]. (Its under the "Trainer" option)

I'd put a 12 oz tank on it instead of the stock 8oz. With a little .25 motor at half throttle or so, I think it could stay up for a long while.

I've been talking to the guys in the SPAD forum, but decided to post here since I am not dead set on SPAD. Its the end more than the means.

Thanks.

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

how about a 40-50 class 4 stroke? it would cost more but your endurance would be higher.

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

You need something which can gain Height without power... So obviously something which is light enough to use thermals...

The best bet would be to go electric, a glider type Airplane with an electric motor...

This way the Airplane has very good lift and you only drain the batteries every now and then, when the engine is off you don't use power. (except for control)...

The problem with using a glow motor is that it always requires fuel...

A good electric set-up could keep you in the sky for hours and hours...

Matt

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

I had a Sig Rascal with a Saito .56. Wound up keeping it aloft for almost 22 minutes one day while a guy dorked around with a ducted fan jet on the runway. Didn't worry me because that plane is a glider in disguise anyway. Anyway upon landing it still had just a bit more than a half tank of fuel..... and would probablly have had more if I hadn't done touch and goes for the first 10 minutes of the flight..... them smaller 4 strokes really do sip the juice.

Andy

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

I was playing with the idea of a standard flat wing, balsa trainer with an OS.52 four stroke.
If you connect two big, separate fuel tanks in the fuse she should be able to fly on low RPM for an hour.

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

That .25 would fly a sig kadet seniorita around pretty nicely, and with enough fuel in the fuse, you could keep her up for a long time. One problem, though, that engine requires a light airframe, and doesn't produce a lot of thrust, so flying on a real windy day would almost be impossible. However, in 10 mph winds (maybe up to 15, but that would be pushing it) you could point the nose upwind and stay put!

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

Make sure you have plenty of battery to stay up that long! You're bound to get a crick in your neck!!!

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

A guy at our field built a Dynaflite Butterfly, took the mid dihedral out of it (built the entire wing flat, and it has dihedral only at the roo)t. He flies it with a .25, takes it up until you can hardly see it, pulls back to idle, and basically flies it like a sailplane, if he gets too low to suit him , he just throttles up and flies it back to the stratosphere. I've watched him fly over 30 minutes before he ran out of fuel, and then he glided another 15 minutes before he landed. The plane flies on 3 channels, and is a nice looking plane.

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

I scratch built a trenton terror old timer from a half page plan in Model Builder. It had a 6 ft wingspan and weighed about 3.5#. Powered it with a .25fp diesel and a 12x3.5 prop. 45 minutes easy on a 4 oz tank. I used to have people come up and ask me if i was going to fly and then i would point up and say 'I am flying'. Just trimmed it for a slow turn and slight climb and set the transmitter down. :D

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

Dynaflite makes a couple of glow powered gliders the butterfly and the piece-o-cake the butterfly is a 100" wing span and is designed for a .25. Which should keep you up in the air for quite a while. DOH! thats what I get for not reading all the post looks like the butterfly as already been suggested well anyways I second it :)

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

This 'SPAD' is quite a bit larger than what you are looking for, but I can fly it for 1 1/2 hours on one tank of fuel. The large C cell 6 volt RX pack lasts for 2 tanks, or 3 hours of flight time.

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

That's got to be one of the best looking spads I've ever laid my eyes on!!

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

Thank you twistr. You can read all about it [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_1914958/anchors_1914958/mpage_1/key_lucky%252Cgasser/anchor/tm.htm#1914958]here.[/link]

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

A Spad is not a light plane and that last post is a bit misleading until you read the build thread 35cc gas engine with a 52 oz tank,,thats almost 2 quarts,,,, on an 8 foot wingspan...you need foam or balsa a big ole trainer sized wing ...the dyna flite or piece o cake would probably be good...

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

If you are talking about those plastic planes they are not light!! The drain pipe fuse is light but the wing is very heavy. I built 2 myself and one for a friend so I know what I am talking about. They flew well but I hated the stick type look of them. I am strickly a balsa man now!

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

Guys, guys, guys...SPAD's don't all build heavy. My Four Star copy is the same dimensions as a Four-Star, and only weighs 6 ounces more. And they don't all look like sticks. Pic 1 is the Cor-Star 60. Pic 2 is the twin version, and Pic 3 is the Biplane version. These are great planes for a tight budget, or for the guy who likes to build.

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

Gotta admit, they don't look pretty darn good!! [8D]

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

Fastsky-

Is that an intentional negative? I think they DO look pretty darn good!

-Scott

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

I think don't means 'do' in Canada. :)

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

LOL: Those don't even look choroplast! Those are some awesome looking planes. You're an excellent builder!

RE: Long endurance plane?
 

your best bet would be the Dynaflite Butterfly with a .25 or equvilant. conversion to diesel would give great endurance/fuel economy BUT, there are some negatives to Diesel operation as well. electric properly set up would also work. with gliders, they are weather/thermal dependent. Dave Thornburg's book- "old Buzzards soaring book " would help here.