Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Hey guys. IM not a newb to rc flight. I have been flying since I was 7 and im now 14. I have never had a nitro plane and I wanted to make one first. I was wondering if it would be possible to make a glow foamie out of that home depot pink foam? i mean the engine mount would be wood so i dont see it melting the foam or anything but i just wanted to hear your guys opinions. also what do you guys think is a good wingspan for a .21 engine? It will either be a 3D plane or a warbird(p-51 mustang). Thanks in advance. oh yeah and it will be a profile since im using foam sheets. ive made several electric foamies just never a nitro

edit:Build starts on page 2

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Well, oday1395, there is an awful lot of vibration with a glow. You will have to really solidify the engine mount, which would probably quickly lead to fatigue of the foam material around the solidification area.

I suppose it could be done, and may have been done, but I would think the better way is to get a balsa model and work it out that way.

CGr.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Thanks. ya I guess I will just save up for the house of balsa p-51. Is house of balsa good? i may try a nitro foamie anyway though since i have the foam
lol

edit. just saw some videos and it looks like it will work so im gonna try. Does anyone know a good wingspan and lenght for a .21 sized 3d plane?

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Best of luck. Let us know how it works out.

CGr.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Thanks. If/when it fail(lol) do you know if the house of balsa p-51 .21 kit is any good?

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

I don't know. I've never flown one. There are several posts here on RCU that can fill you in on that aircraft. From what I've read, though, it's a pretty good aircraft.

You really should not be so cavalier about failure of a flying model aircraft. They can and will do damage that you will be responsible for. Be very careful with that glow powered foamie. If you do decide to go with one, make sure you cousult more than just the beginners forum for some suggestions on how to put one together then what to check for after you fly it and before you fly it again.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

You'll have to reinforce the foam with balsa and plywood, but it's doable. You may want to ask the guys in the 1/2A forum about this method of construction as several of them have experience with foam plane and your engine is not much heavier than the .10's and .15's a lot of us fly.

Which engine is your .21? HB? K&B? ???

Hogflyer

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

I bet if you constructed it just right, it may actually work. You'd have to figure out ways to make structures from the foam that are stiff and strong. You may even have to resort to some strategic placement of thin plywood or carbon fiber or something too. The profile sounds like a good idea but some sort of box fuselage with a truss system or something may actually be more rigid and better suited to the glow engine.

I'd come up with ideas, build partial structures and test them though until you arrive at something good. I wouldn't just slap something together and hope for the best because it can be dangerous as CGretired pointed out. Sure, you will find out some ideas don't work but that just brings you one step closer to what will.

I am in no way an expert here but, if it were me, I'd be thinking about some sort of large, high-lift, slow flying airplane. This way there would be minimal stress to the airframe from hard maneuvers and stuff. That little engine will fly a pretty decent size aircraft of this type.

I'd experiment and learn everything you can; you might just pull it off. Everything around us was just a crazy idea at one point. Just be safe.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

I read about a guy who put a glow engine on a parkzone trojan once, it was on rcgroups.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

ummmm hummmmm check out "my models";)

oday, you can do it. I was told when I did my first swap " the glow fuel will eat the foam" that is not true. I've had a multiplex magister with a glow engine on it for 2 years and it is still fine. while it is not as easy to clean as a monokote covered plane it will still clean up. aside from the magister I've also converted a hobbyzone supercub, and a parkzone T-28 trojan. as long as you have a sturdy mounting point to attach a firewall or at least a motor mount, you can do it. :D

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

What a small world!:)

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

I don't even like it when I get my coffee in foam, but in the interest of bringing in another glow-fuel pilot I'd guess 35" to 40" or thereabouts for a .21 c.i. engine. For 3-D maybe 24" to 30". You need 1.2X to 1.5X more thrust than model weight for 3-D, much less than 1:1 for a warbird. I really don't know the build qualities or all-up weight of a foam version vs. a similar balsa & covering model. I'm guessing you'd need to bed a spar of spruce or carbon fibre (or a modern Beeman arrow shaft) in that wing to keep it rigid enough.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

thanks for all the help guys. Im gonna make one and see how it goes (maybe) i dont wnt to waste money on the foam to find out it wont work but if i have some around the house iill try it. But i will probal end up wit the house of balsa p-51. Ive never built a balsa kit and they look pretty hard to build and cover.what do you guys think?

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

I'm not familiar with tha particular kit but wood kits generally aren't that difficult if you have some basic skills and follow the instructions. Some are obviously more difficult than others of course.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

check out the kit building forum there are a few hob p-51 .20 builds in that forum.they are easy to build and the manual is very good.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

RC Combat planes are often made of foam.
Here's one source of kits designed for .25 size glow engines http://www.hattrickrc.com/2548.html and there is a link to the building instructions.
There are some plans available through an RC Combat site http://www.rccombat.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11005 that you can download and use them (and the instructions from the other site) to build your own plane using locally available materials.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Thanks Carrell, I think I am gonna buy the p-51 or make that p-51 from sctach. thanks again guys!

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Someone metioned the firewall perhaps not staying because of the transition between firewall and foam. Suggestion only: Drill a hole or two through the firewall above and below your engine, epoxy hard wood dowels 8 inches long or so through the holes but flush at the front. Drill or poke holes the length of your dowels straight down the fuse, then gorilla glue or similar the dowels all the way down, That should transmit any vibration through a much longer area and disipate it as much as you need....JUST a thought. Thats how I'd try it.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

There was a guy who used to post a lot at RCU.......CRAZYHERB, [something like that]. He built all kinds of planes out of pink foam, even large gassers. The guys who do the most with the least are your control line combat guys. Foamies have been getting towed around by strong running .36s for decades. MACA is their SIG, there should be plans available to get you aquainted with construction techniques.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

If you want to build cheap and experiment check out the Spads. There is some profile free plans out there too. I built the 1/2A HoB P-51 at your age so I am sure you can build what you want; just take pictures for us.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Far easier to reach success with a proven balsa kit (with plans and instructions) than try and design your own from insulation foam. ;-)

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

It looks like Crazy Herb's website may be gone. I built his "Jack's Delta" design last year:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8341260/tm.htm

It should be a quick building plane, but I wasted a lot of time covering mine. If I were to do it over, I would just paint it.

Crazy Herb had vidoes on his website of the plane flying, and it flew really well. I never got mine balanced properly, and I needed the parts for another bird, so I never got it flying.

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

My first RC plane was a 'glow foamie'. It was a Cox Cessna Centurion 2 channel plane with an .049 on the front. It was made of styrofoam which is a little different from the insulation foam people use now, but it held up pretty well. I did have to re-epoxy the plastic firewall once when it started coming loose, but other than that it worked fine.

My original one from the 80's has long since been destroyed, but I have a 'new' one that I bought from eBay and I fly it regularly!

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

Here is one of our club members with his glow engine parkzone trojan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoD0mONqpV8

RE: Glow Powered Foam Flycat Build!
 

http://www.swanyshouse.com/mojo25/mojo25.aspx or http://www.swanyshouse.com/primo15/primo15.aspx for 3d
go bigger if you can .40 sized is great, not that much more expensive than 25 sized but will fly much better.
if you are new to building kits/3d try a towerhobbies fun 51 ( http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJA64&P=7 ). they are cheap yet fly well. i would buy a used .40-.50 sized bushing engine to keep the plane light.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKF92&P=0 you dont want a bb engine or the plane will be to heavy to float around, although it will fly fine at higher speeds.

the fun 51 will cost the same as a 25 sized plane. maybe a little more because you need more covering but it will be smoother and fly better in winds.