tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Was yours powered by a .60 engine or a .40 engine? I assume it was glow Loved the prop used in the video...

fujiman

My Feedback: (133)

i agree wowplanes, back in 1981 i built a "foamy" sureflite .40 and put it thru an oak tree and when it hit the ground it broke in half, no damage to wing, the fuse halfs fit back together perfectly, a little 5 min epox. 15 mins. later it was back in the air. about a year later tho i turned it into foam beads on take off, off a hill and the wind caught it and it did a cart wheel and exploded. my fault, not the plane or the foam. what ever happened to sureflite anyway??????

wowplanes

Mine was electric. I used the AXI 4130/16 setup. The prop was a 3 blade 14x9x3 from Master Airscrew.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

No wonder there wasn't any sound on the video Your final weight was......

wowplanes

Actually there were a lot of glow engines being rev'ed by others at teh field so I just muted all the sound because it was very distracting.

AUW was 8 1/2 lbs

box car

Here is another one that has not been listed. www.eurekaaircraft.com
ken

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Nice find Ken!

davey53

Time is what makes a kit builder content happy hassle free and away from the madding crowd

shootnstarz

Add the GP Spirit Elite kit to the list, Tower has it listed as "discontinued". Glad I got mine a few months ago.

Rick

GaryHarris

And add the GP Tutor.

wowplanes

Here is my latest kit. How it comes out the box and how it ends up looking when done. Took me 3 weeks to build. It is an 80" B26 Marauder coming in for landing with retracts down and landing lights on. Has rivets and panel lines too.

Flight videos are at http://www.wowplanes.com/product_inf...roducts_id=146

Avaiojet

"Where have all the kits gone?"

I know where my Stafford Twin Comanche went.

Sold at auction for 240.00 in less than one day!

A deal for both of us. Guy got a great kit and I have one less thing to think about.

Worked out great and I hope the model gets built.

Charles

SteelersRule!

if you want some great advice on a zillion topics, Paul at custombuilders.com is truely fantastic. I am sure most of you have viewed Paul's site. He is "old School" in that I believe he would rather have a root canal than get a ARF.He is the definiton of a builder. His site has some many topics spelled outin plain English that even I can understand, he to me is a reason I wanted to get back in. He has replied to my insesentand probably dumb questions but he has always taken the time to answer me. Super guy and site.

I bought his magnetic building system and it is Godsend fora rookie like me. BeforeI got it, I needed about 4 extra hands sometimes and this system hasmade it so easy to buildthings straight. What a concept!!

I think one thing we are missing the point on in this thread is that we all need to be thankful that people that only want ARF's WANT to fly. Maybe eventually they will take the time to build their own airplanes and know both both sides of this great hobby. I think alot of them are apprehensive of screwing upa build, (ME), and takethe easy way out for now. I think once they gettrained and see the tremendous works of art atthe field, that for alotof them the "bug" will bite.

Remember, It doesn't matterwhat they flynow, they have commtted significant dollars to take the plunge. Weshould be happy that wehave new people join thefraternity, every dollar invested helpsus all. The more $'s invested inthis hobby thehealthier it is. Great for all of us.

It only helps the hobbyto get as many people involoved as possible.You guysout there with lots of years under yor belt, takethe time to say hello and offer some help, I am sure alot of you do.Show them what you have done with your expertise, vision and skillsand remind them that we were allin the same leaky boat when we made the decision to jump in.

Again, when they see some ofyour fantastic builds,whether kit built or scratchbuilt, they may want to truely dive into thesport. In many cases this is a lifelong hobby and a truely grat one. Expose as many people to it that you can. This is a great hobby, show them how great it can be.
All the best!

SteelersRule!

After this, I am going to go back to work. I did have a question, what is veryone's experience on foamies or partial foamines, ( wing cores only)? I am sure the foam quality is all over the ballpark like grades of balsa are.

Just curious

SteelersRule!

has this been done oe in process?

dreadnaut

My Feedback: (5)

Foamies are toys (impressive ones in the hands of a skilled pilot, but toys none the less.)

Foam core wings on the other are just another technique in the "tool kit" of a scratch, or kit builder. Same goes for fiberglass fuselages. More than once I have seen on EB a kit consisting of an un-sheeted foam core and FG shell, often without plans and instructions listed as an ARF. I pity the poor beginner who buys it thinking they will have it flying in a weekend.

SteelersRule!

thanks alot for the info.

wowplanes

lpkorpas1,
Here is my 2 cents worth in response to your question.

I began this hobby about 5 years ago, mostly doing ARFs, but soon became bored with that. About 2 years ago I started looking into doing my own designs and scratch building them. I had neither the time nor the skill to build balsa models from plans or sticks, so I started exploring alternative ways. I know some may not like what I say next, but among the several mediums I researched, foam seemed to me to be or a versatile medium that can be cut and shaped into anything you can imagine and is light. I started looking into it further.

The problem with foam is that it does not look and finish well due to its rough texture, dings and dents too easily during handling and transport, gets dirty with use and is hard to wash or clean, does not stand up to fuel or solvent based paints, and is not strong enough compared a glassed balsa frame. That became the next leg in my journey. How to make foam not look or feel or behave like foam, be resistant to solvents, and be as strong as balsa/ply/glass construction?

Here is a list of the advantages and disadvantages of using foam as a medium for aeromodelling.

VERSATILITY:
Foam can be cut and shaped into anything we can imagine. When I moved to Florida about 5 years ago and made the customary pilgrimage to Disney World, it was an eye opener. Most of the structures and caricatures there are made of foam! Far more complex shapes than anything we encounter in airplanes. Foam can be cut with a fair degree of accuracy, carved, sanded, routered, or milled into any shape imaginable.

QUICK BUILD:
As we see with my kits, an airplane can be decomposed into a dozen or so parts, which makes assembly easy, and we can achieve a very scale look. Since the basic structure is made from such few parts, the frame goes together in a relatively short time.

FAILURE POINTS:
Few parts mean few joints, which in turn mean less things to fail.

BUILDER FLEXIBILITY:
This construction technique lends itself to easy modification during the building stage for the builder to add options and versions. e.g. If the builder wants to build a cockpit interior, a dugout with a sharp utility knife, followed by balsa sheeting the inside of the dugout gives us that option. Similarly with the gunner pits, bomb bays, etc.

WEIGHT:
Depending on the density of the foam used, foam is 95% to 98% air. If we use hollow foam parts as I cut for my kits, the foam weight is even less. I was surprised to note that on some very light and small models I had built, the epoxy glue weighed more than the structure itself!

VIBRATION:
Especially important for internal combustion powered models. Foam is a vibration and a shock absorber. Vibration from the IC engine is localized and does not propagate throughout the frame, thus saving electronic component failures, or weak joints from failing.

SHOCK:
Foam, to a certian extent, is a good shock absorber. Reason why it is used as packing material in shipping. Of course it will not survive a shock from a crash, but hard landings are no problem.

REPAIR:
This is an advantage we hope we never have to use. If a foam plane crashes, it cracks along a clean line. The two or more parts will mate perfectly. This makes repair very easy. If some small piece is missing it can be easily filled with scrap foam, putty, or spackle. If there are any internal voids at the mating faces, a few drops of Gorrilla glue takes care of that. This glue expands as it cures, and fills the voids.

Now lets look at the disadvantages one at a time as I deal with them.

STRENGTH:
Foam itself is not a strong material, but with strategic use of balsa sheet & plywood it can be made much stronger. Using sheet, spreads the load over a much larger area, and I find that to be much stronger. Wings for giant scale aerobatic planes made with foam sheeted with balsa are about the toughest wings I have seen. Although I have used plywood and balsa in several locations, I am not finished with adding strength to this model. More will come when we skin it.

ROUGH TEXTURE:
Since foam has a surface that is full of tiny divots, we need to fill these. I use a putty/spackle mixture to do that. I dilute the mixture some more and using gloved hands smear it all over and rub it into the surface. Then I immediately scrap most of it off with a plastic spreader or a credit card. That fills in most of the divots and almost eliminates any sanding. After it is dry I lightly sand with 320 grit and finish off with 600. This leaves a silky smooth surface, much like sanded balsa sheet.

HARDNESS, DING RESISTANCE, FUEL AND PAINT SOLVENT RESISTANCE
In this step we overcome the remaning disadvantages of foam, which are that it is not hard enough to resist hangar rash or normal handling, cannot be painted with solvent paints, will dissolve at the first drop of nitro fuel, gets dirty and cannot be washed.

The answer to all this evil is Liquid Sheet. LS is a 2 part compound that cures in about 1 to 2 hours, and forms a hard and glossy smooth surface over the foam. It is brushed on with inexpensive throw away foam brushes. It is non-toxic and has no foul smell. It can be brushed as thin as monokote, or applied in multiple coats every 15 minutes, to a thickness of 1/16". It is no more heavier than fiber glass cloth and epoxy.

It adds strength, makes the foam resistant to paint solvents, to nitro fuel, prevents hangar rash, and is washable with soap and water. Best of all, it eliminates sanding, except if you get a drip, it is easily sandable.

After 24 hours, I lightly sand it with 400 grit to knock off any dust particles, then wash it with dish detergent, and put down a coat of primer and paint.

Here is a picture of my models, all made from foam, a small amount of balsa nd ply, covered with Liquid Sheet, and painted with ordinary spray can paints.

I hope more of you will try building with foam. There is a wealth of information on this building technique at my website http://www.wowplanes.com and if you have any questions, I will be more than glad to try and answer them.

Best regards
Fahim

SteelersRule!

thanks for the terrific input on this.

wowplanes

U R Welcome.
I forgot to mention that when you go to my website, clcik on the picture of any of the models, then find the word MANUAL on the next page just below the pictures, and you will see the detailed construction manual for that model. Browse thru that and you will see how the kits are build - much simpler than the traditional method, and the results are much better too. I am convinced that this is the way of the future when it comes to building.

Regards
Fahim

fujiman

My Feedback: (133)

wow planes, how about a D.H. hornet in 1/6th or 1/5th scale?????? I for one would be interested in one of those for sure!!!!!!! I'm currently modifying a set of plans from M.A.News of a 1/6 scale p-51, into a reno unlimted racer "tsunomi", eng. supertigre 2500, walbro wt-499 alky carb., retracts, etc. still in planning stages. eureka aircraft will cut the foam wings (very helpful and nice people there) after i give them the airfoil plotting i want. also i have in the plans to redesign the 51 plans into a one off sort of p-38 but on styroids using p-51 fuses like the p-82 twin mustang but they won't have the twin canopies, just the fuses with the pilot/canopy in a center pod like the POND RACER (reno unlimited racer), no bottom scoops they will go on the sides of the eng. pods/fuses like the p-38. have not figured out if i'm going tail dragger or tricycle gear. if i go tail dragger i'll build a full length center section starting just in of the of the wing to the horizonal stab, like the pond. if i go with trike gear i'll build a center fuse very simiular to the p-38. it might look much like the twin HOWARD HUGHES designed prototype he built and crashed. i'm at this time, still gathering parts for both the tsunomi and the twin, hope i don't run out of $$$$$$$ first!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the twin will be powered by 2 S.T.2500/walbro wt-499 alky carbs and eureka custom cut foam wings and wing center section. i mite go with wow's finishing techniques with inlaid wood spars.



WOW PLANES how does your water based finish do over fiberglass/epoxy covering??? (i'm thinking if does stick to the fib. glass, the finish weight might be too hi?????)

wowplanes

Fujiman
The DH Hornet would be a good candiadte for Wowplanes. I have a couple of planes in the pipeline at this moment, and when I am done, I will certianly look at the Hornet if enough people want one.

As for the Liquid Sheet, it is meant as a replacement for fiber galss and epoxy. The main advantages are that you don't need the cloth, and no sanding (unless you get a drip or two, then it sands real well).

Fahim

JL1

My Feedback: (93)

I have your B-26 (80") and would definitly be interested in a DH Hornet

fujiman

My Feedback: (133)

thanks for imput wow planes. kinda what i thot!!!!!! i guess using both methods only would add weight. still mite use fib./glass on just the center section of my twin for strength and your stuff over that and the rest of the wing. what do you think of that???? well, now you've got 2 of us that would be interested in a 1/6 or 1/5 Hornet kit. come on guys let's hear it for a hornet project by wow planes!!!!!!!!!

wowplanes

Sure you can use FG on the fuse and LS on the wings and tail. Do the wing first with LS and then see how that comes out and then you can decide to go FG or LS on the fuse.

The full size Hornet is 540" span. That would make a 1/5 scale 108" and a 1/6 scale 90". Are you sure you want something that big?
I need at least 10 people to sign up and commit to buy the kit to make it worthwhile.

Fahim