We've probably all done this at one time or another, I mean build something completely from scratch and try to fly it. Well here's my entry. The first few flights of this were done with the Baby Bee and Golden Bee engines, then I put 2 Surestart engines on with 2 ounce fuel tanks. Just before I launched this plane the lower engine started to go rich, it was cold and getting dark out, I should have taken a few seconds to re-tweek the engine, but I didn't. Up in the air I tried to get the lower engine to lean out by climbing and diving and did a rudder roll, but none of that worked. On previous flights I had trouble judging the drop rate and came up a few feet short of my landing spot. So this flight I brought it down faster, it was coming in with a tail wind and by the time I realized how fast it was moving all I could do was slap it down or overshoot the landing spot and end up in the trees. I think this piece of junk is fun to fly and can't wait for the snow to clear out so I can get up in the air again.

So what is your flying junk story? Do you have some pictures or video you could show us?

Hay man, dig that crazy helmet cam!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=757YIiOaQAM[/youtube]

An " over and under " twin, that's cool. Never seen one of those before, you're a genius.
It sounds terrific too.

Hey that's pretty cool... It moves out good too.

Speaking of making junk fly.... I'm eyeballing an old fishing pole, some card board, and a roll of tape. Maybe a new contest in the making?!?!

Several years back our club had a "build and fly" event. We were in teams of 3-4 people each, got a "kit" of some balsa sheets & sticks, I believe a foam wing core, a little ply, and an engine/mount / radio (or we brought our own "donor" radio & servos, etc, don't remember).

Each team got about 3 hours, maybe 4 to "design", build, and have ready for flight an airplane. Then there were events designed to test them - both aerodynamically and structurally. I think the winner was the one with the last flyable airplane..

Anyway - it was a lot of fun!

ROFL[sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

That's one of the coolest things that I've seen. It must be an interesting pitch moment when one fails before the other. Sounds like my .098.

I love this thread! I can almost smell a contest...

The beauty of 1/2A is that it is fast, cheap, easy, and fun to experiment with - just like a girl I knew in high school!

You could allow a week maximum from conception to first flight and posted pictures.

Catagories could range from heaviest, ugliest, most unorthadox, most number of engines (actually running, that is), etc. etc.


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ndb8fxe,

I like your "creation".

With just a little work, you could maybe turn it into a TWIN PUSHER!

That sounds sweet!!![X(]

All I see are nice models......when are ya going to show the junk?

If the upper engine stops first, the lower engine will pull the thing nose up and make it very very hard to control. I start the lower engine first, so it will run out of fuel before the upper engine, it is much easier to fly with the upper engine as long as there is plenty of up elevator.

I was at a April fool's control line contest, where they gave competitors an orange crate, or some type of wood box, and whoever could build and fly a plane was the winner, no prizes just bragging rights.

Ha ha, that's great!

This was 1/2A, so that is as close to appropriate as I can get. This is my only junk plane in existence at the moment. Well some would argue, but I mean one airplane made from two, not one airplane looking like it should be incinerated immediately.

The first time I got an original air hog to actually fly like an airplane was by ripping off the tail feathers, and adding a boom and balsa surfaces. The PlaneBeePig was the result of my kid's Air Hog P-40 (looks like a P-40, flies like a fruit basket with an air hog motor on it) being dismembered in disgust and hot gluing the motor to a - um, shoot, what is it now - a Campbell's Busy Bee? Forget, the sheet balsa .020 thingie that this was but I don't have the box anymore.

Unlike typical Spinmaster products (now there's an appropriate name, putting a spin on the word "fly"..) from whence the motor came, this actually flies quite well.

MJD

p.s. looks like the floor maybe getting some fresh urethane this year.

Here is a picture of some of my junk that flies. A "Cheap Delta" and my Frigate combat plane on floats. Wiggy

Okay Wiggy, the one on the right might be junkie, but the foam delta on the left is neatly made and looks cool. Not junk!

MJD

OK - I was ashamed, but since Wiggy showed his, I'll show mine: another cheap delta.

MJD: You're going to have to come up with something that's really junk. The airhog conversion looks better than almost everything I have.

andrew

Andrew, Does your wife know you put that on the piano? [sm=wink_smile.gif]

Wiggy

Shhhhhhhhh!!![X(]

Coolstuff there guys,
I inherited an Alpha wing (not 1/2A) once and had the gear for a plane. I made a fuse out of one of those big fat $2.00 kids bats bolted the engine on to some cuttin board and sandwiched some yard stick to that going aft and LG going down. Zip tied it into a slot on the fat end of the bat. The motor annd tank stuck out thefront, lg and rails stuck in. A second bat was sacrified to become the cowl. Coro tail feathers. Everyone called it the "Alpha Bat" It had an old Fox bushing .40 and would not die. Finally I scrapped it out to build sumpin' else.
The fun part about flying "junk" is you can be really fearless.

That would be cool. It would look like a single wing Wright Flyer junk plane. I wouldn't want to be the one that launches it with all that prop spinning back there!!!! Great idea!!

I love the look of those delta wings too!

Is "junk" somthing you really build, or a "jem" (i.e. a real "beauty"), that one slowly (or very quickly) converts into (i.e. "junk") after three or four seasons of flying?

The stuff in the pictures above is far from junk, nice looking models guys!

Okay, 'fess up - who's the Bread fan????? [:-]

"If a picture paints a thousand words,
Then why can't I paint you?.."

Coz you're made of foam baby, you'd melt.

"If the prop should stop revolving, spinning slowly down to die,.."

Then it's time to land baby.

"Then one by one the stars would all go out,
Then you and I would simply fly away "

Well, no, see we gotta get that prop going again first, not sure I could soar that thing.

For the bewildered few who think I have finally gone off the brink - look closely at Andrew's pics.

MJD

Well, at first I thought you had gone off the brink - maybe some bad seal blubber. But, that was pretty sharp eyed. I have two! Here's the flip side of the hornet scheme.

andrew

WHOOPS!!! Don't know what happened to the image?? It blew up on me.

I was trying to figure out the piece in G with the triplets and syncopated bass figure but I just can't see enough in those pics. Ah well. Oh hey, the airplane is cool too..!

MJD

Looked like it few pretty good. I think that's what missing now days, fliers just don't experiment with planes any more. My favorite type of material to use for the fuselages is the 2" X 2" PVC down spouts from Home Depot. Costs about $8 for a 8' length is durable and strong. Someday I'll have to take some pics of what I've made.

Those Combat Gremlins were de rigeur around here for a while.