A couple weeks back I was checking out the hangar hangout section and came across a listing for weird planes. In it I saw a disk plane build by (basmntdweller) and what really caught my attention was the statement he made about the plane. He said he could hover this plane for as long as he wanted to hover it, for a full tank of fuel if he wanted. I love to hover so this really got me going. I e-mailed basmntdweller and he sent me three pictures and a brief write up to describe the disk plane. It is an all SPAD plane (Simple Plastic Airplane Design), and it can be built in as little as two days or less if you hurry. I built mine in about that amount of time and this was the first SPAD I have built. It is so simple to build I think everybody would like one because the investment is almost nothing, and cheap is good in this case.

The disk plane uses rudder and elevons for control. I used an os 46 fx that I had in storage and it is plenty of power for this plane that weighs in at 5 lbs 2 oz. It could have a smaller fuselage and glue on wings and it would probably weigh around 4 lbs 3 oz. The wing is only 4 mm thick and it is amazing to me how well it does fly, even inverted. This makes me wonder about all the airfoils I have built in the past. It will hover right down to a landing and flies well in high wind. I plan on building many of these planes so I will always have one at the field. I think most guys build it with the wing glued to the fuse. I built mine with removable wings and it is really easy to transport and store a round wing. I have been flying for many years and have owned many different planes, but this one takes the cake. I am glad I came across basmntdweller.

That thing is cool! Are the landing gear off an Extra of some sort?

Some shots of some Saucers(Disc) a good buddy is working on.
I have flown a prototype and its great. Does all the stuff the
other flying disc do and glides like a regular plane when dead
stick. Much work has been done with the airfoil and the changes
have made a big difference in the overall flight preformacne.
Have done 280 electic to 31cc. These are a few of the prototypes.

YAY my thread did some good. i liked the idea too, and i love the little yellow ones....

we have correx deltas, they might not glide, but they fly so well, just 2 sheets of 3mm corex flat plate section.
full details on www.rcflyers.fsnet.co.uk

how about posting those other disk pics on my thread, thanx

Cody

The landing gear are homemade from 1-inch wide 1/8 inch thick aluminum from Lows. Just put a little bow in them and you have a nice set of gear. James Goss

That is soooo cool James!! I've built a few spads before and this one looks like a hoot... Can you give some details on disk size and control surfaces, CG?? I wanna build one!!

Here are the specs I received from Matt in order to build the disk plane:

Specs,,,,
32" dia with elevons 19" wide across the back. The elevons are hinged 5" forward of TE and are setup with about 3" travel each way. Os 32 heli engine is best choice. I use OS 32 airplane but it gets hot. A friend has the heli on his disk and runs much cooler. APC 10-3 or 10-4 prop. I prefer the 10-3. The fuse is a formed channel of coroplast with cradle made of 3/32 ply. The cradle holds the fuel tank rx battery and throttle servo. There are three coro formers aft of the cradle. Everything is glued together with thick CA. It balances 8" back from the LE. The wing has an airfoil to it created by the top of the fuse. From the side view, at the LE the wing is 2 3/4" from the bottom of the fuse. back at the CG it is 3 3/4" high. Back about 8' forward of the TE it comes back to 2 3/4" high and from there it has a curve back to about 3 1/2 high at the TE. At neutral, the elevons are level with the bottom of
the fuse. From the pics you can get an idea of the fin size. I think
it's way too big but haven't cut it down yet. Anytime you screw through the coro you need to have something to keep it from crushing. I ripped up some pine strips that fit in the coreholes of the coro and ca them in place. That is how my servos and the handle and fin wires are held on. I have my elevon sevos about 5" forward of the hingline and the rudder servo just forward of the fin. Fuse is 36" long and is flush with the elevons at the TE. I'll follow this e-mail with some more pics.
Later,,, Matt

James
Thanks for all the info.
as well as for the nice pix.!
Will be building mine very soon,.

Hisham.

If you decide to build one of these disk planes I would recommend that you use a bolt on wing and add a steerable tail wheel. Simply mount a tail wheel to the rear of the fuse and connect it to the rudder horn, a real simple hookup. The plane will steer without a moveable tail wheel, but the plane has to be moving pretty fast for the rudder to turn it. If you want a tight turn use the steerable tail wheel. James Goss

Thanks James for the info, will definitely go for a steerable tail..
Better handling I guess!
But will make the fin and rudder a bit smaller !
Will the rudder still be effective on hovering??? Will give it a try
any opinions??
What is the size of the fuel tank you are using???
Regards
Hisham

I am using an 8–ounce tank. The fuselage is 3-inches wide so there is plenty of room for your tank and controls. To balance mine I had to place the battery at the rear of the fuse. With the receiver midway it will reach both the battery and servos in the rear and also the throttle in the front. The rudder is effective and I plan to leave mine the same size as my first plane when I build more of them.

Since I placed the disk plane on RC Universe I have had several more flights with it and have learn something about it each time I fly. Here is the latest; it will do a perfect flat spin. When I say flat I mean flat as a pancake, not with its nose up, and at times it will hold its altitude without descending. It also has a move of its own that we call it a pirouette. It is a spin with its nose up high but not vertical, and of course with its nose high attitude it will maintain its altitude or ascend with more throttle. It is easy to get it to descend while doing this pirouette, and it is like a giant tail slide all the way down to the ground if you like. I have done several descending landings from about 50 feet high with engine still running. I haven’t tried the disk with a steerable tail wheel yet, but I know it will perform better being able to turn tight on the ground. It may even do a doughnut takeoff. I have had some planes that would almost leave the ground in a doughnut spin, but not quite. This could be the first. James Goss

A few years ago, I went through a " delta phase " and built several coro delta winged planes much like your disc plane. They all did roughly the same maneuvers, the pirhouette, incredible flatspin, good hover, etc.

After reading this thread, I decided to build a round plane, but I wanted to build it from balsa. I decided that building a round frame would be a lot of work... so I thought, " Hey, why not a SQUARE plane.... ? "

I had no idea how to balance it so I sought out the advice of renowned model dude, Dave McDonald.
We kind of decided that it needed to balance around 17% of chord. Next, I slapped a prototype together from coro for testing. I do mean " slapped " too. I didn't put any extra work into it at all. Figured I'd just fly it enough to get the CG checked out then build one from balsa assuming it worked out ok.

I'm very happy to say that it worked out GREAT and it seems even more stable than a delta in high alpha. I was able to pirhouette it even without a rudder. Same goes for tail touch hover. I should have some pics to post this evening. I couldnt wait for them to get on here and tell everyone.

Can't wait to see what a balsa plane with rudder will do !

Pics later !

Foamguy

Had to scrape the bottom of the barrel, huh? :stupid:


Congratulations Foamguy on yet another original and successful airplane design!!!

Can't wait to see the photos of the "Flying Pizza Box"!

James,
Did you do an opposite alieron/rudder mix or not necessary?
for best performance!

I am just using standard elevons with no rudder mix at all.

Here is a picture of the disk plane after some graphics has been added.

I have started building this easy to build plane,
will keep you updated...
James, what about the engine thrust line ???

Could someone please email me some plans or a drawing? I want to build one but I don't understand how to build the fuse for sure. Could anyone tell me where to get the plastic that is used? Thanks, Jeff

check it out,
powered by a 28 MVVS engine with tune and 10X4 prop...

hisham,

Your disk really looks nice, I like the color. I know you will have a lot of fun with it and get a lot of good comments. If you like this plane you will need to check out the PBF/Stamp flat planes. They are even easier to build than the disk and I think they are great, check them out on Dave's site and also on my site.

The greatest thing about the Floppy Disc project (besides the incredible flight characteristics) is the modifications possible. Here's my Stop Syn version of the disc. Let your imagination loose. Enjoy. WH.

I started making kits for my version of the Floppy Disk a few months back, I call it the Flippin Disk. These are a 24" disk and use .25 -32 size pro engines or 30-40 size bushing. They are alot of fun , I always have one at the field.

Pics

Pics

Here's one of Dave's discs hovering