Hello everyone,

While I don't want to steal Joe's thunder I have to report that his new Defiant proved out very well today. I'll let Joe give you all the details,,I just know how hard Joe and my brother Todd have worked on the Defiant and I'm proud to say I believe they have a winner here. Joe was kind enough to let me take it up and down the field a few times this afternoon and all I can say is the airplane is easy to drive and flies super smooth.

Clay

New layups!



Since I have 2 fresh planes and don't have a need to build a plane for next season, I've been doing some composite/kit work this winter. Since the glass/balsa laminate fuses seem to be popular these days I decided to give it a try myself. It's been a learning experience so far, still have a few things to try, but so far they are coming out okay. This fuse comes to 30oz including the canopy and cowl which is about 3oz lighter and just as ridgid as the kevlar/foam laminates I've made in the past. Still not as light as I've seen reported by those produced overseas, but this should build under 10.5 pounds easily. They're more labor intensive to make, but Its been fun trying and learning new things.


Todd Schmidt

I saw Todd's kit at the KCRC swap and shop meeting last Saturday. As soon as I saw it I liked. I always wanted to have a Defiant so this was a perfect opportunity. I will be the proud owner of a Definat MKII this coming Sunday.

Tood should be proud. I own 3 Abbras with very similar construction process. The weight of these were around 31 oz including the landing gear and rudder servo mounting plates. The Abbra does not have removable canopy so the Defiant MKII is very light if we compare apples to apples. I also notice that the Abbra fuselage is not as wide. The big difference is that the Abbra is already painted.

I know that is going to take me a long time to put it together. I will try to have it ready for the 2010 season.

Vicente

Todd, this plane is awesome and is very beautiful



Matthew Liprie

Todd,
Are you selling it as a kit now?......

Greg Grigsby

Vicente,
I hope you will be happy with your kit and have it flying soon.

Thanks Matt for your comments. It was good meeting you at the NATS last year!!

Gregg, yes, I've been making a few kits for sale this winter. Should have another available within 2 weeks.

The kit consists of:

glass/balsa laminate fuselage
foam cores for wing, stab, and rudder
wheel pants
CAD drawn plans and construction manual

$650.00 + S&H

Note: I make these kits in my spare time (on weekends).

Todd

Thanks Todd, you also. Hope to see you at the Nats this year.



Matt L.

Hi Todd, Your fuselages are looking top quality. I would love to see the build process on your thread. I know its hard to get pictures with epoxy covered gloves on and racing a gainst time to get the molds in the bag. What weight glass/carbon are you using? What thickness/weight balsa is it? What is the finish you are painting into the mold? What is your bagging system? And finally well done considering your time constraints.
Regards Rod

Yes Todd,
I am curious about the various layup layers and weights, as well.
It looks dynamite based on the photos, and 30 oz. for a fuse with the accessories is competitive, based on what I've heard.
Thanks in advance,
Dean Pappas

Hi Rod and Dean,

Thanks for your comments and interest.

The layup consists of the following.

Primer sprayed in the mold is PPG epoxy primer
1st: 2oz glass cloth from tail post to nose ring. (this may be a little heavy and is why my weights are what they are)
4oz around the canpy hatch flange area to back up the 2oz
3.5oz carbon from in front of the canopy to the nose ring
2nd layer of 3.5oz carbon from where the balsa ends to the nose ring (the balsa overlapse the 2nd layer an inch or two)

2nd: lay the wood (1/32nd balsa) in that has been bagged and preformed in the mold prior to layup.
3rd: 1.4oz glass over the balsa (another area that may be a little heavy)
4th: cover all with peel ply and release film, then breather cloth.
5th: get it in the bag and "hope for the best"

Layup time is about 2.5 hours fuse side...

These materials produce a fuselage stiff enough a interior crutch isn't needed. If anyone has any input on what other glass/balsa laminates are made from, it would be great to know. I'm always looking for ways to improve!!

John Konnecker has asked that I write an article with pictures for the Kfactor. I wanted to get my weights and technique down before I do this. It's getting closer, hopefully I can do this for John soon!

Todd

Hi todd

Your project is awsome ,I really admire your work, it,s one of a kind , we are going through the same root ,this period I make a new plane called the Neutrino ,it´s also my third f3a project. I´m a bit behind but I hope to catch up.

keep blowers taking out epoxy fumes from your workshop !
cheers
Elias

Todd,
The quality and workmanship shown in the interior shots of the fuse is as fine as I have ever seen.
For folks that aren't aware of it Todd's Defiant won the Concours D'Elegance at the 2008 Nationals.
Thanks for keeping the K-Factor article in mind!

JLK

Who's a cooler guy than Todd? Great stuff dude. Mike

Its been said....but....beautiful work Todd.


-Mark

Hey John,

Gosh, thanks for comments, the concours was a cool experience and was a lot of fun. Mike Hester does a great job on the event. Check out the trophy he had made. It was fun watching Steve Ford try and figure out how to get it home with all the rest of the stuff.

Mikey, what going on up in Chicago Land!! You guys made last years NATS a blast, even though I flew like "crap" it was a great time. What projects are you guys working on for next season??? Tell Bobby the next plane will have more " Stickas"


Mark and Elias, I wish I had the technical knowledge and skills you guys have! Your projects are fantastic!

Todd

Hey Todd we're all doing fine but Dam it's cold out this weekend. Bobby says your plane looks like s-t you know. But hey that's because it's too plain and then you turn around and win the best plane at the nats award. That's a story for the ages. Fogetaboutdastica's! Bobby loves ya man!!!!!
Let's see what's up in Chicago?
Dave Snow is working on a Spark. He like the way it flys bu due to weight problems he's building a custom wood wing for it.
John Snow is building an E. Integral actually it's more like a rehab because he took Bobby's old YS Integral and converted it and now he had Dave add a wood Spark wing to it.
Bobby has a new Passport that Mickey is assembling and he's going to take over Jimmy's Electric Integral when the dust settle's a bit.
Frankie had Mickey put together his Integral.
I just picked up a Sickle.
http://electric-f3a.com/smf/index.php?topic=43.0
That will be interesting as the plane will never make weight without some real creative changes. But it's a good looker and extremly well made.
The group up here picked up 3 new flyers and that's the best news because were getting too old and starting to lose our ranks.

Hi Todd

Quality of your building is awesome. It's professional.

"If anyone has any input on what other glass/balsa laminates are made from, it would be great to know. I'm always looking for ways to improve!! "

I asked friend of mine Yves Gabelli who does his own planes with glass/balsa laminates (fuses, wings and stab).
He wrote me his method :

The layup consists of the following :
-Colors paints sprayed in the mold
-48 g (1,7 oz) glass cloth from tail post to middle and 85 g (3 oz) middle to nose.
-carbon 190 g (6,7 oz), 35 cm from nose to canopy
-10 balsa light 1,5 mm (1/16 inch) = 120 g (4,2 oz)
-48 g (1,7 oz) nose to tail
Weight is 800 g (28.2 oz) fuse + canopy + chin cowl.

See Pics of his plane Shadok

It was an honor to transport the trophy home for Todd, my plane made it home fine on the roof rack.

Seriously, Todd's work on the Defiant is great, amazing to take a sketch and turn it into an awesome looking and flying plane.

Steve Ford

Hi Papaone
Your friend Yves does a beautifull job too. Do you know how he masks in the mold? Tape will not stick to good releases like Zyvax or it will pull off PVA.

Todd I dont think you can get much lighter without sacrificing strength. I too have stopped using Kevlar (UV sensitivity and lack of compressive strength).

Hi Avrod

I asked Yves.
He uses masking tapes fronm STDS
http://www.stds.fr/boutique/liste_pr...g=lg_fr&num=10
He uses polyurethan paints. For masking he uses 3M or Edge tapes. Just before painting, he presses on tapes.
It's better to be two guys to do that.
Claude

Hi Claude,

Thanks so much for the information. It looks as if our layups are similar. Learning how to paint in the mold would be a good thing as it saves a lot of weight. I think it would be fun to experiment and learn the process. Hope all is going good for you this building season. Are you working on any more designes? You are very talented designer and building and always full of good information. I appreciate you sharing what you know!!

Hey Mikey, sounds like you guys have a lot going on as usual. It's good to hear you've got some new blood in the ranks. Keep me posted on the Sickle, it's a good looking airframe. Tell everyone up there hello for me and keep in touch!!!


Hey Rod, the Q40 guys over in the racing forum do a lot of painting in the mold. I'm not sure what they use for paint, but the have mentioned using "Dolphin wax" for the release. Might be something worth checking into.

Hey SteveO! thanks for the comments buddy!

Todd

Thanks for the tip Todd I will look into it.

Hi Todd
I'm building a new one. Building is a mix of traditional (balsa) and modern (composite) technical.
Wings and stab are made in balsa. Fuse is made of light balsa sheets 2mm and glasscloth with epoxy resin.
Glasscloth is put on the internal balsa pieces then pieces are glued together. When fuse is totally assembled, it is covered with 50 g glasscloth. Somes pics of my new one. I'm waiting good wheather to do the first flight.
Claude
I will post pics this evening because there is problem to upload files

Hi Claude,

That's great! I'm looking forward to seeing your new project and your construction methods! You always do really nice work!!

Todd

Hi Todd

Pictures of my new one. Please note that it is artisanal !
Claude