RC-Captain

I was just searching around on the net for some information on S.P.A.D.s and came to realize most of these planes are built from plans . Not only that , I would have to go buy the material to construct such planes. [X(]...............

Can some one convince me [] to go about building a spade ? because right now I am totally turned off[:@].

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

I built my first one recently....

based off of the DPS from spadtothebone.com

it has been the most fun thing I have flown.... combat with a friend.... mid air collision... after finding the engine...reattached the firewalll and went flying....

Great fun.... been flying it hand launch with no gear...going to try gear now....

either way... an afternoon to build and great fun...

I have several balsa planes and the SPAD is still the most fun!

Ran the darn thing straight into a tree.... picked it up..started the motor and flew...
(OK, we were screwing around trying to fly threw some trees..... and one moved....but I sure would try that with balsa)

gutter pipe at ACE, we found our coro at a plastics distributor.
airframe cost? around $15

Can't beat that for the ear to ear grin factor!

ChrisSpad

i'm gonna try and be nice. this is exactly why most of us build and fly spads - besides the fact that we enjoy it, and don't worry a whole lot about crashing. Fwiw, you can buy Spad ARF's. there's a link to the Arfer's on the spad home page: www.spadtothebone.com . But, for me (and i think most spadders), that'd take all the fun out of it.

As far as convincing you, well, i'll leave that to someone who cares what other modelers think - i for one don't. If you don't want to build a plane then don't, doesn't bother me one bit.

DLSmith2

RC-FIEND,

I'm confused; you've taught yourself to fly, you have 393 posts so you've been around a while, you have free plans at [link=http://www.spadtothebone.com]www.spadtothebone.com[/link]; you can buy about $40 worth of supplies and make 4-6 durable airplanes in just about any category from trainer to 3D, at $10-$12 a copy, that are a hoot to fly.

What turns you off? The part about cheap, durable, fun to fly, or the fact that you have to make them yourself?

Just curious...

Blue skies,

DL

bobo_54501

My Feedback: (19)

Well they fly great .Besides motor and radio they cost next to nothing . You can learn more and faster when you dont fear the Reaper .They build real fast . If your creative you can make your own design .Their just plane fun !! You can get most building items at home depot or any hardware store . Coro can be free from gas stations and election offices or any number of other places .So whats not to love except attitudes that think only expensive cookie cutter planes are real planes . I for one fly both . IF I had the skills of some spad builders that can make beatiful planes ild sell all of my balsa planes .But for now ill fly the balsa for looks and worry alot about crashing on certain occassions . Then ill fire up a SPAD and have some real fun by letting her rip and trying new moves to increase my skills .

RC-Captain

DLSmith2 please don't get me wrong ,

first of all I will almost try anything once, but what turns me off is the fact that there isn't enough information comming at me to convince me to even try building one of these SPADs.

My building experience is only a EP carl goldburg 550 , which I really loved building . It gave me so much understanding of how ARFs are built and can be repaired.

I'm hearing how easy these spads are to build but , I dont even know what coroplast is never mind know where to find the stuff [].

and how did you know how many post I have [X(]

RC-Captain

please show me a pick of this stuff or link with it in its rare form. not painted or formed already.

kregan

_____________________________

Talk is cheap but mistakes are not.......

/\
|
|
|
Not with a SPAD

kregan

OMG... what would the WRIGHT BROTHERS have thought [:@]

RC-Captain

Advent go jump in a lake and forget how to swim at the same time ........

Ok I have found some pics of coro... Its starting to make sense [&:]

This stuff is almost the same wieght as balsa but much more durable. So I'm going to try to build the biggest plane I can and see what I can come up with wish me luck.

bobo_54501

My Feedback: (19)

RC stop at your local gas station and look at the Coke Pepsi or what ever signs out side hanging on poles .. Thats the golden material right there .Ask them nicely if you can have it after their sale or whatever . Then get strange looks when you tell them your building an air plane .Or find your local distribtor and ask them to save you signs after their promotions .Most will .One coke guy clears his out every 1/4 of the year .One time he gave me enought to build a FULL scale 747 ..L.O.L..Please excuse some fellow Spaders .Alot of wealthy or Old school guys treat us like were from the GHETO or something .After youlve been treated in such away you become sensitive sometimes .Personally I just LOVE the sport and could care less what or how you fly as long as its safe . No man is an island ..People judge our sport by how individuals act . So together our sport will flourish or fade .So lets all be safe and good to each other out there no matter if your new , Old ,Balsa , SPAD ,3D, Scale ,Combat , Or what ever your gig is .

DLSmith2

RC-FIEND,

Would you believe I'm psychic? Ok, me neither, the number of posts is just below your name. The Coroplast, or "corrugated plastic," that is found with beer, coke, etc ads on it is great if it's in the right size, but there's something better. I went to a local sign company with a picture of a SPAD and told them what I was making, and he sold me some 4mil coro at cost and gave me a bunch of sign vinyl to do the trim work. The trick is to show them you're making a plane and not making a sign that will deprive them of business, and they're a lot more helpful when they realize you represent a new customer base. I usually go to Regal Plastics and get the 4mil for about $12 per 4'x8' sheet, and $10 per 4'x8' sheet, cut the way I want it.

If you go to the spadtothebone site and get the plans, etc it will make more sense. If you have a question about construction, flight, engines, electrics, etc, go to [link=http://www.spadworld.net]www.spadworld.net[/link] and you'll find the answers and some of the friendliest folks around.

Oh, and if you do a search for Chris's "CoroEdge" or Acam37's "CoroExtra" they look just like the balsa counterparts. I walked up to Acam's plane at the field and remarked about what a hot looking plane it was and he told me it was a SPAD that he just finished. I believe you can find the plans to it on the SPADworld forum.

So, get some coro and get to building, and you'll find out that it's more fun than when granny fell through the outhouse floor!!![X(]

Blue skies,

DL

RC-Captain

full scale 747 I'm still rolling on the floor laughing at this ,

Ok ok o...k I'm going to go full speed ahead with this endevor . I have chosen to build the debonair . If I can pull of building this .40 size plane then the little ones will be a snap .

But do me one favor ....... please hold my hand LOL......

YOU KNOW ,,, its funny I bought a dremel back in the summer used it to do some electronics locks, have'nt used it again.... quess what [:-]

Ok thanks all and tomorrow as I'm driving around completing service calls I will start looking for the Coro.

Byrdman

Thanks for taking the time to at least try it. You will find out that there will be no regrets, other than deciding which one to build next.... If I could make a suggestion, if you already know how to fly, you might want to try the DPS, short for DasPlaStick. It is stick design that will fly very well, and is extremely durable and easy to build. The Deb is more of a trainer, and if you already know how to fly, will get a little boring after a while. I built the DPS first, then I built the Deb, and then I built a SpadStick, which is my favorite. But since I already knew how to fly, my Deb only got about 3-4 flights before I gave it away. It was just too slow after flying the DPS, which I also gave away after I built the SpadStick, which I still have. These things are so durable that if you dont give them away, they will pile up on you.

The first time I took my DPS to the flying field, everyone laughed and told me that it would not fly. Needless to say, one of the most experienced flyers at the field was my instructor. I asked him to trim it for me, and he was sold. Later that day, I nosed it in from about 75 feet in the air, and every one laughed, because they thought they had seen the last of the plastic planes at our field. They were singing a different tune when I put a new prop on it and had it back in the air within 5 minutes. Since then, there have been quite a few others flying plastic, as well as wood.

The reason this is a hobby for most is because of the fun factor. And for a lot of new flyers, it is just not fun to watch your first plane that you spent so much time and money on to become a pile of fire wood in just a few seconds. and this usually happens not before you solo, but after soloing when you start to try new stuff and become a little over-confident. And that is what happened to me, after I got my wings, I had a control linkage pull out during the downside of a big loop because I did not check to see if it had tubing on it to keep that from happening. At that time, I did not have the cash to buy a new plane, but I had a radio and engine that still worked. I found the SPAD site and the rest is history.

If that does not convince you to try it, nothing will. Either way, its up to you. The idea is to have fun and for me the SPADs pack quite a punch for the $20 or so it takes to join the club.

Byrdman

Square Nozzle

My Feedback: (1)

I second what everyone has said about the fun factor in SPADs. I'm not new to the hobby and have several balsa planes covered with dope and rags. I gave this SPAD thing a try and truely enjoy it. The planes build so fast and cheaply that you really don't care if you bang one up - if you can. I managed to obliterate my Demon when I pushed instead of pulled during a high speed, low pass. I laughed about it. Built another one and still fly it with reckless abandon. My second SPAD is a Sickle. It's just as much fun, now that I'm used to under hand launching. I went through two props and a spinner before I got the hang of it. Got dirt all over the plane but not a hint of airframe damage.
One item worth noteing, coroplast, as mentioned, is available at your local sign shop. Works best if you tell them you are building a plane with it. The 2 1/2" down spout can be a trick to find. Home Depot and Lowes don't handle it. You may find it at smaller hardware stores. I resorted to contacting the main supplier, Genova Products (genova products.com) and asked whom they supplied it to in my area. I got two sources within a few miles of my home. By the way, tell them the end use and they will be very helpfull. People outside our hobby love to hear about the strange stuff we do.

Captain351

Good Choice! That plane will definately show you how good a few pieces of plastic can fly.

There are a few modifications I would make that could help you avoid a few af the problems that can arise.

1. First of all you don't have to use the wing or build it the way it shows in the plans. I have used 3 different wings on my Deb, The first was the wing from the plans. It was a good wing for a trainer type aircraft but didn't do aerobatics real well. The second was the wing from the Hell On Rails. This is a great wing and is as tough as nails it is more aerobatic and has more lift (made it a little harder to land) but is my wing of choice. There used to be a set of plans just for this wing on [link=http://spadtothebone.com]spadtothebone.com[/link] but I can't find them since FrankC redid the site. The third wing I used was the one from the Spadet. This is the best flying wing I have used but it is also the most difficult to build as it uses 2mil Coro which many people can't find.

2. Many people encounter aileron flutter with this plane regardless of which wing you use. There are many ways to stop this but by far the best way is to use a separate servo on each aileron with the servo and horn in the middle of the aileron. Putting them on the bottom of the wing will also give you a cleaner look. This also has the benefit of getting the aileron linkages away from the Rubber Bands making wing mounting much less of a pain.

3. You may also wish to change your DEB over to a tail dragger instead of using trike gear.

Wayne Miller

Hi,

I get my coro from the Home Depot - they only have the 4 mil. They have no idea what coroplast is, but if you ask for the signmaking material and tell them its like plastic cardboard, a light comes on and they can find it.

As for the gutter pipe or rain downspout, I found it kinda hard to get the size I wanted. So, what I did was make a full fuselage a little larger, then take another peice of coro with the "veins" running the opposite direction, make it into the shape of the downspout and slide it inside the fuselage for reenforcement. Glue into place with Elmer's PROBOND. It works great to replace a downspout, just make sure you compensate for the extra thickness of the "slide in" coro when you make the fuselage so you have room for your fuel tank.

Hope this helps.

Fly4Fun,

Wayne Miller

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

I've not seen coro sheets at Home Depot here in the US (PA, anyway), just small premade signs made of coro, too small to make wings with. Look in the yellowpages for sign shops, and give them a call. My local sign shops wanted about $20+ a sheet (4'x8') for coro, so I mail ordered a several sheets from http://www.harborsales.com . With cutting fees (they have to cut it down to about 36"X48" pieces to ship via UPS) and shipping charges, it came to about $12 a sheet. I got the gutter pipe from a local "DoIt Best" center... they had to order it for me, but it came in two days. Check http://www.doitbest.com for a store near you.

I've found I can build a SPAD in about the time it takes to build a balsa ARF. They fly well, are much more durable, quick and easy to build and repair. I'll fly my SPAD Gnat in high winds with no fear of crashing. Worst thing that has happened so far is that I nose it in and break the plastic cutting board engine mount! Takes me all of 20 mins or so to replace it at the field, and I'm flying again! Try that with a balsa plane! I've heard it said that if you're not crashing, your not flying... with SPADs, you can fly and crash all you want with a minimal cost of your time and money! I'm sold!

I think once you try a plastic plane, you'll likely not go back to balsa!

RC-Captain

Thanks a million guys for helping me through this project.

Today I found my first piece of coroplast.....

bobo_54501

My Feedback: (19)

DANG Marbs are $5.33 a pack in JN ??? I thought it was bad here .. Let us know your progress and Welcome to the world of SPAD !!!! It is addicting ...My name is Larry .... Im a SPAD aholic . If you have trouble gluing with CA let me know ..There are alternatives . 3M super weather strip adhesive and Wall Mart Welder Glue in my oppinion is strounger and faster at least for me .I could just be a dummy and couldnt get the whole flashing CA thing .The DPS and the Demon are both real fun planes if you know how to fly . The Deb is a real nice plane also just more trainer like BUT you can use it for a base for a camera Or ive set mine up to parachute Florecent orange naked Barbie dolls .(( You should see the looks on that one ..)))
Another Hybrid that I have fun with is the Sassy Rudder Rail built with alerons and 3 inchs of dihedral and a Norvel Big Mig 25 .Shes a fun fast little plane .Tought as nails to .I dont use a rudder on that one and have shortened the wing by 4 inchs sometimes . Feel free to mix and match the planes as you choose or build your own design . You can even modify the Demon style in to a nice Bipe . Posibilities unlimited .
Well have fun ..

IowaSilvia

My Feedback: (97)

Good Job RC Fiend.

I get mine from the local sign shop. I can get any color I want pretty much in 4 mil. Each sheet 4x8 is a little over $8. Cheap cheap. They have 2 mil. but only in white. The last time I went I wanted a sheet but they were all out bummer.

Good luck. I just built an Edge 540 profile in like 4 hrs. Don't take long.

RC-Captain

Thanks again , I found a site that will ship me 25 4'x8" sheets of corroplast for $15.00 plus shipping. I don't think I need that much right now , and dont have any place to keep it, so I will just keep looking for the free stuff for now or find a shop that sells it .....I should have all of the materials before saturday then I will begin building.

bobo_54501 I have a hot glue gun and just to let you know hot glue is being used on most balsa trainers. You are right , the stuff is tough. Has any one tried Gorrilla glue ? It is supposed to be the strongest glue ever made. The down fall to using it is the drying time ...24 hrs for complete bond .

DLSmith2

RC-FIEND,

Gorilla glue is great stuff, but on coro, you might want to woodpecker the surfaces and scuff them up a little with sand paper to help the glue stick. I've repaired a bunch of spars with it, and stuff on foam winged combat planes, and haven't had a problem with it. I usually get it as a generic "Probond" type Polyurethane glue for about 1/2 the price of Gorilla glue.

When I got the 2mil coro at the plastic company, I asked on a whim if they had any 2mil, because every place I'd been before said; "There's no such thing as 2mil coro!" The guy at Regal Plastics looked at me and said "Sure we have 2mil, and you can have it in any color you want, as long as it's white!" So if you get a chance to get some 2mil and make a RNAF (Red Neck Air Force) wing with 4mil on the bottom with the flutes running span-wise, and 2mil on the top with the flutes running chord-wise, you'll love the smooth airfoil and the flyability of it!

Don't forget the pics!

Blue skies,

DL

bobo_54501

My Feedback: (19)

3M or Welder glue . Run a Small bead of it on one side of piece to be glued together . Put the pieces together then seperate for 5 to 10 minutes to flash off the solvents .Align the parts and put them back together . Hold or clamp 2 to 5 minutes or less and its a done deal .Never had a seam come apart short of a 70 mph crash and not even then sometimes . I tried Hot glue once and I dont rember it working that well. If you want near indestructable wing Glue it with the 3M then cut 12 1 inch by 1 inch squares out of pvc .Get some small sheet metal screws and screw the trailing edge of the wing together useing the pvc pieces for backing plates . I put 3 on each side of the wing .Ive never ever destroyed a wing like this except on really really hard crashs the yard stick breaks .But this is just me . Try what you like and let us know if it works well for ya . As we build we learn .

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

On my spad...we just scuffed the wing with sand paper and then used medium CA.... has held perfectly