scratch built biplane
 

Here are some of the pictures I have taken while building this original design electric biplane. Hopefully the overall weight will be about 32 oz. I plan on flying it with a 9 cell nimh battery. It has four servos which include a steerable tailwheel/rudder, elevator, and ailerons. It has challenging to build. I have built many of the parts twice because the first attempt was a learning experience, especially with the soldering.

RE: scratch built biplane
 

Very good job, Timothy. I really like the way you did all the components of the landing gear.

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rocking chito

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Lovely workmanship on your plane. I wonder if there is an issue with metal-to-metal contact of the tailwheel bracket and the two wheel collars.

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I had the same concern about the tail wheel bracket. Its hard to see in the photo but there is a little gap between the two brackets. There seems to be just enough play to allow it to be stable yet move freely enough when under the weight of the airplane. I guess I'll find out for sure when its done.

RE: scratch built biplane
 

Very nice work! Thanks for sharing.

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Great planes has been doing something similar for tailwheels for some time.

Never had a problem on any of my aircraft.

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Why not using Lipo battery instead?

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I'm probably just paranoid, but I don't want to have to deal with storage/charging issues with those batteries. Also, I have roughly found the center of gravity (minus the receiver and a few structural parts) and it would require quit a bit of nose weight just to get it to balance with a lipo. I've designed and succussfully flew a few planes and have used a 9 cell nimh on most of them. I guess I'm a creature of habit in that respect.

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I see, I also respect those batteries.

Yours is a beautiful design, and the craftmanship shown in the pictures is just delightful.

It seems to me that the attachments of the top wing may allow it to move sideways a little, unless wires are to be used.

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I hand tested it and it doesn't seem to give. The struts are made from 1/8 " ply. The struts extending off the fusealage stiffin it up quit a bit. I do plan on using flying wires though.

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I have added the cockpit area which is removable in order to access the receiver, servos, and battery if need be. I still have to sheet it with 1/16th balsa.

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I have completed sheeting the removable cockpit area. This will hopelfully be the access point for the battery as well as all the other electronics and the servos for the rudder and elevator. I finally finished the cowl. I saw an article in an old RC Modeler magazine that showed how to make a cowl by stretching women's nylons over a plywood and foam plug, then covering with epoxy. It took several trys and I learned a few things. First, don't use 30 minute epoxy because it does not allow enough working time. I ultimately went with 60 minute and worked it into the material with rubber gloves on. I also learned to spread the epoxy out on a plate when mixing large quantities instead of mixing it in a small container. This created the same problem with the expoxy hardening too quickly to work with. The cowl weighs more than plastic but as the plane balances now it could use a little nose weight.

RE: scratch built biplane
 

That is a really neat looking plane. I always love to see planes that have a built up structure look like yours. I have had a little experience myslef making molds and fiberglassing cowls off of them. If you mix in just a few drops of rubbing alcohol you can thin down the epoxy and it will make it spread a little better and set a little slower.

David

RE: scratch built biplane
 

Excellent excellent job!

Resembles a Golden Era bipe.

Looks like everything is lined up perfectly by that rear view photo. Great rudder area also.

Fine workmanship.

Kudos!

I like it!

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Landing gear fairings completed.

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Landing gear fairings look awesome; how did you make them?

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The front leg of the gear is 1/8 music wire so I glued 1/8 balsa between the gear legs. I then glued 1/16 balsa over that on both sides and sanded to shape. I went back and forth on what material to use since I know the gear will bend slighltly under load. I flexed the gear hard after the fairings were done they didn't crack so it should hold up on an actual landing. If not I will try something else. The plane should be pretty light anyway when completed, under 35 ounces.

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Thanks!

It will work for sure.

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A few more pics of the completed tail section and ailerons. I still have to make the connecting rods bewteen the top and bottom ailerons. The weight right now minus battery, reciever, and two additional ailerons is 26 OZ.

RE: scratch built biplane
 

I finished the connecting rods between the upper and lower ailerons. They are made using carbon fiber rods, temporarily held in place with heat shrink tubing unitl I epoxy them later. This turned out to be a much more difficult part of the project than I originally thought because the pivot points for the top and bottom ailerons are at different locations in order to get the throws on the ailerons as even as possible on the top and bottom. I ended up looking at photos of full scale biplanes and realized many of them had attachment points at different locations for the top and bottom. Anyway, the throws are about 90% equal, with a bit more throw on the bottom ailerons. I designed the top wing with a few degrees more degrees of incidence to get it to stall first, thus automatically dropping the nose to regain airspeed. Therefore, I figured I would rather have more throw in the bottom since it should still be somewhat effective right after a stall.

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here are the photos

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Finally installed the flying wires. It was much easier than I thought and they add a lot of strength and character. All that is left before covering is the windshields.

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Can you see the drool all over my keyboard???? :D VERY nice airplane. If you for some unforeseen reason are afraid to fly it I will offer my services to try it out for you. Be forewarned that the "testing phase" could take several years!!! :D:D:D


Great job! [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Ken

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pretty much finished with the airframe. just trying to decide what color(s) to cover it in. I will probably use a combination of transparent and solid film.

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Great job on the bipe! Very nice lines. Keep up the good work.

Dan

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http://www.jcrc.com/News/Articles/Ar...olorTheory.htm

http://www.rc-airplane-advisor.com/h...stic-trim.html

http://www.rcuniverse.com/gallery/galleryfindTitle.cfm

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just got a new computer and am trying to upload updated photos of the finished product.

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final photos

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final photos

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final photos

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final photos

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final photos

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Hey, I like the idea of using the fishing line swivels, Ill keep that in the back of my mind. Good job.
Steve in MT

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I have begun covering it using transparent blue and opaque cream Monokote. It will mostly be blue except for the cowl, landing gear farings, rudder, and wing leading edges.

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The fuselage is basically done except for a few minor details. I will be moving on to the wings soon. I am using Monokote. I have gone through a lot of it so far just to get the turtle deck right. I probably covered and re-covered it at least 8 times until I finally figured out how to get the wrinkles out between the stringers.

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