I have tried and cost more than $100. But the sense of accomplishment that DIY brings is far more than $100. I even regret not using more expensive materials to make airplanes, and the fun of flying is endless.
Thank you Tim from Sydney, Australia. This morning my kids and I watched your instructions and we're very inspired by your excellent work. Soon my son and I will build this baby together and it will be our first RC plane! Now to practice our flight controls on the simulator... :-) Many thanks again! Cheers from David and the kids from Oz
3mm depron will work but will have to be reinforced with something else, maybe bamboo skewers. Or you could double up the sheets which will be adequate :) good luck
The video was produced very well. I would recommend several things to improve the performance and longevity of the plane. The hinges shouldn't be tape, or if they are, use something like Extreme Packing tape that will stick longer. Just be sure you cover the extreme packing tape to protect it from UV. The servos would be stronger and last longer if they were set inside the foam. Cut a rectangle the size of the servo and glue it inside that opening. I personally wouldn't offset the stablizers, but instead offset the motor mount. If someone wants to make their plane look pretty, use 120 grit and then work down to 220 grit to smooth out the edges. Then cover with a brown packing paper and a mixture of white glue and water. There are videos on this. Then it can be painted. I do like your plane design. Looks cool and stable for beginner flyers. Congrats on the design.
Hi Lee. Would you know by your estimates how much the plane weighs? Also what's the criteria for selecting motors and prop sizes with regards to overall weight? Hope to hear from you and thanks!
I would need more details about the plane to give recommendations on motor and prop sizes. For a plane this size I would guess a 3S motor and battery setup. You will want a larger prop, maybe even a slowfly prop on a lower KV motor. This is because the plane isn't meant for speed. The lower KV with a bigger prop will give you more low end power to help keep her in the air better. Think of it as the low gear of a car. A lot of power, but not much in speed. A high KV motor with a small prop is for speed. This would be like high gear in a car. It is meant for high speed, but not much power to get the plane moving. This plane won't be doing 80mph. It appears to have a lot of drag and not meant for speed. It's not sleek like a race car. If you can give me the all up weight before motor/battery as well as the sq/ft of the wing, I could give you a better answer as to what motor/prop I would recommend. Off the top of my head with what I see I might say you can do a 400 or 450 size SlowFly motor. What were you using in the video?
You're good looking, you have a good voice, your confidence is high, your tone and delivery is professional. You could have a good career in broadcasting, acting etc. Good video. My only comment is that in my opinion, any trainer should have ailerons. If you learn to fly the right stick with just rudder and elevator, and then you transition TO ailerons, your new, steering, stick, on the ground will be on the left stick and this will take some time to learn the new configuration. As well, learning to use the rudder in the air,(when you have ailerons) will be ANOTHER learning curve.
I'm building it with a friend but with more features. We want it to be able to land on water so we're making it waterproof with a pool noodle for flotation and were installing flaps and the landing gear goes up and down
Back here in India, these things are still expensive. Based on my calculations,the overall cost (without the insulation sheets) came to about 9000INR, that's about a 142$.Quite a lot of money to be spent on a hobby.
Put this thing together in a few hours with some Home Depot 1/2 inch styrofoam, and leftover servos, motor, esc and folding prop from a Radian I used to fly. It flew great, even though the construction was sloppy.
Great video! I mostly fly Heli's due to confined flying space. I have three planes, but they're scale and crashes are expensive. I'll build one of these and try it out!
Great build but I'm confused about whether the wings should have an airfoil shape. Also, and most remarkable is that your 15 - 20 degree launch is nearer 70 degree. Having said that it must have some considerable lift to not stall at that angle.
Hey Tim, constructing one now - making it with a Clark Z airfoil with a 10" chord. BTW you have to update the links for equipment on your Blog page - all 404 errors :(
Great video. Looks like a great plane for beginners and I will definitely give it a try. Just have to find me some foam which is hard to come by here for some reason.
Apparently there are some Dollar Tree outlets in Australia (Qld at least - do a google search) but I am in Tassie. I got some from a warehouse here in Hobart called Marsden Brothers, or you can get it at Shiploads in Tas also (smaller sheets though).
With a bit of effort and thought, I'm sure you could make this out of cardboard. Try using bamboo skewers for strength. You can also order foam online, but it is expensive. Good Luck
A very interesting model for his skills as a slow flight, ideal for a beginner like me. Please, what is the distance from the leading edge of the wing from the front of the fuselage? Where is the CG? It would be possible to eliminate the rudder and ailerons install? Thanks.
depends on where you are; if you just go into a hardware store and ask for "hard insulation foam" you'll get something about right. In Britain, you'd get the right stuff if you asked for "pink poly-styrene," in the US, "pink styrene should get you the right stuff.
Hey Tim, I just built your Plane! I just took your plane apart ! I just rebuilt your plane! It is Feb. 2014 , As I was finishing it as best that I could with out some key info. CG, Wing placement ie: Distiance from the motor mount? I just took of all the colored tape and changing the main wing to have the steps in them! I really think that you are on the way, and that is from a Pearson who has built atv A-arms etc. for the last 10 years. I will now finish with paint ( worked for Sherwin Willams for 25 years) I Will send you some photos when I am done! Thank YOU from "OLD GUY" ! MIKE PS How about a pusher b y wing!!!!!!!
about the closest your gonna get is a hobby zone mini super cub for about 80$ and it is a good beginner plane but after a week you get tired of it. You can do like I did and get 2 dollar tree foam sheets and build a big delta wing aircraft for about 60 with electronics.
What is the weight of the material (building materials) and what kind of materials do you use . I have tried to build this plane , step by step but i think that my plane is too heavy and it crashed.
