maiden
flight video now available for viewing!
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i am sick and tired of buying new airplanes and just crashing
them when there is faulty electronics. today i decided
to build a $20worth foamie instead of buying a brandnew
pilatus porter. this is a 50 inches wingspan foamie for
a .20 glow engine. it is made from ice bucket foam for
a more compacted bead |
i always have in mind a picture of an old cessna however
made modifications to the wing area and tail length (longer)
for an added gliding time. |
engine mount was attached to a single panel plywood firewall
clamped by foam on the sides. |
this airplane has a large wing area |
mounting the engine is easy. with a 5 min epoxy, it works
like magic! |
i used the stabilizer and rudder from an old plane (i
dont have to make them original as they have simple purpose.
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back view (seems a little higher dihedral to the right -
but can be an easy fix) |
sideview of plane (the horizontal stabilizer looks like
it has a bit an angle in the leading edge, this results
to a slight nose down or dive when engine is slowed down
- you can fix this by trimming the elevator surface. notice
i used a flat bottom airfoil for the mainwing as this
an effective design for most highwing trainer planes.
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i dont want to spend for something that is available around
the corner therefore i used an empty rubbing alcohol disenfectant
bottle (195ml) as a gas tank and budgeted the few silicone
tube with a juice drink semi flexible straws as extenters
rather than using entire silicone tubing - some builders
may think this is a crazy idea but in a third world country,
one has to be inventive!
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mounting the gas tank and the servo is not that hard.
i use hot glue stick to secure them. |
mounting the landing gears has to be reinforced with a
metal epoxy.
this will stiffen the foam and protect it from breaking
on a bad landing. |
i made a temporary opening at the tail area for servo
installation and easy fixing during the test flight. |
lastly, the airplane tail has to be light enough to level
plane during flight.
i removed excess panels and foams from the inside. |
to find the cg (center of gravity), lift airplane this
way.
that is around 1/4 from the leading edge or the highest
point of the airfoil curve. |
5/5/08 - maiden flight of foam plane - i painted the top
of mainwing green so i can recognize plane position during
flight. |
this airplane is so light weight it flies very well |
what an ugly beauty!hmmm? ugly foam? beautiful flight? |
landing was a smooth one though i did not made a steerable
wheel. |
5/8/08 - epoxy reinforcement was used to coat around area
where engine firewall was mounted, this is to ensure that
grip to engine does not weaken due to oil spills |
epoxy was wrapped around nose area. this will secure the
engine
to the airplane firmly. |
6/5/08 - i built a much larger wing from 53inches i hiked
it to 64inches |
this wing is covered in strips of colored celophane tape
with the lower surface running horizontal and wrap from
top at vertical. wrapping the foam wing this way can increase
reinforcement to the wing. |
as usual this is a flat bottom airfoil, a very effective
design. |
wingspar was added so flexing during flight is minimized. |
a 5degree dihedral is implemented as this is only for
a 3 channel airplane. dihedral balances the plane automatically. |
engine mount was attached to a panel of plywood as firewall.
the center hole is for the fuel tubing. |
sideview of the mounting. i am not adding down thrust
here. |
now i have a bit longer tail as compared to the original
design. i wanted to make this airplane alot bigger for
the purpose of visibility. |
a firewall gutter |
engine mount and firewall placement |
halves of the fuselage to grip on the engine mount |
nose was spreaded with ceramic glue to prevent absorbing
oil |
removing extra sheets of foam from tail section so that
plane doesnt become tail heavy. |
more foam have to be removed as much as posible. |
6/13/08 - halves was now joined together using 5 minute
epoxy |
 top
view of halves |
i am also sick and tired of breaking and buying new props.
i decided to build my own. |
this is not a very complicated propeller as pitch is just
bottom surface from leading to trailing edge, more like
an angle of attack only. |
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i spray painted the wood prop to protect it from oil or
any liquid. |
