88" Giant 3-D Warbird foamie build

[Rengine]

Hey all! :)

Been working on another giant scale foamie build...started out thinking I'd do a Navion L-17...(just want something different)...but that fell through as I watched the guys at the club whipping around their 3D birds and decided I wanted to do a 3D warbird - something you don't see much, for sure.

The one warbird I quickly recalled that fit the 'mid-wing' style of an acrobatic plane was the Grumman Wildcat F4F. Plus it has main gear that hangs out from the fuselage sort of like a typical Edge 540, 260, or similar aerobatic. Retracts will be not feasible with this exploratory build up...the overall guiding philosophy for this design & build is cheap & easy. ;) :p

So I started with a pool noodle as main fuselage support beam after thinking about it for 2 months or more. I do a lot of planning in my head first...and as I build too, for that matter. :) Well to make a long story short - I abandoned that technique (pool noodle for main support of formers) after 20 hours or more of building the Wildcat that way.


Turns out the tail was getting very heavy, weighing down the noodle in back and keeping the pool noodle rigid without sticking a mop handle down the center hole (thereby adding MORE weight) became a serious enough issue to quit.

The end product, had I finished it that way, would have been great for a warbird and flown well at about 11 lbs and 92" span. But - I changed my mind mid-build and wanted to go super lightweight for more 3-D style performance.

So the pool noodle style build is on hold for now...I already had the wings done though, so I can use them on the new fuse buildout. They have flaps that are the same size as the ailerons and are programmed to function as ailerons when it's stunt time :D

Now for the new and I must say much easier style build I'm doing. Basically designed and built as a simple giant profile with side panels added to fill out the round fuse shape of the F4F. The nose has been lengthened and wing set back a couple inches from the Wildcat design. It really won't be that much like the Wildcat...but I'm not too concerned with that, obviously.

I'll be using a Turnigy 50-55 motor with 80 amp ESC, 15 to 17 inch prop and 5s1p 4400 mah lipo for the drivetrain.

More to come...working on assembling the fuselage now, a sandwich of 1.5 inch wide foam "buns" from HomeDepot (you can buy 'em in a 2 x 4 foot section if your car won't haul an 4 x 8 foot sheet) with a full length piece of bluecor FFF for the "meat" in the sandwich. These will be hot glued & packing taped together for the fuselage.

Estimated AUW for this build at 8 lbs... :D :D Wheeee!

[Jim_Marconnet]

I'm new to Giant Scale, having just joined a local GS club for social reasons. My flying experience is all in smaller electrics, with my largest current plane being an Acromaster.

Like you, I'm interested in something electric and cheap and easy to get started with. What's the point of spending hundreds of dollars and hundreds of hours on something with an expected lifetime in the single-digit or perhaps tens of seconds. And/or being afraid to ever fly it?

I'm looking forward to hearing/seeing more about this interesting build.

Jim

[AMcC]

Rengine, keep up the posts, I want to see how this turns out.

regards

[Rengine]

thanks guys - i need a kick in the pants to finish this plane, apparently :o thanks for the encouragement...it's been busy this summer, but aren't they all? :) :)

So here's a few more pics and I've got more to post later from home too...i'll post a better update over the holiday weekend (when I might get it done and a maiden flight too :)

have a great day!

--Mark

[A Useless Geek]

Pool noodles to aluminum broom handles? Yeowza! Materials master at work.

By the way, I did build something around a pool noodle: the Chinese Noodle (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1068408). Heh. It's changed a bit since these pics were shot. The wing is half the chord shown here.

[Rengine]

Still working on it!

Took the new biggy out to show - n - tell at my local club meeting yesterday for the 4th of July. We hold our monthy meetings at the field during the warm summer months.

This was the first time I had assembled the whole thing since I built the tail and modified the fuselage design some more. The negative dihedral :eek: :rolleyes: caught my eye. The aluminum mop handle is totally straight.

I just looked closely and it's just a result of the design (wings push into the white foam and butt up against the bluecor center spine) & materials I'm using...I could bend the handle just a tad to correct - but while flying (i.e. loaded) I think it will be just fine. They will flex in flight slighty, which works great, as long as they don't flex too much :o

Anyway - the build goes on :) :)

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

--Mark

[A Useless Geek]

That amount of anhedral prolly won't cause you grief. After all, the wings will flex enough to flatten them anyway, as you say. Even without any flex the anhedral will just make the plane a quicker-responding roll machine. If it turns out to be too much you can settle it back down with a cheap rate gyro.

The skin of the fuselage can be accomplished with 3mm EPP, eh? Soft enough to conform to any shape you want it to match, and tough enough to take rough handling and such. Finishing might be a bit of a pain, but there are plenty of folks on this board who have suggestions on how to finish EPP.

[Rengine]

Thanks for the info Geek!

For the skin I'm using the same FFF I'm always using...nothing fancy like 3mm :) yes , my "finish" will be very textural, kinda like covering the fff with self adhesive chrome tape... LOL! :D

Yep, cheap N EZ they call me......so here's the landing gear I've fabbed together....like any aluminum type home-made gear - only bigger for the giant scale crowd....easy to do and only cost about 8 bucks (two can be built from a 48" piece from ACe hardware).

Wheels (tires?) are just beaded foam hotwired into 5" diameter slices....nice N' lite....gear and wheels (tires?) weigh in at 8 ozs....

figuring to build more this weekend, so stay tuned...

adios mi amigos!
Marcos

[greenseaships]

Looks awesome, Rengine! I just hope you do another awesome paintjob on her. That made an OK P-39 look spectacular! I would probably do 1942 blueish gray over white. HOWEVER, if this is gonna be a 3Der, I think pre-WW2 high-visibility scheme would look REALLY cool... :rolleyes:

How bout a picture of someone with the plane for size comparison?

Barrett

[A Useless Geek]

Green, that's an F4F, right? What are the markings?

[Rengine]

Ouch!

Well...I've gone and done it...unsuccessful maiden of the chassis...took off and wouldn't climb - gave it full throttle and full up elevator and nothing (but more speed :) so when it hit the concrete trash can outside the building across the street from the flying field it was going 40 mph at least :(

I think my problem is trying to fly 8 lbs on a single thickness of FFF for the tail feathers (i.e. - not stiff enough). And so the elevator halves aren't rigid enough to realign the beast into a climbing attitude...it just kept going forward (climbed a little bit - but as i added throttle the weak elevator become even less effective ) - dumbfounded and amazed as it was happening I didn't turn either just kept thinking it would climb and THEN I'd turn...of course, this took all of 6 -7 seconds to happen...

AND THEN BAM! SMACK! Utter devastation! complete collapse of the superstructure! Oh -the humanity! And on the walk of shame (which really isn't if nobody sees you - right?) back to the field I lost the mop handle in the weeds somewhere...:)

so i'll repair and retape it this weekend - try again next week :)

oh - and yes - I'll put up the pics from the wipeout....:D

you guys have a great weekend!

-- Mark

[greenseaships]

That's the way navy planes were painted in the mid-late 30s. High visibility when America was still neutral. As WW2 approached, they switched to less conspicuous colors.

I just think it'd be pretty cool to see one of those paint schemes doing 3D :D

Barrett

[greenseaships]

Sorry, to hear about that Mark, but I remember 2 airplanes I've lost recently due to structural failure. Both Hellcats. The first one folded up her tail when coming out of a roll (gotta put CFR in your tail if your tailspan is gonna be 20 inches! :eek: ) and the second (small) Hellcat folded up her wings (IN FLIGHT) because my CFRs did not connect in the middle (again during a roll). Just things you sometimes have to learn the hard way. I'm still smarting from picking the pieces of my first big Hellcat out of some guy's horse pasture. I know pieces of my fiberglass cowling are still there months later! :p Chalk this one up to learning lessons of building big.

Good luck and go get some CFR and wood!

Barrett

[A Useless Geek]

Ouch, Mark. As the doctor says, if it hurts then don't do that! More stiffness [insert your own crude joke reference here] is a Good Thing®.

[Rengine]

Thanks for the supportive words guys - it's always a disturbing turn of events to spend many hours on a fatal attempt - but you learn so much too...I'll keep at it - though at my usual slow pace :)

--Mark

[greenseaships]

That picture is pretty rough stuff, Mark, but we've all been there. My field has these posts along each side of the runway. Rebar. Strong stuff :eek: :eek: :censored: . I've seen alot of good airplanes get hung up on it. (One, a PZ T-28 just sorta exploded!) You'll get back in the right place again. Just don't hesitate to ask for advice!

In the meantime, here's a project idea for ya


(joke)

[A Useless Geek]

Man, those are some awfully short wings!

[Rengine]

Thanks Barrett - yep - crashing - it's just an opportunity to re-examine and redesign and rebuild! I threw the fuselage and wings away today - I just feel like starting over on this one...I still got the giant P-39 flying good and will probably build the next one in a similar style (don't need to re-invent the wheel EVERY time I build one :)

Damn - that's one bad-ass cool project suggestion, too. Like geek I wonder when he'll get those wings on too.... :) :D

[A10 man]

nice airplane be sure to post a video if it when it starts co-operating!