F/A-18 Hornet Foam Parkflyer

[jetset44]

Here’s my latest project, an original design foam pusher F/A-18 Hornet. It’s still bare foam right now, but I plan on painting it in Blue Angels colors this weekend. I’ve got 5 flights on it so far with about an hour of flying time, and the flight performance is fantastic! This model has a wide speed range and excellent handling characteristics, and looks fantastic in the air. Here are the specs:

Wing area: 275 sq in (effective area, which includes the effect of the wing strakes)
Span: 28.4 in
Length: 41.7 in
Weight RTF: 15.6 oz as shown
Wing loading: 8.2 oz/ft2 (based on effective wing area)
Motor: GWS EPS-350 with “C” gearing
Battery: 11.1V 1200 mAh Lipo
Prop: GWS 8x6 SF
Current draw: 9.7 amps
Power loading: 101 watts/lb
Radio equipment: GWS R-6 receiver, GWS Pico and Hitec HS-55 servos, 10 amp ESC
Flight controls: Wing flaperons, full-flying horizontal stabilizer, twin rudders
Materials used: Either 6mm Depron or BlueCore fan fold foam

The design goals of this model were:

* True parkflyer: I do most of my flying in nearby small school fields, so this model was designed to be a good small field flyer—meaning good slow flight characteristics. This was achieved by keeping the wing loading under 10 oz/ft2, sizing for a high thrust/weight ratio, incorporating wing flaps to allow easy hand launches and slow landings, incorporating rudders to improve control at low speeds/high alpha, and carefully shaping the wing strakes to provide a good vortex roll-up over the wing and tail (just like the real thing!).

* Simple construction: The design features all flat sheet foam construction with minimal carving, which allows it to be built quite quickly. It’s based on a scale outline of the F/A-18 (1/16 scale), but the fuselage and inlets were simplified considerably to make it easier to build. Balsa triangle stock is used at the corners to allow sanding the corners round, which greatly improves appearance. This model was built over a 2 week period working only evenings and weekends, totaling about 30 hours building time. However, since this was a first-of-kind model that had much to figure out, I think I could build a second one in half that time.

* Capable of using inexpensive brushed motors: This model was designed to fly well with the GWS EPS-350C geared motor. Brushless motors will provide even better performance, but are not necessary for good performance. The setup recommended above produces 14.4 oz static thrust with a 48 mph pitch speed, which is ample for this model. While this provides slightly less than a 1:1 thrust/weight ratio, the model will climb at 60 degrees indefinitely and cruises at only half throttle—more than enough for flying in small fields. I do plan to test a geared Himaxx 2015-4100 in this model soon (as soon as I can get my hands on a TP 1320 3s pack—everyone is still out of stock!), so I’ll have a point of comparison soon.

After I finishing tweaking the model, I will clean up the plans and post them here!

Steve

[jetset44]

This model was built almost entirely from 6 mm Depron, but BlueCore foam would also work well. I chose Depron because it is slightly lighter (saves 0.5 oz overall on this model) and doesn’t have to be peeled (all the fuselage pieces would need to have the film peeled off). The reason the canopy is made of BlueCore is simply because I ran out of Depron. :-)

This model came out nearly 2 oz heavier than I originally estimated (15.6 oz versus 13.5 oz). Probably half of that difference is due to stuff I just missed, but half is because I used 5-minute epoxy for the entire model. I chose epoxy not just for the strength, but mostly because it cures so quickly. However, I realize now that convenience cost me at an ounce of additional weight. In retrospect, ProBond and a little patience would have been a better choice!

[jetset44]

Here’s a preview of the build plans as well as some photos taken during construction of the model. These highlight the flat foam construction, the controls installation (the rudder mechanism was particularly tricky to figure out!), and the canopy and strake details (the canopy is removable and is made from 10 sheets of foam laminated together and then carved to shape). The removable canopy provides access to the battery (which is mounted using Velcro to the fuselage floor to allow CG adjustments). A second hatch is installed over the wing to provide access to the receiver, speed control, and rudder servo.

Note the shaping on the wing strakes. It’s very important that these have a rounded upper surface with a sharp edge as shown. The real F/A-18 was carefully designed so that these strakes create a strong vortex at low speeds that passes over the wing to prolong wing stall and passes over the vertical tails to enhance directional stability. This allows the F/A-18 to fly well at extremely high angles of attack and very low speeds. This model has captured these capabilities. I’ve already learned I can fly the model right down onto the deck at low airspeed/high angle of attack, and then at the last minute chop the throttle and pull full back elevator. The result is the nose comes up to 60 degrees alpha, the model goes into deep stall, and then gently sets down on the ground near-vertically with almost zero forward airspeed.

[Sparhawk]

I am ..... speechless! :D

Awesome work Steve. You are going to release the plans to this beautiful ship right ????? :D :D

Spar

[comtech001]

Man WOW please please put up a set of plans!!!! what great work

[Esprit440]

Steve, what a sweet model! I'm particularly impressed with the way you did the canopy, at first I thought it was CNCed - did you do any pre-cutting of the blue foam, or just carve it down from a solid block? Did you have any trouble sanding through the epoxy as you shaped your laminated areas?

Big thumbs up on this one!

-Matt

[RCParkflyer]

Great Looking Jet!!!!

[AirX]

Nicely done and well presented... :)

Eric B.

[jetset44]

All--Yes, I will post plans once I have everything tweaked. I believe it's important to work out all the bugs before releasing the plans to the public!

Esprit--For the canopy, I cut out 10 identical side views, laminated them with 3M 77 spray adhesive (not epoxy), carved it to rough shape using a coarse file, and then used a sanding block to finish it up. It's all done by eyeball, and brought out a sculpter in me I didn't know I had! :D The nose cone is built the same way.

By the way, I just finished editing a 5 MB/2 minute flying video of this model and am trying to find a way to get it posted. When I posted the .WMV file to my Verizon web account and then tested it a few minutes ago, all I got was streaming ASCI code instead of a movie. I'm trying to troubleshoot the problem now and will post a link once I fix it. The video really shows how well this ship flies!

[jetset44]

This video was shot yesterday evening using a digital still camera in movie mode, so it's not the best quality. But it does show how well this model handles in small fields. Someday soon I'll get a real video camera... :o

http://jetset44.rchomepage.com/F18-1.wmv

[Mr. Boogie]

Hey Jetset44,

Nice job!

I also designed a pusher F/A 18 out of Bluecore.

Here's a separate thread so as not to interrupt this one:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239814&page=1&pp=15

You've got to love foam for it's ease of use. Your video also shows how well your small field flyability requirement is met.

Mr. Boogie

[Kevin Murray]

Great work Jetset. Can't wait for the plane and I thank you in advance for preparing them for us so we can all enjoy your creation.
Three thumbs up.

[Jim Frahm]

Very nice plane, nice flying, and nice build thread....... nice to have plans too.. LOL

Great job!

[JimF]

Very nice. It looks like it might even be a little too "hot" for that field you were flying in. :D All that with a GWS motor, too.

Now it needs color!

Congrats!

Jim

[Appie]

WOW

Cant wait for the plan(s) to be released :)

Appie

[jetset44]

Thanks for the compliments! Yes, this plane is still a little "hot" for the school field in the video--that's the absolute minimum size field I would fly this model in (it's an elementary school soccer field). It only works as long as you keep turning.....not much room for straight and level flight. But it's right next to my house so that's the draw.

One thing I've learned about this model is that it loves flaps. I use 10 degrees of flaps for hand launching and the model seems to float right out of my hands (with almost no torque roll, by the way). And I use 30 degrees for landing which makes the model float in it almost like a Tiger Moth. But what's really interesting is on one of my flights I noticed it just seemed to be flying better all around, and then I realized I left the takeoff flaps in! Loops, rolls, and turns were all easier with a little flaps dialed in. Of course I'm flying in a small field where I'm always turning, so that isn't a huge surprise. The next step is to enable elevator-to-flap mixing on my transmitter so that I automatically get flap deflection with elevator inputs. That should let me have the best of both worlds--flaps when I need 'em and none when I don't.

I just finished making the Blue Angels decals yesterday so I'm ready to start painting. I'll be using blue acrylic craft paint and trying to spray it on with an airbrush as LIGHTLY as possible to minimize the weight gain. I think it's vital that I keep the entire paint job to less than one ounce. Wish me luck. And if anyone's got any hints on how to spray paint on Depron lightly I'd like to hear them!

Mr. Boogie--Yes, I've been admiring your work in that thread for the past several weeks. Very nice work! I think both you and Thomas Nelson have set a whole new standard on how to contribute to this community.

Steve

[anfarol]

Simply fantastic!
What about to put an edf inside?

Bye,
anfarol :D

[jetset44]

Simply fantastic!
What about to put an edf inside?

Bye,
anfarol :D

Yes, that thought occured to me. I've got an GWS EDF-55 that I test fit while building this model and although the fuselage isn't quite big enough for that fan as is, the design could be modified to make it fit fairly easily. I would put two of those fan units just forward of the vertical tails. This will be a future project!

[anfarol]

Let us know!

Bye,
anfarol

[Mr. Boogie]

Thanks Jetset44,

How are you finding the rudder authority on your bird? I'm wondering if the rudders can provide enough effect for knife edge flight?

Regarding painting:
If you're airbrushing onto white depron you'll notice that paint coverage always seems light. If you don't mind the slight weight increase, I would say spray once, let dry and hit it with a second coat. Since you're using an airbrush paint shouldn't glob on, just keep the brush moving.

Looking forward to seeing your painted bird!

Mr. B

[Sal C]

YES! PLANS! (excellent work)...

[Sparhawk]

Yes, I would agree with Mr. Boogie. Thin out your paints with car windshield washer and do a very light first coat. You second will cover better if you do. The car fluid will allow it to flow better because it has alcohol to flash off fast, and a soap agent to break water surface tension.... ideal for airbrushing.

Good luck with the painting.

Spar

[jetset44]

Thanks Jetset44,

How are you finding the rudder authority on your bird? I'm wondering if the rudders can provide enough effect for knife edge flight?

Mr. B

Although I haven't had enough flight time yet to really dial things in, so far the rudders have been a mixed bag. At cruise speeds, they generate lots of roll, a moderate pitch down, and only a little yaw. Not so good. But at low speeds they do enhance controllability nicely. There have been several times when I was flying at high alpha when the nose started to depart left or right and I was able to correct quickly with the rudder. Once I get the plane back in the air again (after painting), I'll try to use transmitter mixing to get better yaw-only control.

Sparhawk--Thanks for the tip on the windshield washer fluid!

[kevin]

"(as soon as I can get my hands on a TP 1320 3s pack—everyone is still out of stock!)".

the lhs has them in stock, build me one of these and ill send you one :)

[Kevin Murray]

jetset - The flaps are improveing the flight because they are turning the flat plate wing into an undercamber airfoil.
Onec you get the plans out I'll build mine with the front 1/3 of the wing leaning down about 4 or 5 degrees. I'll just angle the whole pare in front of the CF spar down and use the downward reflexed flaperons as you described.

[blucor basher]

Awesome.

[jetset44]

jetset - The flaps are improveing the flight because they are turning the flat plate wing into an undercamber airfoil.
Onec you get the plans out I'll build mine with the front 1/3 of the wing leaning down about 4 or 5 degrees. I'll just angle the whole pare in front of the CF spar down and use the downward reflexed flaperons as you described.

If you only want to fly slow, that would work well. But if you want good aerobatic and high speed performance as well, I think it would be better to have just adjustable flaperons. When I get this model out to bigger fields where I can fly bigger manuevers, I think I'll be glad I have a symmetrical airfoil. Also, for me this model was heavily inspired by the Blue Angels beautiful performances over Lake Washington here in Seattle, so I built this model to do all the same manuevers! :D

[TGoodwin]

Nice work indeed! Makes me want to start cutting into some foam.

Ted

[YEAP CHIN POH]

Hi


Finally a depon F-18 that is worth building. Could we have plans please.

Regards

[bmizes]

Great job. This will be a great addition to Tom Nelson's SU-27 Flanker. Take your time on getting the plans right - I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

Barry

[SMAAAAK!]

Jetset,
First off Very Impressive! You are an artist! I don't know if you've seen my thread on a slow jet but what do you think? after flying this plane, If a person increased the wing area, made it undercambered... lightened up as much as possible ..... what would you think the slowest stable flight would be?.... just a guess of course. also any idea when you could make some plans avail? I personally don't need them to be perfect as I will have to make some pretty drastic changes if I'm to have any chance at slowing it down. I understand that it will be no small task to take an airframe that was designed to light your hair on fire and make a floater from it, but I'm gonna try and your plane it the perfect size and down right beautifull!......

[silkmoth]

Hi,

Firstly very beautiful and efficacous work.

what is the reduction rate of the Motor: GWS EPS-350 with “C” gearing?

Thanks

Jluc

[jetset44]

Silkmoth--The C gearing is 5.33.

SMAAK--No, I haven't seen your slow jet thread yet. Due to the relatively light wing loading, this model flies quite slow for a semi-scale jet but I wouldn't call it a slow flyer. But I think this design could be built quite a bit lighter than the prototype (perhaps down to 14.0 oz), which would allow it to fly even slower. The flaperons work so well on this model that I don't think you'd need an undercambered airfoil, but of course that is an option. I'm also thinking about developing a mini version of this design for 3mm Depron and an IPS or CD-ROM motor that might fill the bill for your slow-flying jet! Future project...

All--I've finished painting the base coat of Blue Angle blue and will start applying the yellow stripes and decals tonight. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up tonight or tomorrow. It's looking gorgeous with that navy blue paint! The blue paint alone added .75 oz, but I expect the decals and stripes to add another .25 to .50 oz, so I shouldn't be too far over my 1 oz paint scheme budget!

[SMAAAAK!]

Very cool! any chance for some 'alpha test' plans so I can start playing? nudge nudge push push ....... I all excited bout this kinda like a little kid on christmas

[SMAAAAK!]

or is that beta ...... whatever

[charlie2020]

Hi,

I have tried similar airplane with GWS 350 power using 3.75:1 ratio. Use the APC 7x6SF and 1100mah x 8 cells. The input watt is about 70. Prop rpm is about 8000.
If you like to fly even more faster. Use a Falcon 400 motor with the Ultrafly gearbox. Set the gear to 2.38:1 (M) and use 3S lipo to fly a APC 7x5E running at 9000-9500 rpm. It would consume 110-120 watt. It is really fast in this setting.

These setting is faster then the big prop! Just a suggestion!

Charlie

[Thomas Nelson]

Hey Steve - I've been meaning to offer 'kudos' for your excellent model! Very Well Done!!

Your landing was especially eye-opening ... how many degrees of elevator travel was required for that? And do you notice any flap-to-pitch coupling?

Tom

[jetset44]

Hey Steve - I've been meaning to offer 'kudos' for your excellent model! Very Well Done!!

Your landing was especially eye-opening ... how many degrees of elevator travel was required for that? And do you notice any flap-to-pitch coupling?

Tom


Thanks, Tom! Coming from the "Electric Pusher Jet Master", that means a lot! :D

I haven't measured the degrees of elevator travel yet, but it's surprisingly little (I'd guess +/-15 degrees). I think the reason the airplane flares so dramatically is the strakes. I think what's happening is that the strakes start generating a lot of lift forward of the CG at high alpha, which creates a nose-up pitching moment that makes the airplane want to continue increasing alpha. To the pilot, I've noticed I have to pull back on the stick to get the nose up and establish high alpha, but once I get to a certain point I have to start pushing the stick forward again to maintain a given alpha. If you don't add forward stick, the airplane keeps pitching up on it's own until it stalls. While this normally might be considered an undesirable characteristic, if you know about it ahead of time you can plan for it--and it allows for dramatically flared soft landings! Once I get this model in the air again, I've got a lot of testing to do to figure this out better. The good news is you don't ever have to go there if you don't want to--with the flaps down this model slows down well for landings without needing to fly at high alpha at all.

Regarding flap-pitch coupling, this model has almost none--all the way from no flaps to 30 degrees flaps. The reason for that is probably because the horizontal tail is so close to and directly behind the flaps. When the flaps are dropped, the nose-down pitching moment created by the flaps is countered by the nose-up pitching moment created by the increased downwash on the tail.

SMAAK--Sorry, no beta plans yet. It'll take me a bit of time to incorporate all that I've learned back into the plans and also to clean them up so someone other than me can understand them. Right now, I'm focused on finishing up the paint job and getting this model back in the air. I expect I'll have the plans done and posted this weekend.

Steve

[silkmoth]

Hi Steve,


when do you plan to release your F-18 plan as you proposed? your very efficient simple f-18, for me the propeller equivalent to the KC impeller F-18, could be a new standard in the foam jet community!!
I have the KC F-18 and it would be easy to adapt as yours in a propeller config, but if we can benefit of your work, my god, why to sweet to adapt! I will wait for the plan release to have the F-18 propeller version! and follow your prescription for the propulsion set as you do all the interesting optimizing assays.

encore bravo

JLuc

[Ralph A. D'Amelio]

Steve, excellent design and well executed. Looking at you pictures it appears the flaperons servos at attacted to the side of the fuse. How are they connected to the flaperons?

Ralph

[Ralph A. D'Amelio]

Steve, I finnaly saw it in the 3rd picture...man these eyes are getting old!

[SMAAAAK!]

Great ..... sorry to be so pushy ...
Kevin

[YEAP CHIN POH]

Hi


Like a lot of people out there I am anxiously waiting for your plans to be released. This is a plane that I have always wanted to build in depron. I have done the Rafale and F22 using a S400 DD. Both of these are 24" WS and fly OK. I noted your F18 is 28". Could I fly this with a S400 or would I have to reduce it to say 22".

Regards

[jetset44]

Hi


Like a lot of people out there I am anxiously waiting for your plans to be released. This is a plane that I have always wanted to build in depron. I have done the Rafale and F22 using a S400 DD. Both of these are 24" WS and fly OK. I noted your F18 is 28". Could I fly this with a S400 or would I have to reduce it to say 22".

Regards

I haven't run any number through MotoCalc, but if your previous pusher jet fighters worked well with S400 DD at 24" span, I'd think this one would, too. This basic design should scale up or down quite well depending on how people want to gear and fly it. I choose 28" span simply because I was looking for a slower-flying parkflyer type model instead of a high speed screamer (which dictated keeping the wing loading under 10 oz/ft2). That just happens to be my personal preference and flying style.

I just put the last coat of trim paint on the model, and after it dries later tonight I'll post some pics of the ship in it's new Blue Angels paint scheme.

Steve

[YEAP CHIN POH]

Hi


I just can't wait to see the latest pictures. I have gotten 2 other persons interested to build your F-18 so we will have a small trio here in Penang. The Royal Malaysian Air Force has a small force of F18s so I occasionally see one of these flying over.

What if I were to build it with a geared EPS 400 instead? Say C drive. Would I need to increase the wingspan.

Regards

[jetset44]

Here are some pics of the plane with its new paint job. This model was inspired by the Blue Angels, so that was the only paint scheme that would do. For the base coat, I applied Navy Blue acrylic craft paint with an airbrush--thinned 50/50 with windshield wiper fluid (thanks for the GREAT hint, Sparhawk!). The yellow stripes are made from Coverite trim sheet, and I made and printed my own decals using an inkjet printer and label material. The canopy and exhaust nozzles were also painted with acrylic craft paint. This turned out far better than I hoped, considering it's based on cheap 99 cent craft paint applied on cheap bare foam! Gotta love that.

The base coat of paint added .75 oz, but the other details I added (stripes, decals, missile racks, etc.) added another .50 oz, so the net weight hit was 1.25 oz. More than I hoped, but not too bad. This brings the RTF weight up to 16.9 oz, which the EPS-350 motor should still be able to handle fine. Of course, once I put the brushless motor in there, weight will no longer be an issue! :D

Steve

[jetset44]

Here are a few more pics, showing the canopy/hatch details, the model being painted in my garage, and what it looked like just before I applied the decals.

[YEAP CHIN POH]

Yes!! That looks great.

[Ado]

Absolutely awesome!

Have to say that depron rocks.

Maybe the should have a depron only forum here now? :)

Cheers,

Ado

[rpage]

Nice paint job! that is one good looking bird!

[SMAAAAK!]

speechless...... all I can choke out is WOW ....... that is BADDDDD!!!

[Sparhawk]

Fantastic job! You got to be happy with that. At 16.9 oz RTF, that is pretty darn good and ought to go like scat with a brusless (HiMaxx 2815-3000?) on the back. Can't wait for the plans release (don't forget to include your decal file too :D )

All we need now is a brushless setup video. Keep us posted.

Spar

[byoung]

Steve,
How did you do the decals?
Brad

[Mike Parsons]

Very nice. I didnt have a feel for the size until I saw you holding it and it sitting on the table. That is pretty large. Very well done.

-Mike

[ex-racr]

beautiful job! I'm amazed it weighs 17 oz. especially when compared to the size of your hand! Depron is awesome stuff

[Ado]

I would be too scared to throw it :)

[phuffstatler]

Suh-Weet!

I'e got two EDF 55's I'd like to scrunch into the back of that.... or could just use the pusher prop.... :)

Anxiously awaiting the final CAD work.

Incidentally, If you need a 'donation' for them, let me know. I'm happy to pay for this kind of work. It's first class!

Thanks,
Phil in Austin

[ex-racr]

I just thought:
Since your intakes are square, you (or anyone) could very, very easily make a super hornet from it. Have the side material of the intake extend forward at an angle and enlarge the strakes accordingly.

[erunway]

Beautiful...!

[thor4944]

did you fly it yet and do you have a video of flying it....

[jetset44]

Thanks for the compliments! I too am amazed at what can be done with Depron these days. It's fantastic stuff. But BlueCore works almost as well. I calculated this model would weigh only .5 oz more if it were made of BlueCore instead of Depron. Of course it wouldn't look quite as good because of all the danged holes and waviness in BlueCore...

To answer some of your questions:

Thor4944--I haven't yet flown the model since it's been painted, but I posted a flight video of this model in bare foam in post #10 of this thread. I'm planning to get some more and better flight videos this weekend, if the weather cooperates (the forecast isn't looking promising, though). I'll post 'em when I get 'em!

ex-racr--Yes, this model could be converted into a Super Hornet easily. I choose the F/A-18B since that's what the Blue Angels fly, but I also just think the B model looks a lot better than the Super Hornet! :rolleyes: The Super Hornet also has a stretched fuselage and larger wing relative to the B model, but the changes you suggest would certainly get you close.

byoung--The decals were made in a drawing program (I happen to use Deneba Canvas, but any would work) and then printed onto white label material with a standard inkjet printer. I just picked fonts and colors that were as close as I could get to the original. They're not exact, but close enough. For the Blue Angels logo, I just did a Google search and rescaled the image to fit.

Steve

[jetset44]

Now my next goal is to get three more folks to build one of these so we can get together and fly like this... ;)

[Thomas Nelson]

Very VERY sharp looking Steve! Looking forward to seeing that shape & those colors in the air ... hope the weather cooperates!

[cyberfly]

Hi Steve,

Sounds good, all you need to do is help people to build your F-18

:)

[pylot2b]

Unbelievable job. That puts my profile version to shame. I am using 2 edf-40's in mine. I can't wait for sept. 27th, we got the blue angels coming for the annual airshow.

[Mr. Boogie]

That's a good looking 'Bug' Jetset44!

Nice job on the Blue Angels Scheme.

Mr. Boogie

[RCParkflyer]

More new Wallpaper :) Great Stuff :)

[Hawker]

Jetset44,

I am speechless! That thing is just beautiful and you deserve major kudo's for doing
such a great job with depron. I have been wanting to build a large depron pusher
(using a Mega brushless) and I have lots of depron waiting to be used. Now you have
me thinking I too should try a Hornet. I'm amazed at what a great job you have done,
and it's awesome to hear that it flys well too!

Congrats! :D

[Soclarke]

Hi Jetset44,


Thanks for starting this great thread. I'm really impressed with what you've done. So much that I'm attempting to build my own.

I've built with depron before but never anything that required folding or bending of the depron. I noticed that you have bent the depron around triangle stock for your fuse. Can you tell me if there is a technique or preparation that must be used to accomplish these bends?

Thanks and Happy Landings
Scott
Stetson Flyers Ottawa Canada

[Crozzbow]

Hi Jetset44,

AWESOME! A true masterpiece. This is my first posting and i already feel at home.

Boy, you sure have put in the extra mile into this one.

A lot of my buddies who are not into this hobby are also amazed with what you have done.

By the way, Yeap (it's me Nithia) count me in when you guys plan to build this beauty.

Blue Skies,
Nithia

[jetset44]

Thanks again for all the compliments!

Soclarke--The depron isn't formed around the balsa triangle stock. The balsa is glued to the foam pieces first, then the parts are assembled, and then I sanded all the corners round. The only forming required on the whole model is to put the gentle bends in the top, bottom, and sides of the foam where they come together at the exhaust nozzles. Even that is optional--you could just jig the pieces into place while the epoxy cures. But pre-forming the foam there relieves all the stress and makes assembly very easy. To form the foam, I just used a heat gun (or a hairdryer would work) to heat the foam slightly while I gently bent it to the curvatures shown. An easy job that takes less than 5 minutes.

I took hundreds of digital pictures as I was building the prototype, so after I get the plans cleaned up and posted this weekend, I'm planning to create a mini-building thread showing how to build this ship.

Steve

[jetset44]

Hi Jetset44,

AWESOME! A true masterpiece. This is my first posting and i already feel at home.

Boy, you sure have put in the extra mile into this one.

A lot of my buddies who are not into this hobby are also amazed with what you have done.

By the way, Yeap (it's me Nithia) count me in when you guys plan to build this beauty.

Blue Skies,
Nithia

WELCOME to Ezone, Nithia!!

[Kevin Murray]

6 mm Depron, Right Steve.

[jetset44]

6 mm Depron, Right Steve.

Yes

[kscbob1]

Though the Blue Angel paint scheme is unique, I like the paint scheme of my former squadron as seen on the web site below. The VMFA-224 Tiger Bird

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/AWA1/501-600/walk530_F-18_Henthorn/walk530.htm

Bob

[jetset44]

Yowzer! Looks great, but I'd hate to think of the masking job you'd have to do before painting that scheme... ;)

[kscbob1]

After a light coat of WBPU I get pretty good results with a brush and some $0.44 WalMart Apple Barrel paints on my foamies. :)

Steve I'll be dropping a dime on some Depron as soon as you get your build thread up. Then I'll have to invest in a digital camera to post some shots.

Bob

[Phreakish]

This is the first plane thats gotten me to start looking up Depron :D haha. I like it a lot - can't wait for plans to come out!

[jetset44]

Finally finished up the plans and have attached them below. These plans consist of two files--a scaled assembly drawing that shows how everything fits together (2 pages tiled), and a full scale tiled parts template (4x4 pages, for 16 pages total). The previews below show how everything should look when printed out and assembled. Each page has the drawing margins printed on it, so all you have to do is cut every other page on the margins, line up the edge with the margin on the adjacent page, and then tape it together.

Enjoy! And if you build one, post pictures of it!

Steve

Edit: For those that prefer non-tiled plans, I've posted another file below with the full size parts templates on a single ANSI E size sheet (34" x 44").

Edit #2: For those that are interested in a smaller version of this jet, plans are posted in post #1326 of this thread for a 22" span version intended for CD-ROM motors or other small brushless motors. Here's a link:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2852146&postcount=1326

[jetset44]

For those of you that want to duplicate the Blue Angels paint scheme, here are the decals I used. I had to reduce the resolution of these a bit to get them under the Ezone posting limit of 100 KB, but they should look OK when printed. If you'd like a higher resolution version, just PM me. These are GIF images, so just use any image editing program to size them so that they each fit on one 8.5" x 11" piece of paper, and then print them.

[RickG]

Excellent!! thanks for sharing your work... We're off to the Depron store ;)

[thor4944]

where are depron stores???? Is that what they are called>?

[YEAP CHIN POH]

Woooohoooo


Jetset44. Thanks for the plans. I am gonna print them out and start building. Hope to see yours soon Nithia.


Regards

[phuffstatler]

Thank you, Thank you.


Thank You.


phil in austin

[Sal C]

Steve,

Any chance you post the a full size pdf? I'd rather print full size plans. Thanks for everything...

[Keith Buckner]

jetst44,
I'd be happy to host the full size Decal image on my website, if you like.

Just email it to me and I'll post a link immediately.

My direct email is :
alpinetek@bham.rr.com

Thanx,
KB

[bmizes]

Steve,

Besides the plans themselves, are you going to do a separate build thread or set of build instructions? I've got my 6mm depron ready to go and the plans printed out, but it sure would be easier with an accompanying build thread.

Thanks.

Barry

[Ado]

Steve,

Any chance you post the a full size pdf? I'd rather print full size plans. Thanks for everything...

A print scale would be a good idea too.... so we know we are printing it out proper too.

Cheers,

Ado

[Crozzbow]

Hiya Steve,

A gazillion thanks. You just made my day. I'll be working on this one with Yeap immediately. He's really good at building. He's like a "GURU" to me.

Let's rock guys.

Best Regards,
Nithia

[jetset44]

Everyone's welcome for the plans. I'm happy to give back to the community that taught me so much!

I've already received several requests for high resolution Blue Angels decals, so I just created a 300 dpi version (the previous version was 150 dpi) and posted it at the link below:

http://jetset44.rchomepage.com/Blue_Angel_Decals_300_dpi.zip

I also just finished putting together a mini-build thread and will post it shortly!

Sal--I'm working on getting a full-size PDF for you. My first attempts have been unsuccessful--the software won't cooperate... I'm sure there's a way, but I'll have to figure it out.

Steve

[Phreakish]

Great!!! This is going to be my next build (after my F3F, and just before my F4)!

[jetset44]

Here's a mini-build thread for this model. I picked out a series of pictures taken during construction of the prototype, jotted down a few notes about each picture, and will post the results over the next few posts.

1. All the part templates have been printed, cut out, and temporarily tacked to the foam sheet using a light dusting of 3M 77 spray adhesive. Note the paper templates are cut slightly oversize to allow cutting on the line with an X-acto knife. To save foam, pack the templates as tightly together as possible! Then cut out the parts.

2. Beginning forward fuselage assembly. The balsa triangle and bulkheads are first glued to each of the fuselage sides.

3. The fuselage sides are now glued together. Note the aft end is still left open—it will glued together later after the aft fuselage is attached.

4. The nosecone pieces have been cut out, laminated together with 3M 77, and then the block is glued to the front of the fuselage. Use the nosecone top view template to draw a line on top to guide carving.

5. The nose cone is first roughed to shape with a file or coarse sandpaper, and then finished off with a fine grade of sandpaper.

[jetset44]

6. Here’s the finished canopy, which is built in same way as the nose cone. Lots of artistic license is required here to get the canopy curves and intersections right!

7. Beginning aft fuselage assembly. First use a heat gut to gently bend the foam sheets to the curves shown on the plans. Use the adjacent parts to judge the curves required.

8. Glue the balsa triangle to the aft fuselage sides before assembly. Note that multiple small cuts are made in the triangle stock to allow it to follow the curves of the aft fuselage (note it’s curving in two directions—in and up).

9. When done it should look like this.

10. Now glue the fwd and aft fuselage assemblies together. The free aft ends of the fwd fuselage are joined together at the same time.

[jetset44]

11. This is the aft fuselage motor mount. Laminate the two pieces of foam together first with 3M 77, then epoxy in the hardwood motor mount.

12. After gluing the motor mount, install the hardware for the pivoting stabilators. The carbon rod pivots in three small pieces of 3/16” dia aluminum tubing (available at most hobby shops in the K&S display). The aluminum bearings are supported by small squares of 1/64” ply glued to the fuselage sides.

13. This is the completed stabilator pivot. Note a spare servo arm is used for the control horn—just drill it out to fit the carbon tube. I used a Hitec HS-55 servo and a 1/32” music wire pushrod.

14. If installing the rudders, build a rudder servo mount from scrap foam. It will need to be trimmed carefully to fit inbetween the fuselage sides. I also reinforced it with 1/16” balsa for rigidity (bare foam didn't seem strong enough).

15. This is the completed rudder installation. Sullivan cable flexible pushrods go to each rudder and are attached to the fuselage sides. Dubro Micro EZ connectors are used at the servo to allow easy adjustments. Note the rudder-side pushrod ends are bent to shape and soldered to the cable before the pushrods are glued in (see template on plans). The flaperon servos are also shown in this view and are installed in pockets cut in the fuselage sides. All of these servos are held in place by friction alone—if you cut the pockets tight enough, nothing else is needed to keep the servos in place. This is especially nice since it allows the servos to be removed easily if needed.

[Hawker]

I was just sitting here hoping you would do a "how to" build it thread.
Awesome! Thanks JS44! :D

The 3M-77 you are using, is it the old formula that most felt was safe for
foam, or the newer one? The way you know is if you bought it at a store
recently, or long ago. I'm just hoping it's safe for Depron (the new type of
3M-77 that is, since I don't have any currently). Thanks!

[jetset44]

16. Another view of the completed flight controls installation

17. Starting wing construction.

18. To install the wing spar, I cut a slot in the wing about half the diameter of the carbon tube, and then use a small piece of the tube to crush both edges of the foam into a semi-circular shape (just press lightly to moderately hard). This gives a nice tight fit that glues well. Use epoxy to glue the tube in place. I then installed small pieces of 1/32” ply on top and bottom to support the center joint.

19. Next the wing is glued to the fuselage. Note the small hole cut in the center to allow access to the rudder servo and receiver compartment.

20. Next the wing strakes are shaped and glued on. Sand the strakes to the shape shown on the plans using fine sandpaper, and then glue then in. The tabs and slots assure proper alignment.

[jetset44]

21. Next the aft fuselage top is installed. This piece should also be pre-formed with a heat gun to the proper curvature. Note the template for this piece is slightly oversized in length to allow trimming it to an exact fit. Also note the slots for the rudder pushrods are cut before this piece is installed.

22. Next the rudder supports are installed. The supports are cut from 1/32” ply and installed with epoxy into simple slits cut into the foam sides. I installed the supports into the fuselage first, and then installed the vertical tails second.

23. After the vertical tails are glued on, cut and install the rudder control horns. The horns are first slid onto the rudder pushrod Z-bends and then glued into slits cut in the rudder using CA glue. Alignment isn’t critical at this point since EZ connectors at the servo will allow length adjustments.

24. Next the turtle deck is installed. First glue the sides to the top of the wing and then glue the top on.

25. Now cut out the radio equipment access hatch from the turtledeck. After the model is done, I just use Satin tape to hold this hatch on.

[jetset44]

26. The canopy is held in place with two bamboo skewers forward (toothpicks or carbon rod could also be used) that slid into matching holes in the bulkhead, and two small strips of Velcro aft that is mounted to short pieces of balsa triangle stock.

27. Here’s another view of the canopy mount. This view also shows the battery mount. I just put a strip of Velcro down the fuselage centerline on the floor, which allows mounting the battery fore and aft to adjust CG. The battery wiring runs through the holes in the fuselage bulkheads.

28. Here’s a closeup of the flaperon controls. The servo slides into the pocket in the fuselage side, and a 1/32” music wire pushrod connects to the 1/32” ply control horn.

29. This is the completed motor installation. Two screws on top hold the motor onto the wood mounting stick. The foam is cut out top and bottom to clear the motor and mount.

30. Next is the final sanding. All fuselage corners are rounded (see details on plans) and all wing and tail leading edges are rounded. I also sanded a short taper in the wing and tail trailing edges.

At this point, I took the prototype out for some test glides to verify the CG placement and control throws. With no motor and a small receiver battery, the model weighed just under 10 oz RTF. It flew amazingly well as a glider! It's no sailplane of course, but I was able to throw it over 100 feet easily and with good controllability. It was during these tests that I learned to dramatically flare the model at landing to provide a nice soft touchdown! Almost makes me think this model might be a good slope soarer... ;)

[jetset44]

31. To apply the base coat of paint for my Blue Angels paint scheme, I used navy blue acrylic craft paint thinned 50/50 with windshield wiper fluid and sprayed with an airbrush. Two coats were required—a light initial coat followed by the final coat. No fillers or primers were used. Keep the paint as light as possible! The solid blue base coat cost 0.75 oz on the prototype.

32. The canopy was painted used brushed-on gray acrylic craft paint. To fill the grain of the foam before painting, I slathered on a thick coat of of lightweight spackling compound thinned with water and then sanded it down to a smooth finish. This photo was shot just after the spackling was sanded down. This leaves a beautiful smooth finish with negligible weight gain.

33. The completed canopy. The gray and blue are craft paint, the yellow is Coverite trim sheet.

34. Here’s the model after painting and applying the yellow stripes, just before applying the decals. The decals were printed on Avery label paper
using a standard inkjet printer.

35. DONE!!! :cool:

[YEAP CHIN POH]

Hi Jetset44

That is wonderful. This is helpful. Right now I have 2 pieces of 6mm depron ready to go. I am gonna buy another piece to trace out the parts for friends.

Reagrds