sr-71 foamy park jet

[sledge29]

im trying to start from scratch here to build a flyable sr71 foamy hopefully i can get it to look some what close to the real thing here "a 3 dimensional look" i want to stay away from the whole shock flyer type single sheet fuse and wing type thing any help will be apreciated in this project

[Ben_E]

Drawings that might help....

Dryden Flight Research (NASA) (http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Graphics/SR-71/index.html)

The EPS files are scalable without loosing quality!

Will be watching this one closely...

Any thought on power setup?

Ben_E

[Hepdog]

Ever see how the Estes SR71 rocket is built?

If I ever build one IMHO I think that construction method would result in an awesome looking SR that is strong and light. They used 3 rocket tubes (which are light and readily available) and joined them with balsa for the structural wing parts. The wing between fuse and engine pod is extended all the way to the front to form the chine. We could use CF reinforced Depron or FFF easily enough. To get the curved fuse top and bottom they simply glue on some light card stock over the fuse and meeting the wing/chine on each side. Again we could substitute 1mm depron or whatever.
Should be plenty of room to hide gear inside quite nicely depending on how big you build it. Each engine pod tube would be a great setup for a twin pusher or even a twin tractor config. EDF's are a natch.

I could post a pic of my Estes SR if you like.

[sledge29]

im gona try a pusher type with brushless himax 2024-4266 4.3-1 gr and a 3 cell 2600 li-poly however i just need a some help figuring out the proper size to make it "wing size " ive got a pretty good idea as to how im gona build it i just need to figure what would be the best dimensions to build it..

[sledge29]

Ever see how the Estes SR71 rocket is built?

If I ever build one IMHO I think that construction method would result in an awesome looking SR that is strong and light. They used 3 rocket tubes (which are light and readily available) and joined them with balsa for the structural wing parts. The wing between fuse and engine pod is extended all the way to the front to form the chine. We could use CF reinforced Depron or FFF easily enough. To get the curved fuse top and bottom they simply glue on some light card stock over the fuse and meeting the wing/chine on each side. Again we could substitute 1mm depron or whatever.
Should be plenty of room to hide gear inside quite nicely depending on how big you build it. Each engine pod tube would be a great setup for a twin pusher or even a twin tractor config. EDF's are a natch.

I could post a pic of my Estes SR if you like.

yup good idea im thinking of a solid one piece wing that goes either aroung the fuse or over top and around it reinforced with balsa corners then layering foam on the sides top and bottom of the fuse to get the shape and sanding to contour in .. i just need best over all size for my setup or for a park flyer i have a good picture of top ,bottom, side viewthat o got off a thread where some one built one for a larger glow engine i just dont have a way to size them to what i would need once we come up with a good size,, i can go from there off top botom and side views

[PIV]

This will be cool. As Jetset44 suggested for 100W, about 260 to 300in2 is about right, scale that up for the power plant you have. How much power? See Motocalc. Im off for a week but when I get back I might ProE model the fuse to get the waterlines. Once done I can scale to any size.

[sledge29]

This will be cool. As Jetset44 suggested for 100W, about 260 to 300in2 is about right, scale that up for the power plant you have. How much power? See Motocalc. Im off for a week but when I get back I might ProE model the fuse to get the waterlines. Once done I can scale to any size.

acording to moto calc the power plant i have will work with a 300 sq in wing area.i listed the wing span to be 28" this may not be correct cause i dont know how many sq inches of wing area i am going to have if i scale up my drawing to have a 28" wing span i dont know how to calculate it on this wing however it listed my motor with a smaller gear ratio and prop than what i have to get sport type performance.

useing electric motor calculator i got these results
motor himax 2025-4200 4.3-1 gear ratio
10-8 apc prop
3 cell li-poly

comes out to --- 21 amps 209 watts in 166 watts out max efficiancy 79.5%
static thrust 47.3 oz
inflight thrust 22oz
prop pitch speed 58.9
this is the drawing i have

[lafjax]

Drawings that might help....

Dryden Flight Research (NASA) (http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Graphics/SR-71/index.html)

The EPS files are scalable without loosing quality!

Ben_E

Sorry but I don't recognize EPS files...what reads them please?
lafjax

[PIV]

Wing area for a delta is half times span (of projected leading and trailing edges for this wing) times chord at the centreline (project the leading and trailing edge in). Its usual to not count the fuselage area, but we could count the strake area, but I wouldnt, the bit extra area wont hurt. looks to me like about 25in span will be OK, please check.

[sledge29]

that is 312 sq inches on this plane right ? please check not including the strake or loss of area from the fuse witch i dont think will matter to much ,,however the engine bays take up alot of wing area..about if im correct a little more than 87 sq inches loss of lifting surface on a 25 inch span this would put the actual wing area around if i am right some where around 225-226sq inches .. scale the rest of the plane to fit that wing size ... Whoa 50 " tip to tip sheew thats a long plane if i am right.. but she will be thin so hopefully this will help keep the weight down, if this is right and you guys think it can be done with these measurements i think i can start i just need a way to scale this drawing up to the right size 25 " wing span..50 " length .. man this thing wont like to fly slow and with a 25 inch span shes gona be touchy in the roll axis im sure ,,some how i think its gona be touchy up and down as well with the long strakes on the front im gona have to have to use realy low throws all the way around i think . Any body out there able to blow that drawing up to that size so i can get started?

any additional thoughts so far? im thinking mabe i should ad an inch or two to the width of the wing and mabe keep the nose scale width and shorten it a tad bit what do you think? im thinking this may help to make the plane fly better as a park flyer..
let me know .. im dieing to get started on cutting some foam ..

[RCParkflyer]

Take a copy of the file to Kinko's they do great work.

[Ben_E]

Sorry but I don't recognize EPS files...what reads them please?
lafjax

Any cad program, Corell Drwa, Adobe illustrator. What format can you handle - I could convert them for you!

Ben_E

[lafjax]

Got it!! Thanks
lafjax

[sledge29]

i do have auto cad 2000

[Ben_E]

SR -71 dxf file - You should be able to open it with Auto Cad 2000!

Ben_E

[sledge29]

nice !! got it opend it .. now i can use it .. looks like i can modify it if i need to as well

[sledge29]

ok!! got it blown up.. and printed out used adobe illustrator and tile printed it. every thing looks good so far as far as dimensions go its 27" span 50" length i thought it looked big at first but then i set my f-18 park jet next to the drawing and its realy not much bigger i think i can do it at this size and weight may not be to much heavier than my f-18 can kinkos print out in one sheet 50x56" ? i may have to move the layout around or make two sheets to be printed there..

[kscbob1]

Sledge29 - Will you be kind enough to post the tiled version for those of us on this list who don't have Adobe Illustrator? :) Drool!

Bob

[sledge29]

Sledge29 - Will you be kind enough to post the tiled version for those of us on this list who don't have Adobe Illustrator? :) Drool!

Bob


you can download the free trial version of adobe illustrator from adobe.com if you have cable it takes about 20 min orso to get the file.. thats what i did..and i managed to figure out how to blow up the drawing and print it .. i had to select tile print out in adobe illustrator get a tiled printout, the drawing its self is not tiled i dont know how to convert it to a tiled pdf file yet any one that does let me know how and i may be able to post it or i can send what i did in adobe illustrator to you and you can do it..

any ways ive got off to a good start,, here are som pics of what i have so far ,, i intend to layer the top and sides of the fuse to sand and blend to the wing to get as close to the real thing as i can the wing is getting another layer as well ,im just geting started so dont jump to any conclusions on looks yet .. i havnt done the tips of my wings cause im thinking of useing a majority of the wing tips for ailerons kinda like the elevators on the f-18 only made to turn opposite each other, my elevators i think im gona have to go a bit larger than what is on the drawing as well and im still trying to decide the best way to go about doing them i have a few ideas just havnt made up my mind yet .. since i dont have a computer radio with mixing i have to try and build this in a way as not to use elevons,,

[Ben_E]

Looking good!

Ben_E

[kscbob1]

Steve Shumate creates the tiled drawings using TurboCad and then converts to PDF files using PDF995 if this helps. Did you form or sand the curved bottom to your fuselage?

Bob

[sledge29]

Steve Shumate creates the tiled drawings using TurboCad and then converts to PDF files using PDF995 if this helps. Did you form or sand the curved bottom to your fuselage?

Bob

I formed it ,,,I cut a piece of foam same size as the front profile top view of the plane, then extended it straight back on each side i think the fuse was 1 -1/2"from the edges of the strake i just drew aline 1-1/2" away from the fuse on the wing and thats the shape i made the bottom i then had to bevel bottom walls of the fuse so that the bottom piece when formed and bent sat nicely across them, so when ready to glue i didnt have to wrestle with it to get it to set tight.. I have to say it did take awhile to make and bend that piece ,,i had to bevel each edge of it to a point almost so it blended with the wing nicely,, the bending i did by just squeezing and bending with my fingers till i got a shape that i didnt have to push together to glue it .. it sat right on the wing nice so all i had to do was epoxy the fuse and the wing then set that piece on it and make sure it was tight all the way around .I didnt have to wrestle with it much at all while the 5 min epoxy set.

[sledge29]

one piece second layer on the center wing and front chine complete as well as elvator and ailerons with there rods installed here are some more pictures

[sledge29]

couple more pics

[sledge29]

only thing im alittle worried about so far is possibly not having enough elevator surface but i guess we will see huh..

[mhale71]

good luck, there have been many attempts at this aircraft but not yet a foamie one ;) :D

mike

[sledge29]

second layer on top of the chine and against the fuse

[The Enemy]

Nice work!

Will you be able to make a simple plan for how to go about building one after you are finished?

Corey
The Enemy

[sledge29]

mabe.. if it flys..

[sledge29]

all electronics and servo controls done. started left engine bay

[DCobra]

Whoa this is lookin' sweeeeet!!! Awesome work so far, I can't wait to see the finished product!

It's lookin' like it will do MACH 5 sitting on a desk!

[psycho_klown66]

VERY NICE !!!

Can't wait to see it finished.

[Rudi]

Yes I am following this thread also very closly, because I plan to make also a depron SR-71 with two edf-40 in the future.
THX for sharing your SR-71 progress with us :)

Greetings from vienna

Rudi

[mhale71]

nice!!

[waldo p]

Am in the process of building a depron T-38/F-5 at the moment.Really would like an EDF version of a park jet and this looks like the best candidate so far due to the long nacelles and the subsequent apparent ease of EDF placement for ballance purposes.This particular build looks pretty straight forward.Any suggestions anyone?

Waldo P.

[Neil Walker]

Very very nice consturction techniques - this forum and all the jet guys are by far making the most out of foam. Looks excellent.

I'm interested in the control setup - are the two inboard surfaces linked as a single elevator and the outboard ones ailerons? Two servos or 3? Migh be nice to have two for the tailerons and then have the ability to mix them as elevons in with the elevator.

How is it going to be powered - or more accurately, what are your power system goals - scale, high speed, park flyer or what? Twin EDFs would be awesome:)

[sledge29]

Very very nice consturction techniques - this forum and all the jet guys are by far making the most out of foam. Looks excellent.

I'm interested in the control setup - are the two inboard surfaces linked as a single elevator and the outboard ones ailerons? Two servos or 3? Migh be nice to have two for the tailerons and then have the ability to mix them as elevons in with the elevator.

How is it going to be powered - or more accurately, what are your power system goals - scale, high speed, park flyer or what? Twin EDFs would be awesome:)

yes the two inboard surfaces "elevators" are linked together glued on to one fiberglass rod run througha tube through the fuse and a servo horn drilled out and glued onto the rod with CA.

the two surfaces on the wing tips are my ailerons run by one servo, since i dont have a computer radio yet i have to try and get this to work with out mixing..

power system is a pusher setup himax 2025-4266 4.3-1 GR with a 9-8 apc prop, powerd by Poly Quest 2600 3cell li-poly im hopeing to get fast sport or high speed flying out of this, for some reason i just can see making this thing to just put around with .. just wouldnt be right..

here are some more pics .. i m almost done with the engine bays .."wow this wing is rock solid" however i have held off on doing the top canopy on back because I'm almost certain im going to have to either add balsa sheeting or cf rods to either side of the inside fuse area the whole front of the plane has way to much flex in it i need to stiffin her up some how.. well thats next on my list i guess

[sledge29]

Am in the process of building a depron T-38/F-5 at the moment.Really would like an EDF version of a park jet and this looks like the best candidate so far due to the long nacelles and the subsequent apparent ease of EDF placement for ballance purposes.This particular build looks pretty straight forward.Any suggestions anyone?

Waldo P.

so far the biggest headache with this is all the sanding ive had to do its been very time consumeing to fillet all the edges to blend to the wing and have it look good if i were you id get a few depron jet builds under your belt to kinda get the feal for working with the foam, bending and shaping this stuff is rather easy but to get it to look good,, well that takes a bit of time..and this one so far is the longest build ive done yet with this foam.. as far as EDF's ive seen a few done with this plane on here under some older threads on the sr-71 so your right it would probably work out great.. if all goes ok on this one i may have to try that my self,,

[jetset44]

Wow, sledge, this thing is coming along great! You're really doing a great job bending and forming the foam to all the right shapes. Impressive!

Regarding your question on CG, it can be quite difficult to calculate the right CG for unconventional configurations like the SR-71. Things like vortex lift from the strakes and the effects of a large fuselage are difficult to estimate and can really shift the aerodynamic center of the airplane. But there are other ways to come up with a good estimate. I loaded your three-view drawing into my CAD program and tried a couple different methods and here's what I found.

1) If you have a good three-view, one quick way to estimate the CG location is to draw a 15 degree angle from the main gear ground contact line up to the center of the fuselage. Aircraft designers usually place the main gear about this far behind the CG to allow the airplane to rotate for takeoff easily. I've done this in red on the drawing below, and the red CG mark is what this method would suggest. This is very rough, however, since full scale airplanes sometimes have different stability levels from what we want in an RC model (sometimes more, sometimes less).

2) Another method is to simply guess a rough percentage of the mean aerodynamic chord (MAC) based on similar airplanes. As you probably know, most conventional airplanes like to balance around 25% MAC, while most flying wings like to balance around 15% MAC. While the SR-71 is a flying wing, it also has large strakes and a large fuselage, both of which shift the airplane aerodynamic center forward. Thus, my best educated guess would be to put the CG at 10% MAC. That is shown in blue on the drawing below. As you can see, this is quite a ways ahead of where the landing gear method suggested, but that doesn't surprise me too much since the real SR-71 probably employed some stability augmentation to allow it to fly at a lower stability level (more aft CG). An RC model needs more stability than that to handle well.

3) One of my favorite methods (and one that really works especially well with foam models!) is to take out the motor and flight batteries and any other weight you can, and convert the model into a great big chuck glider! That way you can find the CG experimentally. Just keep shifting weight around inside the model and test gliding it until you find the CG you like best. Another big benefit of this method is that it will also tell you how much control deflection you need. This is the method I've used on all of the park jets, since it takes less time than tediously calculating the CG and is more fun. FYI, the F-18 balanced at 9% MAC (it has very large strakes and a large fuselage), the F-15 at 20% MAC (large fuselage), and the Gripen at 0% MAC (since it's got a canard).

So, my bottom line recommendation is to start at 10% MAC and then try test gliding the model to verify it. Or if that's not practical for you, I'd recommend making your first flight at 10% MAC as shown on the drawing.

Good luck!

Steve

[sledge29]

understood...
thanx Steve "jetset44" your drawings seem to be close to what i was figuring on a little further back but i fly my planes a tad nose heavy any how i may start with what i had figured on which is aprox 1-3/8" back from where the wing and the engines meet on the inside of my wing on my model .. your drawing when blown up to my scale and compared it looks like your sketch would be 2" back from the same spot. i may go ahead and take your advice and make it a chuck glider before i actualy mount my motor and heavy battery just leave my servos and rec in along with a small light weight pack to power them so like you said i can get an idea of the amount controll deflection ,, kinda get an idea of how shes gona respond with out driving 18 to 20 oz into the ground if things are way off ..
thanx again..

[sledge29]

found this web site and it has alot of neat calculators check it out ppl..

http://www.coloradogliders.com/tools.htm#tools

[jetset44]

Sounds good, sledge. One thing I'll caution you on, though. The SR-71 does not have large control surfaces, so it will not be able to tolerate CGs that are far off (unlike the F-18/F-15, which can handle large CG ranges due to their large full-flying stabilators). That makes it even more important to verify the CG before committing to powered flight! Thus, while making a model a little nose heavy on a conventional airplane may work fine, on the SR-71 don't make it too nose-heavy since you may not be able to trim and control it adequately with the small elevators...

By the way, have you done a search for other published RC SR-71 designs to see where others have balanced it?

Steve

[dkickhafer]

Maybe this thread will help with the CG location

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305253

Dave.

[sledge29]

Sounds good, sledge. One thing I'll caution you on, though. The SR-71 does not have large control surfaces, so it will not be able to tolerate CGs that are far off (unlike the F-18/F-15, which can handle large CG ranges due to their large full-flying stabilators). That makes it even more important to verify the CG before committing to powered flight! Thus, while making a model a little nose heavy on a conventional airplane may work fine, on the SR-71 don't make it too nose-heavy since you may not be able to trim and control it adequately with the small elevators...

By the way, have you done a search for other published RC SR-71 designs to see where others have balanced it?

Steve yes... i have checked a few other sr-71 threads and they seem to be balancing int the same general area as what we seem to be coming up with here

[sledge29]

engine bays are done,, left and right tail fins are on.. just need to stiffen up my front fuse my LHS was out of carbon rods however they should have them by friday or sat morning.. then i can finish her up.. :D

[jetset44]

VERY nice foam work, sledge!

But I just noticed a potential problem. It looks like your ailerons are enlarged and pivot at about mid-chord, right? If so, that is structurally unstable and the ailerons will likely rip off the airplane as soon as you get some airspeed. It's OK to have a SMALL balance tab ahead of the hingeline on control surfaces to reduce hinge moment, but it's very important that the center of lift for the control surface be on or behind the hingeline for structural stability.

It should be easy to fix this. Just cut off all or most of the area ahead of the aileron hingeline and glue it to the fixed part of the wing ahead of the hingeline. This will make the ailerons look more like the ones on the real thing.

Steve

[sledge29]

lol.. funny you say that,, ive said a couple of times to my buddy that i thought this may be a problem and have thought about doing just what you said .

at first while i was building it i didnt realy think about it i just did it that way.. however after i had my servos in and tested the throws i noticed the potential problem.. you'v built alot more than i have so i think ill take your advice on that and change it..

my elevators are set up as you can see with the hinge line ahead of the center of the elevator just as you suggest this type of set up should be. they are still going to have another layer on them to blend to the body of the plane so they should be pretty stiff. i feel if i set them up any diff they will not have enough control athority.
right now when active the front of the elevator tips below or above the plane hopefully to take advantage of the air flow from both sides of the wing. i think this should give alot more athourity to elevator response on this plane i would think im going to need all i can get on this plane..
right now this is my biggest concern" not having enough elevator response" however ive seen several sr-71's that are hinged normaly and i havnt seen any where that they had a problem,, what are your thoughts?

[waldo p]

as far as EDF's ive seen a few done with this plane on here under some older threads on the sr-71 so your right it would probably work out great.. if all goes ok on this one i may have to try that my self,,[/QUOTE]


I know the feeling.My first build is a T-38,which requires a lot of sanding to get to shape.In fact,I have to stop myself sometimes and give a self reminder that it's blue foam,and my first attempt.Just get it done and send it up.Encouraging about the EDF's in an SR-71 though.Excellent job on the build thus far,by the way.Steve has really started something here.I have this gnawing desire to set up one of these with a couple of fans.Thanks again for sharing your build.

Waldo P.

[jetset44]

lol.. funny you say that,, ive said a couple of times to my buddy that i thought this may be a problem and have thought about doing just what you said .

at first while i was building it i didnt realy think about it i just did it that way.. however after i had my servos in and tested the throws i noticed the potential problem.. you'v built alot more than i have so i think ill take your advice on that and change it..

my elevators are set up as you can see with the hinge line ahead of the center of the elevator just as you suggest this type of set up should be. they are still going to have another layer on them to blend to the body of the plane so they should be pretty stiff. i feel if i set them up any diff they will not have enough control athority.
right now when active the front of the elevator tips below or above the plane hopefully to take advantage of the air flow from both sides of the wing. i think this should give alot more athourity to elevator response on this plane i would think im going to need all i can get on this plane..
right now this is my biggest concern" not having enough elevator response" however ive seen several sr-71's that are hinged normaly and i havnt seen any where that they had a problem,, what are your thoughts?

Well, I can certainly understand your concern about control authority given the size of the SR-71's controls. The best way to drive the SR-71's flight controls is to mix them so that all four surfaces move up for pitch and both the outboard surfaces move together for roll. But that requires some fancy mixing...

What you've done should work, though I'm a little worried about how much elevator surface area you have ahead of the hinge. Remember that the center of lift of the control surface is close to the quarter chord point, and for structural stability it's very important that the hinge line be FORWARD of that point. From you photos, it looks like the hinge line is very close to it. To be safe, you could trim off a little of the forward edge of the elevators (perhaps half the distance you've got) and glue that to the fixed wing surface... Or you could try like this and see how it works. If the elevator seems to "dig in" when you fly it (overreact to pitch controls), then trim the elevator back a bit.

Steve

[sledge29]

finally got the rest of the stuff i needed to get to finishing up this build .
will be posting pictures sortly of the last few things i do .. and hopefully have a maiden flight report for you guys within the next couple days.. :D

[DiabloKid]

nice work sledge! Any chance of sharing the templates you used to cut the original pieces? :)

[sledge29]

ok .. iv finaly got the rest of what i needed to finish up this project i aded some 1/32" balsa veneer to the inside of my front fuse as well as some 1/4" balsa corner to stiffen it up a bit.. and it worked great.. ive finished pretty much every thing else aside from a few minor touch up spots its pretty much ready for a test flight .. here are some more pictures .

[sledge29]

here are some more

[DiabloKid]

excellent work! you need to get together with Steve and release plans! Lets get a chant going in the audience..

PLANS..PLANS...PLANS...PLANS....PLANS..PLANS....PL ANS....PLANS....PLANS!!!

matt

[AugerIn_]

Very nice work sledge!

I can't wait to read about the maiden, or see the video for that matter - hint, hint.

-Brad

[eastbail]

WOW! Good luck on the maiden.

Scott

[Rudi]

Perfect !!!!!! Good luck for the maiden !

Rudi

[PIV]

Hi Sledge, thats great, i go away for a week and come back and its ready to maiden! Im going to start lofting the Fuse on ProE tomorrow and then Ill post the PDFs. Good luck with the first flight.

[JCaste]

Great model! I hope you can maiden it soon (painted black, of course! :D ).
I like those "attypical" models!

[sledge29]

Ok..SUCCESS!!! :D got my glide testing done with just some minor bumps and bruised .. not to bad .. worked out my cg ..it was just what you said it would be Steve "jetset44".. 2" back from where the engine bays come together with the inside leading edge of the wing... and i guess i should have listend to you as far as the control surfaces go as well . i had to trim both of them off to the rods so there was no part of the controll surface pivoting ahead of the hinge line .. after i trimed them off i glide tested a few more times every thing checked out ok... put the prop on and tosed it up.. first throw it got about 75 ft away i gave it some power expecting alot of tork roll.. and got very little .. so i gave her some more power and she held a good level flight path started pulling up .. every thing looked good i was paying to much atenttion to the plane and was rapidly geting close to some 20' trees pulled up thought i was gona clear them but .. oops caught the left wing on a small branch at the very top of one cut power just managed to keep her from going in virtical .. she hit prob about 30 degrees and cracked the very front of the nose just short of the canopy.. so i taped it and re checked everthing tosed her in the air again with alot more confidence this time it got about 50' away and i gave her a good bit of power and took her practicaly straight up.. to about 200' leveled off and did a few circles .. got in a couple of rolls (she realy rolls) .. very fast snap. then brought her down low about 30' did a couple more laps and brought her in and this thing lands awsome give her a bit of up elevator and she slows way down, flares like the f-18 on landing and just plops down .. so now im just gona get this thing patched back up .. get my battery packs charged and give her some real flight time..

[latinflyer]

Very nice art work, it looks you have put alot effort on this model, good luck on the maiden ;) hope everything goes OK. Plans will be apreciated.

Latinflyer.

[Usta Bee]

Nice, now go get yourself a can of Testors flat black and paint it up.

[tsunami]

nice looks fun, PLANS!!!!

[sledge29]

i think im gona paint it like thishttp://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=410809&stc=1

[Grejen]

im hopeing to get fast sport or high speed flying out of this, for some reason i just can see making this thing to just put around with .. just wouldnt be right..
I've been following this build. That looks fantastic. Your at about 1/24th scale so 2200mph = scale speed of about 90mph. Seeing that thing flash by at 80 or 90 mph would be absolutly awsome but I'm thinking anything over 50 would look pretty fast.

Congrats on the maiden and thank you for all your efforts and showing it to us.

[jetset44]

WOO HOO!!! CONGRATS on the successful maiden! :cool: Glad to hear you got the CG and control deflections worked out, too. :D Interesting to hear it flares like the F-18, though that's not surprising since the strakes on the two birds are of similar size and shape. I was also surprised to hear torque roll wasn't too bad on this bird. That's a lot of power you've got in a small wingspan airframe, so I'd have thought torque roll would be an issue. But careful and slow use of throttle can go a long way towards eliminating the problem!

The paint scheme you picked out is gorgeous! Are you gonna spray the center part with metallic titanium paint? I've got some acrylic craft paint that color that I use to paint the exhaust nozzles on my park jets, and it would look awesome on this bird!

Steve

[Tomcat Fan]

Well done!!!!!!

Here's the portion of the day where we continue with the chant:

plans, plans, plans, plans......

[sledge29]

ok.. any one out there able to convert a video tape to a mpeg video that can be posted for viewing .. id be happy mail a vid to some one who can post it for all to see as soon as i get a good day to record ..

next step .. plans .. ill have to get on that i have tubo cad and auto cad 2000 however im not to familiar with the programs ,last time i messed with auto cad on a regular baisis was in high school on auto cad 10 and 11 so ive forgoten most of what i learned then and auto cad 2000 is a bit different any ways .. i can get the drawing into them but im having a problem with tracing them so i can offset or edit the lines like i need to do to get an accurate set of plans started .

every thing is in my head .. i could build another one no problem its now just a matter of getting it all on paper .. and im gona give it a try cause this plane flys awsome and id love to see my efforts be enjoyed by others.

[latinflyer]

Hello all,
I think we should aplause to this modern builder since his effort did pay after the maiden so succesfull, from the begining of the build I noticed you want to give a real body look not just a flat copy of the real one, well it is very nice work and you have apply some much knowledge, it is amazing that with the power plant you have on this bird you have not roll over since it is overpower all the way! or it is that you have not applied yet full power? well what ever is the case it flew and that's what counts. I really don't know if Steve can help on the plans since he so experience on turbo cad, maybe we can all contribute to pay him since we all want this plans done?? :cool:

Latinflyer.

[sledge29]

Hello all,
I think we should aplause to this modern builder since his effort did pay after the maiden so succesfull, from the begining of the build I noticed you want to give a real body look not just a flat copy of the real one, well it is very nice work and you have apply some much knowledge, it is amazing that with the power plant you have on this bird you have not roll over since it is overpower all the way! or it is that you have not applied yet full power? well what ever is the case it flew and that's what counts. I really don't know if Steve can help on the plans since he so experience on turbo cad, maybe we can all contribute to pay him since we all want this plans done?? :cool:

Latinflyer.
i do have a rather large power plant but the plane with my 2600 li-poly is no light weight, with all the layers of foam and balsa stringers in the front i used alot of 5 min epoxy and hot glue im not sure of the all up weight but it is definatly a little bit heavier than the f-18 im useing a 9-6 apc prop on a 5.1 himax gear box according to my motor calculator its putting out 28.5 oz static thrust and 16.5 oz in flight with a prop pitch speed of 46mph..i dealy
Id like to put a leaner 22 mm motor capable of handleing 250 watts and a 4 cell 1800 lipoly on the same gear box with a 9-8 apc prop .. this will get me over 70+ mph !!..however its a little pricy.. and im happy with what i have on it now i think it flys perfect how it is ..

[PIV]

Hi Sledge,

Well done. Glad to hear it flys so well. I should have some plans based on what youve done, in cad in a few days, then Ill post em for comments.

[sledge29]

ok where is steve.."Jetset44" ? here is what i have got so far .. currently i have it in a dxf file that can be used in either auto cad or turbo cad i can email it to who ever wants it or convert it to what ever file type you need i have both programs .. but i cant post it here cause its to large.. its 384 kb but i can email it . so i just posted this jpg .. im having trouble working the front view. i know the front is going to be bit different than the sides ,its not going to match up to the lines cause of the way i formed it im just not sure as to what would be the best way to show it on the front view.. both the top and side views are what i used to build fuse on my plane so they are good but the front view is going to be a bit different when drawn up .. im not sure exactly the best way to show the lines mabe some one here can work on the front view off of the top and sides that i have drawn .. as you can see the fuse is drawn on the front however the rest of the lines "wing and strake lines " arnt there

[DiabloKid]

ok.. any one out there able to convert a video tape to a mpeg video that can be posted for viewing .. id be happy mail a vid to some one who can post it for all to see as soon as i get a good day to record ..



pm me if you want, I can convert it and host it

matt

[sledge29]

that image isnt all that good,,, any one know how i can convert my dxf to a pdf that will be less than 100 kbs that seems to be the limit per image .. and the jpg i just posted seems to be pretty poor..

[AugerIn_]

ok.. any one out there able to convert a video tape to a mpeg video that can be posted for viewing .. id be happy mail a vid to some one who can post it for all to see as soon as i get a good day to record ..

First off, congratulations on what sounds like a great maiden!

As far as transferring to .mpg... send me a tape and I'll see what I can do. However, if your plans move along to development quickly (like I suspect they will) by the time I'm finished there will be 20 others built and video'd before I can release yours, lol.

Let me know.

-Brad

[jetset44]

ok where is steve.."Jetset44" ?

I'm here! I'd be glad to help however I can to get these plans converted and posted. Send me the file (jetset44@verizon.net) and I can tile 'em and PDF 'em in no time.

Steve

[AirX]

Congrats on your success, Sledge29, the Sr71 looks like it should... :)

Cheers,

Eric B.

[sledge29]

steve""jetset44" you should recive the file shortly its up loading to your mail .. now.. its not complete however feel free to modify your probably alot better than me at useing the cad programs..id be happy to answer any questions on how i built the original..

the time i have to work on this is going to to be drasticaly cut .. since i just got notice today my doctors aproved me to go back to work on the 21st after having been out of work for a year and a half after a 30' fall. Idunno how much free time im going to have to spend on the drawings ..its a shame to, ive learned alot about this hobby in that time, im just to the point now where im able to build from scratch epecialy after this plane , this hobby has given me a way to stay sane while out of work ,its kept my mind going thats for sure and ive gotten quite good at working with this blue foam and i love the stuff its so easy to build with very fast ..

[sledge29]

here she is ..painted up.. :D

[mhale71]

very slick bird you got there, any planes?, plans for edf ?
mike

[sledge29]

very slick bird you got there, any planes?, plans for edf ?
mike
nope i havnt yet used edfs for power in any of my planes .. however it wouldnt be to hard to adapt this plane to take two edfs in the sides engine bays

[PIV]

OK guys, here is a test run of what Im doing. Below is a JPEG and PDF of the SR71 ProE Wildfire model Ive done. The plan is to cut out the waterlines and stack laminate the entire fuselage. Obviously some of the stacks could be just strips bent to shape. There are some changes that need to be done, but i thought Id post it for ideas and comments (and those desperate for plans). I still need to show cutouts for internal stuff. My idea is to use a four servo wing with all servos in the nacells, each servo driving a control surface. Changes to be done include, canting the rudders in a bit more, adding the waterlines for the fuselage below the chine. Adding flat shpe drawing of rudders and developed shape of nacelle and also motor mount detail. Otherwise use Jetst44 and Sledge29 methods. Carbon spar as shown, all 6mm depron except nacells in 3mm. Main Idea with this plan here is to get an easily shaped fuselage.

Oh, span for this one is 25" for GWS ES350C and 8X6 prop.

[jetset44]

Beautiful work, sledge! It's hard to believe that ship is built from simple Bluecore foam, which is a real testament to your craftsmanship! I especially like how this plane isn't painted the standard solid black--it's a nice change of pace.

By the way, I never got an email with your plans file. Have you sent it yet?

Steve

[flyingwings]

[QUOTE=sledge29]ok where is steve.."Jetset44" ? here is what i have got so far .. currently i have it in a dxf file that can be used in either auto cad or turbo cad i can email it t

Hi Sledge

I am running AutoCad 2002. I would really appreciate a dwg file.

I have other dwg files that we could swap.

Avro Arrow
Mig 29
Mig 27
Su 27
Su 35
F18
F16
Cessna T37

A long list. Name your plane I may have it.

Paul

[sledge29]

Beautiful work, sledge! It's hard to believe that ship is built from simple Bluecore foam, which is a real testament to your craftsmanship! I especially like how this plane isn't painted the standard solid black--it's a nice change of pace.

By the way, I never got an email with your plans file. Have you sent it yet?

Steve
yeah i sent it .. it should have arived frome "sledge4055@aol.com"

ill send again

[sledge29]

i just sent it to( jetset44@verizon.net )
from sledge4055@aol.com

[flyingwings]

[QUOTE=sledge29]ok where is steve.."Jetset44" ? here is what i have got so far .. currently i have it in a dxf file that can be used in either auto cad or turbo cad i can email it t

Hi Sledge

I have other dwg files that we could swap.

Avro Arrow
Mig 29
Mig 27
Su 27
Su 35
F18
F16
Cessna T37

A long list. Name your plane I may have it.

Paul

Just a quick note to see if you are interested in any drawings.

Paul

[sledge29]

PIV...sent you an email with attached auto cad file of what ive done so far

[sledge29]

Just a quick note to see if you are interested in any drawings.

Paul id be happy to send you what ive done so far however they are not yet complete

[sledge29]

OK guys, here is a test run of what Im doing. Below is a JPEG and PDF of the SR71 ProE Wildfire model Ive done. The plan is to cut out the waterlines and stack laminate the entire fuselage. Obviously some of the stacks could be just strips bent to shape. There are some changes that need to be done, but i thought Id post it for ideas and comments (and those desperate for plans). I still need to show cutouts for internal stuff. My idea is to use a four servo wing with all servos in the nacells, each servo driving a control surface. Changes to be done include, canting the rudders in a bit more, adding the waterlines for the fuselage below the chine. Adding flat shpe drawing of rudders and developed shape of nacelle and also motor mount detail. Otherwise use Jetst44 and Sledge29 methods. Carbon spar as shown, all 6mm depron except nacells in 3mm. Main Idea with this plan here is to get an easily shaped fuselage.

Oh, span for this one is 25" for GWS ES350C and 8X6 prop.

thats alot of layers top and bottom layers =weight .. is the fuse hollow ?
the way i did mine was a little difficult to form the bottom out of one flat piece of foam however i didnt have to add alot of layers i did it that way to save weight and cut out sanding either awy would probably take just as long to do cutting, layering and sanding vs one piece on the bottom formed by bending and filleting the edges . my wing i also used a second layer between the engine bays and layed it across the fuse to give it contour and thickness without having to add multiple layers and sand to shape my method takes a bit of atention to get to look right however i believe it saves alot of weight ..

[sledge29]

hmm? whats next.. ?

http://www.fas.org/irp/mystery/aurora.htm

[RCParkflyer]

Aurora Spy Plane (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2447208#post2447208)

[sledge29]

:eek: Aurora Spy Plane (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2447208#post2447208)

yeah.. hey i didnt read the whole thread but man ive been intrigued by that whole concept.. and have thought of doing one up just for the hell of it.. hows yours coming along have you started ? 4 mini fans will set you back awhole lot is that what your gona do.. ?

[RCParkflyer]

Hi sledge,

I've settled on 2 mini-fans and Mega 16/15/3's CC-35 ESC's. 4S2P 4900mAh Packs. I've spent months and months just trying to afford all the parts to build it, I've got everything except one large retract servo, and I'll pick that up in a couple of weeks.

So far I've completed the chuck glider to determine the CoG and it glides suprisingly well, CoG is about 2/3 of the legenth. (A little foreward of the lg doors as seen in the bottom view of the drawing below.)

I won't be going into as much detail as shown in the drawings in my build, just getting a basic design flying will be enough of an accomplishment :) and I'll probably be scared to death to fly the beastie, as this is way over my current parkflyer experiance, but what the heck :eek: I can always salvage the parts for more "normal" future aircraft :)

Watch the thread for future up-dates as it's getting near crunch time for the build.

Tom - Milwaukee

[PIV]

Hi Sledge,
Yes lots of layers but each layer can be a thin strip bent to shape with only ends cut out as actual shapes. Only a little overlap on each strip so that finished thickness is about 6 to 8mm. Ive got a CNC router, so i might mill the inside and outside. But most people can only cut it. Once cut, the layers sand up quick because you have a good guide to sand to. Of course you could use 12mm foam and fewer layers. I will post photos as i build. Thanks for DXFs.

[sledge29]

ok. ppl ive got my plans done and they are in pdf format however the file size is 1.59mb so dont think i can post them .. send me an email and i will send them to you.. i havnt had them printed out yet but every thing seems to be ok with them who wants to try them out.. ? send me an email and i will get them to you..

[AirX]

Sledge29,

You can still compress it by using a compression program such as a Windows Compressed Folder(right click on the file and "Send To" "Compressed Folder" in XP) or Winzip (shareware search as "Winzip"). PDF can be compressed quite a bit using one of these.

Eric B.

Send me a copy and I will compress and repost it to this post.

[RCParkflyer]

I can host it on my RC Homepage site too if you'd like
rcparkflyer@yahoo.com

[sledge29]

I can host it on my RC Homepage site too if you'd like
rcparkflyer@yahoo.com

file is uploading to your email now,, im on dial up so its gona take about 15 min or so for you to get it..

[sledge29]

I can host it on my RC Homepage site too if you'd like
rcparkflyer@yahoo.com


"you have mail..!"