Sport Scale Long EZ (Velociraptor)

[Johnnie Paul]

This Long EZ Canard design has long been a favorite of mine, and and I always thought to myself that one day I would be rich enough to 1) find an original set of plans, and 2) build and fly one...a real one that is. I now live in the real world and know that won't be anytime soon.

I did however happen to find a plan set that I have set out to build, and eventually learn to fly.

http://www.parkjets.com/velociraptor.html

Steven Wong has drawn up a set of plans now for both the Cozy Mark IV and now the Long EZ, and it is the latter that I have been working on.

My plane has been under construction for over a month now, and is consuming lots of my hobby time, if not all of it.

Here is my power set-up for my plane:

Motor: Himax 2025/4266kv (4.4:1 gear box)
Prop: APC 9X6 grey prop
Batt: KOKAM 1250mAh 3S li-po battery
ESC: Castle Creations Phoenix 25 amp Brushless.
(3) HS55 Hitec servos


Specifications

43.3" Wing span
11 min projected flight time
and target weight of 650 grams (i'll be glassing)
no landing gear, belly land only.

I will post more later as I think stuff up...

Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

I must warn you, the following photos may be disturbing...cause I have not figured out the mega pixel thingy yet.

The plans call for 1/4" or equivalent Depron foam. In my case I used 6mm from Depron USA (http://www.depronusa.com/)

The plans are easily pulled up in .pdf format in full size or tiled format. I chose full sized as we have a nice plotter at work that stands dormant. I printed 2 full copies of each full sized for a "just in case..." as it turned out I needed them both.

The parts are cut from the plans and adhered to the foam with either 3M spray glue, or in my case, Scotch tape. Then you merely trace the lines with a sharp #11 blade.

The fuse, bulkheads and nose pieces were adhered with canopy white glue. This was not a good choice on my part as curing time is extended due to lack of air for the curing process on some parts. These parts do cure with time. The 3/8" triangle supports were adhered with 5-minute epoxy.

Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

The fuse is mostly completed with the exception of final sanding to get a better Long EZ shape, and finalizing details on the elevator controls. Then a small amount of glassing can commence for damage control on the belly flop landings.

Incidently, all glassing will be done with .75oz. glass and Min-Wax Water Based Polyurethane. A method I have wanted to try since finding this (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=161218) thread.

The elevator controls consist two of 6mm CF bearing surfaces (installed in fuse) and 5mm CF rod that passes between them. The canards are fixed to either end of the 5mm CF rod, and a single control horn will be mounted to the 5mm rod inside the fuse. The lone HS55 servo in the nose will actuate the canards by moving the 5mm rod back and forth, thus causing the canards to tilt up or down...as I learn more, I will mix this feature with the ailerons for better control and maneuverability.

The pictures below show the fuse in it's current state, with the canopy now somewhat complete. Here again, the canopy was made by cutting out 16 identical pieces of Depron from the plan, and glueing them together. Then the actual frontal arcs and shapes are "carved" out of the Depron mass. The plans call for carving out a cavity in the canopy underside to save weight, and it remains to be seen if I will be successful at this or not. The canopy is a week in the making at this point, and I really would not want to damage it now... :rolleyes:

Johnnie

[Jim_Marconnet]

Johnie:

Looks like quite a work in progress.

No wonder we have not seen much of you at the flying field for a while.

I know that landing gear is somewhere down your list. Have you decided yet whether to go with something like the web site shows, or to get Frank to make you a set of 3 very special Tundra Tires!

[Johnnie Paul]

Johnie:

Looks like quite a work in progress.

No wonder we have not seen much of you at the flying field for a while.

I know that landing gear is somewhere down your list. Have you decided yet whether to go with something like the web site shows, or to get Frank to make you a set of 3 very special Tundra Tires!

I had not seen any posts of people flying, otherwise I would be there with all of you...I had to replace the gear box on my SS as a nice gustnado or what ever knocked my plane right out of the air from 4 feet up...not even the prop saver survived that one.

I will wait for the all up weight on the belly land version to see how it flies with the Himax 2025, but then I would still need an aerodrome of some sort to fly off of and back on too if I added the smaller landing gear.

I have been watching the weather sites, but if you guys are flying, then I will at least spectate, just let me know... :)

Johnnie

[GLIDERGIDER]

Johnny,
This plane has been a favorite of mine since it was introduced. Have a great time building and flying. Do let us know when you plan the maiden.
Dave

[Johnnie Paul]

Dave,

I will make sure I post a maiden date :D

I have concidered making a second for (RCRG) radio controlled rocket glider and cloning maybe one of the new X-racers like those pictured below :cool:

Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

Here is the color scheme that I will match semi closely for the Velociraptor.

Johnnie

[Jim_Marconnet]

I had not seen any posts of people flying, otherwise I would be there with all of you...

I have been watching the weather sites, but if you guys are flying, then I will at least spectate, just let me know... :)

Johnnie
There has not been a lot of advance notice of intent that I know of lately. Mostly folks just show up and fly if it's suitable wind and rain, or lack thereof.

Today, Thursday at lunch time Jason, Christopher, and Mike were out with AeroBird, SS, SS, several wings and Typhoon 3D having a blast, 1, 2, or 3 in the air at at time. A little muddy at NDD yet, so plan to land close by, but NOT as close to Jason as Christopher did! Nor as close to me as Mike did. Spectators Beware!

I spectated, since it was too windy for my Aero Ace, my SS still needs a gearshaft, and I won't try the Atmopod in much wind till I get some additional orientation stripes added and I get some time practicing indoors! What a concept! Even my AA is too "big" to fly indoors.

The latest thing in SS seems to be flying without landing gear, going for speed and/or thermaling with the birds. Noticeable the difference in drag/speed without the Tundra Tires! But landing is a little more touchy! Belly land on your LiPo at your own risk!

Christopher and Jason found a thermal with two soaring birds, and Mike flew about Mach 1 up to join them, but for some reason or another first one bird and then the other left the scene. Interesting to watch. They were so high that it took a long time to glide down. I'm not sure how they maintained orientation at such altitude/distance. I guess they were 30 mistakes high! :)

[Johnnie Paul]

So you keep a plane and needed equipment in the car at all times (just in case the moment presents itself)...Oh I get it now :)

Seriously though, you were mostly right in your first post, I have been on this plane everyday since I opened my package of Depron.

I did manage to salvage the shaft on my SS gearbox for another flight or two, and my battery is charged...I'm ready :cool: So is my son...he wants to fly so bad. He bugs me about the weather situation constantly...he thinks mother nature is out to keep him grounded. :rolleyes: I told him the other night that when it is calm enough to fly it will be too hot, or he will need to cut the grass.

Johnnie

[GLIDERGIDER]

Two words :)

Ah Dahhh!!

-----
Always keep a plane in the car, especially in the winter. Summer (with the heat, its a different story).
--------

So you keep a plane and needed equipment in the car at all times (just in case the moment presents itself)...Oh I get it now :)
Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

The wing tips are a piece of work in themselves. They consist of 1-piece of 3/16" balsa, and 2-pieces of 6mm Depron flued togther. The Balsa side remains flat like the design of the Long EZ, and the depron is sanded to shape to form a slight airfoil. With woodgrain running in the proper direction, here is my finished wing tip sans .75oz glassing.

[Johnnie Paul]

Like most people who scratch build (I likes to scatch'em out) I tend to make some minor changes from time to time to suit my wiles. The most visual change from Steven Wong's plan are the canards. The lines Steven Wong has created for his Sport Scale Velociraptor are very nice, but I wanted my Veloiraptor canards to resemble that of the Long EZ. The mechanics are the same as the plan, but I have created more surface area for the canard by merely making them rectangular, and they will now protrude perpendicular to the fuse.

The canards were cut from 1-piece 3/16" balsa sheet and 2-parts 6mm Depron like the wing tips, and glued using my little sandwich press...

[Johnnie Paul]

After some sanding time, the canard blank has taken shape.

Since I am changing the shape of the canards, I will use the following program to see if the cg from Steven Wongs plan has moved any:

http://adamone.rchomepage.com/cg_canard.htm

Johnnie

[GLIDERGIDER]

Outstanding, looks excellent.

[Moonbeam Six]

Johnnie,

The build looks great! You are doing a fine job on it. I can't wait to see it. RTF and ARFs are okay, but flying your own creation, especially one built just from plans, is a special joy. Keep posting pics.

Frank

[Johnnie Paul]

Thanks Dave and Frank for the kind words...it has been a fun build so far.

When I originally looked at the plan and decided to build it, I thought to myself that this should be easy enough for a first major build (the SoSlo was actually first but remains largely un-finished). The Long EZ build has consumed a major portion of my think-tank time, but what consumes so much brain time is protecting the foam from damage both during the build, and for future flights...after all, it ain't EPP. Depron foam retains every dent or scratch :( It is quite strong and light though, and sands very easily.

I have started the WBPU glassing on the main wing, and managed to finish the FG covering this weekend. The wing just needs a little more sanding and a coat or two more of the WBPU and it will be done sans ailerons :) yeah!

Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

The main wing represented a small challenge for a simple mod that I wanted to make; and that was to add two aileron control linkages embedded in the wing, as opposed to wire running to control horns mounted to the ailerons. The original design would have saved in weight though...

As seen in the pics below, the aileron controls that I pruchased would get right in the way of the original design location for the 5mm spar (noted by a doted line on the plan). My proposed new placement for ths spar location let me make a "vee" out of the spar and travel nearly the full length of each wing. My plan was to change the spar from a 5mm to a 4mm as well. I also re-posted an original pic from Steven Wong, on the idea of using packing tape in the groove of the spar. He says it will help spread out the load of the spar to the wing, and will also help prevent the spar ends from poking thru the wings on those not so perfect landings.

Next will be implementation of these changes, and how it all went together.

Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

To date I have used 4 different types of adhesive on the Long EZ:

1) RCZ56 Canopy glue $3.99 (used on most all of the planes main parts)

2) Aleene's Foamtastic $1.99 (will replace the caopy adhesive...good stuff)

3) Bob Smith 5-min epoxy ( used on all structural needing strong support i.e. 3/8" triangle stock running full length of fuse etc)

4) Bob Smith Gap Filling Foam Safe CA (minor adhesion of quick parts placement, and gap filling)

...and unofficially I accidently tried Zap-A-Gap CA from Pacer industries,. and got away with it...it is not known to be a foam safe CA, but it did not eat any of my plane in the spots I used it. :)

The wings were cut from the pattern, 2-left and 2-right (uppers and lowers). The new spar locations were located, cut, and prepped with strapping tape. Each of the lower and upper halves were glued together using foam safe CA, then strapping tape was used on both sides of the upper half and on both sides of the lower half. The spar was glued using CA to a 3" steel wire fashioned into a "vee" to match the slot for the spar. The aileron controls were epoxied in place, and the wings were ready for marriage. The spar was glued to the upper half at the center of the "vee" only. The canopy glue was spread across the entire half and spread thin until an even layer glueing plane was achieved. The halves were joined and then pressed with lots of heavy text books I vaguely remember from my short college days...

The wing was trimmed out with 1/2" Goldberg leading edges, 1/2" square stock, and 1/16" sheet stock.

This is a flat wing roughly 1/2" thick...no dihedral, and no airfoil...videos show this design flies pretty nicely, but it is no speed demon. Here is a link or two to Steven Wong's Cozy Mark VI:

http://static.rcgroups.com/gallery/data/500/46189Cozy_Morning_Flight_17-9-05.wmv

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=482733#post5080300

With some measuring and trial fitting, I came up with my locations for the two ailron servos, and cut out the appropriate locations. Below are some pics of the parts assembled so the linkages could be cut for opperation and fit.

In some steps further back, I did cut out all 4 aileron parts, and I will be glueing them and fitting them possibly this coming weekend.

Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

I have had somewhat of a set-back in my Velociraptor build...I installed the aileron controls incorrectly :censored:

The 1st pic below is what the aileron controls looked like before I went to work with my trusty #11 blade...

The last pick shows the wing tips installed.

1/4" of wing was removed to uncover the controls that should have been mounted to the ailerons for correct action of the control surface. At least I will gain 1/4" of aileron in return...

Johnnie

p.s. I still cannot figure out why my $400 small handheld JVC video camera takes really :censored: pics...sorry about the quality folks

[GLIDERGIDER]

Johnnie,
Does your elevator also have aileron function?
Dave

[Johnnie Paul]

Johnnie,
Does your elevator also have aileron function?
Dave

It kinda looks that way in the pic...but no, the canards are not mounted permanently yet. The canards will be mixed with aileron for elevator control like in video #1 of Steven Wong's Cozy...

Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

Ok, where was I...?

I have been following a new thread in the Electric Plane Talk forum: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=613556

It is all about canards and stuff. It got some fire going again for this project, so I dug out the components to evaluate what I need to get in order to finish this build.

I have long since sold off the motor and ESC in support of other projects, so the first items to get would be the motor and ESC. Here is a link to a different power plant than previously I listed that I am giving serious consideration: http://2dogrc.com/ecommerce/os/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=111&products_id=2054

Not a bad deal, motor, 25A ESC and 3-cell lipo for a $100, now to start saving my pennies :o

The other items needed would be the two HS55 servos.

As for the airframe, I need only to finish the ailerons and get them mounted, and then add some color to to finish it off.

Why did I quit? Too much procrastination? Nah, I moved to another project that completed much faster.

Johnnie

[GLIDERGIDER]

WOW, that's a beauty. When you get ready to fly it, take video.

[Moonbeam Six]

Johnnie,

I've been wondering what happened to this project. It is going to be a beautiful plane, and I've admired your workmanship on it. You really do need to get this one finished. I want to see it fly.

I certainly can identify with setting aside one project to build another (faster build) project. I started my Miss Stik Jr. in January 06, and made great progress for awhile, but got side-tracked, procrastinated, got interested in a couple of other (still unfinished) projects, completed five other projects since (some yet to be maidened), and contemplating another balsa build. I am a bit ashamed to admit that the Miss Stik Jr. has been dormant so long, but I bet you and I aren't the only ones that could tell a similar story.

Your cheering section now consists of Dave and me, but is likely to grow as other Renegades check out this thread. Git 'er Done!

MB6

[Johnnie Paul]

Thanks for the vote of confidenti, I for one will be glad when this bird flies.

Dave, I need to talk to you over at the Foam cutting thread...

MB6-This project has been a blast, even though I have not finished or touched it in the last 6 or 7 months.

Here is a nice video the creator of the Velociraptor (Steven Wong) did on his Cozy plane, the predacessor to the Velociraptor...

First video:
http://www.rcgroups.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=31136&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

Second Video:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=482733#post5080300

MB6, you would sure enjoy the slow flying characteristics of the Cozy...no tip stall either :)

Johnnie

[Moonbeam Six]

Johnnie,

I'm sure it would be fun, but I'm not ready for another project of that magnitude just yet. Besides, I don't have any experience with canard planes, am reluctant to venture into that arena. But, I do admire their looks.

MB6

[Johnnie Paul]

Nothing new from me, but Steven Wong finally got to maiden his Velociraptor, his video is here:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showatt.php?attachmentid=1362735

...one of these days, maybe I'll get mine completed. :)

Johnnie