Originally Posted by goodhumormarc

sneek peek

skill

Originally Posted by goodhumormarc

challenge accepted!

Originally Posted by rcbif

Cool. With the paper backing, there is always coloring instead of decals/colored tape.

An artist with some color pencils/ markers could make a pretty cool looking plane. Like a hawk or something.

Heres my version of a Hawk

Originally Posted by goodhumormarc

damn they is some big ol servos! looks good! howd she do at the park?

She flew as good as the first one, but I need to rethink how I secure the servos....my hotglue didn't hold we enough. Maybe some velcro to secure the servos?

Originally Posted by goodhumormarc

Heres my version of a Hawk

That's some excellent drawing!! You, sir, have raised the bar.

Originally Posted by Swammy1979

She flew as good as the first one, but I need to rethink how I secure the servos....my hotglue didn't hold we enough. Maybe some velcro to secure the servos?

I cut mine into the top later so the glue surrounding attachs to the sides too or a zip tie thru the foam helps a lot as well



That's some excellent drawing!! You, sir, have raised the bar.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Swammy1979

She flew as good as the first one, but I need to rethink how I secure the servos....my hotglue didn't hold we enough. Maybe some velcro to secure the servos?



That's some excellent drawing!! You, sir, have raised the bar.

ziptie and hot glue. Zipties holds it down, glue keeps from sliding

I just had to build this. It has a 3000kv blue wonder motor, 6x4 prop on a 2 cell 800 battery. With the light battery I had to build a longer nose to make it balance right. I used the flitetest swappable fuselage method of grooving and folding up the sides of a three sided box that fit the opening between the folds, it worked slick really, and I didn't have to put any extra weight in it to balance it out. All up she weighs 12 3/4 ounces with the landing gear.

I fully expect I will crack the nose up so I just have it glued in lightly under the front and two spots along the back sides so it will be somewhat modular or easy to replace. I wasn't sure if I would cook the motor with a 3 cell battery or not since I don't have a wattmeter and they only recommend 2 cells batteries with it. I wanted it lighter so it would fly slower cause I am a noob at flying these things but I have a blast building stuff. Here's a pic

I guess I should have just moved the prop slot forward a little more then I could have had the nose short like your original plan and it would have worked that way but of course I cut it out first then seemed awful tailheavy so this was my way out of that oops. I'll see if I can fly it and find out how it works maybe I will do that next time. If anyone can tell me if this motor can use a 3 cell battery with a smaller prop or something let me know

Here is my 40" build, basically ready for maiden.

I will add the electronics enclosure later once I figure out the placement of the FPV camera. I will run with the gopro recording, and a separate fpv camera. AUW w/ battery is expected to be around 36oz.

Big brother and little sister side by side. Looks very nice, rcbif!

I suppose now I have to show you guys n gals my version 3 build of this plane. It's so easy to build that, every time I crash one, I go and build a new one rather than do repairs. I got a little crazy with the markers, but she came out beautiful. I added an airfoil to the wings, hoping to get a bit more glide. The landings are what always kills me. Airfoil made using experimental airline's armin wing method. Still got some final touches to make before she flies, but we'll see how it goes hopefully by tomorrow.

Wow, lots going on with this design! I love all the variations.

Originally Posted by Swammy1979

Loving the flight characteristics of that bird, ibillwilson!! Makes me want to build a doublesheet of dtf. I've been told I fly like an old man, so the gliding would be perfect for me. How do you join the sheets together?
...

Swammy, I joined the sheets together in two basic stages. First, a single strip of packing tape is applied to attach the two sheets together... only on the surface that will be the bottom of the wing. Second, I open the gap on the top side a little and run a generous bead of hot glue from one end to the other, and then close the gap and hold it until the glue cools fully.

That joins the sheets together. The seam is pretty strong. The 60" width is still floppy though, so you will need a few spars. I've flown this bird many, many times, and while I've had a couple of wing flex issues (looked like a bird with wings flapping!), there have been no issues with the seam... it has held strong with no signs of breaking.

The airfoil was an excellent addition to this beauty. My landings are a lot easier to manage, and it seems that she glides better as well! I use a pretty heavy 2200mah 3cell battery (on sale for $9.99 at hobbypeople...so I bought 3 lol), and so far this is my best flying build.

Has anyone tried to turn this into a tractor instead of a pusher? I've noticed that tractor setups are much quieter (for reasons unknown to me), and I don't imagine it would be too much to flip the electronics around. If you've done it, please post pics. If not, I may try it myself. While the noise she makes is one of the cool things about this bird, some of the neighbors may not want to hear all that.

Originally Posted by Swammy1979

The airfoil was an excellent addition to this beauty. My landings are a lot easier to manage, and it seems that she glides better as well! I use a pretty heavy 2200mah 3cell battery (on sale for $9.99 at hobbypeople...so I bought 3 lol), and so far this is my best flying build.

Has anyone tried to turn this into a tractor instead of a pusher? I've noticed that tractor setups are much quieter (for reasons unknown to me), and I don't imagine it would be too much to flip the electronics around. If you've done it, please post pics. If not, I may try it myself. While the noise she makes is one of the cool things about this bird, some of the neighbors may not want to hear all that.

Nice! I'll have to try making an Armin-type wing on my next build.

About the noise... you can really reduce that by changing the shape of the prop slot. The best shape depends on where the prop is vertically relative to the slot. If just the outer portion of the prop goes through the slot, then an oval works well. If the prop is centered, or close to it, the "ski mask" shape appears to be the best... see http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1608266.

Originally Posted by Swammy1979

The airfoil was an excellent addition to this beauty. My landings are a lot easier to manage, and it seems that she glides better as well! I use a pretty heavy 2200mah 3cell battery (on sale for $9.99 at hobbypeople...so I bought 3 lol), and so far this is my best flying build.

Has anyone tried to turn this into a tractor instead of a pusher? I've noticed that tractor setups are much quieter (for reasons unknown to me), and I don't imagine it would be too much to flip the electronics around. If you've done it, please post pics. If not, I may try it myself. While the noise she makes is one of the cool things about this bird, some of the neighbors may not want to hear all that.

I read somewhere the loud noise is from the prop ingesting turbulent air that has traveled over the wing/fuselage/prop slot.

Which makes sense to me. If you blow into a fan, it kinda makes the same noise.

I love the noise
It sounds like a racecar going around a track.

Originally Posted by rcbif

I read somewhere the loud noise is from the prop ingesting turbulent air that has traveled over the wing/fuselage/prop slot.

Which makes sense to me. If you blow into a fan, it kinda makes the same noise.

I love the noise
It sounds like a racecar going around a track.

I most definitely agree! This is a head-turner at the park. Everyone hears the noise and wants to see what it is. It SOUNDS fast, and onc they see it....they see how fast she actually is. The thing I worry about is noise complaints. I live in the Los Angeles outskirts, and lots of cities have ordinances. The last thing I want is someone filing a complaint and having the cops kick me out of my favorite park. I've been kicked out of 2 parks already due to stupid 'no powered vehicle' rules....and I've grown kind of fond of this current park.