Hi, firstly let me introduce myself,i'm from SouthEastAsia,Singapore, i've started this hobby off my scratchbuilding planes instead of buying them about a year ago, in the end i got addicted to building my own planes to fly. I've also got interested in building planes that are powered by EDF instead of props because of the cool factor,speed, and the edf sound effect I've came to rcgroups to share my experience , building ideas and lastly my plane

Anyway, these are the original build thread i've posted in one of my local rc forums.

F-16 68mm edf Using bluefoam
http://www.daddyhobby.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35870
F-16 68mm edf Using normal white styrofoam
http://www.daddyhobby.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37560

I'll be doing my 3rd build thread which will be right here in rcgroups.

Current specifications of the plane:
37" length
25" wingspan
flying weight ~ 18oz
3900kv turningy motor
68mm wemotec fan
40A ace rc esc
3s 1800mah desirepower lipo or 3s 2200mah zippy lipo
moving surfaces only elevons


Ok let me start off with some pictures of the real F-16 that i'm going to build. Its called the F-16 blackknights, an aerobactic team of 6 f-16C from RSAF , Republic of Singapore Airforce.

I've drawn out the whole F-16 build plan from scratch on a huge A0 paper with a pencil.I've taken some reference from a 3-view F-16 plan off the internet. (i don't know how to use autocad but thinking of transferring those plans into dwg format one day)

The templates are made of hard cardboard and copied out from the plans i've drawn ,these will be the hotwiring template. 99% of the cutting will be done by hotwiring, so you can put your penknifes or any other cutting tools away

The material used could be any type of foam, depron,blackfoam,pinkfoam,bluefoam ...as long it's light and can be hotwired.

I'll be using whitefoam this time round for building my F-16, Those who wish to see the bluefoam thread please refer to the link at the top of the thread.

Alright, to get started, i've got a 24" by 36" white foam ready to be cut, a trysquare to give me nice 90 degree measurements and my hand-held 12volts hotwire. Next is to cut the big piece of foam into a 8" by 8" by 37" block. Right now the F-16 is right inside that piece of block of foam..ready to be cut out!

I've divded the block of foam into smaller sections and cut piece by piece. The blue foam right at the end will be the nose cone.As usual,i always start building planes right from the front, so i started with the nose. I use hot glue gun to join the pieces together because i find the drying time pretty quick.

I join the pieces and seperate into 2 halves first , i join them using my flat table as a reference,its more accurate this way futhermore at the end of the day , i won't get a F-16 accidentally wrapped to one side.

Next is hotwiring the wings,elevons and the vertical stab. All of them are home-made airfoils, thickness of 8% at 40% chord , with no camber. The F-16 wing also have a little twist downwards at the wing tip just like the real F-16.

These parts are made of blue foam a reason...which is strength, who would want the wings to snap during intensive manoeuvres. Anyway, very straightforward, i glued the template on the wings, hotwire them out ,sand any imperfection with a fine sandpaper and add a 3mm carbonfibre rod into it. 4 or 5mm carbonfibre rod will also do fine if more strength is needed

Now, i'll be gluing the small little parts together using hotmelt glue and UHUpor, depends on which area need slow or fast bonding time. For example, i'll be adding a plastic thrust tube inside the back of the F-16 so UHUpor would be a wiser choice to give me time to slot and place it in.

The plastic could be anything like plastic file/projector slides/ clear book cover ,try not to exceed 2mm in thickness.

Slowly, the F-16 is comming alive, I've joint the rear to the body and then to the nose. Oh, and i've to test fit the EDF first, before joining the 2 pieces of body together so i can make the necessary adjustment to give a nice tight fit, By the way i've design the f-16 so that the EDF could be removed for maintainance or if any debris/dirt/soil/grass stuck inside.

Once comfirmed, join the parts , together with the wings and elevons.

-take note the front intake duct has to be reinforce in someway to prevent it from tearing apart during landings, my method is to place wooden skewer sticks into the foam , CF rod also could do the trick.

Oh, and Here is a picture how i did the elevons, Umm..i can't really explain how i did it in words, so showing a picture will be much easier. The black thing sticking out is a 3mm carbon fibre rod, later on the elevons will be glued onto it.

I'm using 2 esky 9g servos to control them and steel garden wire as pushrods.

(take note the plane you see is in blue foam because i hadn't have a picture of the f-16 with white foam)

Alright, next up, fixing up the canopy. (i'm really bad at doing this so don't laugh)

I use plastic soda bottles for the canopy, slowly with trial and error to find the correct shape. If i had vaccum former life would be much easier.

First, i've to cut, in this case, hotwire out the canopy, which will also be the battery hatch to access the electronics inside.

In the canopy, i add a little seat and a HUD for a little more realism...

Ok, now with the whole plane in shape, its time to paint them. I've sand the whole plane with a 500grit sandpaper till the surfaces no longer feels bumby. Then i apply a few coats of white primer before the real paint work is done. The primer is sprayed on and left to dry for a couple of minutes till the whole plane turns white.

I mask the plane using normal packaging tape ...but make sure it isn't too sticky or the white primer might stick to it. Once its masked, i just have to apply 1 coat (sometimes 2) of red paint to make sure it's fully covered. The brand of the paint i use is tamiya.


Alright ,enough said, time for more pictures!

The canopy is stuck on by magnets embedded into the surface of the foam. As mentioned in my previous post, the edf hatch could be open so the edf could be access for maintaince, or upgrade to a better motor. The belly of the F-16 is covered with clear tape to prevent scratches from belly landings.

Here are some pictures of my completed F-16! , and my white styrofoam F-16 side by side with my blue F-16 (which looks pretty damaged).

I've come to the end of the build thread..., sorry if i hadn't elaborate parts of the building in certain areas , more details could be found from the links of my first and 2nd build thread at the first post. But i'll anwser any questions asked

Great work! I will be building a profile F16 out of EPP soon.