Originally Posted by kahloq

In my case, the 5 gal buckets weight more then the motors do. I will have to use a decent amount of wood to brace the wings with the weight of the buckets/motors hanging way out at the edges.

I might be on a losing path, but somehow, someway...it will fly.

If I may make this suggestion, I understand you want to preserve the Terminator looking with the length of the buckets however, why not cut them down to minimum. Later, once you have a flying machine, you can use fiberglass or some other very light compound to accomplish the cosmetic appearance.

P.S. Dollartree foam board would be a very good options to encase the plastic ring and to lengthen the appearance. It is very easy to roll and it is very strong as well.

The buckets themselves don't weigh much. Cutting them down and then adding fiberglass or stiff foam won't save much if any weight when factoring in the glue to do it. I do understand weight is a premium concern. The whole point of what I'm doing is to make the vehicle as scale in appearance as possible, otherwise its pointless to me.

When all is said and done and if it won't lift off on three fan units, I have no problem adding in more fans just concealed in the wings. I am quite committed to making this thing fly while retaining the visual looks.

Been thinking of total lift for the vehicle and Id rather have more then needed then not enough. After studying some of the photos I have of the movie versions of the HK heavy, there is a large area on the back spine of the craft that has a lot of louvers. This area is highlighted in red in the pic below.

This looks like a perfect place to hide a forth decent size fan unit. It wont be the same size as the 5 gal home depot buckets, but still a lot bigger then a 90 or 120mm ducted fan.

I was able to source a smaller bucket from work that is probably a 2.5 gal bucket. I can fit a 9" diameter prop in it so thats what Im planning on doing.
Might as well design the ship to have it from the start then mod it in afterwards

Ive got a thread going on for my terminator project. Please feel free to visit and comment.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1766835

While this thread here is relevant to what Im doing, Im not sure I want to clutter this thread up with photos of my endeavor and overshadow anything the OP has been doing.
One last pic of my progress. Please feel free to subscribe to dedicated thread of the HK aerial. I will still visit here from time to time and may post a photo once and awile, but most updates and pics etc will be uploaded in the terminator thread.

In this test, I removed the ducts, figures I would get her flying first, then find the right ducts for her later. I am using 12x4.5 props and RTImer 750KV Motors in this test, she lifted off however, I did not want to run the risk of crashing, so I set her down. It appears, my favor motors of choice are best for this build also, that being the RCTimer 900KV with a 12" or 14" prop. I will need to work out ground clearance but it appears, I will have to model the transitioning upon the V-22. We have much to do before that time arrive.

Mollie VTOL-Test03 (0 min 50 sec)

Hey Reverend , your gettin there ,..... keep us weak minded informed ......And ...merry Christmas to you , and the family ..

Terry

Mollie VTOL-Test05 (1 min 17 sec)

She lifted off at about 50% Throttle and the usage of the RCTimer 3536-9 910KV Motors and Master Airscrews 12x6 props are the right combination. The video states APC for props, that is an error.

In addition to PID tuning, I need to make some adjustments to the linkage. She wants to YAW to the left.

lookin' good Rev. , your about to get there ....

Terry

Thank Terry,

Here is a quick progress report. Still require more PID tuning.

Mollie VTOL-Test06 (0 min 44 sec)

Yes Sir ......... Almost ready !

Terry

I remade the motor mounts to accommodate a larger ducts and Ordered new bearings. I have yet to drilled lighting holes and install the control horns.

Note: I now Aluminum Weld all joints and Rivets.

It sounds like a very angry bumblebee - pretty impressive results so far!

Cheers,
Henrik

check this out.....Wish I had known about these earlier.....would have made the terminator project a LOT smaller and lighter..but much more expensive LOL

120mm alloy all metal 12 blade edf unit that can run up to 100,000 rpm's on anything from 10s-16s

http://easytigermodels.com/index.php...roducts_id=352

They have a 90mm version as well and with one that has a pod complete with extended ducting