looks like the image isn't loading for some reason?

*edit*
ok, see the link now. thanks for sharing!

2nd gen T. Boom. KF3 flies great. Love your designs foamflyer.

Cool!!

what servo's do you recommend?

could I use the 2200mah 3c 20a batteries I already own?

with my Spectrum DX6i radio, what receiver should I get for it?

Am I correct that there is no rudder on this SO? I ask because I don't remember seeing anything about one on any of the pages.

I just got my first SO assembled. Weighs 11.7 oz for just the assembled airframe, as I haven't purchased motor, ESC or servos for it yet. Boy this looks nice!!


Thanks,

Bill

Sounds heavy for the usual 36" version -- what is your wingspan?

That battery sounds too heavy, as well, unless this is a bigger plane than the original

My 36" span version weighs 13 oz AUW, including a 1300 mah 3cell. And that is too big, actually -- would have preferred my original version with a 1500 mah 2 cell, but used the 3 cell battery because I needed to move the CG forward.

I'm using a Towerpro 2408-21 motor with an 8040 GWS prop. With that motor and 2 cells, the plane will do continuous loops from level flight. Using 3 cells, I reduce the throttle endpoint to 70%.

For low cost, you can use an Orange 6 channel receiver from Hobbyking and Hextronics 9 gram servos., and an 18 amp ESC (for the Towerpro motor, anyway)

Mine does not have a rudder, and just a single aileron, per original Foamflyer So-11.

I also earlier built a REM version with a single rudder as a trainer.

Originally Posted by vtdiy

Sounds heavy for the usual 36" version -- what is your wingspan?

That battery sounds too heavy, as well, unless this is a bigger plane than the original

My 36" span version weighs 13 oz AUW, including a 1300 mah 3cell. And that is too big, actually -- would have preferred my original version with a 1500 mah 2 cell, but used the 3 cell battery because I needed to move the CG forward.

I'm using a Towerpro 2408-21 motor with an 8040 GWS prop. With that motor and 2 cells, the plane will do continuous loops from level flight. Using 3 cells, I reduce the throttle endpoint to 70%.

For low cost, you can use an Orange 6 channel receiver from Hobbyking and Hextronics 9 gram servos., and an 18 amp ESC (for the Towerpro motor, anyway)

Mine does not have a rudder, and just a single aileron, per original Foamflyer So-11.

I also earlier built a REM version with a single rudder as a trainer.

You say my plane sounds heavy. It has a 30" wingspan and will weight in at 21 oz. I was just reading on another build thread that I guess you are supposed to cut out the parts, then soak them in water and remove the paper from both sides. Ugh, I didn't know this when I made my first SO and I didn't take the paper off the foam board. Sure did make it strong...though heavy. I ordered a motor with over 400 grams of thrust for it, as I thought it would take such motor to haul 21 oz up in the air. maybe it will fly and if it does, it would probably be heavy enough and fast enough to be able to fly in high winds?

Ya live, ya learn! The building process was an education in itself and worth the effort for that reason if for no other reason. Enjoyable!

Bill

Well. it can fly for sure with enough power. But it will need to be fast. Try it and find out.

Hello Everyone,

I want to share what I did to my "So" plane. I am somewhat new to this hobby and recently, I decided to learn to fly (self-tough of course) but I did not want to spend too much money. This build log was the perfect answer; easy to build and inexpensive. I build maybe 5 "So" planes since I crashed often (I mean really often). After a while, I realized that now my crashes were due to the wind. I live in the Canadian prairies and it is windy most of the time - 15 to 20 km/h in average. Wanted to fly anytime and because I don't have any patience, I put a Gyro on the ailerons. Voila! Now, I can fly when the wind is 30km/h with no problem. The Gyro is a HK and it is amazing how it makes a difference. Do that to your "So" plane and you will not regret it.

Originally Posted by CanadaFlyer65

Hello Everyone,

I want to share what I did to my "So" plane. I am somewhat new to this hobby and recently, I decided to learn to fly (self-tough of course) but I did not want to spend too much money. This build log was the perfect answer; easy to build and inexpensive. I build maybe 5 "So" planes since I crashed often (I mean really often). After a while, I realized that now my crashes were due to the wind. I live in the Canadian prairies and it is windy most of the time - 15 to 20 km/h in average. Wanted to fly anytime and because I don't have any patience, I put a Gyro on the ailerons. Voila! Now, I can fly when the wind is 30km/h with no problem. The Gyro is a HK and it is amazing how it makes a difference. Do that to your "So" plane and you will not regret it.

I'm happy it worked out for you, CanadaFlyer65. Enjoy!

Very cool look'n bird...reminds me of the TwinAx here
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=555476

nice one, good build...

I just completed my build of your SO-11.

It will not fly! That is for me anyway. It is very touchy and if I get it to fly away from me and into a gentle right banking turn as soon as I try to turn left it drops the left wing and dives into the ground. I obviously need help..

What can I do to correct this, I did follow your plans to the letter with the exception that my fuse is about 1/2 inch wider than your plan. Don't know how that happened but I don't think it is the problem.

Any help will be appreciated

Phil Lyons

Are you new to flying? The SO-11 is a wonderful plane, but not necessarily ideal as a trainer. It has no dihedral and as an aileron plane is much better as an intermediate trainer. Also with today's brushless motors and lipos there is a natural tendency to over-power it (for basic trainer purposes).

I did build a trainer modified version of the SO-11 which I think is ideal for that purpose. The alterations were to add a single large rudder on one fin, eliminating the aileron, and adding dihedral to the wing tips (poly-hedral technically).

That plane was stable as a church on hand launch -- she would fly and climb hands-off, and recover from any attitude if you let go of the stick, which is what a self-teaching beginner needs to get up to altitude before trying to turn.

Some photos during the construction several years ago -- note: the fuselage is left extra long in the photo awaiting gear and batteries to balance at the design CG. Once in place the nose was cut back to a better looking profile!

I also did a fair amount of stiffening with bamboo skewers on this version, as a trainer it needed to come in for a fair amount of abuse and survive. These strengthened the weak points (from past crashing experience) so the plane survived a tortuous learning curve.

A later version of the So-11 was built normally, and by then, after learning with this one, I could fly it -- love that plane.

@FoamFlyer: This looks like an outstanding project (and so does your The Dreiec)! I will probably try a version with Experimental Airlines "Armin" wing (because I have several already built) and a foam-board tube and triangular tubes. Has anybody scaled this beauty up at all, to say a 40" or 60" wing... if not do you think there would be any issues that might make it too difficult?

Thanks!

Rob,

I believe the So.x design is very scalable to almost any size. Try it and enjoy. The biggest one I've built was So.30 at 45.5 inch wingspan. It should be no problem to build one with over 100-inch wingspan or larger.