I bought a Telos from you after seeing the pics in a magazine in 1991. I was so impressed by how futuristic it looked, just had to have one. It has the blue foam cores and the wing was vacuumed bagged. It's the best looking plane I have.

I know I'm not the only one who feels like they're addressing a celebrity of sorts with all the work you have done over the years in the movie industry. Your work really is breathtaking.

Your contribution here is greatly appreciated.

Tom

Richard,

If you like the moon gel, you'll love this stuff. Ultra-Elastic Clear Gel Rubber http://www.mcmaster.com/?orderview=n...6/3531/=9ktezo (Bottom of the page...)

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...3&postcount=56

-Tim

Thread subscribed

Tim, from the looks of it laying over your arm I can only imagine the Softness of that stuff! I can imagine all sorts of uses!

For this particular project though, I see the thinner moongel working easier and possibly better (Thinner and easier for the average modeler to get their hands on it)... I have saved the McMasters catalog page (Expensive place to buy from but they must have EVERYTHING in the world that was ever made! lol! I keep their catalog on my desk as back up to when I need something quick, no matter what the cost...

Tom, Thanks for the kind words about the Telos... It's still one of my favorites although there's not much sloping near by... (I got spoiled in the old days when I lived less than a mile from Hughes Hill where Jerry Bridgman, Daryl Perkins, Mark Grand and the like used to fly... I had a home made wind meter up on the roof that would operate a volt meter... Had a wire hooked up to the needle (very crude back then) so that when it hit 10 knots, it would sound an alarm and that meant quitting time had come and flying time was about to begin...

Here's a short video of the maiden flight for the Telos at Hughes hill... rainy day but a lot of people showed up to see if it would finally fly... nose heavy, but after adjusting the CG, it was great! After dialing it in further, experimenting with ballast and pulling the stick back to force the canard wing to act as a brake I learned just how fast, slow (It could truly hover with complete aileron control), and aerobatic this plane was.

Enjoy!

Telos Maiden flight, February 2, 1987 (2 min 3 sec)

Working on the sketch and preliminary drawings for the little EyePod AP plane... This is definitely going to be fun...

In case anyone is wondering, I REALLY LOVE my job! I've been designing planes since I was a kid (taking apart those Guillows stick rubber band planes to turn them into "other things" lol! (didn't we all?!?!)... Later when I began creating kits and especially when I got into film, Television and prototype work, there were many times when a deadline was looming like a monster storm just days away and my days blurred into one, pulling 18 to 20+ hour days and nights (longest was 76 hours straight... no naps, no drugs... just a lot of coffee! ), just to get it all done and shipped... So when an idea as simple as this little plane I'm conjuring up comes to mind, It may seem like just more work (and it is), but Geeze this is when I have the most fun! I'll share more as it evolves!

Richard

this "moon gel" just looks like a quarter machine "gooey grabber" i used to buy all the time when i was younger. its very stretchy and sticky but they always got dirty however when washed and dried they work again. you could get a couple cheap at most local grocery stores

Ok,

(This is what happens at this end when I get an idea that won't let go... it becomes a reality!)

I thought about this yesterday.... an entry level, super easy to build, super easy to fly, super cheap to build because it's FREE!

Introducing "Eye-Plane"!

Less than 30" span, Elevator, Rudder, Aileron & Throttle, designed to be hand launched (although super easy to add gear or a launch hook for vertical catapult launching in tight quarters...) If you're familiar with my sailplane background and my use of airfoils and washout, then you already know my intentions to make this so forgivable (stall resistant), slow, stable and easy to fly... White depron foam, CF tube booms, Birch dowel main wing spar and leading edge.

Went through my "stuff drawer" and pulled out a small "blue wonder type brushless (wished I knew the specs, but I'll give you some rpm/prop size, amp draw, once it's all together... I'm sure I got it from an outfit in China.. I think it was Hobby King because the ESC attached to is is an HK 10 ampESC,... (Super cheap like maybe $10 each The motor and the ESC?) also a a spektrum ar500, and four HXT 900 9 gram servos (two for ailerons, one for elevator and one for rudder.

The whole idea is that the standard style EyePod, will mount onto the nose of the "Eye-Plane" using rubber bands... this will allow the user to to have a fully dedicated aerial photography plane with an adjustable camera mount... and be able to remove the entire EyePod and mount it onto some other plane...

I think this one is going to be a kick and I think I can design, engineer and built it in a few (full) days if I photograph every step of the way... Once done, I can then start a build thread....

Anyone out there capable of taking hand drawn (traced" patterns and templates and turn them into digital drawings in a tiled PDF to post here? The whole idea is that the plans for this plane will be free for non-commercial use to anyone who wants to build one...

I will try to use the least expensive items to build this plane (Choosing CF tube for the booms because they are super strong... Using wood dowels for the wing spars and leading edge because they will work fine withing the scope of the flight envelope...), Anyone wanting to modify the design is more than welcome to and hopefully will share their ideas with the rest of us once the build thread starts...

Ok... so here is the first concept sketch, I'm out to buy some Cellfoam 88 at my local hobby shop (I want to use exactly what most people can get their hands on) along with some foam safe glue and kicker... I think (I hope!) it's going to be a LONG weekend!

enjoy!

Richard

I better get the 1st one for testing - I'm in.

Laughing here Sentry.... (At myself!!!!)

I'm contemplating doing something totally crazy! Starting the build as I design it! In other words, you will get to watch me make my mistakes, cut too long, sand too far, start all over and... possibly crash on maiden!

This could be like one of the reality shows where you get to peek inside a design firm and see what really goes on behind all the polished (tested) items that we let out to the public (after all the embarrassing stuff happens...!)...

Then after wards, post.publish the final draft of the corrected (and tested/proven) set of plans!

Thanks for you vote of confidence (at least in the idea...)

I just completed my estimated materials list, gathered some hardwood dowels for wing spars and leading edges....

Looks like I'm actually going to build this thing!

Look for a build thread here in this forum maybe sometime this weekend!

Oh My God! am I really going to do this?!?!?!?!

Yeah, why not... so many of you that I've met, exchanged emails, PM's etc have always wanted a glimpse into what goes on here at Jarel Design... I'll take some photos of the place (It's a mess!) so you get the context of where this is going to take place...

I'm hoping to maiden some time next week...

(Still writing up the build thread narratives for both EyePods as well as pouring and machining the high temp vacuum forming bucks while this takes place... I also have two client projects that are going on that are confidential, so there will be areas where I will not photograph just because I can't...)

Ok... off to Al's Hobbies here in Medford Oregon... list in hand, measuring tape and calipers in the other and one check stuffed in my wallet! Tonight we're going to see and support a fellow artist friend of mine who is showing her work at a gallery for Ashland's monthly art walk... so I don't imagine getting a lot if anything done tonight... mostly tomorrow!

Curios about what you all think about designing and building a plane while posting the development process letting you peek over my shoulder as I work my way through this project...?

So here's how it starts:
After gathering all the components I have available to use for this plane (I could go lighter with smaller gear, but I'm just going to guess at what most of you may have laying around). A little heavier should be ok, a little lighter, better... just depends on what kind of performance you're after...

So I just placed all the electronics, battery, camera, EyePod, a sheet of foam and a small foam fusealge on a gram scale in order to "guesstimate" the weight aloft... turned out to be 240grams (8.5oz) (Remember the word "Guesstimate"! lol!) It's a starting place of estimate and guesswork...

I want this plane to have a light wing loading, still be able to penetrate a light breeze, climb well, be VERY stable, fly slow and possibly thermal... for that, I'm wanting between a 5oz and 8oz wing loading...

At 34" (I chose to go a little longer on the span... couldn't hurt)... a center wing panel chord of 6" and span of 8.5" (I want clearance for a 7" prop) was figured in with outer panels of 12.75" with a root of 6" and a tip at 4.5"... total wing area:184.8 sq inches or 1.28 sq ft.

At an AUW of 7.70z, the wing loading would be 5.85oz/sqft making it a true floater!
At my estimated 8.5oz AUW... I get 6.64oz/sqft... still in there.
At 9.5oz AUW = 7.42oz /sq ft
even if I go way off and come up with 10.5oz AUW, the wing loading will still be 8.2oz /sq ft... definitely in the trainer/stable/slow flyer category... and within my target goal...

We'll see what happens!

Richard

Richard, any fellow modeller that pops into my place for a visit and sees my little hobby room ALWAYS comments on how neat the place looks in photo's and yet the place in real life looks like a hurricane came through.

I explain how I grab a long steel ruler, push all the junk on the bench back out of camera shot and take the picture....

Laughing my head off!

I took a look around and thought... am I REALLY going to let everyone see this!?!?!?!?!?!?

Ungaurded truth... I already started cleaning up around here... but it's kind of like the best part of having a party or guests come over... you always end up with a clean house after everyone's gone! LOL!

You hit the nail right on the head!

WAY TOO FUNNY!!!!!

Ok.... gotta go... just finished writing the opening introduction for the "Eye-Plane" thread... also drew a conceptual control drawing to scale... I'll be posting that as well!

Gotta go.

Richard

Ok...

Got back late last night, went to bed and woke up at 2:30 AM! Sheesh! I feel like a kid waiting for Santa Clause... Don't remember when I've been so excited to have fun building a plane... especially something so simple as the AP platform "Eye-Plane" I mentioned earlier...

I went ahead and did it! Here's the link to the build thread:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1334276

I will be posting the build thread for the AP Plane in that thread, but keeping the build thread for the actual EyePod mount here... both will be going on at the same time...

I'm also setting up the EyePlane for those of you who have asked about adapting it for use with other cameras and/or FPV work... details over there...

Thank you for the support guys! You've been fabulous and just your interest has inspired me to work even harder (It's difficult at times working at home and alone day after day on projects that take so much time to develop... When the failures happen it can feel like the whole world is caving in and when the success stories are taking place it's usually only Tresa & Kyla who share the celebrations... I guess I'm appreciating more, the value of this cyber-community... Wished you all lived closer! lol!

Enjoy!

Attaching a second drawing for the EyePlane (Conceptual control is a way to visualize where I'd "like" everything to go and fit... as a concept, it is really only a "suggestion" to keep in mind while reality takes over and becomes the real "control" of the building process... lol!

Best,
Richard

Hi Richard just thought I'd tell you that I have been using the 808 cams all summer , they work well. I also use a go pro mounted in the belly of my kadet.It's really fun to have vidio logs of all my flights.Your ipod looks great and will be included in my next order.I cant wait to put one on the telos.

Ok, I'm back.... I've been busy over at the EyePlane thread… link: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1334276

It’s taking a little longer than I anticipated, but it’s evolving into the kind of highly detailed build thread that I’m known for… Also having a blast doing it and I think this little EyePod-based AP plane is going to be hoot to fly!!! Lots of studio and shop photos and a video showing how these little guys are created in plastic…

Ok… So what’s been going on with the EyePods themselves? Pre-Production steps not very many people are aware of… But I thought some of you might be interested in learning (or at least seeing how), a new way to make molds...

In order to produce highly detailed vacuum formed parts (The cutting lines for both the slot and camera opening in the ball are molded into those parts so there’s no guesswork when you cut… (I already destroyed a bunch during prototyping trying to get the right fit and the most amount of tilt travel! Lol!) The High temperature, metal filled vacuum forming bucks are pre-heated to between 140 ~ 180 degrees… (They’ll keep that temperature constant as long as I’m repeatedly forming parts.)

The process involves molding the original master plug in Platinum based silicone and then casing the high-temp resin into the silicone molds… Platinum based silicone is VERY EXPENSIVE (don’t even ask! If you interested in experimenting with silicone, try G-I 1000 Tin based silicone… It will work fine for most resins and urethane)… SO on larger parts, I often try to reduce the amount of silicone I need to create a stable, non-deforming mold… (Remember that silicone is flexible… when poured in a thin sheet it is very playable…) The choices are to pour a relatively thick walled silicone mold (works fine for small parts created for toy prototypes), but for larger ones, we make what are called “case molds”…

First the item to be molded is surrounded with a bout 3/8” of special clay. A little thicker just means more silicone is used, but much thinner and the mold may not work… With the EyePod molds, they are only single piece so no keying of two halves are needed.

First I mount the master plug on a thick/stiff piece of plastic. Then I mark the 3/8” all the way around the plug… Then I warm up the clay and cut it with a wire into 3/8” thin strips and encase the part with the clay… I sculpt the clay so that it is smooth and has no undercuts. On this part (because it is symmetrical,), I sculpted a small key on one end in the form of a small trough. I then mount a wide piece of plastic tube that will later become our pour spout. Once it’s ready, I then build a box around the clay. This is where we will pour the plaster (in this case, I use Ultra cal… similar to dental plaster EXTREMELY HARD!!!! With limited shrinkage (oh yeah. You have to worry about shrinkage all the time… from the plaster to the silicone to the high temp resin… thousandths of an inch can add up quickly, so knowing this is taken into account when the masters are made.

Once the box (“Dam” in modeling terms), is built, the inside is sprayed with “Pam” cooking oil spray (it works great! And beats the cost of some of the expensive mold releases!) After spraying, the plaster is poured in and you wait… and wait…. And wait…. (Pulling it apart before the plaster dries could allow the plaster to deform or shrink more than expected.) Mark the plastic sheet with a pencil to help re-locate the plaster casting before taking it off!)

One the plaster is dry, disassemble everything and let the “case” (plaster casting) dry even more…

When al is right, clean up the plug, spray the expensive silicone mold release and then reposition the plaster back over the master plug… use some clay to seal up the edges all the way around the plaster and the plastic base… If you look at the photo of this, you will notice the 3/8” space inside the mold… This is where the silicone will be poured accurately molding the surface of the EyePod and conforming to the keyed plaster case… hence. “Case-mold”!

When the silicone cures, the master plug is removed and the prepped for creating the high temp buck castings… ALL of this has to be done on a PERFECTLY level work surface… I have a solid fire door shimmed every foot or so that is only used to create castings like this.

A NEW EyePod!

I’ve attached photos of a third EyePod configuration in the aerodynamic styling. It’s specifically designed to fit onto smaller rounded fuselages like gliders, (Think Radian), or fuselage shapes like the booms on a P-38 Lightning… It can also be used to send up the mast on a sailboat or a pole to look over fences or crowds at a concert, maybe strap it onto your cat's back and wee what really goes on…! lol!

It will be available shortly after the standard and aerodynamic versions have been produced… Also working on the helicopter version… photos of that one coming soon too…

Also, here's another EYEPOD video taken from my ICON parkflyer kit:

ICON Park Flyer with on-board EyePod camera mount (1 min 16 sec)

Ok… it’s Sunday… for some reason I woke up WAY too early today and began working… I’m going to take a break as soon as I gather up the photos for this post and sign off…

Thanks so much for visiting… your support goes such a long way to keeping me motivated to continue my work with growing Jarel Aircraft Design (not to mention just putting a smile on my face after a long hard day working…)

Have a great Sunday!

Best,
Richard

Nice new pod Richard! Me likey!!

Thanks!

The next one (last version for a little bit until I catch up on production and a couple of other airplane kits), is a helicopter version! The master plugs are completed and I've pulled a few parts and even built one, but I'm waiting for show and tell until I can show it mounted and show what it can do under a little CX2~! Hoping to take it outdoors and fly it around some interesting 'targets"... The installation uses the original landing gear with additional short (3") carbon fiber tubes... The whole thing attaches with rubber bands just like the other EyePods... I haven't flown my helis in a very long time... I'm starting to realize that these EyePods have turned every plane I have into something "new to fly" by adding the on board video feature... just way too much fun!

Have you been working with your FPV gear? I'm wondering if the EyePlane would be adaptable with the standard EyePod? (same mount as the micro Dragonfleye)... let me know what you think... The micro dragonfleye is still next on the list behind all of this...

(Just started laughing at myself seeing how many projects I have going on! I haven't even mentioned the FULL SCALE B-17 nose art project! If you've visited my RC website, a picture on the home pages shows me measuring (3-dimensionally) the nose of a real B-17 for this project! YIKES!

Ok... really now... it's Sunday and I'm signing off again.. I should disable this little chime telling me whenever I get an email.... lol!

Take care!

Richard