Here's my latest tripe. This one follows my 11-inch 9g geared 4mm DR-1 tripe
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1316924
That one was designed to achieve the lightest possible wing loading that I could attain. I really liked the way the wings came out where I bow in the dihedral with the cross bracing CF rod.

So, even before KIEF I had made a fuselage for this one. This fuselage on this one is 6mm Depron to stiffen it up so it can handle more spirited flying. I also increased the thickness of the leading and trailing edges of the wings and elevator to handle faster than LRF flying its predecessor was designed for. It has a geared 7mm drive, a PZ Vapor brick, and a 90mAh cell.

All that's left is the landing gear and installing the CF wing struts. Weight with those two steps done should come in between 18g and 19g. My hope is for a zippy tripe that will loop, fly slow, etc. It should have a wing loading of about 0.85 oz/sq.ft, reasonably lower than a Vapor's 1.05 oz/sq.ft.

{edit Aug 2012}

Version 2 of the Fokker Dr.1 is being completed, see Post #49 and later for details on the second version. Pictures of v2 of the plane are shown here in this post. The first three pictures are of v1, and the rest are of v2 with a blue and white "Raben" color scheme, adapted to be cartoon like.

Gordon

Very cool. It has that Hanna Barbera Dastardly look to it.

Gordon
What covering are you using?

Looks simply awesome.

Fritz

Fritz,
Glad you like it. I'm using RA Microlite from Dave Lewis at Homefly. If you want light and colored it's the best there is.

Gordon

I like it, you certainly have a good knack with the triplanes
Inspiring builds.
We got a local paper delivered unexpectedly yesterday, had a very fine and lightweight red plastic covering over it...got me thinking about the last aircraft of yours and the coverings people use. Now, if I could just find a laser that isn't $2.99 on a keychain at Walmart !

Don't forget there are threads on planes people have built using the skeleton technique, but cutting them by hand. It is very possible. Joe Malinchak recently cut one of these tripes out in 4-inch span by hand.

So, go for it. Plans are posted in the other thread.

Glad you like it.

Gordon

It's done. Final weight is 18.7g, which I'm pretty happy with. Here are some pics.

Gordon

more

wow thats amazing.

Originally Posted by Gordon Johnson

.....there are threads on planes people have built using the skeleton technique, but cutting them by hand. it.

Gordon

I am about to order a tapered reamer to make some very sharp circle cutters from brass and aluminum tubing. I'm hoping to make my skeletonized structures look a little more "professional", as well as minimize stress risers in the foam due to the sharp corners, "overcutting", etc..

Originally Posted by 356Jim

I am about to order a tapered reamer to make some very sharp circle cutters from brass and aluminum tubing. I'm hoping to make my skeletonized structures look a little more "professional", as well as minimize stress risers in the foam due to the sharp corners, "overcutting", etc..

I took a old antenna apart and got a few different sized circle cutters out of it. Also on this plane I made a hot wire cutter set up like a scroll saw, made a card stock template cut a hole in every section that needed cut out slid the wire through and hot cut it out. It sealed the foam in every cut out like a laser would.
TODD

Gordon your still the KING

Todd,

I like your method of hot wire cutting the foam sections. But looking closely at just the wing in your picture, you had to make a cut, then unhook the wire, remove the foam piece, move to a new section, hook the wire back up and so on and then repeat that 26 times!!

I'll make my circle cuts with the tubing and then connect the dots with a very sharp #11.

Gordon,

That looks like a fun plane!!

I like fun, and I like zippy. Hope you will post a video.


Question for you. I don't see any thread to bend in your dihedral. Are you using tension in the carbon wing supports?

Looks like it ought to be a real floater. Nice job!

Tim,
Yes, a zippy floater. This planes uses one of the used $5 Vapor bricks you and I got at KIEF. Have you figured out where yours will go yet?

Jim and Todd,
For my cutters for round holes at corners (when I make by hand) I just use K&S brass tubing. I filed the outside tapered and sharp, and sharpened the inside with a hobby knife. It works really well and I've been using them for years and years since I made them.

No thread for the dihedral, just 0.4mm CF rod. After the wings are installed, but still flat, I prop up the wing tips the right amount for dihedral (using Lego bricks). Then, I push one CF rod through the wings on each side, and put CA on the places where it passes through each wing. Then, I put lead weights in the middle of the top wing, which makes the fuselage touch the building board. This bows all three wings to achieve dihedral. After the CA hardens I then insert the other CF rod on each side. And, between the two CF rod braces it holds the wings permanently bowed. The middle wing has a wide spot on its "rib" where the CF rods pass through.

I'll try and get video. Won't be able to fly it till New Years weekend at our next indoor fly. If this plane is successful I may do the next version with ailerons on the top wing. But, that has to wait till I see if I'm successful making a triplane be mildly aerobatic. That's still an open question. A floater is one thing, mildly aerobatic is another.

Gordon