Hi there All!!!

I have designed and built this foam beauty.

Let me show you how my design came together.

Then maybe you guys could give me some advice on the electrics.

So far all I have is the foam body and a SPEKTRUM AR6210, that came with my DX6i.

In the past I have been more interested in helis, but since I bought my DX6i I have been dreaming of taking on the skies, with a scratchbuilt foamie.

She's 53cm's long, 40cm's wide and 10cm's tall a the highest point. It weighs 55g so far.

Im considering just 2 3.5g servos, for a aileron / elevator mix, and Like I mentioned I already have an AR6210.

What I need help with is choosing a battery, motor, propellor, and ESC.

Any suggestions????

And yes its not scale, I designed it by looking at a small picture of a F117.

Also it flies perfectly, glides nice and level, without adding any weight anywhere, and it doesnt even have elevators / ailerons yet.

Also I have never flown an RC aeroplane before.

I was thinking about buying a Parkzone Micro Mosquito, learning the fundamentals of flight and once I have crashed it beyond repair, fitting my F117 with its components.

I like this idea for 2 reasons;
1. counter rotating props to eliminate torque roll.
2. I have blade helis so most of my batteries will fit it.

I would get a cheap trainer first. Perhaps a cub or powered glider before stepping up to your plane. If you haven't flown before you may also may want to join or find a club near you that can teach you to fly (they have instuctors). This will serve to keep you from getting frustrated and save your airplane. BTW, nice design. Do you have any tiled plans? I might want to give it a crack. Marty

Originally Posted by martys

I would get a cheap trainer first. Perhaps a cub or powered glider before stepping up to your plane. If you haven't flown before you may also may want to join or find a club near you that can teach you to fly (they have instuctors). This will serve to keep you from getting frustrated and save your airplane. BTW, nice design. Do you have any tiled plans? I might want to give it a crack. Marty

Problem is I live in germany and dont speak a word of german, so joing a club is outta the question

thats why I wanted to do a scratchbuild so I can make my own replacement parts with relative ease.

I think I will learn really fast, I have been flying helis for years, and have been playing aeroplane games on every console over the years. Also I live near Templehof Berlin there is a huge airport that's not used any more, so the only thing I can crash into is the ground

what do you mean by tiled plans I can scan my A4 plans for you if you want, but they were designed to make paper planes, I had to imprevise quite a bit to get my bird where she is today, that said it only took me one night to build it.

Also Im half way through making my first prototype F22 raptor

I agree with Marty. Even a trimmed out F117 would be a challenge for a newbie. If you want a super quick and cheap build that would be a good introduction then build a Smart Dart with diehdral wing and ailerons. Once you have mastered that then a Simple Delta, then the F117
Head

I don't think the F117 is the best plane for you to start out with for your first foam plane/build.
I would start with something like a YAK30 at this link
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...php?t=860796ws
when set up properly it will be, first a good trainer, and when you are familiar with it, you can increase the servo throws and have a REALLY FUN 3D plane ! I have one and fly it a lot.

Back to the F117,
I have built several versions of the F117 and they all fly very well - even at low speeds. My best yet has a 22 inch (55.9cm) wing span and a length of 30 inches (76.2 cm) the motor is a Hobby King Turnigy 2815 - 4800 KV, EDF fan motor mounted about 3/4 back in a slot for the prop (4.5 inch by 4.5 inch) with a 30 amp plush esc (Hobby King), I use a 1300 mAh 3s, 40C or above battery (The high c rating is a must to get the speed out of the motor) I use two good quality 9g metal gear servos. If you want to see how to set up the servos so they are hidden and out of the way go to rcpowers.com and look at the the build log and video on building his version of the F117 (his big one is much bigger than yours) though the setup will be the same and his CG layout can easily be converted to your scale. Please save yourself much disappointment and take my suggestions - Good luck John

Nice design!

.... a simulator is also another good way to train.

i would go with the super cub by parkzone, thats the plane i started out on and loved it, i am not flying... well i WAS flying a corsair til last weekend when her wing came loose and i drilled her into the ground. but i just bought today a airfoilz Extra 260 and cant wait to get her up in the air. but anyways the super cub is deffinatly a great way to go. Good Luck!

The super cub would be a good trainer but I think the whole point is that ValiantGLX want's to scratch build something. If he wants a cub then why not Gene Bond's BluCub http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=532138
Here is my 48" version

in action on its maiden flight

Depron BluCub RC plane (5 min 29 sec)

Head

We recommend the "Firefly" (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...hlight=firefly) as a trainer to our friends who want to get into this hobby. It is very easy & quick to build and can stand a number of crashes (when made with depron, covering it with packaging tape and adding a piece of styro infront to serve as a bumper makes a very good guinea pig for the first timers). But ofcourse, before flying the actual plane we encourage them to practice first on a simulator.

I think this plane will be a good preparation before flying your F117.

vGLX, really nice scratch build though I question your Bona fides.

you are correct you will learn fast...

There is no where to mount or even swing a prop on the build. With my limited experience of edfs, what little room you have may fit a 30mm fan but the flow dynamics will have a choked and draggy duct with little efficiency.

Most here will agree that there is ALWAYS a problem hitting the ground and aim not to do it whether they can repair easily or not. I'm sure that you will not find the 117 a beginners plane, many have given ideas for your skill level. The Mossie is not a trainer either, it will just look bad real quick.

If you want to fly your own scratch built foamy, scratch a high wing or even try an epp profile yak which will be forgiving. Interestingly the real 117 had many flight computers to fly an unstable design while a cub was a trainer with often nothing but raw beginners at the controls.

Not negative, just realistic. Goodluck also.

Hey all thanks for all the tips.

I think I will follow my dream with this one though - buy a mossie Parkzone Micro Mosquito, learn to fly with that, then fit my scratchie with its electrics, mounting the motors on each wing. wish me luck, I will hopefully have it ready after new years

Originally Posted by valiantGLX

Hi there All!!!

I have designed and built this foam beauty.

Let me show you how my design came together.

Then maybe you guys could give me some advice on the electrics.

So far all I have is the foam body and a SPEKTRUM AR6210, that came with my DX6i.

In the past I have been more interested in helis, but since I bought my DX6i I have been dreaming of taking on the skies, with a scratchbuilt foamie.

Great looking F-117 ! Fly well? Are there plans available?

Thanks,

Hawk