Great. Thanks.

I normally cover my foam with Monokote, but I'm afraid that will add too much weight to this plane.

Originally Posted by VACaver

Steve,

You mentioned painting it with craft paint thinned 50/50 with windshield wiper fluid. Permit me to ask a possible stupid question...

Why windshield wiper fluid as a thinner?

Thanks.

Well, the reason I use it is because wiper fluid is alcohol-based, thus it evaporates much quicker than water--which means there's less chance of getting runs in the paint. I've thinned with both water and wiper fluid and thought both looked the same when dry.

Steve

I've been using widshield wiper fluid for years as a thinner for acrylic paints. I don't claim to be an expert, but I've never noticed that it did anything for the finish. The reason I use it is that (one) it dries much faster than water and (two) it gives the paint a better consistency. It's also very cheap.
-Rick

Rubbing alcohol works great for thinning water based paint for airbrushing also, but washer fluid is cheaper....

Another claimed advantage of washer fluid and the like (as opposed to plain water or alcohol) is that they contain wetting agents that help the paint to flow out better.

Just seen this thread and must comment your Fokker Dr1 looks really beautiful...I like the detailing "Fokker" logo in the back. I am a big fan of the shape and look of the the Dr1 unfortunately the consistent comment is that it is too difficult to fly for a newbie like me .... so I can only look but not touch

one day by heart will rule my head and I will begin a Dr1 build

Thanks, arukum. Well, I hope you progress past the newbie stage quickly so you can build and fly your own DR1. This one certainly isn't a trainer, but it's also not all that hard to fly, either. Once you can comfortably fly a GWS Tiger Moth you can handle this. Of course, practicing on a flight simulator can also help prepare you for it.

Steve

My order of Depron won't arrive until the 14th and I'm dying to get my hands on it (never seen any before).

Thinking about sanding leading edges on it got me to wondering if it's dense enough to round out with a table router without melting or chewing up the edge.

Anyone tried it?

Thanks.

Hi VACaver; I dremeled a small groove in the leading edge with a dremel and placed a 6mm carbon fiber rod in it. That really helped for the odd bash it got loading and unloading from the truck.

Originally Posted by VACaver

My order of Depron won't arrive until the 14th and I'm dying to get my hands on it (never seen any before).

You've seen foam to go boxes from restaurants haven't you? It's almost identical. Or foam dinner plates or foam meat trays

Originally Posted by VACaver

Thinking about sanding leading edges on it got me to wondering if it's dense enough to round out with a table router without melting or chewing up the edge.

Anyone tried it?

Thanks.

Should work if your cutters are sharp. I've done a lot routing on depron with a dremel tool. Also many parts have been cutout with a router for depron kits.
-Rick

I actually got to see 6mm Depron for the first time a the LHS, they had a high performance 3D plane made from Depron. It has a little higher density than the stuff I use, but what I use is only 4mm but works very very well, I stiffen all my wings with a spruce or CF spar and run a strip of straping tape from tip to tip on the top and bottom of the wing(s).

here are a few pic's of the Pitts bipe I built for my son for Xmas..

AD

Hey, Aerodude,

How'd you wind up doing the single-servo for aileron thing? Looking at your pics, it reminds me kind of a GWS set-up.

Like you, I want to save weight and money.

Any chance you could post or PM me some detailed pics of how you did it?

No hurry...my Depron arrives tomorrow and I probably won't start on it until next week.

Thanks.

VACaver,

In the case of the Pitts, the last pic (previous post) is of the bottom, you can see the servo installed into the bottom wing just ahead of the spar with the linkage running at an angle to each aileron, it's a Hitec HS-55 servo with an E-Flite S75 servo arm I had left over, fits perfect and works great. I attached the plans for the pitts if you want them as well. The plans are for a flat fuse version which I used as templates for my full fuse version with rounded wing tips and tail to be more Pitts like.

In the case of the DR-1, I did it the same as before in the 24" version, but used the E-Flite S75 servo with the large servo arms, see the last three pics in this post, you can see the linkage from the servo to the torque rods for each aileron, note for maximum travel you need to keep the torque rod arms short as possible, the farther out they come the less travel you will have. the last pic shows the servo installed vertically in an added bulkhead just ahead of the cockpit.

I would highly recommend using the new E-Flite S75 ($13.99) servo for the ailerons which is much stronger (17.02 oz/in) than the GWS or others of the same size and comes with larger servo arms.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Shop/ByC...ProdID=EFLRS75


I hope all this helps, this was not a complicated build, take your time and it will workout great.

AD

Another DR-1, just bigger not a 3D but still a parkflyer.

check out the video:

http://www.rcgroups.com/gallery/show...cat=510&page=1



Derick.

Found a local cabinet maker who can laser cut my wood pieces for me. In fact, he seemed excited about it!

Hopefully, he won't charge me an arm and a leg.

I'm dying to start this build and will probably start cutting foam next week.