Well, I thought I was going to take a break from designing park jets. But then a friend recently asked if I could design a park jet version of the BVM Super Bandit for him, and that was a challenge I just couldn’t resist! So I thought I’d share the results with this forum.

This is simply a scaled-down version of the Super Bandit, adapted for sheet foam construction using the same construction techniques as the rest of my park jet designs. In fact, the structural design of this model is almost identical to my T-38 park jet (so you can use the T-38’s construction manual as a guide to build it). About the only design change I made to the scale outline was to scale up the vertical tail area about 20%, as I usually do to compensate for the torque and gyroscopic effects of the pusher propeller and to provide better small-field handling.

This ship was specifically intended for SPEED! Thus, I sized it a little bit smaller than the other park jets--220 sq in wing area instead of 250 sq in, plus it has a much smaller and lower drag fuselage than my other park jets. This sizing should allow the model to be either a good parkflyer or an all-out speedster, depending on how you set it up. I did a quick analysis in MotoCalc to determine the best power setups for this model, and the results are shown in the table attached below. I only ran Himax motors for this analysis just to keep it quick and because I’m a real fan of them. My favorite setups were:

* Best Parkflyer Setup: Himax 2015-4100, TP 1320 mAh 11.1 V lipo, APC 9x7.5 prop, 15+ amp ESC. This model should weigh about 16 oz with this setup, will pull about 15 amps, and will have a top speed of just almost 60 mph. The light weight with this setup will make the model very maneuverable and great for small-field flying. Note that since the forward fuselage on this design isn’t nearly as long as the other park jets, it will have a difficult time balancing with this lightweight battery. So try to make the back end as LIGHT as possible and put all the internal components (receiver and servos) as far forward as possible.

* All-Out Speedster Setup: Himax 2025-5300, TP 2100 mAh 11.1 V lipo, APC 7x6 prop, 25 amp ESC. The model should weigh about 19 oz with this setup, will pull about 20 amps, and should have a top speed of 70 mph! I sure hope the foam hangs together at those speeds… With this heavy battery, the model shouldn’t have any trouble with balance.

Plans are posted below in both tiled and non-tiled formats. I’ve also posted some pics of what the plans should look like when assembled, plus some preview pics of this design and how it compares in size to my original F/A-18 Hornet Park Jet.

Note these are BETA plans since I haven’t built this model yet, so there may be errors on them (and please let me know if you find any). I’ll build one of these eventually, but it won’t be anytime soon. This was more of a quick and fun design exercise. Also notice that I didn’t show any aileron or elevator linkages in the plans. I figured everyone already has favorite setups for these and will just install what they want to anyway. The split elevator will be a bit of a challenge to actuate, but a simple Y-connector on a single carbon pushrod should work OK.

Enjoy, and post pics if you build one!

Steve

Of course, one of the first things I thought of after designing this bird was, "Hey, this will make a great CD-ROM powered model at 75% scale!" So here are 75% scaled down versions of the plans for those that want to try that. This design should work well with a 17 turn motor on 3 cells, spinning a 7x3.5 prop.

As usual, I didn’t make any size corrections to these plans and only scaled down the full-size plans, so you’ll need to make changes to account for the foam thickness you plan to use. I’d recommend making this entire model out of 3mm Depron, perhaps using 6mm for the wings only (or use 3mm Depron with flat carbon spars on the LE and TE).

Steve

What about 150% or 166%?

I like them BIG!

Lucien

What about 150% or 166%?

I like them BIG!

Lucien

HAHaha, Bigger the better right !!!

Great Jet Steve!!!! cant wait for the first one to be built!!!!

Steve,you are a very bad man!!

Thats another to add to my build list,very sweet looking jet.

Steve,Once again a definite winner!however the real challenge IMHO, would be a 175-200%They look soooooooooooooooooooooooooo good in the air!!!

Steve,
You need to call me and I can show you the power of one!
Just kidding I do however have a motor just for this kind of plane and can do it without the gear box. Heck last weekend a proto plane and motor 9.5oz all up, and top speed was 147mph on video with radar gun to prove it. Just waiting for them to compress it.
Call me and we will get together. On another note Rvincent will be up here next week for a few days.

Scott

PS
my #s on my site.

Man... You beat me to it! Looks awesome! I've been slowly working on a sport jet too. I posted pics in my F-20 thread. I just love the looks of the bandit! Rock on Steve!

Tim H.

Awesome Steve! Thanks for doing this one, Ill be laser cutting one soon!

Lucien - I should've known ahead of time you'd ask that... Will do!

Littlescreamers - Hey, I didn't know you were in the Seattle area! Good to know. I've always wanted to try one of your motors but haven't yet, they look like fantastic little motors. What setup would you recommend for a littlescreamer in a park jet, and what thrust and pitch speed would it produce? Wow, what kind of model is getting 147 mph?!? A small little pylon racer type, I assume? That's amazing speed for an electric.

Tim - I didn't know you were working on a sport jet, too! Is it based on the BVM Bandit or an all-new design? This jet wasn't really in my plan, I just got a note from a friend and put this together in one afternoon just to exercise my design muscles...

OK, so who's gonna be the first to build one of these?

Steve

Originally Posted by JohnVH

Awesome Steve! Thanks for doing this one, Ill be laser cutting one soon!

Sounds great! But don't let this one distract from you getting that F-14 done. Priorities, man, priorities!!

Steve

I really like this type of plane - Bandit/Aggressor/Sniper. They look sleek and fast. Question - Any reason not to use a Full Flying Stab in place of elevators? I think that would be simple to setup, but the elevators would elminate the "digging" in problem.

Oh yeah, the F14 is still #1


Scott, hook me up with what you think will make this thing break 100!


www.3dfoamy.com

Originally Posted by WDuck

I really like this type of plane - Bandit/Aggressor/Sniper. They look sleek and fast. Question - Any reason not to use a Full Flying Stab in place of elevators? I think that would be simple to setup, but the elevators would elminate the "digging" in problem.

Yes, I think a full-flying stab will work fine on this model. In fact, whenever I build mine that's probably what I'll do since I think it's easier and lighter than actuating a split elevator like this. The main reason I put a fixed stab on this one is that it does help the "digging in" issue at landing, and if this model is loaded down with heavy motors and batteries for speed it might land a little hot. Plus a fixed stab would be less inclined to flutter than a flying stab, which is good for a high-speed model. But I think a full-flying stab will work fine if you're easy on the model at landings (especially if you catch it!) and if you mass balance the stab.

Steve

I am going to try and build one for sure. I drew up some plans for one this week and was bout 1/2 way finished when I noticed your post. If I can get away with it I am going to try and swap out the geared himax for a mega 4 turn and 6x5.5 or 7x4. I have about 60-70 wide open acres to fly on so the faster it goes the better. Very nice design steve.