Batman "Batwing" Model?

[John Crocker]

So my 7 year old has discovered Batman and comes to me this morning at breakfast, telling me it would be cool if he had a flying "Batwng".  Told him we'd have to see, but got to thinking about it and ya know, that would be a cool plane.  Dug around on the internet and found this pic of the symbol. 



If I made the "tail" of the bat a little longer, it would be perfect for the nosecone of the prop, and the bat "head/ears" could be the elevator.  I'd have to play a little with the design, but that could be a pretty neat little model.  Anybody ever build one?

[RC Storick]

No but I have built a few Bat-Room's   

[Dean Pappas]

Hi,
Holy bat guano, Sparky ... I should have known.

On an only slightly more useful note, just remember that anything will fly as long as the CG is in the right place and there is enough power. My guess is for the shape shown, that the CG will be just forward of the "shoulders".

Otherwise, you could cop-out and make the entire elliptical shape and just hinge the aft 10%. The CG still ends up a little forward of the shoulders!

let us know how it works out,
Dean

[Mike Spiess]

MAN that Sparky is BATTY

[Terry Bolin]

Just for research you could make it out of the plastic type cardboard. Like the "Platter" Shown on the Tulsa web site. That would be easy, fast and cheap for testing. A good .049 would be good to try!
Keep us posted.

[Robert McHam]

I have seen pics of an R/C model that was pretty true to the shape.
I will have to see about finding them for inspiration.

Here is one to start with:
http://ferry.student.utwente.nl/modelbuilding/planes/batwing/batwing.html

Robert

[Randy Powell]

I'm thinking Dale Kirn.

[john e. holliday]

That would be the "Bellfry Bound" if I remember correctly.  Seems to me there was a "Bat Plane" years ago.  DOC Holliday

[rustler]

[quote If I made the "tail" of the bat a little longer, it would be perfect for the nosecone of the prop, and the bat "head/ears" could be the elevator. [/quote]

You could call it "Ascender" (Like the Curtis WWII plane?). 

[Will Hinton]

Okay, while we're at it, I've always wanted to build a "X-wing" fighter like the Star Wars ships.  Anybody tried that yet?

[George]

So my 7 year old has discovered Batman and comes to me this morning at breakfast, telling me it would be cool if he had a flying "Batwing"... 

John,

You are pleasing a 7 year old. Something approximate will do. Remember the old akronym, "KISMIF..Keep It Simple Make It Fun".

Get yourself some COROPLAST from an old discarded sign at a local store, enlarge and use the outline you have (or draw it on the coroplast). After cutting the outline, seal the edges with masking tape. Cut a wedge-shaped hinge line on the bottom, leaving the skin at the top as a hinge...work the line a few times to loosen it up. Apply an engine and controls installation like the "Platter" as mentioned above. This can be found on the Aeromaniacs web site. Paint with dope or rustoleum. Voila!

You could also use balsa, it would be lighter, but you would have to piece it together with good use of grain direction, plus make sure you use "C" grain to avoid warps.

Good luck. I'm sure the fun time with the old man would outweigh any accuracy issues.

George

[Bill Little]

Okay, while we're at it, I've always wanted to build a "X-wing" fighter like the Star Wars ships.  Anybody tried that yet?

I *think* Cox or Testors made a couple of the Star Wars planes including the *X* wing.

[Dave Nyce]

There have been many incarnations of the "Batplane" over the years.  Non of them look exactly like the Batman symbol.  They often have some of the look of the Batman symbol, but morphed into something that the illustrator thinks looks more like a flying machine.  I built one as a kid in the early 60s, using a picture from a comic book as a guide.  The wider part of the wing was built-up balsa and silkspan, with the aft part being sheet balsa.  I used a Babe bee engine.

You might want to check the web for various incarnations of the Batplane and see if there is a version you'd like to build.  I think some of the earlier ones looked more like a jet plane with some bat shapes and symbols on it.

Dave

[Ray]

One summary article with all of the "Batplane" designs, and most of the Batwings: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batplane

[Paul Taylor]

Well not sure if this could be converted to C/L but I saw this in one of the LHS here in Beaverton Or. today.

Paul