New 10 size plane

[Scott Hartford]

I had my 10 FSR laying out from my Jr Nobler build (said to be "too heavy") and decided it needed a good home, so I threw together some scraps and made a Frankenplane of sorts. It's basicly carbon fiber rods, plywood motor mount, basswood canopy to verticle fin with carbon rod on rear of fin for stiffness,3/32" balsa horizontal and evevator covered with finishing resin and black Lustercoat. It has a 2 oz. clunk tank inboard mounted with an O-ring. 7-4 MA prop for durability and it matches. I flew it this evening and it flew very well. Kind of suprized me at how stable it flew, so I may try a tiny bit of tailweight, but it turned just fine. Weighs 16 oz. I used 48' .008 10# Spectra lines and they work real well. I can't really say what the exact measurements are, as no rulers were harmed in the construction of this airpane. I may try a bigger one next.....

[ray copeland]

Scott, that is just way cool!! Hurry and get the bugs worked out and make some plans , i have several engines about that size that need a home!!! Great job   

[Scott Hartford]

Plans? We don't need no stinkin' plans!!! I really couldn't even tell you the wingspan as I haven't really measured it yet. I just made marks on a part and started cutting. I may have to try to measure it up.....

[Robert McHam]

Scott, that is just way cool!! Hurry and get the bugs worked out and make some plans , i have several engines about that size that need a home!!! Great job   

Indeed, Great job and I love the construction usage.
Is that a great big O-ring holding the tank in place?

Robert

[johnbyrne]

Plane didn't use plans...motor came from Jr Nobler....original Nobler was made without plans.   

Fitting it seems to me.  Nice job.

[Scott Hartford]

Indeed, Great job and I love the construction usage.
Is that a great big O-ring holding the tank in place?

Robert

Yep, had to use an O-ring so it would match!

[Frank Sheridan]

It's more differenter than any other plane I've ever seen.

[Robert McHam]

I keep studying the pics and learn more each time.
For instance the landing gear. I am now noticing just one wheel and maybe a paper clip for the tail skid? Gotta love the simplicity!

Robert

[minnesotamodeler]

Really fascinating fuselage construction...tell us more about that? Hardwood strips, what kind? Fastening at the joints, epoxy? The stiffener to the motor mount, piano wire? And attachment method for it? Those uprights for the tank, are they piano wire too?

It's a really cool concept, I like it...doesn't it leave the stab a little flexible, though?

(Lotsa questions, I'm sorry, it's just very interesting.)

EDIT: OK I'm an idiot, I just re-read the post and see tht the "strips" are carbon fiber rods.  I surmise that the fuselage is built up from all those short pieces because that's the length scraps you had on hand...


Any further enlightenment on the construction will still be very welcome.  A Very Cool Plane.

Also,  You mentioned sizing it up: I know we don't know what the wing area is but with that .10 I'd think you could approach 300 squares for a stunt plane. Hard to tell without something to scale it against but looks like you're more in the 150-200 sq. in. area right now.  My Norvel .061 handily pulls planes in the 200-240 sq. in. range.

[john e. holliday]

Well, he does say the prop is a Master Airscrew  7-4.  So that is a set deminsion to start with.  Strange construction.  You don't say what covering.  Is it SLC?  I like it by the way.  DOC Holliday

[Robert McHam]

Standard floor tiles are 12" square folks! Chech the first picture!

Robert

[Scott Hartford]

Ok, I slapped a ruler to it. Wingspan 32", overall length from front of prop to tip of tail 25'. The covering is clear Monokote. I started with the motor mount which is 1/4" plywood. I made it fit the engine. Then I chucked it up in the drill press at about a 2 degree angle(?)and drilled 2 holes 3/16" from the rear.I wanted to build in motor offset so I could mount the motor to the mount flat. I stuck in 2 Central Hobbies 3/16 carbon pushrods and set the other ends up a little off the table and got them parallel and square with the motor mount and used thin CA to glue them in. Next, I wanted to use the 2 oz. clunk tank, so 2 5/32" upright tubes were added to hold the tank. The wing was a donor from a creamed Berkely Interceptor 15. I pieced it back together and made the center ribs from 2 pieces of 1/4' balsa laminated together. Then sprayed the completed wing lightly with flat black paint. Covered with clear monokote then back to the drill press to drill 3 holes through for the support rods. Made 3 support rods from 3/16 pushrod material and slid the wing up to the tank and glued with thin CA. I cut the canopy-verticle fin piece from 3/32" Basswood and found the verticle fin to be a little too wobbly so I added a piece of 1/16" carbon rod to the rear edge with thin CA and then sanded flat with the fin. Stab and elevator are 3/32" balsa and were then glued to the bottom of the verticle fin. I then made the rear fuse block from 1/4" balsa sheet and glued it on, butted up against the rear of the upper carbon rod. I then cut the lower carbon rod below the rear of the wing and angled it up to the tail block and drilled a 3/16" hole in the tail block to accept it. I got it all glued together and added some scrap carbon rod diagonal braces at the rear. It felt a little flimsy so I added a 3/16 plywood brace in front of the tail block, gussetting the upper and lower rods together with the tail block. I added a little carbon tow and thin CA around the angled butt joint of the lower tube to reinforce it. I then used finishing resin on the tail feathers and carbon rod joints. The landing gear was lashed on with spectra fishing line and coated in 30 min. epoxy. With the little bit of remaining epoxy I went over some of the carbon rod joints. The tank was marked where the verticle supports contacted it and a drill rod was heated up and pressed on the tank to melt indentions for the verticle carbon rod mounts. I used an O-ring and a little black silicone in the indentions to mount the tank. Pushrod was added and tail and canopy were painted with black Lustercoat.
I thought it was time to fly, so I fired up the engine and noticed that the fuel was foaming from vibrations, so I used a 3/16 x 12" bit to drill through the plywood motor mount and into the leading edge of the wing for a 3/16 diagonal carbon rod engine brace. 30 min. epoxy glued it in. Front end was very stiff now with no fuel foaming. Went to fly!

[minnesotamodeler]

OK my eyes (eye?) plainly deceived me...should have picked up on the prop diameter.  So, 32" span, if the root/tip chords are 8/4, avg. 6", area = 192; if 9/5, avg. 7", then =234 sq. in.  Well, not too far off my original guesstimate.  I imagine you could pump it up to 36" span, chords 10/6, avg. 8, = 288 squares, maybe even a little bigger than that if you keep it light.

Very nice, by the way...good thinking outside the box of standard construction.  I like it.

[rustler]

Can I add a little quaint old genuine colloquial English from England here? --- Bl**d* Good Luck to you!!!

[minnesotamodeler]

Yeah, the invisible plane...you can see right through it!