rcpowers.com extra 300 foamy
it's all cut out of 5mm foamcore artboard from the art supplies shop (Riot Art, about $16 for an A0 sheet).
I've loosely pieced it together here (no glue) for an idea of size and look.
Break out the hot glue!
rcpowers.com extra 300 plan
The Delta foamy is fun and durable but without the fuse length and control surfaces, just doesn't fly like a plane should. So here's the next project. An rcpowers.com design Extra 300 foamy. Maybe not as durable as the delta wing but it still should hold up to a fair amount of punishment.
I'm going to build it out of 5mm foamcore artboard owing to the fact I still haven't found anything vaguely resembling the type of blue foam so popular in the US for scratchbuilding foamies.
kf Delta Foamy Version 2
kf Delta Foamy Version 2, originally uploaded by mattmc.
My handmade engine mount on the kf Delta Foamy version 1 wasn't so great. A 3mm square plate of ply hot glued onto a foam "firewall". After a lengthy flight on a 2S 1000mAH battery, the motor wouldn't turn. After taking it apart, I found excess hot glue on the mount had heated up during the flight, come in contact with the rear of the motor and after it cooled, it all gummed up.
So onto version 2. Rudder control, a thicker more consistent step and a Turnigy 2730 Brushless Motor 1500kv (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8618) on a proper engine mount.
S-l-o-w flying KF delta build – motor mount II
Some 3mm ply behind the motor, probably overkill and a bit heavy but it's what I had at hand, some hot glue and the engine is on. I had to widen the gap for the prop by about 7mm to fit it all in.
With the motor in place I could get a feel for how it would balance. With an 800mAh 2S lipo all the way up front it was still well tail heavy. Add the ESC and receiver up front and it starts to balance out. The challenge will be to get all that gear up forward as possible without deforming the profile of the wing. As per the examples photos in the rcgroups thread, I was going to but the battery on top with the ESC and RX on the bottom. I was hoping to keep the control rods as short as possible by keeping the servos back near the elevons but due to balance, the may have to go further forward.
On to a question, usually the motor is mounted the other way around (baseplate behind the motor relative to the forward direction of the plane) but on this one it's reversed (a pusher). I'm guessing it's not right to simply reverse the direction of the motor so that it starts pushing. The prop is designed to cut through the air most efficiently with it's leading edge so I guess the right thing to do is flip the prop (keep face of the prop pointing towards the front). Maybe that's the obvious answer? Dunno, never built a pusher before.
S-l-o-w flying KF delta build
After an hour or so of cutting, the basic form is taking shape. A couple of the photos show how to get a nice clean cut 45°. measure the thickness of the foam (in this case 5mm) back from the leading edge, plus a bit to allow for the height of the metal ruler.
E Sky LCD Voltage Indicator
Ok so I've got an idea of how much current the receiver battery monitor draws (about 10mA) but what about the voltage. What does a green light really mean. Can I rely on a simple green or red LED to base my decision on?
I hooked up an E Sky LCD Voltage Indicator in parallel with the Tower Pro monitor to define the actual voltage levels represented by each LED. Keep in mind the battery pack used is a four cell, 4.8V 1100mA Sanyo pack.
According to the Tower Pro thresholds then, a pack is in good condition only when the measured voltage is greater than the defined voltage (4.8V).
IMAC @ LVMAC, Lake Narracan
A few photos from the IMAC comp at LVMAC today. A bit of wind coming off the Lake kept everyone on their toes.
[gmap]
SC Models – Foamy Profile EDGE 540 build
With a model this simple, it's hard to find much to talk about for the build. Everything has gone together quite easily until tonight. Looking at the role of hinging tape that came with the kit I thought it looked a bit light on. I haven't wasted any but I gues I've used too much on the spars that run the length of the wing. Tonight I got to hinging the horizontal stab and I only got one quarter of it hinged before I ran out of tape. Easy, I thought with all this other tape I've got lying around I'll just make do but I don't have any suitable tape thats clear. I can't bring myself to use some ugly brown tape on my new foamy!
On the topic of foamies, check out this video of an indestructo foamy, the SupaFly...