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Working on a Christmas present for the phlatprinter owners

Discussion in 'Single Wing Aircraft Plans' started by dhc8guru, Nov 23, 2011.

  1. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    So, I felt the need to design something for you fellow phlatprinter owners for a Christmas present.

    I am not an indoor airplane designer, but I want to try my hand at it so this is what I came up with..
    A 34" wingspan Bellanca Citabria. My design criteria was it needed to be inexpensive, (looks like about around $15 in materials so far) and an indoor flyer since since most of you live in colder winter climates.
    Well, I will see how it fly's. For all I know, it could be a total turd and all of this will be merely an exercise in wasting time. So if it never comes to fruition, please don't be disappointed. It's the thought that counts.
    My plan is too post the G-code, instructions for assembly and an inexpensive power set up recommendation. It can be cut on one single 15 X 39" sheet of 3mm depron. You will also need two .040 X.121 X 40" strips of carbon (plenty left over) and about 4 .040 carbon rods and a maybe a small amount of balsa for the control rod support (still sorting that part out). It goes together quick as I have pre-punched all the support rod hole locations to take some of the guess work out.
    I will keep you posted on the progress and hopefully get it done before Christmas.


    Attached files CITABRIA DRAWING.PDF (83.9 KB)Â CITABRIA.cnc (31.4 KB)Â CITABRIAFLAT.DXF (178.7 KB)Â [​IMG] citabria build manual.pdf (2.6 MB)Â [​IMG]
     
  2. RJGritter

    RJGritter New Member

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    Cool project! These are a ton of fun. I designed one called the 3Decathlon (essentially the same as a Citabria) that Fancy Foam now sells. Here's what it'll do...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShaVOeK0 ... er&list=UL

    It's always fun to see people's reaction when you take a plane that looks like it should only fly circles, and start freestyling the snot out of it! :D
     
  3. GorillaBob

    GorillaBob New Member

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    Wow looks great! What is the gear made from? Carbon would make it light and it could go through the + shape and into the top wing as support.

    This is exactly the thing I have been looking for. I am a school teacher and very good friends with the Asst. Superintendent, who used to be my principal and my assistant scout master. I talked him into letting the local RC club, of which I am a member, use the gym several times a month to fly in. It is a small gym and many of the fliers will be first time electric flyers. Any ideas for Light weight indoor flyers I can get will be a great asset in helping those new guys learn the ins & outs of electrics.

    Can't wait to hear how it flies!!!

    Good Luck!!
     
  4. ToxicToast

    ToxicToast Down in the weeds. Staff Member

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    Yes, this looks promising! I'd be more inclined to go with an undercamber for indoor, or at the very least, some dihedral on the wing. Indoor environments (static air) need a bit of lift unless you are doing pure 3d or flying a 'Pizza Box Flyer' type of plane.

    Great work, please keep us posted!
     
  5. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    I got the inspiration from the GP Electrifly Citabria. The 3decathlon looks nice also.
    Flat carbon rods on the gear. The carbon rod is nice and rigid but expensive to use. Probably could have gone with wire. all my flat foam planes have been designed around outdoor flying, so I have been using what I learned from that and applying it to this model.
    Really, I have to admit buying the Fancy foam or GP models are the way to go. $50 is reasonable considering you get a painted model. I will test it indoors next weekend.
     
  6. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    Here is the finished airplane.

    For some reason, I felt the need to take a video of the plane being cut.
    Attached files [​IMG]
     
  7. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    :doubleup: dhc8guru this is fantastic! Looking forward to this, Thank you! :doubleup:
    Crazy mad flying skillz RJ! :banger:
    Mark and Trish
     
  8. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    Thanks Mark
    I got a quick flight in today since the wind was on light side. The plane flew really nice!
    Made a couple of small changes. Made some fuselage doublers that look like windows. They are placed under the wings. Just wanted improve the stability of the wing with the fuselage.
    A nice feature of the kit is all the carbon rod placements are marked with pre drilled holes. This takes a lot of guess work out.
    Now I just need to incorporate the few extra parts onto the foam sheet and draw up some assembly plans. :dance3:
     
  9. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    SWEET! this is going to be a blast to fly! Just watching the video of how a plane like this can do 3D is amazing! Its a top wing and yet it capable of doing everything( well in the right hands of course :) ). Its going to turn some heads at the indoor for sure :D
    Mark and Trish
     
  10. Helno

    Helno Member

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    Thats where I got the idea to do a scout. Why pay $50 for a kit when you can have the whole plane plus engine and radio for $50.

    viewtopic.php?f=34&t=3225

    I made mine out of fanfold because depron may be light but it can't take the hits like FFF.

    Hopefully I can get someone to shoot some video of the Scout this friday night.
     
  11. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    Yep, you need to play nice with 3mm depron. 6mm is a lot more forgiving. That's why I went back and added in some reinforcement to the design. the two things I dislike about Fan fold is its wavy and it's heavy.
    The foam is pretty reasonable. I got raped by Hobbytown on the price for the carbon strips. Two .118 x .040 x 39 strips were $10! Brutal! I knew I was getting ripped off but didn't want to wait to order it. $2 a strip from Mark and Trisha. I know where to order it when I need more.
    Half way through a build manual.
    Your Scout looks nice.
     
  12. rcflyboynj

    rcflyboynj Member

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    At the Wichita E-fly, I actually got a chance to speak with Mike, who kits the planes, and one of guinea pigs, I mean test pilots, who said the plane was quick, so you had to be on top of the controls. :02cents: Here's a video of Cliff (local club member) flying: :banger:



    Enjoy :D

    ~Nathan
     
  13. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    Hey guyz the cut code for the Bellanca Citabria is up! :doubleup:
    Awesome Christmas present Thomas as indoor flying season is quickly approaching
    Thank you Sir!
    Go to the first post of this thread to grab the Phlatcode as well as the build manual.
    Mark and Trish
     
  14. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    Thanks Mark!

    I should mention a few things for setting up to cut. You will need a 1/16 bit for cutting the plane. The true 3mm sheet size I used measured 15.25 X 38.25. The program will use every bit of the sheet, so make sure you get the sheet all the way up under the forward pinch roller on the X axis. The Y axis has a little more breathing room. You can go as far as a 1/4 in from the edge of the foam. You may want to run a dry run to make sure the plane will fit on the sheet based on where you set your zero point.
    The feed rate is 90ipm, so you may want to tailor it for the rpm you use on your machine.
    Merry Christmas!
     
  15. Darwin

    Darwin Member

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    I like it. Don't care much for Depron, but I like the looks of this bird. Good job!
     
  16. foamflyer45

    foamflyer45 New Member

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    Any chance of you posting the skp file for the plan on the cnc file. Need to modify it for overhead gantry. Thanks.
     
  17. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    I don't have a .skp file. The model was done in solidworks and the g-code was done in mastercam x4.
    I can convert the model to several different formats. Maybe a .xt (parasolid) would be helpful?
     
  18. TigerPilot

    TigerPilot Well-Known Member

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    dhc8guru, does SolidWorks has the option to export in dxf?
     
  19. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    I added the .dxf to the download list in the original post.
     
  20. TigerPilot

    TigerPilot Well-Known Member

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    Great, dhc8guru, it can now be imported into SU. :dance3:
     
  21. dhc8guru

    dhc8guru Member

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    I guess the g code I wrote won't run on the PP1 and PP2? Well hopefully everyone can easily take the .DXF file and program it to runon those machines.
     

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