I scaled up the plans for the 42" SeaBB from Ken (dz1sfb) and built a 56" version.

The first couple of flights had issues due to a crooked stabilizer I did not catch when I glued it and a water leak in the hull which provide for some interesting flying.

A coating of liquid sheeting from wowplanes sealed up the leaks and a repair job to the stab completed what was required to get the plane airborne properly.

The Royal Highland RC boat club allowed me to fly off their lake this morning and we had a great time.

Here is the footage from the land video. My flycamOne2 for some reason was acting up so I did not get video from the plane as I had hoped....

 

The SeaBB looks great in the air and water! Sure looks like she floats through the air too! What kind of foam was used to make the SeaBB and what power setup do you have?

 

Blucore FFF for the most part. The monoblock was cut from 2" block foam and sanded to shape.

Powered by a BP 2217-9 brushless motor swinging an 11x4.7 slo fly prop and a 40A ESC although it only pushes 26A WOT.

The hull and underwing was coated with liquid sheeting from wowplanes.

Painted with air brush using latex samplers from Lowes and lettering done on craftROBO graphic cutter.

Simple 3 channel setup, no ailerons.

Gentle flyer.

If anyone would like the SU files just let me know.

 

Just got some of the pics back that were taken with a still camera...

Attached files

 

Yes, it puts a hard shell finish on the foam, kinda like epoxy. The water does not penetrate it and the stuff is very lightweight. I was surprised as to how little weight it added.

Now granted, it is not as hard as say a fiberglass finish, but its primary quality is to provide an extremely smooth high gloss finish for foam aircraft in which you can then paint with paints that would otherwise melt foam.

The folks at wowplanes came up with a mixture of water putty and lite spackling that is applied to the block type of foam to fill in voids prior to application. In the seaBB, the hull has a monoblock nose section that is made from 2" block foam. Although I had already fiberglassed this area before I discovered the liquid sheeting, I could have saved some weight and gotten the same results had I used the liquid sheeting.

It is a little pricey, but a little goes a long way. I still have about half of the contents left over after applying 2 coats on a rescue boat and the bottom of the seaplane hull and wing.

 

Mark, doesn't that stuff look familiar? Foam sealer and; parts A and B. "Stir PART B completely before mixing with PART A". Mix 1 to 1 and 30 minutes working time.

-Kwok

 

It should look familiar... this is the same stuff which was reported in an earlier thread...

StyroSpray 1000 from Industrial Polymers.

I think Mark should buy a gallon and repackage it to sell to all of us here. A gallon is way too much for just me, and I think there is a 2 gallon minimum, so that is definitely too much for me, so I paid the $18 or so for 8oz.

 

Flash, did you miss the live video where Mark & Trish got the samples of StryoSpray? I'm trying to visualize how big his cans were. They might have been quart size? Here is the video:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1628230

-Kwok

 

Apparently I didn't catch that one... Quart size samples are quite a lot in fact. The little 8 oz bottles I got look very small, but they did go a long way in coverage. Marks look to be quart size.

From the looks of the stuff in the video, it appears to be the same. Mine was 3 parts, sealer, then 2 parts which are mixed together that set in about an hour.

 

I called the company that makes the styro spray and found out that you don't have to order the 2 gallons as per their statements on the website.

I was able to order a smaller quart size for $28, probably what you ordered Mark, but unlike the stuff from wowplanes, it does not come with the sealer that they supply. Not sure if this is even needed. Certainly saves a 24 hour step if not needed.

I have this applied to one side of my wing but not the other although it is a very light coat and so far it is pliable enough that I don't think I will have to worry, but I am glad you pointed that out Mark, I will have to be careful about that in the future.

In any case, I am building a set of floats for one of my foamies and am coating it with the stuff left over from my initial purchase from wowplanes.

I will post some pics when it is finished.

 

Oh well then, maybe it does come with a sealer.... I just assumed it did not because I didn't read anything about it. We will see later in the week when my order comes in.

Meanwhile, I used the very last of my wowplanes stock. I was about to get one coat laid in.

Tomorrow is sailboat day... yes, I am migrating from planes to sailboats now. They guys from the sailing club put a transmitter in my hands and next thing you know I'm hooked! I am probably going to be writing a check for a nice US 12 rc sailboat tomorrow! Maybe I can come with a new class of sailboat for racing.... the phlatboat made outta foam! That would be a kick!

 

I can see myself doing some boat designs in the future. Got a large collection of boat paper models downloaded from the internet. When I was a teenager, I bought a old book (from the 1940s) called "Model Sailing Yachts". One of the methods, described was called the "bread and butter" method. I followed it and made a 24" sailboat with 1" thick wood boards. It's very similar to what Mark did with the King tut mask. Basically cut the contour of each layer, glue them up and then curve the steps away. I'm not that interested in scale ships, more in performance and technical stuff. So perhaps things like sailboats, submarines, hydrofoils (particularly the Hobbie Trifoiler) or surface effect ships.

-Kwok

 

I built a small rescue boat for my SeaBB and covered the bottom with the stuff from wowplanes.

It makes a great water tight hull!

Now this one was pretty simple, just some 2" block foam and a keel rudder and airboat propulsion, but I can imagine doing a lot better especially if we get a boat section started. I suspect a lot of guys might like to have something to run on water....

A sailboat class that could be made of foam would be great fun for racing. Like the footies, US 12's, and solings, a foam class where each boat is made the same and has a set weight requirement would make racing them a blast especially if you can get a group of 6 or 8 guys/gals with the same class for competion.

I think this would rock!! Attached files Rescue911a.skp (149.9 KB)Â

 

Cool!!! Well I bought my first r/c sailboat today! I actually came across the start line 1st in two of the three heats, but of course I don't know enough to be able to hold the lead, but I didn't come in dead last either.

As I learn more about how they are made I will be thinking about how to make one in foam!

 

Heres the SU files I worked up for the 56" version. This plane flys sooooo slllloooow.... With the wind we had today, it was just sitting still up there facing into the wind. It is quite the gentle plane.

The float tips are placed about 3/4 of distance of the wing. The 42" plans call for 14" but since this is 56" wingspan, you have to add another 6 or 7 inches.

Build plans and more information on RCGroups...

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=954868&highlight=seabb Attached files SeaBee.skp (3.7 MB)Â firewall.skp (72.8 KB)Â keel.skp (61.7 KB)Â monoblock.skp (254.4 KB)Â