ever since TV casualty gave me a old wing, and taking it home to dissect....i have been using his construction technique. after talking to mark, we decided a foam wing covered in clear coverite micro-lite would be cool. i made a 44in long Clark-y trainer wing as a test bed for this wing construction....each wing half takes 4 1/16 dia fiber rod. the top and bottom of the spar has a 1/16 slot top and bottom to accept the rod after the ribs are installed. also the bottom of the ribs have a 1/16 dia. programmed and cut with rib for rod.. the foam is 6mm depron and is incredibly light and strong. the wing is 44in long with a 6.500 constant root chord. the covering is a very light and low temp kinda like solite. as of now the wing weighs 1.2oz. and the experiment film covered foam goes well. i will report back with completed wing...oh yea the center section will be joined with balsa or 3mm depron, whatever one is lighter. if all goes well, i shall look for or try to design a body for the wing. randy.

 

Nice work RJ !! What grade surface plate you got there ? "AA" / A..lol lol

 

its how the old monkey does relax, lols....randy.

 

ok after the eagle build....i decided to do a regular proven model. i have decided on a lil plane called a tudor. i am working from the building manual i seen online. i am joining wing halfs, and going to use coverite micro-lite to cover....clear on the bottom to show off construction...and a color transparent for top. as of now i haven't picked out a color yet. thinking of maybe green, i donno thou...

Attached files QUBD_ExtruderUpgrade_3.skp (4.9 MB)Â

 

glued up the center wing section...used 3mm depron and a cover iron, worked well. ran to the hobby store and got some transparent green for the top of wing. the clear will go to the bottom. the wing as it sits now is 1.4oz. this micro-lite film is so lite, i can see the wing coming in at under 2oz. not bad to me for a 44in span. also the center section is very strong, thanks to TV casualty for his help. randy.

 

decided to take a break from the wing and draw up and work on fuse.. it is all 6mm depron. man the tabbing fit together so good, i don't think it needed glue, lols. the model is at 2.8oz. still have to do the firewall and covering. heck I'm thinking this model might fly with a blue wonder set-up. also the proportions are exactly like the tutor model, well i did my own tabbing. so it should fly alright.

 

first of all i am the first to admit my covering skill suck very badly...so don't tell me i know that already, lols... second the foam ribs need a leading, and trailing edge balsa strip to come out better. the wing is very strong, and will fly, but looks like dog stuff....i think i am going to just prove this one out, and fire up the cnc hotwire and make a spare wing. after the eagle episode, building this from a proven design will be the ticket...but for sure the balsa strip edges have to be done sticking with the foam rib design...as of now the model is sitting at 3.4oz. im thinkin for sure a 1200kv blue wonder will power it ok. now i gotta make firewall and scrounge up some hardware to slap in this thing...randy.

 

Jeff, the trouble was in the trailing edge...the film needs to be separated by wood, it gets real thin back there and the film hits the other side and looks kinda messy. it will fly good, but i might remake to make it look nicer...mark and trish wanna make like a sample for a hobby show display...man it got to be perfect for that...peace, randy.

Attached files

 

yea, i see what ya mean...the back is bad, as soon as the film touches, is like stuck with no heat even.....great idea, thanks randy.

 

Wow Randy from the pics it looks great!. I see what you mean though the space between every rib will want to sink in back to the carbon spar.
None the less it looks superb!
The weight you came up with is incredible. I have never been able to build and airplane that light. Nice job Randy looking forward to the maiden
Mark

 

Just keep it in the air and no one can tell how the covering came out.
From our end it looks good though.

 

thanks Shaun...but i am in the process of remaking it...i am taking Jeff's suggestion on moving the fiber rods out to the end of the wing edges... also i am going to balsa cap the ends, as they distort wile heat shrinking. i may just hotwire a wing also just to see the weight difference. at under a 2oz. wing with the ribs, i think its the way to go. randy,

 

OK since the foam ribbed wing is going to be a sample piece for a hobby show, as well as fly the lil trainer, i decided to get a rippin, and get the fibers back out, of the wing and remake....reprogrammed the ribs, and moved the fibers out to the leading and trailing edges. also i set-up a little router jig ghetto style, to cut spar slots in the foam. this one is going to be nice i hope....wile some glue was settin up i decided to fire up the old cnc hotwire that has seen no use in over 5 years....man i could barely remember how to program a cut file. lols... Ali i had laying was a piece of blue and figured id make a test cut....well for blue foam i was surprised that is was not very more weight than the ribbed version.....so i ran to lowes and got a sheet of 2in white. tomorrow i will get the garage table saw goin and start blanking it out. then i plan on getting serious with the hotwire, and see what i can come up with for this light model...i cant believe even with the heavy blue foam the weight is under 3oz. for a 42in span i think its pretty good...cant wait to get the white goin....im thinkin of programming 2 degree washout, but im not sure on the amount. i will google it and try to find some info. please if anyone has any info, i value all input.....as i did with the ribbed, filmed version. also on the wing being 22in. per half, i may tape it up to a foam carrier and run some phlatty lighting pockets afterwards.....im not sure yet...... being this is a proven flyer, i dont mind the extra work, plus after i have all the programs, its cake then.....i will post any updates. peace, randy.

fired up the old ghetto hotwire..

ribbed wing remake...

 

Randy, just wondering what software you're using to drive the steppers and card. Next on my list is to build a CNC hot-wire machine, but I'm not sure what the easiest and best application there is out there.

 

mike, the control board is one of them $70 buck from hobby cnc my buddy made...the foam cutting software is from foamworks, it is very easy to generate cut files. has all kinds of taper wing settings. it has a 30 day free trial, then you have to buy for $50 bucks, unless ya can find a free one. the machine i made in like a day on the table saw...its very ghetto but cuts very nice. its just roller skate bearings, and black pipe. i just used crummy all thread from the hardware store. it can be made cheap and fast, and it will cut very well. my cores come out beautiful. with now being unemployed i will be using it more, lols. when i was working i got lazy and just bought arf's. randy.
http://www.foamwork.net/index.html

 

doin some laundry chores today...well at least my laundry machines are...anyhow, wile that's gettin done, i decided to build a new platform for my hotwire before i resume core cutting. the table is made from 2in blue scraps i had layin...its 40in long. the old one was alot shorter. after the glue on the braces is dry, i can take a cut and even out the surface...then flip over and skim cut the top, for a nice cutting platform. i am posting this, as some of the fellas were interested in the cutter. randy.

 

before finishing wing or cutting one...i decided to start mounting some hardware...i am getting so sick of junky, junk hardware that's not made rite...had to take my dremel to the cheesy lazertoyz motor mount, and rotate, as to get the set-screw so i can tighten...this stuff is unbelievable...heck they gotta do the holes...why not make it right??, man i don't get it.....anyhow i got the blue wonder finally mounted with a castle thunder-bird 9 amp controller. the fuse, motor, and controller is at 3.6oz. as of now. i got 2 hi-tech 55's to install yet. i was going to do today, but my penitence got the best of the old monkey, and i thought it would be wiser to wait to a different time, lols. randy.

 

first of all i wanna thank Jeff for his input about installing the fibers all the way out to the edges...looks like it will be the whip..the film will be pretty now...being i went from 1/16 dia solid, to 1/8 dia tube the wing picked up a half ounce....also with the 1/16 balsa end rib caps being added from the first one. i just wish i took a photo of the first trailing edge, to show how it was botched up....with the model being 5.6oz as of now, with the film on the wing it should be around 6oz. hopefully thr two servos, pushrods, and battery wont add to much weight...i will report the auw soon. peace, randy.

 

the wing remake is complete....except of the seam in the center of top..."ran outta film"...i am very proud of it...with the bigger fiber and balsa end caps it weighs 2.3oz. it picked up a lil weight, but its worth it...it really came out awesome, and strong...the wing, fuse, motor with prop, speedy weigh in at 6oz. exactly...with the 42in span its not lookin bad at all. i have spray a lil green on the fuse..kinda looks dopey all white...the control hook up is next..Michigan is getting down near freezing at night now, and i hope to maiden before it gets real cold. randy.
shrinkin a lil washout..

 

Randy this one came out great!! the last pic really shows how nice the film went over it
Good job
Mark

 

thanks mark...here is a photo of the trailing edge..

 

This is a work of art Randy!!
Mark