FTFC'18 WWII FH-1 Phantom designed by Namactual

Namactual

Elite member
Well, it's been a full six months since I worked on this. The cold winter months take more and more out of me every year it seems. I am starting to see the correlation between Florida and retirement.

Anyway, I still plan to finish this outside of the FTFC. If anything the experimentation with foam board build techniques is worth it. I kept bouncing back and forth between the larger more detailed build, just refining the original build which I was not really happy with and the detailed smaller build which had all of the design work done already but is design overkill.

To get out of my rut, I just need to build. If I put off building until I am happy with the design I will never get this done. The small detailed build it is.

So without further ado...
Update26.jpg
This wing is more complicated than most foam board designs, but not overly so. It still uses mostly basic FT techniques, but just using more steps. I put A LOT of work into what I think will help from an aero and flight characteristic standpoint, but I am doing all of this in my head and by gut feel. This could end up flying worse than the original.:eek:

I did the prints and build in about 8 hours split between three days. I will finish this, but it might take a while. Even though the contest is over I will post the updates here.
 
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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Excellent! Glad to see progress - and the only reason the contest is there is to inspire us to build and learn. And it's only the first phase that's over - if you come to Flite Fest we'll be holding Phase 2 in person while we drool all over each other's planes!
 

DamoRC

Elite member
Mentor
Great to see you back at it Namactual! Looking forward to seeing more details on that wing build and performance.

DamoRC
 

Namactual

Elite member
Thanks for the welcome back gents. I really hope I can make it to FF again. I had fun last year.

Small but BIG update.
Update27.jpg
This is the heart of the machine.

Wing spar, engine mount, forward electronics and battery bay as well as the attachment point for the rest of the air frame. It may not look like much, but that was not easy to design. This will be all foam, it will not have a wood spar like the original.

Other than the cutting, I think this will go together rather easy. I just hope it is strong enough to hold everything together when done.
 

Namactual

Elite member
Slow but steady progress...
Update28.jpg
Wing Spar/engine housing is done.

It went together just as I figured it would. Cutting all this out was a pain, but assembly was a cake walk. Everything fit great, no mods needed. She is plenty stout as well. I like it.

I am happy. :D
 

Namactual

Elite member
Progress…
Update_30.jpg
Everything lined up more or less, but I made my tolerances too tight. It went together, but snug is not the word. As a result, it looks a little beat up. I had to man handle it a little more than I would have liked.

Update_31.jpg
The hardest part is over though. I am not sure how I feel about this yet. This is far more time intensive to assemble than the first one. The airfoil and dihedral are built as designed though. The overall shape is a lot more controlled with this build. I did a lot of eyeballing on the first one.

I will finish this for sure, but I am not sure if it will be worth the extra effort in the end. I think all of this extra work would be a lot easier to justify on the larger build. We shall see when it’s done and how she flies I guess.
 

Zephyr1

Elite member
Wow, you've done a great job figuring out how to put an edf through the wing. I am very impressed and I'm totally gonna steal the plans to make an Me 262 HG III. Me 262 hg 3.png
 

Namactual

Elite member
Thanks Zephyr!
Wait, wasn't it the Americans that stole from the Germans? I think you have this backwards. :unsure:
:p

I am still working on this, I have the remaining wing skins printed to paper just need to cut and glue into place. I also have the rear fuse and empennage 95% designed. I should have both of these installed this weekend. I might even get to the thrust test this weekend if everything goes smoothly.

As a side note, I remembered reading about the “Marine Phantoms” while I was doing my research into the Phantoms history. After seeing Damo’s beautiful Fat Albert paint job I decided to do something similar. I think I am going to try my hand at the minwax and spray paint of foamboard once I know she flies.

MarinePhantoms.jpg
History here…
http://aerobaticteams.net/en/teams/i94/Marine-Phantoms.html

A big thank you to DamoRC for the inspiration!
 
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Namactual

Elite member
Thanks Delta!
I agree, that will be a very cool scheme. The historical significance is a huge bonus as well.

Update_32.jpg
Ok, that’s a lot of cutting for such little progress. The extra work I put into the radius folds are paying off as things are bending and forming exactly as the 3D model is drawn. These are very complicated compound bends and they line up great.

The down side with this new design is all of the extra seams. Geometry wise, it looks great. The overall shape looks just like I wanted it to. All of the overlapping seams on the other hand are an eye sore. That's ok though. This is what this build is about. Experimentation.

The finish will be determined by how much the paint will hide. Maybe there is something I can do before the minwax stage that will allow me to fill and sand the seams to hide them a bit better. Again, this will be worth it’s weight in gold even if it does not fly. I am learning a lot from this build.
Update_33.jpg
And at the end of the day, from a foot away the thing looks good. I just need to make it look better than good.
 

Namactual

Elite member
It has potential.
Update_34.jpg
It needs some work, but it has potential.

The scale appearance is much better. I love the head on front view. (center pic) It really shows off the blended wing root. The underside is much cleaner as well. Looking at it from that angle, you can really see how this thing took off of a carrier deck without a catapult. That is a lot of wing area. I am really going to miss those submerged inlets on the prototype though, those where perfect grab points for hand launches. I might have to cut some small holes in the bottom of this thing just to get a good purchase during launch.

The rear fuse is a lot slimmer like the full scale. The vertical stabilizer is blended in to the tail a bit better as well. I need to rework that entire area though. I am not really happy with the way that VertStab wraps. Unfortunately, I am not really sure how to make it easier and still have the air foil blend. I might be better off just cutting a flat profile. I don’t think it would hold up to the stresses with one layer, but maybe two will work. If I wanted to compromise on the scale appearance I could lower the horizontal stabs to the fuse and flatten them out like most builds, but I am not quite ready to throw in the towel yet.

Overall I like it, but I hate those seams. I had such tunnel vision on the 3D model I did not notice I could have left a few parts together which will cut down on a few of them, but not enough of them unfortunately. I spent a good part of the day this morning trying to figure out how I can minimize those. I did come up with an idea. I placed an online order and the tools should be in by weeks end. I have high hopes this will work, but this could be a $50 mistake. We shall see.

No thrust test today. I need to solder battery leads to the ESC’s yet and it’s getting late. Next weekend for sure.
 

Namactual

Elite member
I had no ambition to work with foam today, but I did a quick 3D sketch of some parts I am going to 3D print.

The nose and the canopy are the hardest things to reproduce with foam, and while I will make foam versions I wanted to make something a little more detailed for this build.
Update_35.jpg
I did not want to get too detailed as it would clash with the rest of the frame. I also had to do some weird blending in the nose to match the transition from octagon to smooth rounded shapes.

Again, just a sketch. I can do better, trust me. ;) I just don't think this foamy needs more that this. Not this build anyway.
 

DamoRC

Elite member
Mentor
I think the way you have leveraged the properties of the foam on this are excellent. The shaping, particularly the inlets, looks really great.

DamoRC
 

Namactual

Elite member
Thanks Damo!

Small update...
Update_36.jpg

This turned out better than I expected. I still need to do some smooting and sanding. I exaggerated the struts in the canopy to make it pop, but once I sand it down and round the corners a bit it should look a little better. That nose cone is perfect. I dropped the second pair of .50's a little lower than scale to match the facets of the foam frame which look great. The blend from the Octagon frame to the smooth cone looks good too. It's very subtle and should not draw too much attention. I still have to print the rear canopy, but wow, this will make all the difference in the world.

I am getting my groove back. I am actually getting excited about this build again.
 

Namactual

Elite member
Thanks again for the kind words bud!

I will finish this.
And I will release the plans.
Hopefully sooner rather than later.:cautious:
 

foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
Hey just a quick question, is this still going to be your entry for the air show? Or is it going to be the rhino?
 

Namactual

Elite member
Hey just a quick question, is this still going to be your entry for the air show? Or is it going to be the rhino?

I am going to enter both of the new Rhinos I am building, the Marine and Navy version. I don't see the Phantom being completed before Flite Fest to be honest. Getting time off of work is like pulling teeth. I was supposed to have this week off and ended up working Monday and Tuesday anyway. I even have to go into work today for a few hours. :cautious:

I will get the Rhinos done. Even if I have to do without sleep, but I just don't see the Phantom being done in time. :(
 

foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
@Namactual That is perfectly fine, two planes is above and beyond. I still have to work on building my first rhino. This month and the next are packed full of working and events. I also might be getting a job at the hobby shop which might either give me time to build planes or take more time away, I’m still not sure.