1/10 Scale Balsa XB-70 Build Log

Pieliker96

Elite member
I've been debating doing this build for a while. However, I have come to the conclusion that it is possible to build a 18.9-ft (!) version of this plane. Having no prior experience with balsa, except for my Trainer .40, This will be quite a journey. Just cut out all of the parts, glue and sand, right? It seems almost too simple :p

It all started when I sent one of my friends a picture of the 1/31.5th scale main wing, when it was still being built. She thought it was one of the canards, meaning that the whole plane wouldn't even fit in the room I was building in. After learning it was just the main wing, she deemed the idea of a huge (insert joke here :rolleyes: )-scale aircraft awesome and that it would be really cool if I was to build one.

Well, after some planning and forethought, I think I can pull this off. I just need loads of balsa, basswood and CA. I have a large space to build in and an even larger goal: Building a plane larger than a car.

I have to say that this probably won't ever fly, due to the budgetary implications of high-power EDFs or pulsejets, but will hopefully be on display in my school by the time I'm done with it. I'm currently planning to hang it up near the entrance to the makerspace, where it will be built.

This will be a multi-year build, with the deadline being graduation day of my senior year. That leaves me with ~2.5 years of time. Call me crazy, but I'm starting on the plans now.
 
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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
That is certainly an ambitious build, good luck to you! If you're not building it to actually FLY your life will certainly be easier, since you don't need to worry about weight.

Just glue all the wood together and sand away everything that doesn't look like an XB-70!
 

Pieliker96

Elite member
Wing Construction Specs:
- Main: 8" rib spacing, NACA 0104 tapering to a NACA 0103 at the wing join, to 0102 on the outer wing bits.
- Canards: 4" rib spacing, NACA 0004
- vStabs: 6" rib spacing, NACA 0005 tapering to a NACA 0004

That's all for now. If i can get all of my homework done quickly tomorrow I may be able to complete most of the plans.
 

Pieliker96

Elite member
Well, this weekend I can't get lights-out violations, So I'll be pulling an all-nighter to finish the plans! ;)
 

Pieliker96

Elite member
K3cW90a.jpg
 

Pieliker96

Elite member
Obviously, with such a large plane, storage and transportation are big concerns. The plane will be divided into four sections:

-Left wing
-Right wing
-Lower fuselage / Middle of wing / Vstabs / Rear top fuselage (All one piece)
-Fore top fuselage & Canards

Each of these sections will be small enough, in theory, to fit through a doorway. I hope.

243ea18d9a3f9d2816cba3bd2856ff02.jpg
The two fuse segments (on the real XB-70) joined together - similar to what I'll be doing
 

Pieliker96

Elite member
Got a scale CAD file off of the interwebz - will start making plans based off of that.
It seems to be very accurate, even including the logos on the wings and fuse. Dimensions check out.
dev1.jpg
img2.jpg
 

Pieliker96

Elite member
I figured it was time to do something with this build. I was tired of procrastinating, so I got some plans done today. Finals are coming up and we have a weird schedule for the next two weeks, so I won't get much progress done then.

Anyways, here's my headway on the project:




Got it uploaded right before internet shutoff at my dorm. Don't expect any more updates any time soon. They should come in a month or so, after school lets out.