50mm EDF Delta

JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
Hey folks! I thought I'd share something I've been tinkering with in my spare time. It started out as a FT Delta, but has morphed into.... something?
I 3D printed an exhaust tube for the fan, and played around with a couple of different printed intake ducts. I wasn't really happy with either of them, so I put the bell ring back on the fan and just proceeded with foam.

I haven't quite decided what to do with the nose, or battery hatch. Or whether to put a cockpit on it or make it look more like a stealth drone. That's the beauty of making things up as you go along, nobody can tell you it was done wrong. :sneaky::LOL:

Chris
 

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JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
Wow, that does look familiar! :eek: Great minds, right? :LOL:

I'm having fun with the 3D printed parts, and moving forward I can see me using more printed stuff where it makes structural logic. I've done a fully 3D printed plane (not my design), but I really think a hybrid approach makes more sense. Like, wingtips for example. I sliced the foam winglets off my 50mm Viper, and designed / printed some upswept extensions. Still needs to be re-vinyled, but I like the look.

Chris
 

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JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
It was a rainy Saturday here, so I spent some time in the workshop and made some good progress on the little delta. All that's really left, other than some spackling and paper taping, is to install the servos, RX and battery strap. As it sits right now, it's at 254g. My 50mm Viper is 400g (with servos and such) so I'm guessing this little guy will come in about 100g lighter. Should be fun. :)

Chris
 

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JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
As I mentioned before, this is totally made up as I go. After pondering it for a while, I decided I just didn't like the way it looked with those stubby little vertical fins. So, I fixed it! My wife still thinks the canopy looks goofy (too big, she says) but I kinda like it. That said, I do reserve the right to change my mind. :sneaky:

Chris
 

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FlyerInStyle

Elite member
As I mentioned before, this is totally made up as I go. After pondering it for a while, I decided I just didn't like the way it looked with those stubby little vertical fins. So, I fixed it! My wife still thinks the canopy looks goofy (too big, she says) but I kinda like it. That said, I do reserve the right to change my mind. :sneaky:

Chris
WOW! for building on the go, htat looks so nice.
 

JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
Thanks! I think it kinda looks like the mutant offspring of a late night rendezvous between an F-117 and an F-4D Skyray. :LOL:

Chris
 

Taildragger

Legendary member
As I mentioned before, this is totally made up as I go. After pondering it for a while, I decided I just didn't like the way it looked with those stubby little vertical fins. So, I fixed it! My wife still thinks the canopy looks goofy (too big, she says) but I kinda like it. That said, I do reserve the right to change my mind. :sneaky:

Chris
I like the canopy. It looks cartoon-ish and cool at the same time.
 

JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
Thanks! It's all done except for radio setup and paint. Now if it would just stop raining, I can maiden it (and mow my out of control grass!).
Here's a photoshop job of the planned color scheme. I like bright, as you can probably tell by how I redecorated my FMS Avanti. :LOL:

Chris
 

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JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
Other than programming the radio and installing the battery strap, it's done! My finished color scheme follows the photoshop plan fairly closely, with a few changes I made on the fly. I don't have an AUW yet, I'll do that when all the details are done. Looks like we may have a break in the weather this afternoon, so the next post should be a maiden report.

Chris
 

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JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
As luck would have it the weather did break this afternoon! Seeing as how it's also my birthday, there is no way I wasn't going to the field today. I loaded up the car with the "Blow Dryer Brigade" and headed out. The winds were not favorable but I've never really been afraid to fly in the wind. :)

The first flight was really uneventful! My lovely bride accompanied me to the field, and did the honors of the first toss. :love: I did put in too much reflex when I set it up (I guessed wrong), so I ran out of down trim. No big deal. The fan I'm using is really a 4S unit, but I was flying on 3S so performance was pretty mild. Overall though, I'd consider it a success! Gotta love $2 airframes. :sneaky:

I apologize for the focus issues. I just stuck my iPhone on my hat with some popsicle sticks and velcro, and having never really done much video with it I didn't know to set the focus lock. :rolleyes: I think part of my thrown together rig was covering the mic too. But hey, you'll get the idea of how it flew. :p


Chris
 

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JustPlaneChris

Well-known member
Nice! Let us know how it goes. With the fan mounted high it may have a nose-down tendency under power, so be ready on the elevator. :)

Chris
 

quorneng

Master member
tom;ogam1
Just an observation but to me it looks like the fins are too far forward. They will be very close to the CofG. In other words they will provide little directional stability which will make the delta hard to fly. Most deltas have the fin area as far aft as possible.
 

tomlogan1

Well-known member
Roger on the nose down tendency. Going to redo the engine mounts. Even though I played lawn dart twice, no damage other than the receiver broke lose from the glue. I did have the elevons tamed down. At 100% dual rates, they are almost perpendicular, That would have been an interesting attempt at flight. CG is NO problem. With the 1300 mAh battery up front it is slightly nose heavy.