Anyone have plans/ideas for a foamboard 3D profile (foamie) airplane?

[JohnRambozo]

Good news, I flew it for the first time yesterday. It flew like a dream! It did better than I thought it was going to! Although I'm not skilled enough to hover on the prop yet, it did barrel rolls, loops, and other tricks really easily. Some of the things I might change are the placement of the servos and the motor (the pushrods bend a lot, and to compensate for the servos being moved back I'd have to put the motor further forward) and I might also make the wingspan bigger, it just seems a little tipsy and loose when flying and I think a bigger wing surface might help with that. Also might add a little reinforcement like a wing spar, because the wings bow the slightest bit when pulling out of dives and loops.

Does anybody want plans? I would be happy to go through the work to put them up, but I know a few others are planning on doing the same thing. I don't want to end up putting the same plans as someone else up if it's not needed. XD

Very cool! To answer your question about the weight distribution. Most of the concentrated weight is in the electronics. What I usually do is build most of the plane, then tape the electronics down until I find the balance, install everything and fine tune it with battery placement.

Yours looks nice. I do wonder about hovering. The very first time I flew my sbach 342 from a kit, it literally hovered hands off, no skill required. I put it vertical, set the throttle and didn't touch a thing. That's what I'm hoping to achieve.

One thing every 3D plane needs is vortex generators. Look back at the sbach or any 3D plane and you'll see the little fins that go out toward the ends of the wings. They're symmetric on top and bottom. The vortex generators smooth out the swirling prop wash into a current the wings can use. It will make a huge difference.

 

[The Alpine Ace]

Very cool! To answer your question about the weight distribution. Most of the concentrated weight is in the electronics. What I usually do is build most of the plane, then tape the electronics down until I find the balance, install everything and fine tune it with battery placement.

Yours looks nice. I do wonder about hovering. The very first time I flew my sbach 342 from a kit, it literally hovered hands off, no skill required. I put it vertical, set the throttle and didn't touch a thing. That's what I'm hoping to achieve.

One thing every 3D plane needs is vortex generators. Look back at the sbach or any 3D plane and you'll see the little fins that go out toward the ends of the wings. They're symmetric on top and bottom. The vortex generators smooth out the swirling prop wash into a current the wings can use. It will make a huge difference.

Awesome! I actually never knew about vortex generators, I knew most 3D planes had them but I didn't know what they were or what they were for, that makes much more sense now, thanks! I'll try to add those on and fly again this week. Also I'm hoping to be able to hover mine the exact same way as you described, maybe vortex generators will make that easier too... Anyways, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one taping electronics down and balancing with batteries, I've always thought people were smart enough to do all the maths to figure out CG accounting for every piece in every spot (but I now that's kind of redundant when it comes to RC) Thanks for you're input and help. It's really nice to have people who know what they're doing help you through all your "firsts" in the hobby.