Dr. Looping Looie
Elite member
Two years ago, I made the Start UP!, a 3D printable airplane that was originally intendet as a trainer. But in my opinion, it was a failiure. The flight characteristics were not good enough, it was always on the edge of a stall when in a low speed turn and it had the worst stall characteristics of all my designs, which is not a good attribute for a trainer. I made a lot of changes which improved flight characteristics, but it was still flawed deep in its core.
Now I want to replace it, and go in a clompletely different direction:
Introducing - The COPPERHEAD
Everything about this plane is designed to deliver the most enjoyable flying experience possible, as well as beeing easy to print and build - and the files will be available for free!
I spend a huge amount of time crafting the outer shape. The visual appearance of a plane is a very important thing, you are looking at it the entire flight. I wanted to capture the spirit of golden age racers and light sport aircraft, but with smoother lines and a few shapes of various warbirds mixed in.
Just like all my 3D printed printed designs, I also made a display model for this one, which is attached to this post. These small scale models are great to get a feeling for the shapes and I use them to hype myself up for the finished plane.
![IMG_20230715_124336[1].jpg](https://ftforumx2.s3.amazonaws.com/2023/08/445160_474a24a8fba005326b8a856d15f967cd.jpg "IMG_20230715_124336[1].jpg")
The RC version will have 1.2 meter wingspan, estimated weight will be 900 - 1000 gramms when printed from LW PLA, including a 3S 2200 LiPo.
Over the last 2 years, I perfected my design techniques for the internal structure, it will be retractionless for LW PLA.
The wing and landing gear will be removable and the canopy can be build as a open or closed cockpit. The idea is that that the plane can transform from a beginner friendly light sport aircraft to a warbird, growing with the pilots skill level.
![IMG_20230715_124402[1].jpg](https://ftforumx2.s3.amazonaws.com/2023/08/445165_ef6f2d6c51a5507dfd88c66a135cdda0.jpg "IMG_20230715_124402[1].jpg")
This plane is still very early in the design process, so if you have any suggestions or wishes, tell me!
I have a feeling that this is going to be great!
Now I want to replace it, and go in a clompletely different direction:
Introducing - The COPPERHEAD
Everything about this plane is designed to deliver the most enjoyable flying experience possible, as well as beeing easy to print and build - and the files will be available for free!
I spend a huge amount of time crafting the outer shape. The visual appearance of a plane is a very important thing, you are looking at it the entire flight. I wanted to capture the spirit of golden age racers and light sport aircraft, but with smoother lines and a few shapes of various warbirds mixed in.
Just like all my 3D printed printed designs, I also made a display model for this one, which is attached to this post. These small scale models are great to get a feeling for the shapes and I use them to hype myself up for the finished plane.
The RC version will have 1.2 meter wingspan, estimated weight will be 900 - 1000 gramms when printed from LW PLA, including a 3S 2200 LiPo.
Over the last 2 years, I perfected my design techniques for the internal structure, it will be retractionless for LW PLA.
The wing and landing gear will be removable and the canopy can be build as a open or closed cockpit. The idea is that that the plane can transform from a beginner friendly light sport aircraft to a warbird, growing with the pilots skill level.
This plane is still very early in the design process, so if you have any suggestions or wishes, tell me!
I have a feeling that this is going to be great!
