Crash support group

Matthew Sanders

Elite member
I tried a heat gun to relax the foam on my crashed Sensei, to little avail. What ended up working for me, was to put an old washcloth over the foam, and then pour boiling water onto the washcloth, a bit at a time. The washcloth held the heat on longer than just pouring the water over it, and regulates the heat a bit.

Not sure how that would work for foamboard, particularly if the paper isn't treated to be water resistant.
Yeah, I'm not using maker foam. Just typical dollar tree foamboard
 

Matthew Sanders

Elite member
This isn't a crash, but I'll still ask here anyway. Is it just my hard landings in grass, or do other people have the paper on the back of their elevator and ailerons de- laminating? I would expect the leading edge of the wing and stabilizer to de-laminate, but the back? What tips and tricks do the seasoned R/C pilots here have as solutions for this problem? Thanks!
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Zlide some glue into where the paper is lifting, (I use a piece of paper to push the glue in so that all of the lifted area is coated in the glue).

normally the paper de-laminates around the hinge area because the FB will warp over time and the hinge line becomes a place where the forces are most strongly applied and the paper is forced away from the control surface over time!

I use a different hinge cutting method and also proper sealing of the FB with glue and minwax. So far this has solved the issue on my planes!

Have fun!
 

PoorManRC

Master member
Just like @Hai-Lee and @mayan said! My glue of choice is White Gorilla Glue.
For all exposed edges, I use slightly thinned GG.
Try on SCRAP first! Just thin enough to lightly saturate the paper, but not distort it.

If you paint your Planes, the Glue barrier also helps to keep the paint from eating the exposed Foam.
 

PoorManRC

Master member
I have to add separately...
I think this might be the most relevant, useful Thread here!!

I started with FT a little over a year ago. Excited and enthusiastic about the prospect of actually being able to AFFORD this Hobby, I made some classic mistakes.....

First was assuming that I can have crash-proof Planes!!
That was a fallacy and a pipe dream. The only RC Aircraft that never crashes - are Shelf Queens! :p
My assumption was that since I had flown real Planes, the Models will fly exactly the same. WRONG!
They're CONSIDERABLY lighter, so wind does drastically different things to them. Also, despite the impression that I got from watching Videos and listening to the commentary from the Pilots - there will NEVER be that seat of the pants feel, like that of actually sitting in the seat and flying a real Aircraft!

Besides a host of other mistakes, that was an assumption that ended up being costly... :rolleyes::confused: IF one can control ANY aspect, it might be how hard you hit the ground. :p

"Control is an ILLUSION, created by Infantile Egomaniacs, who believe that they are infallible among other Infantile Egomaniacs"
~ Days of Thunder

I'm 55... Lots of People are older, lots are younger. It doesn't matter HOW old you are, how much Schooling, Experience or whatever...
Nobody knows EVERYTHING! I chalk my early arrogance up to over enthusiasm. I'm certainly not the first.

Second, in my enthusiasm, I thought right out of the gate, my first FT Aircraft was going to be a work of ART! (see above quote)
I have been a Model Railroader since 1975, and even won accolades for my Modeling...
NONE of that applies to Foam Core Board Aircraft!! :eek: ... my other valuable lesson.
Besides, it hurt considerably more, when it mushroomed into the Ground.

I recently started a post about the Simple Cub build, that I'm not just building, but modifying - based on theories and experience from People far more talented than myself. In the end, I'm posting the Maiden, as it happens. Win, lose or disaster! Maybe I'll post that Video here as well. Maybe it could help someone who fell into the same trap I did.

Thank all of you, for the wealth of knowledge that is this Forum!!
 

Matthew Sanders

Elite member
I have to add separately...
I think this might be the most relevant, useful Thread here!!

I started with FT a little over a year ago. Excited and enthusiastic about the prospect of actually being able to AFFORD this Hobby, I made some classic mistakes.....

First was assuming that I can have crash-proof Planes!!
That was a fallacy and a pipe dream. The only RC Aircraft that never crashes - are Shelf Queens! :p
My assumption was that since I had flown real Planes, the Models will fly exactly the same. WRONG!
They're CONSIDERABLY lighter, so wind does drastically different things to them. Also, despite the impression that I got from watching Videos and listening to the commentary from the Pilots - there will NEVER be that seat of the pants feel, like that of actually sitting in the seat and flying a real Aircraft!

Besides a host of other mistakes, that was an assumption that ended up being costly... :rolleyes::confused: IF one can control ANY aspect, it might be how hard you hit the ground. :p

"Control is an ILLUSION, created by Infantile Egomaniacs, who believe that they are infallible among other Infantile Egomaniacs"
~ Days of Thunder

I'm 55... Lots of People are older, lots are younger. It doesn't matter HOW old you are, how much Schooling, Experience or whatever...
Nobody knows EVERYTHING! I chalk my early arrogance up to over enthusiasm. I'm certainly not the first.

Second, in my enthusiasm, I thought right out of the gate, my first FT Aircraft was going to be a work of ART! (see above quote)
I have been a Model Railroader since 1975, and even won accolades for my Modeling...
NONE of that applies to Foam Core Board Aircraft!! :eek: ... my other valuable lesson.
Besides, it hurt considerably more, when it mushroomed into the Ground.

I recently started a post about the Simple Cub build, that I'm not just building, but modifying - based on theories and experience from People far more talented than myself. In the end, I'm posting the Maiden, as it happens. Win, lose or disaster! Maybe I'll post that Video here as well. Maybe it could help someone who fell into the same trap I did.

Thank all of you, for the wealth of knowledge that is this Forum!!
I'm going to start a build thread for the FT Spitfire, which I'm receiving shortly. As for the only plane that doesn't crash are wall hangers, yeah, unfortunately a true fact! I really really REALLY don't want to crash the spitfire, more than with any other aircraft I've flown, but that's why I'll keep the template and build a new one if it does crash!
 

PoorManRC

Master member
I'm going to start a build thread for the FT Spitfire, which I'm receiving shortly. As for the only plane that doesn't crash are wall hangers, yeah, unfortunately a true fact! I really really REALLY don't want to crash the spitfire, more than with any other aircraft I've flown, but that's why I'll keep the template and build a new one if it does crash!
BEST of luck my Friend!!
Yeah, I really don't want to crash my Cub either, especially if it WORKS. I've done so many little changes that I didn't write down, I don't think I could recreate them...

Rounding out the edges, is something I've done 3 times before. Not sure it adds ANYTHING but esthetics, but I like it. After sanding, I painted a thin coat of White Gorilla Glue all along the edges to help seal everything.
IMG_20190704_000452.jpg
IMG_20190710_111839.jpg
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
My X2 Mini Scout Biplane gave up the ghost on her last flight. I broke the bottom wing and destroyed the supports. (I've already built another.) The top wing was still solid though, and I was curious how it would fly as a monoplane. So I hacked off the bottom wing, glued the top wing in it's place and cut in some ailerons.

It's got an "F" pack radial motor and a 6x3 prop. Turned out it flew really well! For a time...


I gotta build that plane again! :D With some modifications. Move the wing forward.... straight line the vertical stab, increase the size of the rudder and elevator.... :unsure: The Mini Scout Speed Racer is born! :love: