Dat Eagle

[Namactual]

Well, I am committed now. I made the thread. I was hesitant to officially start this as I aleady have over 9000 other projects started, but I am almost done. At this rate I can be building by the weekend...


Anyway, the foam fu is all but done. I have a few bulkheads and formers to do yet, but the skin and folds are done. I went through a few revisions on the intakes and lower belly area, but I think I have come up with something simple to build and yet has an acceptable scale appearance. We will see once she is built. Minor face changes aside, the stats above have not changed.

 

[foamtest]

Hmmm looks like something that would go well for this years Veterans airshow... just saying

 

[Namactual]

Hmmm looks like something that would go well for this years Veterans airshow... just saying

That was the major motivator for this build to be honest. It will get a skin like the Rhino. I did not forget about the Army either. I am still planning on the Army RC-12, although I am not sure when I will get that done.

As for the Vet Airshow itself, I want to attend this year and I plan to. That said, I am not sure I will be able to make it. Consequently I can not promise anything other than making the plans and skins available for others to build and contribute with.

 

[foamtest]

That should help tremendously, I hope this years will be the best yet!

 

[Namactual]

It's way past my bed time but I am done with the bulkheads and formers...

The only thing I have left to do is to add a few more alignment tab/notches in key locations and she is ready to be unwrapped.

 

[kilroy07]

Dang it.....
How in the heck do you expect me to make any headway on my backlogged build list?!!

That said, I am not sure I will be able to make it.

If there’s anything I can do to help make that happen let me know.

 

[Namactual]

If there’s anything I can do to help make that happen let me know.

Hmm...
Well, I guess you could get me fired...
...although if you decide to do that, just make sure you do before I buy my house. That is going to drain the bank account.

As far as the back log goes, I hear ya. I still have a few designs of my own to catch up on. This is not even counting some of the great scratch builds from other members I would like to build.

If I make it to retirement I will not have a lack of things to do. This is and absolute certainty.

 

[Namactual]

 

[Namactual]

Ack!
I told myself no more airplanes until I bought my house. This apartment is just too small for this. I need a proper workshop.
Anyway, update time.

Dat Eagle is a go!

These are US Legal size pages.


I cut about half of this out last night, but I had to get some sleep. Cold meds where kicking in and taking it's toll.


Ready for glue. I am still not done with the prints, but I had to get started building. If I spend too much time in front of the computer I tend to lose steam. I figured I would start with the core build and let my eyes rest for a bit.

In the past I have been adding a lot of space in my prints to allow for cut errors which is nice to have, but it tends to add up. My tolerances are a lot tighter on these prints. The more of these I do, the better my cuts and general craftsmanship improves. I hope this fits together better than the Rhino. I will say one thing, for an alpha prototype, this thing is already looking to be more refined than my other builds.

I should have the Core finished in a few hours, then it's on to getting the wing plates ready for print. If I can keep up this pace I might have this finished this weekend.

 

[Namactual]

Everything fit together rather well considering it's a prototype.

The only issues I ran into were in the hatch/canopy.

1: I will never try to glue the canopy in place as a single part again. I would have been better off cutting it into three parts like the Rhino. It fit pretty well, but trying to hold all three flaps in place was too much work. By the time I finished, the moisture from my hands wrinkled a little bit of the rear canopy. (having cold and clammy hands from being sick does not help I am sure)

2: The rear part of the hatch is too long and thin to put that much tension on the folds without at least one bulkhead. I made it worse by trying to notch out the area for a magnet plate. The idea was to use the magnet plate as a width gauge and support, but the high tension coupled with the notch just made it a failure point when trying to bend, hold and glue. As a result, the hatch is dented in the middle and almost coke bottle shaped.

Those minor issues aside, it looks pretty good. I am going to love having all of that room for wiring and electronics. It is easily double what the Rhino has. The original intent was to cut the center former out of the nose once I glued it all together, but I do not think I even have to worry about it. There is plenty of room. A 4s battery would have plenty of room as well.

 

[Grifflyer]

It looks great so far!!

 

[Namactual]

Thanks Griff!

Wing plate prints and control surfaces are done...

I really wanted to cut these out tonight so I could let the two plates bond overnight, but I just do not think I have it in me. I think I am just going to take some cold meds and hit the sack.

All that is left to do print-wise is the intake/rear fuse plates. These are pretty straight forward to unwrap and I could have the prints ready in about an hour or two.

I am not sure I will get it all done by tomorrow, but it will be close.

 

[foamtest]

Awesome to see more progress on this, I cant wait to fly one in the airshow!

 

[Namactual]

Hopefully it flies as well as it looks.

Speaking of which, I have my wing plates cut out and getting ready to start the bond process. I did a quick dry mock-up with the parts I have and she looks good gents. Real good. I am stoked and can't wait to try this baby out.

I will post pics in a bit, then its on to the intake/rear fuse plates.

 

[Namactual]

It's starting to look like something.

Wing plates are bonding as I type. I just use a good coat of elmers glue and I usually let those sit for about 24hours. It's probably overkill for what it is, but this type of build is strong as all get out. My Rhino prototype had three layers of foam in some places. She was heavy, but you could not break that build if you tried. And I tried in Sundays combat at FF17. Broke off the nose, and broke the motor mount, but the airframe was still good to go.

Anyway, almost there.

 

[Namactual]

Pics inbound...

Stick a fork in it, it is done!
Well ok, it is not done yet. I have to install the electronics. And the elevons/vertstabs are not glued or hinged in place yet, but the foam work is done.


I am happy with it. It went together quite well.


The intakes, as complicated as the prints may look, are quite easy to install. That was a huge win. I am not happy with the hatch at all though, so the beta build will have a complete hatch overhaul. The outside shape will not change, but how it's build will be different. The overall size of the hatch might change as well. I will know more once I install the electronics and balance it with a battery.

Again, I like it. It is simple and it still looks good. Once it is skinned it will look more scale than the Rhino for sure.

I am done for the day though. I have to clean up and get my living space back.

 

[Namactual]

I forgot to mention it's weight which was 190grams dry.

Depending on the weather, I hope to get this in the air next weekend.

 

[whackflyer]

Lookin nice!!!

 

[foamtest]

Man, I still can't believe how fast you can churn out, in my opinion, better than flite test models!

 

[Namactual]

Man, I still can't believe how fast you can churn out, in my opinion, better than flite test models!

I am getting faster thats for sure, but I would not go that far.

New hatch redesign inbound...

This should look A LOT cleaner than the prototype without anymore complication really. Since I am not sure where the CG will end up and also give a wide array of battery options I put a tunnel through the bulkheads with a level plate. You will have a good 8" of battery travel for CG fine tuning.


There is a second idea behind the two separate hatches as well. Beyond the canopy being its own build which looks better all around, with that being a separate entity I can design and 3D print a far more scale canopy for it. Not unlike the one for my Phantom v2. Just 3D printing the canopy and nose cone really brings the scale appearance to a whole other level.

...oh, I forgot to mention I already have munitions in the works as well.