Experimental EDF Jets and Other Ideas

[Houndpup Rc]

Ah, yeah, don't think I've ever used Prusa slicer before. I think Cura is probably the most reliable one out there at the moment and the one that results in a plane shaped print with the least messing with the settings. Orca slicer is really good with the newer printers and I think it gives you a few more options but you do have to fight with it a bit more before it will print some things at all

I have had pretty good luck with Creality Print and it has a more modern UI IMO👍

 

[Mr Man]

Ah, yeah, don't think I've ever used Prusa slicer before. I think Cura is probably the most reliable one out there at the moment and the one that results in a plane shaped print with the least messing with the settings. Orca slicer is really good with the newer printers and I think it gives you a few more options but you do have to fight with it a bit more before it will print some things at all

Alright, I'll stick with Cura then 👍 I also like its interface quite a bit!

 

[L Edge]

I got it built in my looking for ideas thread but between TFRs essentially every weekend and some real-life stuff I haven't had the chance to test fly yet

Today, I got to fly my modified plane (had prop, now 5 bladed 64mmEDF) to explore what effects with the boundary layer, if any mounted in the rear.
Plane acted totally different when flying then with a prop, and the other factor, the EDF seemed to accelerate faster which is different. It will be interesting to see what you think and what comments you make with your setup.

I noticed you are getting some good speed with some of your planes which means longer runways for landing. Been doing a lot of searching for info and noticed the guys flying dia of 80 -100 EDF's when they come in, really eat the runway quickly. But then, you can hear the EDF(s) spin up and do the braking for them. Quite a number of saves from damage I would say.

Maybe you should explore one of the working ESC's that reverses with the flip of a switch. Mine became uncomfortable when the reverse throttle went past 2/3 where I envision a reduced plastic blade life. Seems to be a life saver for the pilots especially when they come in high, hot and heavy..

 

[telnar1236]

Today, I got to fly my modified plane (had prop, now 5 bladed 64mmEDF) to explore what effects with the boundary layer, if any mounted in the rear.
Plane acted totally different when flying then with a prop, and the other factor, the EDF seemed to accelerate faster which is different. It will be interesting to see what you think and what comments you make with your setup.

View attachment 257780

I noticed you are getting some good speed with some of your planes which means longer runways for landing. Been doing a lot of searching for info and noticed the guys flying dia of 80 -100 EDF's when they come in, really eat the runway quickly. But then, you can hear the EDF(s) spin up and do the braking for them. Quite a number of saves from damage I would say.

Maybe you should explore one of the working ESC's that reverses with the flip of a switch. Mine became uncomfortable when the reverse throttle went past 2/3 where I envision a reduced plastic blade life. Seems to be a life saver for the pilots especially when they come in high, hot and heavy..

Any video of the plane flying in this configuration?

I still need to test my BLI wing - I've built up quite the backlog of planes to test fly between the TFRs and some other craziness around here. But now that we're more into summer, I'm getting to fly more again and working through it (though not that quickly - I tend to only bring one or at most two new airframes to test to the flying field at a time since I still want space to bring something proven that I can fly if the new design crashes). And I've been prioritizing my laminar flow wing designs for the speed competition more than the other designs lately.

 

[L Edge]

Any video of the plane flying in this configuration?

I still need to test my BLI wing - I've built up quite the backlog of planes to test fly between the TFRs and some other craziness around here. But now that we're more into summer, I'm getting to fly more again and working through it (though not that quickly - I tend to only bring one or at most two new airframes to test to the flying field at a time since I still want space to bring something proven that I can fly if the new design crashes). And I've been prioritizing my laminar flow wing designs for the speed competition more than the other designs lately.

Will do in awhile.
I'm busy right now with my VTOL where I'm finally solved my problem and doing a lot of testing (flying at hover) to hopefully have a full transitional flight without damage or crashing.
Wish I was a lot younger for the future of designing RC EDF planes will be in CAD systems and 3D printing. Ever since FFF and depron left the market, selection is very poor. Wait until you try dual EDF's with crazy shape stealth exits and no rudders. Loss of thrust plus other issues will have to be overcome.

 

[TreadHead98]

@telnar1236, How's the f-100ish coming?

 

[telnar1236]

@telnar1236, How's the f-100ish coming?

Got the 70mm testbed flying and have been working on dealing with issues with the common landing gear. I've also finally started building the Super Duper Sabre as part of the speed competition this year in this thread

2026 Speed Challenge - Telnar1236

This is my thread for the 2026 speed challenge. I'll likely be building two planes for it, the Super Duper Sabre design I've been working on optimizing in the background for some time and an as yet nameless design which is intended to run a 90mm fan on 8s, or maybe even 12s. First is the Super...

forum.flitetest.com

 

[telnar1236]

Something I looked into a bit earlier in this project but never resolved to my satisfaction was if it's worth it to fair in the control horns for the ailerons. Conclusions are as follows:

1. It isn't really a huge difference one way or another. The difference between the bare linkage and an optimized fairing is about 1mph assuming a 160 mph top speed for the Super Duper Sabre and will probably be less significant for most designs as they are higher drag with more power to compensate
2. An open backed fairing is worse than the bare linkage (you see these on most production speed planes and it seems like they're probably shooting themselves in the foot a tiny bit)
3. A close backed fairing with a good profile is about 75% the drag of the bare linkage and is therefore somewhat an improvement

You can see how the bare linkage develops pretty high pressure on the leading edge of the servo arm and control horn, but the frontal area is just so tiny that the actual force is pretty small

By contrast a well-designed fairing has less pressure on the leading edge and good pressure recovery on the trailing edge, but it's bigger and therefore has more skin friction drag and a larger frontal area. The drag is less but it's a reduction from 0.08 N to 0.06 N (8g to 6g) at 110 mph so it's not a huge impact on the plane one way or the other. One advantage I didn't look at is it also closes the gap into the servo bay, so it's probably a somewhat larger improvement than accounted for here, but even doubled or tripled, that's less than 1% of the thrust from the 80mm EDF.

And an open backed fairing is the worst of both worlds with a large frontal area, high surface area, and poor pressure recovery.