F-104 Starfighter Plans and Build

AeroEngineer20

New member
Hello all! A while ago I decided to make one of my favourite planes, the F-104. This idea was inspired by my discovery of Ben Harber's fantastic EDF jets. I wanted it to be big enough to accommodate a reasonable EDF that I would 3D print. I'll talk about that one a bit later.

I started with 3-view reference photos that I imported into Blender. From there I made a proof-of-concept glider to check the position of the CG, and to see if the design is possible at this scale. I was happy to determine that it flies just like the real one; great at higher speeds, but does not recover from a flat attitude in a reasonable altitude. I didn't bother to add the air intakes or a canopy, since I didn't think those would make or break the design.
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After this, I went on to work out the full scale design. Since I didn't have the money for a real EDF, I decided to try to design one that would use a 2205 red-bottom motor. It didn't end up being enough, but it was a fun attempt.
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Here's the full model:
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Once I created the plans and got them all cut out, I headed over to my local EAA chapter hangar and they let me take a table or two to build it. I started from the wings/EDF area and worked my way out.
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After that, I tried attaching landing gear that were much too heavy and ineffective. And sadly, this is about as far as I got with the build. The EDF that I made was too weak to push the airframe through the air at any speed, and I didn't have the money to buy a real EDF. This is where the community comes in. I'd like to see someone else build this design and try to make it fly! Below is a link to the plans and 3D Blender model as they have been since I made this design in December of 2017. Let me know how it goes, if anyone attempts it!

Google Drive link to Plans and 3D Files
 

DamoRC

Elite member
Mentor
A really clean build - nice work!

What power setup did you try to use and what was the all up weight?

DamoRC
 

a.lord

New member
Howdy!

This thing looks sweet. I just got all the pieces cut out, but I’m finding myself a bit lost as to how the build process goes. Any help you can offer in that regard?
 

AeroEngineer20

New member
Howdy!

This thing looks sweet. I just got all the pieces cut out, but I’m finding myself a bit lost as to how the build process goes. Any help you can offer in that regard?

Thanks! Great to see someone taking on the build.

I apologize for the lack of documentation, but maybe this photo will help:
IMG_20171206_163928.jpg

I started by assembling the wings, since that seemed to be the most complex part. The wings are made of two layers of foam, and the ailerons are controlled by torsion of a metal rod. I wanted to keep the smooth wing shape, even if it meant a slight loss of rigidity to the control surface. The ideal setup would be a bell crank assembly with regular pushrods, that way the servo can be hidden without sacrificing a rigid setup. Probably the best way to do that is to 3d print it if it's not commercially available. However, at the time, I went with torsion. The wings are then fed through the intakes, and that assembly is ready to be picked up in the fuselage, once built.
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After that, I used the octagonal formers set at reference lines to form the fuselage sections. The sections just butt together with a few squares overlapping the joint inside for stability. I believe I started the fuselage with the section housing the EDF, then the one to the rear of it, then worked forward to the nose. This photo shows the rear sections almost done and the nose foam laid out.
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I'll be working on a canopy on Friday after i get back from Oshkosh to at least finish the aircraft design. I'll be drawing inspiration from the new Edge 540 build methods to hopefully get a nice canopy.

Let me know if I can be of any more help.
 

AeroEngineer20

New member
Howdy!

This thing looks sweet. I just got all the pieces cut out, but I’m finding myself a bit lost as to how the build process goes. Any help you can offer in that regard?

I just finished the canopy and did some clarifying as to which formers go where in the fuselage. If you look under "Sheets>PDFs" in the Google Drive link, the new versions are up. I didn't modify the design, just added reference numbers and the canopy parts on Sheet 3.
 

ThatsALotOfPlanes

Active member
Man, the double take I did when I saw this thread :p. It looks great!

Only problem is the visions I see of a small scale F-104 acting even worse in the air than the full-size "Rocket With a Man in it"
 

b-29er

Well-known member
Man, the double take I did when I saw this thread :p. It looks great!

Only problem is the visions I see of a small scale F-104 acting even worse in the air than the full-size "Rocket With a Man in it"
Perhaps, but the nice thing is i can't use the leading edge on this f-104 as a knife. The airfoil being more than a glorified butcher's knife will help a lot with the speed and maneuverability aspects, and it looks like it'd be pretty low weight. But lets wait and see until someone posts a flying video.
 

a.lord

New member
I tried to put it together but was having trouble getting the fuselage pieces together. The formers didn't seem to fit the flats on the fuse. So I gave up lol