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.
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.
Here's the full model:
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.
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
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.
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.
Here's the full model:
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.
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