foam thermic 50x

[AdamV]

I used a credit card, and it worked really well... except i only used it on one side, and it wasn't sized perfect to the skewer, so i had some slop.

Were i to do it again, i'd do two (like you did), take more time getting the size of the channel better, and either use a stiffer push rod, or run it through the arrow.

I also had a tough time getting the push rod to go through the control horn with it being so close to the rudder/arrow and not having interference

 

[Tater76]

So I got distracted from starting the build due to rebuilding my F22 after a horrendous blackout crash. However, I did gather materials to get started. My question now is what is the advantage of the floating elevator? I love the complexity and unique look, but is there any performance gain or other reasons to build it this way?

 

[dutchmonkey]

for what this is no not really any performance gain. i just like the looks and complexity of the design its very different to most builds.

 

[Tater76]

Exactly what I thought you would say I am going to try not to butcher your design now lol. Pics to follow soon.

 

[dutchmonkey]

Exactly what I thought you would say I am going to try not to butcher your design now lol. Pics to follow soon.

don't worry about butchering my design if you make it easier for you to build great share what you do and maybe others will be encouraged to try it them selves.

 

[Tater76]

Is there any chance you have ever mounted a camera to the plane? Would it take the weight of say a gopro? The reason I ask is that I finally tried flying my scratchbuild Cub with a cell phone strapped to the belly tonight, and got some amazing footage. Flight time is limited with that plane, and I would think that a glider catching thermals could fly for an hour or better in the right conditions.

 

[dutchmonkey]

With the 60" wing I dont see why not

 

[dutchmonkey]

i would also suggest hobbykings wing cam for the job its smaller and more aerodynamic and does shot some great video.

 

[Tater76]

Ok, so I got all of the pieces cut and began glue up. My fuse does not look as nice as yours because I didn't look close at your pics to see that you beveled the cuts inside of it. I took the marks as how FT does them and cut out the 1/4" strip and removed the foam lol. Oh well, it went together ok, and it's nothing tape won't fix.

How did you attach the boom? Just lots of hot glue inside the little pod? Any reinforcement? I'm ready to do it, and don't want to screw it up lol.

 

[dutchmonkey]

yes basically I push it into the pillar and make sure it lines up. Pull it back out rought it up with sand paper put some glue where the boom goes slide it back in put more glue on each side of the boom twist it a little bit then line it up and let it dry. I have done this woth a few foam dlgs and never had a failure yet.

 

[AdamV]

I have really been meaning to post some pics of my finished product! Ugh

I haven't really had a chance to fly it significantly yet - wind in vegas is ALWAYS high. But perhaps this Saturday AM.

Do you have any recommendations for CG on the 60" wing?

 

[dutchmonkey]

its the same as the 50" about 1/2" in front of the bottom back panel of the wing does that make sense i will double check where i have it tonight

 

[Tater76]

So do you think adding ailerons would improve the handling? or is the 3 channel plenty? I am putting the finishing touches on right now, and was thinking about adding them some how, but don't want to ruin the experience and simplicity of the design and idea.

 

[dutchmonkey]

So do you think adding ailerons would improve the handling? or is the 3 channel plenty? I am putting the finishing touches on right now, and was thinking about adding them some how, but don't want to ruin the experience and simplicity of the design and idea.

they are not needed it flies great. but you can always add them if you want to

 

[Tater76]

Ok, so here it is nearly done. Don't laugh lol, my style of building is "Quick and Dirty" due to lack of time to dedicate to perfection and beauty. I made some changes to servo location to reduce binding issues, and will add an extended wing deck to cover them. So just that, and the motor install, and I will test her out.
The flying stab was an interesting chore, and I am still on the fence about how it feels. A word of caution for those who decide to tackle this in the future, be very careful with the amount of hot glue around the elevator movement areas. I will try to maiden it this week, and get video too.

 

[Tater76]

Ok just finished, and glide tested. Flies very nice even just being thrown. The motor is the smallest I own, 2208 800kv, and a 500mah 3s. The wing didn't turn out as nice as I wanted, so I will likely build another but the 60" version. The wing mount had to be altered for my servo placement. I just used popsicle sticks to create a platform, and bridge over the servos. I left it open to be able to access the servos if needed.

YES it's ugly, I didn't take my time, but I'm all about flight time and not hangar queens lol. Oh well, maybe the next version will be prettier I want to thank DutchMonkey for taking the time to create plans. It is alot of work as I am learning.

The really cool part of this build happened last night. I went to fly at the school yard close by, and met an old gentleman who happened to be flying there too. We got to talking, flying, and generally making good friends when I mentioned the Thermic 50 I was building. He stopped for a moment, and I could see the gears turning. He then proceeded to tell me that the Thermic 50 was one of his very first planes as a teenager! He told me that he hadn't thought about that plane in nearly 50 years! So I enlightened him about Flite Test, the free plans, the foamboard, etc. I know for a fact that I just converted a 75 year old man to the FliteTest side lol. It was truly awesome, and I had no idea how old this design was wow!

 

[AdamV]

My Turn!





Been too windy to give it an honest go just yet.

 

[dutchmonkey]

The really cool part of this build happened last night. I went to fly at the school yard close by, and met an old gentleman who happened to be flying there too. We got to talking, flying, and generally making good friends when I mentioned the Thermic 50 I was building. He stopped for a moment, and I could see the gears turning. He then proceeded to tell me that the Thermic 50 was one of his very first planes as a teenager! He told me that he hadn't thought about that plane in nearly 50 years! So I enlightened him about Flite Test, the free plans, the foamboard, etc. I know for a fact that I just converted a 75 year old man to the FliteTest side lol. It was truly awesome, and I had no idea how old this design was wow!

thats great to hear. and yes the thermic is on old model there are a few more of frank ziac's models that i would like to do i love the vintage designs.

 

[dutchmonkey]

My Turn!
Been too windy to give it an honest go just yet.

nice to see another one built.

 

[Tater76]

Maidened the Thermic last night, no video sorry the camera kid was busy. First impressions are that it does glide very well with the correct cg lol. It seemed like even half throttle made it go vertical, lots of managing down elevator needed when climbing. Low speed takeoff was difficult to control, but once speed was up it flew very docile.

I may try to put ailerons on mine to aid in take off control. I know that would distract from the meaning of the design, but it was just super squirrely on takeoff. I will also mess around with added weight, because it seemed like the more I added to the nose (little by little), the more it liked it. I started with an 800mah 3s, and 1oz of lead in the nose. When put into a dive to gain speed, that weight really helped gain momentum.