FTCC'18 WWll- Heinkel He-178

[mrwhiskers]

Soooo I was originally gonna build one of these for the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome RC Jamoree in early september, but since I saw this challenge and its rules, why not enter it here as well? Power will be supplied via a E-Flite Delta V 480 4000kv (not sure if 3s or 4s yet) and a 60 amp ESC. It should come out to being roughly 40" ws or so. There will be no landing gear, out of complexity and weight of this specific gear setup. Hand launch should do just fine. I plan on building it out of foamboard and posterboard. I will likely be starting next week when I get some foam and I need to have it done before September 8th. If you have any suggestions for me, please let me know.
Until then, a brief history on the aircraft:
The Heinkel He-178 was the very first aircraft to fly under Turbojet power. Flights only lasted about 5-10 minutes due to the thirsty jet engine and light fuel supply. It first flew in August 1939 with Erich Warsitz at the controls. Though a revolution in aircraft technology, The He-178 was overshadowed by Hitler's invasion of Poland very shortly after the first flight. Heinkel decided to move on to the He-280, and the 178 was donated to the Berlin Air Museum, where it was destroyed in a bombing raid.

 

[cvdmaverick]

Very cool!

 

[mrwhiskers]

Okay, so I won't be getting much progress done in the next few days. I just got back from vacation with my friend and then Band Camp starts tomorrow. But, I did pull the EDF unit and ESC from my old Versa.
Also, I think Im gonna try and base fuselage dimensions on my Hobbyzone Supercub, because that seems about the right size that I wanna do it. I finally read up on EDF design rules of thumb too. Apparently the inlet has to be 95-100% fan diameter, and the tailpipe must be 85-95%.
P.S., does anyone know if square ducts will work for inlets and/or tailpipes?

 

[mrwhiskers]

Lots of progress last night. I got the main box designed and built, and the EDF installed.
Apparently box-ducts work fine after all, given the thing took off across the room when I applied full power
Anyways, some quick pics (sorry but they are sideways)

 

[mrwhiskers]

Some more progress on the jet tonight. My first experience shaping foam board. I also carved a nose/intake out of blue foam. It looks rough but when the whole thing gets covered in silkspan it'll look much nicer. My goal is to have it flying by next week. I have two other planes to build before Rhinebeck so Im in a rush.

 

[mrwhiskers]

So, hehe, sorry about not updating in a while. I sorta forgot about this thread
The jet meanwhile has been going through some big changes....
It has flown! I flew it unpainted and sans-canopy to see how much more weight I could add. Surprisingly, while it was sluggish, it performed excellent! Characteristics are similar to that of a Parkzone spitfire. Speed is....well.....not very good. But I have a 4 cell on the way so that should boost power quite a bit!.
After the first flight, I noticed the shape of it was too pudgy and therefore decided to reshape the rear fuselage until I got something i liked.
Then I covered the whole fuselage in Silkspan, and added a fiberglass strip on the bottom. Paint was Rustoleum Metallic and Granite. Panel lines done with sharpie
Here's a look at the finished product, Im still waiting on my 4s, but the plane itself is complete

 

[DamoRC]

I'm sure she'll rip on 4S. Can you fix the attachment so we can see the finished product?

DamoRC

 

[mrwhiskers]

I'm sure she'll rip on 4S. Can you fix the attachment so we can see the finished product?

DamoRC

Yeah sorry about that. My computers being a bit funny... I got it figured out now

 

[DamoRC]

Thanks. Nice build. Really like that nose!

DamoRC

 

[Erospace]

Very cool, definitely looks like a He-178.

 

[FoamyDM]

That looks great. the nose makes it. looking forward to the maiden vid and plands.
Can you put together a spec write-up for the first post?.

 

[Fluburtur]

Oh man this looks great! Also looks like it could make a good EDF trainer.

 

[PsyBorg]

Wow that looks really good. Can't wait to see if fly after you get the 4s worked out.

 

[Namactual]

That looks great! I love the finish. And kudos on the sharpie pen work. You just don't see enough custom art work on foamies. It looks like she should be a very stable flier as well.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Michael9865]

Looks great. May you enjoy blue skies and smooth landings.

 

[mrwhiskers]

Had a minor incident with it the other day..
Turns out I used Basswood spars when I thought I used Ply... Oh well




Airframe is totaled, not exactly what I needed with my deadline a few weeks away.
In lighter news, I did get to try it with the 4S, and WOW, what a difference. Power to weight ratio was similar to that of a Propeller-powered aircraft of similar size.
But, where there is disaster there is always hope. Im not giving up on this. So Version 2 is underway with some slight tweaks, including internal servos, stronger wing attachment, and stringers where posterboard wasnt strong enough.




Updates to come..

 

[HilldaFlyer]

Wow, fast rebuild - but sorry it had to be done. Keep up the good work

with my deadline a few weeks away

I hope this is a personal deadline and not contest deadline since I'm nowhere near flying ready.

 

[F106DeltaDart]

Sorry about the crash, but the rebuild is looking great! As for power, I've found the same on my EDFs. If a prop plane takes 3S, a similar EDF needs 4S. If a prop needs 4S, the jet needs 6S, ect. Version 1 looked great, so I can't wait to see how it looks with internal servos and all.

 

[mrwhiskers]

Wow, fast rebuild - but sorry it had to be done. Keep up the good work



I hope this is a personal deadline and not contest deadline since I'm nowhere near flying ready.

Haha, no, this is a personal one. My original goal for this plane was to bring it to the WW1/Golden Age scale model meet at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Part of the event rules state that the airplanes must be models of planes first flown before Dec. 31, 1939 and could not have served in ww2. This was first flown August 12, 1939. I plan on raising all kinds of hell bringing the only allowed jet to a predominately ww1 model meet

 

[HilldaFlyer]

Let us know how it goes. That sounds like fun.