Let's See Those Deltas(Custom,Scratch,Kit,Scale,RTF, Anything Goes👍)

Vimana89

Legendary member
I have an interest in all varieties of fixed wing planes (and some multi rotor on the side), and I want to experience it all, form a design, build, and fly perspective; straight wings, swept wings, saucers/Nutballs, multi wing, forward swept, you name it. That being said, most in this hobby have one category or another that they favor most/have a primary interest in, no matter how well-rounded they are otherwise. For some, it is WW2 style war birds. For others, Biplanes, Flying Wings, Cubs/High Wing, etc. Want to take a guess what that category is for me?

Let's see those deltas! Anyone from delta fans like me, to those who have just a passing interest/one or two good deltas. Post your favorite deltas. Post your own custom designs, scratch builds from plans, kits, RTF/retail, your builds, your flight videos, your pictures, your experiences. Anything related to the delta planes you enjoy is welcome here, including aerodynamic discussion, full scale/historical deltas, etc. Tailless deltas, tailed deltas, delta fighters, delta flying wings, wide deltas, equilateral deltas, slender deltas, compound/"cranked" deltas, ogival deltas, gothic deltas, any of those + canards, etc. all are welcome.

I'm no expert, which is exactly why I'd like to create a thread to learn about, discuss, and show appreciation for delta planes. A place where complete newbs, novices, intermediate flyers, and various degrees of more seasoned/veteran flyers alike who are interested in deltas (from a design, build, fly or all of the above perspective) can share, discuss, learn, and have fun. I could jump straight into posting some of my own stuff, but I think I'll wait and see the interest level.
 

quorneng

Master member
Four scale EDF deltas built in 2 & 3 mm Depron and no carbon!
Fairy FD2
AcrylicBlue.JPG

It has a scale wing section.
The even more extreme 'low speed' Handley Page HP115
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The North American XB70 Valkyrie
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The canards work in opposition to the elevators. Single 70 mm EDF with six scale exhaust nozzles.
And finally Concorde.
Complete.JPG

Only 860 mm span but 2230 mm long with 4x40 mm EDFs in scale nacelles.
All hand launch and belly land they fly well enough but rely on being extremely light. They take a lot of time and effort to build so every flight feels like the maiden.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Four scale EDF deltas built in 2 & 3 mm Depron and no carbon!
Fairy FD2
View attachment 143916
It has a scale wing section.
The even more extreme 'low speed' Handley Page HP115
View attachment 143917
The North American XB70 Valkyrie
View attachment 143918
The canards work in opposition to the elevators. Single 70 mm EDF with six scale exhaust nozzles.
And finally Concorde.
View attachment 143919
Only 860 mm span but 2230 mm long with 4x40 mm EDFs in scale nacelles.
All hand launch and belly land they fly well enough but rely on being extremely light. They take a lot of time and effort to build so every flight feels like the maiden.
Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Just the post to kick this thread off. I'm definitely familiar with your HP-115 and Fairy FD2 and was hoping you might post them here. Very nice, scale looking examples of the more uncommon and slender deltas(big fan of the HP-115 myself). Great work on the XB70 and Concorde as well(y).
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Alright delta fans...you've just seen some of the best with those slender Depron stunners. Here's my stuff, which is admittedly newb level DTFB park flyers, at about the level of complexity of the FT three pack(Nutball,Flyer,Delta). They do fly very well for what they are, and the very little time invested(these are builds that can be done in a few hours, though more effort went into design, trial and error, etc.)

The black one is my V-Sliver. It is a very slender delta with a high mounted pusher and 3ch RET control scheme(unconventional for deltas), which makes the turns a little short and choppy and axial rolls impossible, but makes the plane stall resistant and tames the roll axis. This plane is recoverable and pretty much stall proof-the worst that will happen is Dutch roll. Great speed envelope, and high alpha is out of this world. The powerplant requirements to get the spare thrust are a bit extreme for its size(Radial 2205), and an agressive three bladed prop is pretty much a necessity. Not very efficient, but loads of fun.

The green one is a more recent design of mine called the Arrowhead. At the moment it's a sloppy prototype. This is a tailed delta, uses a 3ch AET control scheme rather than RET, and is notably less slender than the V Sliver, although still highly swept. Turns are a lot more clean, with nice, fluid banking. This plane has a great speed envelope as well, and is easy to fly, but not completely stall proof. A drastic bank on low speed without enough elevator and throttle(newb mistake) will send it into a nasty spiral, but can punch out with throttle. This one has a bit of high alpha, nothing drastic, but a little bit to help on really low speed and enough to flare on landing. This one uses a Radial 1806 and has worked well with either 6x3x2 or 5x3x3 props. EDIT:links to pictures didn't work pictures now attached.
 

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Vimana89

Legendary member
Links to my pictures were not working properly. The pictures are now attached to my above post. Lets see some more! Anything from the most simple to the most elaborate. Ready to fly, retail stuff, kits, custom jobs, anything goes. Anyone enjoy the FT delta that comes in the three pack? I'd like to know, I'm a little curious. I'd like to see some really basic park flyers and KFM deltas, and some more nice scale builds. Anyone have an Avro Vulcan build?
 

OliverW

Legendary member
Not as ugly as some of my first attempts at building. Did this one fly? It looks pretty practical at least, if a bit sloppy.
It got 2 flights but would occasionally do funky flops and stalls... it was built as a vtol delta. I need to build another. An afternoon to build one!
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
It got 2 flights but would occasionally do funky flops and stalls... it was built as a vtol delta. I need to build another. An afternoon to build one!
Sounds like my kind of plane👍. I say do it. Looking forward to seeing you make another one, and your FTFC20. You fly a lot of crazy 3D and your axial rolls are on point, I think you'd take to flying deltas like a fish to water.
 

jpot1

Elite member
Here is a few more:

Skyray by Lockey on rcgroups - a great stable plane.
C3F5E511-4F06-4BCA-AAE0-D4B2B4328EF9.jpeg


Super simple delta - rcgroups - fun to bang the sticks with.
CB19B8D5-CF39-4B62-B2DB-672C1BA057FC.jpeg


And a mini Polaris- based on Steve Shumates plans but I shrunk them and adapted them for FT building methods
1020524B-6ED3-4119-8EDA-5A60AC770E50.jpeg
 

quorneng

Master member
A Skyray?
Another 3 mm Depron job with a 36" span. Sadly it is no longer.
Painted.JPG

Actually with a ducted prop inside (4.5x4.5) rather than a true fan so the inlets and exhaust are a bit over size but it flew superbly.
 

L Edge

Master member
Here is my addition, notice the airfoil shape, which by the way, when you decend and speed up, you have to push nose down due to the added lift. Notice I added my device "udder rudder" which make this plane flyable in high winds. Pitch is very sensative allowing all kinds of weird flying flips.

udder-rudder.JPG
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Here is my addition, notice the airfoil shape, which by the way, when you decend and speed up, you have to push nose down due to the added lift. Notice I added my device "udder rudder" which make this plane flyable in high winds. Pitch is very sensative allowing all kinds of weird flying flips.

View attachment 144290
That's a reallyunique and interesting design! I love the look of it, a real eye catcher. I think I remember seeing it in an image search and not knowing it belonged to somebody here, definitely would have commented on it. How did you come up with that one? Is that your own design, or did you find plans for that somewhere?It's got this lifting body/slender delta thing going on up front and then the back part wing is like a more traditional flying wing shape. The last time I tried a compound delta wing shape it had really bad stall characteristics. That was with a crude one sheet plane with no air foil and limited control system(though I've seen very nicely built Drakens fly like crap just like it on YouTube)You must have overcome those tendencies with your air foil design and control system.
 
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Vimana89

Legendary member
Also, thanks for all the submissions. I love both of the Skyrays that were posted. The SSD is a nice touch, something I've been considering building some time, and the Polaris looks awesome with the tail nacelle. Is that one set up to possibly be a water plane? Update: A quick search reveals that it is. Very nice(y)
 
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