New To RC Hobby & Scratch Building Assistance

[RichardFS]

Hello! I have enjoyed FT for almost two years now, but haven't really gotten into the hobby myself until recently. I built a styrofoam glider about a year ago and I have been wanting to build an actual flying RC plane using its design (the styrofoam one I have now flies great but doesn't go very far). But First, I wanted to start by building it with actual foam and testing its capabilities before rigging up engines, control surfaces etc. I drew up the basic dimensions of the plane for reference when building what I will consider the first prototype. I understand that the powered version will need to be redesigned slightly to compensate for the added weight and speed, but for now I want t focus on testing it. What foam do you recommend? Are there any kinks in the design I missed? Thanks a lot for all the help!

 

[JimCR120]

There are plenty of things that will work. There are foam boards that are useable that you can buy at many places. Cost, weight, durability, and workability are all factors in deciding which you prefer yourself.

The foam in your photo appears to be eps which is light, inexpensive, sometimes flexible, though maybe not very durable. If you add weight in the form of electronics the wings will be under more stress which is greatest at the wing roots.

Another concern is cg. If your current configuration doesn't go fare, why is that? Is it nosing in over a short distance? If so, your cg is too far forward and you need to balance the aircraft more to the aft. If the aircraft pitches up first and then dives, then I would move the cg more forward.