MarioGdV
Active member
Hello guys. I would like to show you the first plane that I've designed. It took me quite a few months (almost a year) since I've had a lot of problems (bassically exams, but I also lost all the data of my Pc, including the plans of the plane, when it was almost finished).
The plane, as the title of the post says, it's the Polikarpov I-15. It has 1m (40 inches) of wingspan and it's compatible with the FT PowerPack C. At first I wanted to build the I-16, but then I decided to make the I-15, which has the same fuselage but it's a biplane. Here's a few photos of the plane:
And a photo of the 3D Model of the RC version (the wingtips will be roundy in the real version):
I love the shape of the upper wing (the way it connects to the fuselage), but it was really hard to make that shape in a foamboard plane, specially when it's your first time designing the plans.
I haven't built it yet since I don't have enough foamboard and the only type of foam I can buy is way heavier than the FliteTest one (I'll probably end up buying the FliteTest foamboard). I'll add the building of the plane in this post as soon as possible, but first I need to buy the foam. Meanwhile, I'll put here the plans and the techniques I used, in case someone is interested.
I started building the plans in 2D, in AutoCAD, but then I thought that it was easier to make a 3D version of the plane (in Fusion 360) and that's what I did. I used this plans that I found on the internet to make the formers of the fuselage:
I removed some formers that weren't necessary, and then I placed them correctly. Secondly, I made a "PowerPod Box" that connects all the formers and the PowerPod:
I also made the holes for the battery.
The last former is so thin the PowerPod Box can't go through it, so I connected it to the other former with 2 pieces of foam (vertical and horizontal).
One of the advantages of making it in 3D was that I could see the exact shape of the posterboard/foamboard that I was going to use to cover the fuselage, by using "ExactFlat". The problem is that it took me so long to make the plans that the free trial expired :S. Anyways, I will do it like other people do, by covering it with paper and cutting the excess. Then I'll unfold it and cut a piece of posterboard with the same shape.
So, the next step was making the wings. The upper wings were hard to make:
They're connected to each other, the PowerPod Box and the Formers. I think there won't be any problems with it. This is how the wings will look in the foamboard:
You can see on the left part of the wing the different cuts that are needed in order to make that "V" shape.
I'll build it soon, and I hope it flies good. I don't think it will be too heavy, specially if I use a light foam, but since it's a biplane, it's going to be heavier than a monoplane.
The plane, as the title of the post says, it's the Polikarpov I-15. It has 1m (40 inches) of wingspan and it's compatible with the FT PowerPack C. At first I wanted to build the I-16, but then I decided to make the I-15, which has the same fuselage but it's a biplane. Here's a few photos of the plane:
And a photo of the 3D Model of the RC version (the wingtips will be roundy in the real version):
I love the shape of the upper wing (the way it connects to the fuselage), but it was really hard to make that shape in a foamboard plane, specially when it's your first time designing the plans.
I haven't built it yet since I don't have enough foamboard and the only type of foam I can buy is way heavier than the FliteTest one (I'll probably end up buying the FliteTest foamboard). I'll add the building of the plane in this post as soon as possible, but first I need to buy the foam. Meanwhile, I'll put here the plans and the techniques I used, in case someone is interested.
I started building the plans in 2D, in AutoCAD, but then I thought that it was easier to make a 3D version of the plane (in Fusion 360) and that's what I did. I used this plans that I found on the internet to make the formers of the fuselage:
I removed some formers that weren't necessary, and then I placed them correctly. Secondly, I made a "PowerPod Box" that connects all the formers and the PowerPod:
I also made the holes for the battery.
The last former is so thin the PowerPod Box can't go through it, so I connected it to the other former with 2 pieces of foam (vertical and horizontal).
One of the advantages of making it in 3D was that I could see the exact shape of the posterboard/foamboard that I was going to use to cover the fuselage, by using "ExactFlat". The problem is that it took me so long to make the plans that the free trial expired :S. Anyways, I will do it like other people do, by covering it with paper and cutting the excess. Then I'll unfold it and cut a piece of posterboard with the same shape.
So, the next step was making the wings. The upper wings were hard to make:
They're connected to each other, the PowerPod Box and the Formers. I think there won't be any problems with it. This is how the wings will look in the foamboard:
You can see on the left part of the wing the different cuts that are needed in order to make that "V" shape.
I'll build it soon, and I hope it flies good. I don't think it will be too heavy, specially if I use a light foam, but since it's a biplane, it's going to be heavier than a monoplane.