Sacrificial Combat Plane for Flite Fest

[mikeehuber]

Hey guys, I am beginner pilot, just good enough to fly a 4 channel trainer. I want to enjoy and participate in lots of combat at Flite Fest. I was thinking it would be amazing to build a "sacrificial" plane for combat, build a rugged 3d printed or laminated EPP Foam three channel elevator rudder fuselage maybe a pusher to protect the prop, and make disposable dihedral wings fast and cheap out of two full sheets of dollar store foam. That way it would be huge, but I could prebuild a full stack of half wings to pack flat in the car. The hope would have the fuselage survive the demolitions mostly and glue up quick the next giant rough wing.

Anybody up to design the fuselage to survive and protect the electronics or has this been done yet?

Maybe the call it the FT "Target" or FT "Bloody Lamb" I was thinking of you Sponz! I know it fly like poop but who cares on if the collisions are memorable!

 

[JasonK]

Hey guys, I am beginner pilot, just good enough to fly a 4 channel trainer. I want to enjoy and participate in lots of combat at Flite Fest. I was thinking it would be amazing to build a "sacrificial" plane for combat, build a rugged 3d printed or laminated EPP Foam three channel elevator rudder fuselage maybe a pusher to protect the prop, and make disposable dihedral wings fast and cheap out of two full sheets of dollar store foam. That way it would be huge, but I could prebuild a full stack of half wings to pack flat in the car. The hope would have the fuselage survive the demolitions mostly and glue up quick the next giant rough wing.

Anybody up to design the fuselage to survive and protect the electronics or has this been done yet?

Maybe the call it the FT "Target" or FT "Bloody Lamb" I was thinking of you Sponz! I know it fly like poop but who cares on if the collisions are memorable!

from what I have seen... 3d printed planes are less durable then the FT box foamboard build fuselage.
a laminated EEP with CF spars would be rather durable.

 

[Piotrsko]

The supposed ultimate combat plane is one of SPONZ's bloody series made from coroplast and carbon fiber arrowshafts. When your electronics gets hit by a prop, the plane tends to be not repairable so having replacements is nice but not optimal. Whole aircraft as replacements is kinda nice since combat is a bit brutal.

 

[Merv]

...Anybody up to design the fuselage to survive and protect the electronics or has this been done yet? ...

That is kinda the idea behind the Bloody Wonder.

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/bloody-wonder-mkiii-build.12971/

 

[mikeehuber]

Lol, you guys are sooooo practical! Could you imagine a 72" long wing flying slow just asking for a wack from somebody. Then somehow the fuselage survives most of the time, to have an additional 72 inch wing ready to go and strap it on for the next combat? How big would the tail surface need to be and how long would the fuselage need to be?

That is kinda the idea behind the Bloody Wonder.

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/bloody-wonder-mkiii-build.12971/

View attachment 226057

 

[Piotrsko]

Btdt with everything from a 6ft span sheet insulation F104 profile ( 8 ft fuselage. Remember sheat foam insulation) to a U/C combat kitten dragging a 10 ft streamer. Trust me being the target ain't a lot of fun after about 15 minutes, you'll find a need to whack back. Except for my one purpose built monster designed to survive a mid air, being hit tends to thrash the whole airframe and luck determines if the electronic bits still work (or in the monsters case, if the tides brought the other glider back to shore). ignore this if you have lots of spare cash and couple weeks free time.

Feel free to ignore this old mans rambling and experiment on your own. " Experience is a mother" Frank Zappa