The finer points of combat wing design

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
I wish I had some to share, but I'm building my first combat wing and was hoping you guys had some advice!
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
The topic title sounded like you had advice to share!

Here is one:

- The front edge is going to take a lot of beating. Make sure it's strong. (use carbon, fiberglass, aluminium angles, etc.)
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
EPP! Who are you going to be flying with and what kind of planes do they have.
It's easier to hit planes that are about the same size as yours.
The ones I fly are made by CrashTestHobby.com
Check out the build instructions and videos. Lots of good info there.

Pick an airfoil thick enough that will allow you to bury your electrics in the foam

EPP
metal gear servos- we like the mg90s
cheap motors- we like the fc2812
Extreme Tape
carbon fiber or fiberglass rods for reinforcement
laminate covering keeps the EPP in good shape and add great strength with little weight gain

If you wanna go bigger...
 

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earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Thanks, Ninja! I'm using 1" foam insulation board for my first. The wingspan is 30". I am defininetly going to cover it in extreme tape. A friend of mine is building one, as well. But, he's using pink foam. Mine is blue. Pink combat wing? Just not very intimidating. LOL!
 

ananas1301

Crazy flyer/crasher :D
Thanks, Ninja! I'm using 1" foam insulation board for my first. The wingspan is 30". I am defininetly going to cover it in extreme tape. A friend of mine is building one, as well. But, he's using pink foam. Mine is blue. Pink combat wing? Just not very intimidating. LOL!

Haha yeah baby blue is much less intimidating :D

btw. can someone like explain the exact way of how laminting something? for example the leading edge with some stripes of CFK? That would be an awesome light weight possibility I think.

And also how do you get tape on EPP? It doesn´t hold on it, so how do you do that? I normally put some Uhu Por (much like your Goop) under it and try to take a old credit card to evenly space it out where I want the tape to be. :)
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
Teach-
Extreme Tape is very UV sensitive and will degrade very quickly if it isn't protected. Cover it with clear packing tape or with some other kind of covering to keep it from yellowing and peeling and flaking off. the kits that we like to use come with a laminate that we use to cover the plane with. We just cover over the Extreme Tape and if we have to add more tape for repairs we just cover it with the clear tape.

Anas-
The 3m Extreme Tape that we use sticks pretty well to EPP. I sometimes go over it with a warm (not too hot iron) to activate the adhesive.

The laminate that we use is the same kind of stuff that an office laminating machine would use. It has a smooth side and a slightly tacky side. The tacky side goes against the foam. We use a covering iron to make it stick to the foam. It and Extreme Tape are a couple of the few things that stick to EPP very well.

3m77 is another trick for EPP. Spray a light coat and whatever kind of tape you use will likely stick very well.
I wonder if UHU Poor is available in the States? I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere
 

SunShine

not crazy, just stupid
Glue razor blades to the leading edge, it might be illegal and extremely dangerous to do that, but it should work....
 

bubsteve

Member
Fin-less EPP Assassin combat wing is the best out there,,I put Carbon fiber Toe imbedded in the leading edge and center wingspan,,web renforced 3/M tape on leading edge and ailerons,,won a combat at SEFF with this set-up (450outie 30 ESC 1300 25-30Clipo and beefy linkages) fun stuff!!!!bubsteve
 

ananas1301

Crazy flyer/crasher :D
Razor blades would have much effect because they are so small (most of the time) they will just make a small fine cut.

Unless you mean 20cm long blades or some that are as long as swords :D

They would be too heavy or break before scratching any epp :D

Would be a nice idea though.
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Yeah, it would work best with pointy wings like the one Bixler made for the Breaking Glass episode!
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
Nice! I love the Assassin but for combat I prefer the Grim Reaper.
The Assassin is awesome and can take hits and crashes like no other plane that I know of.
When it comes to dealing out punishment it's hard to beat the Grim :)

I bet the Assassin MOVES with that 450 outrunner on there ;)
Nice to know the Assassin was represented at SEFF

Fin-less EPP Assassin combat wing is the best out there,,I put Carbon fiber Toe imbedded in the leading edge and center wingspan,,web renforced 3/M tape on leading edge and ailerons,,won a combat at SEFF with this set-up (450outie 30 ESC 1300 25-30Clipo and beefy linkages) fun stuff!!!!bubsteve
 

ananas1301

Crazy flyer/crasher :D
Awesome!

That must be a pretty awesome feeling to wing a combat at SEFF.

Beefy linkages :D for quick turns.
 

bubsteve

Member
Awesome!

That must be a pretty awesome feeling to wing a combat at SEFF.

Beefy linkages :D for quick turns.
Maybe next year I'll beef up the 60+''er and take um out like a bush hog!
 

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jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
Hey EarthSciTeach!
Here is some video that shows the durability of the EPP Assassin flying wing.

You've got to get a few of these :)