The scratch-built twin-EDF CH-F14

[Chuppster]

The F-14 has some of my favorite curves of any jet, and I would love to scratch build one out of foam. So, I'm here to begin my efforts! I'm still in the process of drawing the plans and I am totally looking for any advice anyone has. This is also my first build without anyone's plans to hold my hand. I'm building on a budget so my power setup isn't going to be spectacular, but I still hope it'll fly. Here's the parameters:

Wingspan: 123 cm extended, 74 cm swept
Length: 117 cm
Weight: ??
Powerplant: 2x 64mm EDF's (64mm EDF)
Battery: 4s 3000mAh
Servos: 4x 9g, 1x MG995 (Big Servo)
Landing Gear: Belly!

If anyone has had a positive experience with components similar to the ones I have on this list please let me know, as I have yet to try any of them out and I don't know if they are any good or if there are better items with a similar price.

I am hoping to have a removable nose like the X-29, but I would like to keep the pointed-down nature of the F-14. So there will be a false doubler in the nose that will set the angle of the nose and slide over the fuselage.

For the main spar (in the fuselage) I plan to use two pieces of 1/8" plywood, one above the other. I want to use 3mm rods to pin them together, and between the spars I will have 3 laminated pieces of plywood inside each wing, the bottom piece going most of the length of the wing, then decreasing in length on each piece above. For linkages I intend to use 3mm rods from the servo to the linkage arm on the spar. I have no idea if this will be strong enough to support the big bird, but I plan on finding out!

Hopefully the current plans can give you an idea of what I'm going for. They are crude but feel free to build along and ask questions. I can use all the help I can get!

Plans (Alpha 0.1):

CH_F-14_Fuselage_Bottom.pdf
CH_F-14_Fuselage_Center_Top.pdf
CH_F-14_Left_Nacelle.pdf
CH_F-14_Right_Nacelle.pdf
CH_F-14_Wing.pdf
CH_F-14_Wing_Spar.pdf
CH_F-14_Nose.pdf

Inkscape File (this is my working file, so it should stay up to date more than the PDF's)

ToDo:

1. Draw up a nose. If anyone wants to take this on be my guest!
2. Initial Test Build
3. Iterate the plans, build more!
4. Order/test electronics
5. Maiden!

ChangeLog
5-5-18: Added nose plans. Plans now use a thinner line width.

 

[Chuppster]

Reserved for Release

 

[Namactual]

Very cool subject. This is something on my to do list as well.

The plans look good from here, but it is really hard to tell without seeing the build.

Get this thing built so I can see the awesome!

 

[Chuppster]

Quick update, I drew the nose. I've never done this before, but I modeled it in Fusion 360 and exported each of the faces to a .dxf. I then went and put them together in InkScape. The alpha version of the nose has been uploaded as CH_F-14_Nose.pdf.

I have a wing cut out and I'm halfway through cutting out a nacelle. I've also edited the InkScape file to use thinner lines, when I printed out the plans the lines were 3mm wide even though I specified 1mm.

 

[Zephyr1]

Wow. It looks really goood. I started work on mine this Sunday. I’m going to do twin 70mm Edfs. Can’t wait to see what you do!

 

[Chuppster]

Wow. It looks really goood. I started work on mine this Sunday. I’m going to do twin 70mm Edfs. Can’t wait to see what you do!

I'm still waiting for a good EDF for my F-86. You're an inspiration for me! Are you doing a build thread?

 

[Zephyr1]

I'm still waiting for a good EDF for my F-86. You're an inspiration for me! Are you doing a build thread?

Thanks! I love to see more people build the F-86! Yeah, I think I'll have to start a build thread. I like what your doing with the nose, I'm going to use the same 4 sided rectangle as my F-15. Figuring out the wings is definitely going to be the most challenging part of this build, for both of us.

 

[Chuppster]

Figuring out the wings is definitely going to be the most challenging part of this build, for both of us.

I agree! It'll be interesting to see how our implementations differ.

What will your wingspan be?

 

[Zephyr1]

160cm wings extended, 98cm swept and 160cm in length

 

[Chuppster]

160cm wings extended, 98cm swept and 160cm in length

Ooh, it's a big one!

 

[Zephyr1]

Yeah, I’m keeping it scale with my other creations (Eagle, Sabre, MiGs).
Do you think it would be cheating for me to use a legitimate metal screw for the wing joint?

 

[Chuppster]

Yeah, I’m keeping it scale with my other creations (Eagle, Sabre, MiGs).
Do you think it would be cheating for me to use a legitimate metal screw for the wing joint?

No! As long as other people can find them at the hardware store.

That's actually a really good idea! Although, I would recommend a nut/bolt over a screw (makes it easy to remove, should be a good hinge).

 

[Zephyr1]

I found some old Nylon screws, I’m pretty sure they’ll work. This is what I’ve got so far.

 

[Chuppster]

UPDATE:

I rolled the left nacelle yesterday. I'm quite happy with how it turned out, but 17 bevel cuts is a lot.

 

[Namactual]

It looks good so far. It looks like you captured the shape of the nacelles quite nicely.

 

[Chuppster]

UPDATE:

Cut out the spars, and I found that with 3/16 ply I only want two pieces laminated to make the wing spar. I also decided to cut out the wing so the main spar will sit flush with the wing, allowing for everything to be lower profile. Today I hope to make the holes with my uncle's drill press, then hopefully mock things up even more.

View attachment

I've been tweaking the drawings and I don't think that will stop any time soon. I probably won't update the .pdf's until I have the bird at least put together.

 

[Grifflyer]

Looking good! What kind of servo are you going to use for the wing folding mechanism?

 

[Chuppster]

It's an MG995 from AliExpress. It says it has 13kg of torques, I hope that's enough.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ori...r-HPI-XL-Helicopter-Car-Boat/32720355579.html

 

[shadowwalker888]

Awesome design i'm hoping to make one and paint her up like VFA-101 grim reapers or VFA-103 jolly rogers because i used to live near the oceana base in VA

 

[Chuppster]

Well, the Banggood servo doesn't have quite as much torque as I was hoping, but that's no surprise. Still, I have the spar rigged up. I switched to machined M3 screws for hinges, they seem to do well. One step at a time!