Ultra micro scratchbuild

Pilot-294

Senior Member
Guessing at the location got cg, it seems good, a touch nose heavy and just the way I want it, no added weight, go figure haha
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
I'm gonna bonez! Lol I'm actually about out the door to go try it... It looks too good to kill! Haha

I'll report back once I know if it flys
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
So I flew it.

Notice I said flew not destroyed.

I ACTUALLY FLEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG IT FLEW!

Couple of things i need to fix about it tho. When I flew it was too slow and underpowered, so I need to hollow it out and reinforce it so it's lighter and sturdy, also liked to roll left, I'm gonna use balsa filler to build up a better airfoil on both wings and make the roll cg centered. Gonna use a dremel to make a few holes in the booms and fuselage and cover with tape, might actually paint it.

Over all for my first EVER true scratch build I'm surprised and super happy!!!!
 

themajik1

Monkey/Bear Poker
Mentor
Awesome Pilot!!! Glad you did it! The pic you took last night looked good, and with confidence it flew!

Way to go!
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Great job, P-294! It's really satisfying to see something you have built yourself, even more so if it works the way you expected!

I hope you can get these fixes done fast, so you can fly again :)
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
Haha thanks guys, I'm super stoked it worked out well. Gonna be picking up a dremel tomorrow to boar out the plane and lighten it up. I'm gonna see if the increase in speed fixes the wing drop first before I go messing around with the airfoil. She should be flight ready before Monday!!
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
tried flying after i removed weight. i think i need to build up a better airfoil. it DID fly amazing at full battery, but the moment it started losing power it died out. i think i may need to get some bigger motors and or a bigger battery. gonna try losing a little more weight and also build up the airfoil a bit. ill do it tomorrow tho plans today. not sure what i should use to build up more airfoil tho....
 

teflyer

Full Circle
Not sure if this will help any, but to make the plane lighter, you can hollow out the fuselage and maybe the tailbooms. That might make the plane strucutrally weak though.

Also you might want to try a Kf airfoil. It is easy to make and is consistent throughout the wing, unless you are using only one sheet for the wings (Kf airfoil uses two sheets on top of each other).
 
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earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
The foam core sheets from the dollar store are great! Since your plane is so small, an Armin wing may not be doable. Also the taper of the wing would make it difficult (google Armin Wing). You can laminate a couple of sheets together and sand the airfoil into shape. Start with 100 grit to rough shape then finish with 220 grit. Its just a bit tricky to get the airfoil shape consistent across the wingspan doing this.

You probably are better off simply reducing weight. Hollow out the nose and cockpit area, if you haven't already. Find a lighter material than balsa for the horz stab. Do you have any reinforcement inside the plane that you can rethink?
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
ill lighten it up again. might scrap the build if it can't be worked and make it a profile p-38 out of balsa.

im not sure what to do. i wish there was an easy way to make the airfoil better. i think my biggest mistake was making the wing so thin and shallow AOA.

ill figure it out one way or the other. its been a terribly frustrating day anyways so I'm gonna wait till tomorrow to try it in case it over frustrates me and i scrap it prematurely haha
 

ananas1301

Crazy flyer/crasher :D
looking great!

I guess painting will add more weight then removing it... But for that being your first ever scratchbuild! That is pretty darn cool! My respects for that!