Water Pistols and Foam Board

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
I think that a really good form of combat flying would be to mount a water gun/pistol onto a plane and try to destroy another plane that is made out of foam board, WITH OUT any waterproofing.

Think about it, you could shoot your opponents elevator, hopefully warp it, and their plane will still be flyable, but harder to fly. It will, hopefully, make it a more realistic dogfighting experience. The planes will be able to take damage, noticeable damage, but remain flyable if the hits are weak.

It'll be difficult to get the CG correct, but that might be half the fun. I know you could simply mount the water gun right at the center, but water tends to slosh around, so unless you had a nice bladder system, it would be difficult to fly.

Worst case scenario, have a couple people with water guns shoot a plane as it flies by. Like the paintball episode.

I would probably try this myself if I had friends to dog fight with. :(

I don't think it would be overly hard to mount a small, working water pistol onto a plane. You could probably make a continuous servo and use that as a pump to stream out water. Maybe use a water balloon as a bladder to help prevent too much sloshing.

Oh, and maybe make a bomber that destroys a field of foam board warbirds. ;)
 

RoyBro

Senior Member
Mentor
I hadn't thought about water gun air to air combat. I had thought about using a power washer to knock a plane out of a tree though. Does that count?
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
Not sure it would warp that fast either...unless you were in the air for over 20-30 minutes...

If it's close enough for a power washer, a fishing pole with a weight on the line works better, at least it has for me so far...
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
I was thinking about it more, and even if you put food coloring in the water and kept track of damage that way, it would still be fun. Might not get the fun of real damage during the flight, but it would still be fun having working guns on a plane. Plus water is harmless so it'll be perfectly safe. Well, as safe as RC planes are.

A lot of people want to put an airsoft gun onto a plane, water just seems... safer. Not really better or easier, but at least there won't be a ton of plastic BBs all over. Plus water is free, BBs cost money.
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
I was thinking about it more, and even if you put food coloring in the water and kept track of damage that way, it would still be fun. Might not get the fun of real damage during the flight, but it would still be fun having working guns on a plane. Plus water is harmless so it'll be perfectly safe. Well, as safe as RC planes are.

A lot of people want to put an airsoft gun onto a plane, water just seems... safer. Not really better or easier, but at least there won't be a ton of plastic BBs all over. Plus water is free, BBs cost money.
You could use saltwater and fry his Rx...It just got expensive!
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
Actually, I might try this. I think I could build a continuous servo, then use the servo arm as a piston to pump the trigger of a cheap water pistol. It would probably be slow. It'll probably be a weak stream. But it would be a working gun on an RC plane. Not that many people have done that yet.
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
Interesting . . .

But I've yet to find a water gun that didn't leak :black_eyed:
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
Maybe I should try a small soda bottle filled mostly with water and then pressurize it so all I need is a valve to control the flow. ... Diet Coke and Mentose will pressurize it. But at that point it might be more of a rocket plane... wait.... *light bulb*
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
If you want to pressurize soda, you could just have a reallllly unballanced prop . . .
 

neistridlar

Junior Member
I don't want to kill your idea, but have you ever tried peeing in to the wind? It is a rather wet experience.... As for making the planes actually take damage, maybe they should make them like you do with balsa, except you use foam for the structure and paper for cover, I bet that would not hold up for long.
 

checker

Member
As cool as that sounds the "wind" issue was my concern also. However I accidentally landed this plane and skipped through a shallow puddle-- so I thought I could dry it faster in the air. 2-3 min later the servos ripped the fuselage apart and I slowly lost all control :rolleyes:
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