Willy Nillie's Barnstormer Biplane

[mach1 rc]

Lots of distractions in the past week, and lots of rain, but she's ready when I get a break in the weather!

I found these pics on my phone and don't think I posted the control horn setups. I really like Doug's clever hiding of the elevator control horn by taking it straight out the back of the fuselage. I needed to carve out a little from the sides of the fuselage so it wouldn't bind, and it works great! Although looking at the close up picture, I need to add a little more white where I scraped things up getting her installed...

View attachment 151182

Ailerons installed per the plans using the nice sheeting with built in holes for the servo control horns. Yes, I'm sure it's possible to save a gram or two by bending the wire just right and not using the linkage stoppers, but I like being able to mechanically adjust things so I can reserve the full radio trim for when I'm flying. View attachment 151183

And lookee there!! Love that 3D printed Faux motor! All the holes lined up perfectly - excellent printing job - but when you get your own one of these, be very careful to make sure the screws going into the motor aren't going to hit the windings. Since I have landing gear on this one I did switch out the folding prop for a 6x3 fixed prop, and added a little black / transparent trim tape on the horizontal stabilizer to get some checkers on the rear.

View attachment 151184

View attachment 151185

Hey - there's a pilot in there! Doug slipped something into the box with my latest order and his pointy little helmet fits right under the top wing!
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I did get her balanced out about 1/8" back from the leading edge of the bottom wing (with an extra ounce of lead - you can see two pieces taped under the Faux motor mount). I hope that I'll be able to pull out a little bit of that once I get her flying - but I do need to get her flying.

I also need to remember to put her on the scale and do some wing loading calculations too... and since we're forecast to have rain all week it'll be a bit before we can try flying her...

Great looking plane

 

[Joker 53150]

A "pilot" in the plane makes a huge difference. Here's one I found online and 3D printed myself, along with paint. The "cigar" is a short piece of wire stuck into a hole I drilled in his mouth, and painted. He's printed big enough to pilot my Sig Astro Hog. I only tried PLA and don't know enough about how to dial the printer in, so it could probably be done much better by somebody with skills.

 

[chris398mx]

A "pilot" in the plane makes a huge difference. Here's one I found online and 3D printed myself, along with paint. The "cigar" is a short piece of wire stuck into a hole I drilled in his mouth, and painted. He's printed big enough to pilot my Sig Astro Hog. I only tried PLA and don't know enough about how to dial the printer in, so it could probably be done much better by somebody with skills.

View attachment 151192

Ah, you have an astro hog. How does it fly? what size engine are you using? I just bought the kit and have to find a suitable power plant for it.

 

[Joker 53150]

Ah, you have an astro hog. How does it fly? what size engine are you using? I just bought the kit and have to find a suitable power plant for it.

Mine is running a 5 cell 5,000 mAh LiPo, and if I remember correctly it's a .46 size equivalent motor. It's on the low-end for power for a Hog, but it still takes off from grass and cruises nicely. If I were to do it with electric again I'd go with a .60 size for more power. A 15-ish size gas would also be fun with this plane.

 

[chris398mx]

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't considered electric. I have a .91 saito four stroke to put in a valiant. i was going to look for something like a .75 four stroke for this, but maybe I will look for something a little bigger.

 

[chris398mx]

Lots of distractions in the past week, and lots of rain, but she's ready when I get a break in the weather!

I found these pics on my phone and don't think I posted the control horn setups. I really like Doug's clever hiding of the elevator control horn by taking it straight out the back of the fuselage. I needed to carve out a little from the sides of the fuselage so it wouldn't bind, and it works great! Although looking at the close up picture, I need to add a little more white where I scraped things up getting her installed...

View attachment 151182

Ailerons installed per the plans using the nice sheeting with built in holes for the servo control horns. Yes, I'm sure it's possible to save a gram or two by bending the wire just right and not using the linkage stoppers, but I like being able to mechanically adjust things so I can reserve the full radio trim for when I'm flying. View attachment 151183

And lookee there!! Love that 3D printed Faux motor! All the holes lined up perfectly - excellent printing job - but when you get your own one of these, be very careful to make sure the screws going into the motor aren't going to hit the windings. Since I have landing gear on this one I did switch out the folding prop for a 6x3 fixed prop, and added a little black / transparent trim tape on the horizontal stabilizer to get some checkers on the rear.

View attachment 151184

View attachment 151185

Hey - there's a pilot in there! Doug slipped something into the box with my latest order and his pointy little helmet fits right under the top wing!
View attachment 151186

View attachment 151187
View attachment 151188

I did get her balanced out about 1/8" back from the leading edge of the bottom wing (with an extra ounce of lead - you can see two pieces taped under the Faux motor mount). I hope that I'll be able to pull out a little bit of that once I get her flying - but I do need to get her flying.

I also need to remember to put her on the scale and do some wing loading calculations too... and since we're forecast to have rain all week it'll be a bit before we can try flying her...

Looks awesome!! When do the kits come out @Willy Nillies ?? I want one.

 

[rockyboy]

Thanks guys!

I got a couple quick measurements and calculations over lunch....

Wing Chord = 4.75"
Top Wing Span = 26"
Bottom Wing Span = "23"
Total Wing Area = 232.75 sq in
Weight = 11.08 oz
Wing Cube Loading = 5.4

Suggested suitable values for WCL are:

• Gliders-under 4
• Trainers-6 to 7
• Aerobatic-9 to 10
• Scale-12 to 13
• Racers-15 and over

So the Barnstormer Biplane is sitting between a glider and a trainer for expected performance! I could even add a whole extra ounce of lead in the nose and still be at the lower end of a trainer!

So I'm going to stop worrying about the extra lead in the nose and bring a long piece of cardboard to the field with me for a runway so I can try a rolling takeoff instead of the "toss and pray" method for first flights.

 

[RKeller]

Thanks guys!

I got a couple quick measurements and calculations over lunch....

Wing Chord = 4.75"
Top Wing Span = 26"
Bottom Wing Span = "23"
Total Wing Area = 232.75 sq in
Weight = 11.08 oz
Wing Cube Loading = 5.4

Suggested suitable values for WCL are:

• Gliders-under 4
• Trainers-6 to 7
• Aerobatic-9 to 10
• Scale-12 to 13
• Racers-15 and over

So the Barnstormer Biplane is sitting between a glider and a trainer for expected performance! I could even add a whole extra ounce of lead in the nose and still be at the lower end of a trainer!

So I'm going to stop worrying about the extra lead in the nose and bring a long piece of cardboard to the field with me for a runway so I can try a rolling takeoff instead of the "toss and pray" method for first flights.

That WCL will be amazing on a calm day!

 

[Wildthing]

Lots of distractions in the past week, and lots of rain, but she's ready when I get a break in the weather!

I found these pics on my phone and don't think I posted the control horn setups. I really like Doug's clever hiding of the elevator control horn by taking it straight out the back of the fuselage. I needed to carve out a little from the sides of the fuselage so it wouldn't bind, and it works great! Although looking at the close up picture, I need to add a little more white where I scraped things up getting her installed...

View attachment 151182

Ailerons installed per the plans using the nice sheeting with built in holes for the servo control horns. Yes, I'm sure it's possible to save a gram or two by bending the wire just right and not using the linkage stoppers, but I like being able to mechanically adjust things so I can reserve the full radio trim for when I'm flying. View attachment 151183

And lookee there!! Love that 3D printed Faux motor! All the holes lined up perfectly - excellent printing job - but when you get your own one of these, be very careful to make sure the screws going into the motor aren't going to hit the windings. Since I have landing gear on this one I did switch out the folding prop for a 6x3 fixed prop, and added a little black / transparent trim tape on the horizontal stabilizer to get some checkers on the rear.

View attachment 151184

View attachment 151185

Hey - there's a pilot in there! Doug slipped something into the box with my latest order and his pointy little helmet fits right under the top wing!
View attachment 151186

View attachment 151187
View attachment 151188

I did get her balanced out about 1/8" back from the leading edge of the bottom wing (with an extra ounce of lead - you can see two pieces taped under the Faux motor mount). I hope that I'll be able to pull out a little bit of that once I get her flying - but I do need to get her flying.

I also need to remember to put her on the scale and do some wing loading calculations too... and since we're forecast to have rain all week it'll be a bit before we can try flying her...

Love it, excellent job

 

[The Hangar]

That is AWESOME @rockyboy !

 

[TooJung2Die]

The dummy Cox glow engine looks perfect. It'll definitely cause some double-takes at the RC field. I'm so glad I ordered one with the Eaglet.

 

[RKeller]

The dummy Cox glow engine looks perfect. It'll definitely cause some double-takes at the RC field. I'm so glad I ordered one with the Eaglet.

I think we need to officially change the name of the motor mounts to the faux49 and the faux20 😆

 

[PsyBorg]

Ok I have yet another goofy question.. I love this build and it came out absolutely gorgeous. I will be getting this kit for myself if only to have it as a static model until I can fly proficiently.

Thru out the build though something always seemed off but I couldnt picture why. Now that Rockboy has changed the angles to better show the pilot it hit me.. where are the outter struts supporting the wings. Are they not needed? I would think this being capable of some hard turning and quick direction changes they would be a necessity like on the FT SE5 kit I built. I dont think I have ever seen a bi plane that did not have them or some kind of rigging to keep the outer wings in place. Maybe I have and never noticed it because I was not so invested in the realm of fixed wing flight at the time.

 

[rockyboy]

The full scale biplanes usually have outer struts, and lots of models have them to look scale - but there are quite a few RC designs that don't bother with them. The wings on this little guy might flex if it's doing a sharp pull out of a high speed dive, but I really don't expect it to cause any problems. Both my Dreamer and All-Star biplanes (which are a good bit larger) are "strutless" too. The plans for both show how to build them, but in the notes call them out as optional. I do like how the outer struts look on lots of bipes, but if I'm building a removable wing they just add unnecessary complexity.

 

[TooJung2Die]

The full scale biplanes usually have outer struts, and lots of models have them to look scale - but there are quite a few RC designs that don't bother with them.

Just be sure to have enough rubber bands holding the wings nice and tight. I've seen the top and bottom wings touch wingtips when banking hard.

 

[PsyBorg]

This is me we are talking about... If they can move at all Bills law dictates they do. but yeah that makes sense being so much lighter and small.

 

[rockyboy]

Just be sure to have enough rubber bands holding the wings nice and tight. I've seen the top and bottom wings touch wingtips when banking hard.

All of the rubber band planning schemes I've seen are for bigger planes - the one I like to use says 1 pair of #64 bands, plus 1 band per pound of plane rounded up to an even number for even pressure. Not sure how to apply that to a plane that's less than 2/3 of a pound? If it's going to be multiple bands, they do need to be smaller than the #64 size. I like the idea of multiple bands for reliability but too much will crush things - I need to source some thinner black rubber bands.

I don't plan to be banking that hard - of course unexpected maneuvers do happen! But especially with the shear webbing all the way out the spar on these wings - if they flex that much it probably means splinters!

If someone is building one of these for pylon racing or crazy speed targets, or they are named Bill, I would recommend doing some outer bracing

 

[Piotrsko]

Dont need outer struts, the wings will touch on hard turns or rolls, but if you strap them down better they do tons more damage on those negative vstol incidents. What would have been a minor deal is now a rebuild the cabanes and fuselage episode

 

[rockyboy]

Dont need outer struts, the wings will touch on hard turns or rolls, but if you strap them down better they do tons more damage on those negative vstol incidents. What would have been a minor deal is now a rebuild the cabanes and fuselage episode

Yeah, the likelyhood of needing to rebuild those outer cabanes / struts on even a mild cartwheel landing is a big deterrent for me.

In doing a little research on rubber band sizes, I found a size #33 which is the same length, but half the width, of the #64. I think this might be the right size for these wings - then I can use four of them so there's a little bit of backup strength without getting to crushing strength. And most importantly, they do come in black!

 

[Willy Nillies]

We use and supply 6 each #32 rubber bands in our kits to secure the wings. Time tested and proven on this size aircraft. Easily obtainable at the local WallyWorld in the office section.

I really don't think you'll have a problem without interplane struts and using 6 each #32's on each wing at the weight/wing loading/cube loading you are flying at.

Just be careful with a biplane at this low of a wing cube loading, when power is pulled to idle the increased induced drag of the extra wing will slow airspeed much faster than a monoplane. Power off glide should be expected to have a pronounced nose down attitude to maintain flight above stall speed.

Can't wait to see her fly!

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com