A (Very) Brief Background:
I've been flying toy planes since I was around 10 years old, with my first true RC plane being the good ol' Simple Stick. Ever since, I primarily have been scratch building out of dollar tree foamboard, just like the golden ages of Flite Test.
Around 2017 I started delving into the prospect of 3D printing my own RC airplane, which led me on a 6 year journey through several research projects, four completed planes, and finally – on the fifth attempt – success.
(for older/failed 3D printed planes projects, check the old website here).
Here it is, in all its glory: the P-40.
RC P-40 (v2)
Aerodynamic masking tape over gaps to reduce drag :)
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Foamboard Gallery:
What's currently on the workbench?
Twin-EDF Draken
(build completed! 12/31/24)
1.05m wingspan | 1.6m long | Thrust: 1.6kg | Weight: 2.4kg
Started this summer of 2024, and maidened right before the New Year! This is by far the most complicated foamie build I've designed/made, especially when figuring out how to duct two independent EDFs. I won't spoil too much what happened, but it flew incredibly stable! I would have never predicted that a hardware issue would be the culprit...
With these foamboard planes, I very rarely have an exact plan on how to build it. Most of the time I bring up a blueprint of the airplane, and take very general dimensions so the final airframe has the right proportions. I work on the fly, kinda like how I write; it's just me, my pencil, and a box cutter (no laser cutting).
More Photos:
A rather unconventional thrust-tube setup to be sure...
Past Builds: (in no particular order)
Mig 21, version 1. Severely underpowered, but flew quite stable.
Mig 21, version 3. Reconstructed to be about 20% smaller, and flew much better.
Due to its speed though, it ended up in a tree :(
A very simple glider trainer, with a 70mm EDF strapped to its back. One of the most
fun airplanes I've flown!
An air-racer inspired Yak-11. It had some weird yaw instabilities...
A tiny Mig 15. There isn't a dedicated video of this since it crashed 5 seconds after launch
(due to elevator failure), but I have a crash compilation with this featured in it (at
0:44).
Probably the biggest plane I've made at 1.75m, but it also flew like the biggest pig ever.
Nothing much else to say...