Landing Gear on printed planes has always been the weak point.  With the L-39 it may just have a chance to survive the first landing.  100% infill PLA printed retract servo mount tied into 2 6mm Carbon Fiber tubes all glued into the fuselage.  And... a Planeprint version of trailing link gear.  1mm piano wire is used to give the gear some suspension.  I think it might actually work.  Since the tires are printed as well, I can adjust how soft or hard they'll be by changing the amount of infill.  Right now they're 15%.  I may try 10% for a softer tire.

Well @Frank v B , it has rained for 3 of the proverbial 40, so far...

I am planning to be at Rogo Field this coming Sunday from about 11 am to 2 pm....if the rain ever stops*.

If any new members need check flights, returning members need some help or if you need help with a maiden flight for a winter project...come join me.

I will post a final decision after dinner on Saturday.

Frank

* there is a song in here somewhere.  "Have you ever seen the rain" or "who'll stop the rain" by CCR

Quote from: bfeist on April 11, 2024, 03:33:56 PMThis really looks great. I've been following the 3d printed plane idea for a while but I haven't done it. I'm curious, being PLA, will you be glassing or otherwise sealing the surface somehow?

No, doing anything like that would add a lot of weight.  Some have done that, but it changes the characteristics of a well designed plane.  I'm not even one to paint, so I print in colours instead.  This isn't PLA, it's active LW-PLA so the texture and finish are really nice.  Not on this L-39 though.  This was a print experiment using PrusaSlicer and has a terrible finish to it.

LW-PLA with a gyroid infill has a very balsa-like feel and strength to it.

For the OV-10 Bronco I printed I used OrcaSlicer and BambuLabs LW-PLA settings with perfect results.  Same printer, Prusa MK4, but dialed in settings with OrcaSlicer.

The design is the most important part for a nice looking finish and Rene from PlanePrint thankfully understands this.  His designs produce really good results.

This really looks great. I've been following the 3d printed plane idea for a while but I haven't done it. I'm curious, being PLA, will you be glassing or otherwise sealing the surface somehow?

Well conceived feature for the elevator servo.  The main bracket is glued to the fuselage and the servo is screwed to the small bracket which is, in turn, screwed to the main bracket.

Thank you Michael! 

Frank

Guy, I decided to arc the headrest area to match the cockpit cut-out.  It cradles the pilot's head during high speed turns.  A built-in HANS* device. 

* https://flowracers.com/blog/how-nascar-hans-device-works/

Cant believe that you found one!

When I joined TEMAC and learned to fly, the GWS warbirds were a great way to have fun. They were cheap, easy to build and I had great fun chasing Greg Cadez around the sky with them!

So I decided to build another one!

I found an EPO version of the FW-190 at A&J for a great price so I jumped in, for nostalgia!

I'm going to try and build it strong and light and do a killer paint job on it! That's the plan, anyway.

Here is the beginning after about 2 hours work.
The fuselage has the rudder and elevator control rod guides in place and the wing mounting nut.
The wing has a carbon rod in each wing with a wire dihedral brace.
The tail has a glass fibre rod along it and the battery hatch uses the GWS mentor of plastic pins - super simple but effective.

Quote from: GuyOReilly on April 09, 2024, 10:42:21 PMWhy is the headrest have white lines in the picture #5311?
Are these for alignment?

The dark parts are where the wood was laser cut (burnt), and the white (balsa wood colour) is where the wood was still attached to the sheet.