Repurposed Aircraft Parts and Other Materials

[bweaver]

I thought I would start a new topic containing creative information provided by the cheap and experimental members of our club. I thought I would start this topic for entertainment and for environmental purposes.  We can easily reduce our trash footprint by reducing the volume of our crashed aircraft going into landfill.  We can repurpose many of the aircraft parts and put them once again up in the air where they belong.


How many of you have lots of aircraft parts remaining from crashes stashed in your garage or down in your basement?  Perhaps like me, you believe you will use these pieces again at some time in the future?  Well, if finally did.


As you can see from the pictorial evolution below, I have converted this beautiful T45 (photo1) to this (photo 2) and then finally to this incredible flying craft (photos 3 and 4).


I repurposed the remaining T45 wing, by converting the ailerons to elevons.  Dr. John contributed a working EDF.  I added an extension to front of the wing, using construction insulation board and dollar store foam board to house the 2200 3 cell battery.  The ESC and receiver are secured to the wing itself.  Dr. John or Jim contributed the used coffee cup for EDF ducting purposes.


The aircraft flies great.  (At least I think so.)


Have you got any repurposed aircraft to show and tell?  I would love to see them.  Perhaps this might motivate a few club members to repurpose some aircraft parts they have hanging around.  If you have already repurposed some, take some photos and show us what you have done. 

[Papa]

Way to go Bruce. What a clever, novel and creative solution! I'll bet Frank van Beurden, Simon Hinchcliffe and a few others could make a dozen BITZA models right now. They are called 'BITZA' because they are made from a bit of this and a bit of that (editor obvious). Maybe we can turn it into an event for next year. The "BITZA Challenge Fun Fly"


Any comments from the peanut gallery? Boy this is taking a "Culture of Crashing" to a whole new height.


I Love it.


Jack.

[eric]

Its amazing how much extra stuff you have lying around after just a few years of modelling (and crashing!). Here's an indoor foamie I built for zero dollars, all from bits of other models.


I had a Stevens Diddle Rod that had been hit so many times in the gym it literally fell to pieces. I took the power system from that, servos from a trashed White monoplane indoor model, added a mono landing wheel, a swivelling tail wheel and wing tip skids from left over bamboo strips from a Mosquito indoor kit. Custom paint by Magic Marker.


They were all fiddled into a $14.00 Air Hogs chuck glider that my grandkids didn't want anymore. Pictures below of the finished product; it was good for a giggle, flew great and was a fun build for no money. What a great hobby!

[Canuke]

Please guys don't encourage Bruce to do these things. The other day he brought a broom handle to the field and told us this would be his next project. I still don't believe the Goshawk wing would fly (I know I'm contradicting myself) although I admit I did see it fly. I did perform the hand launch for him and that is the only reason it flew. We did joke to him that he could install a prop onto the threaded end of the handle although it would take a prop with a large center hole. 

[bweaver]

Eric, that is exactly what I am looking forward to see in this blog.  Something creative, repurposed and can fly. You have done a great job with it, even if you had to use a Stevens Diddle Rod to make it. (sounds kind of rude to me) Looks like a fun plane.


Canuke, Obviously you do not understand arodinamicks.  The broom handle won't fly on its own.  It has to have wings....... and a tail and a rudder.  I am working on those parts now.   


For the broom handle to fly on its own, you would have to call it a javelin.  You could hand launch my javelin for me this morning if you want.  It should fly great because you are such a great hand launcher. (ya, right)

[piker]

For the broom handle to fly on its own, you would have to call it a javelin....

Or stick a witch on top!

[Papa]

Remember only electric witch's at Rogo Field!

[bweaver]

     Broomstick Glider

My current repurposed aircraft project involves a glider being constructed using the wing and tail surfaces I saved from a thirty-year-old glider/trainer I had hesitated in dispatching to the dump. The wing is 74 inches of balsawood built up construction with solar film covering. The horizontal and vertical stabilizers are also of built up balsa and weren't in too bad a shape, so they are having another chance to get in the air.

For those who are interested in following this project I will outline the steps I have/am taking in constructing my new broomstick glider.

First, I purchased a hollow metal broomstick from the Home Depot. (approximately $4) I planned to use the broomstick as the principle element of a fuselage for the new aircraft.  For this purpose, the broomstick was very light and rigid.  The plastic handle at one end was cut off and the broomstick was shortened further by another 8 inches.  The plastic screw-end portion of the broomstick was not removed, because it is used in attaching the firewall/motor mount to the broomstick fuselage.

The horizontal and vertical tail control surfaces were attached to the broomstick using balsa scraps, hot glue, wood dowels and rubber bands. The servos for controlling the elevator and rudder were mounted in the horizontal stabilizer.

Two pieces of white foam packaging material was salvaged from some electronic appliance.  They were glued together and shaped for use as the wing saddle portion of the fuselage.  Two pieces of plywood and wood dowels were installed to complete wing saddle.

The piece of hollow metal broomstick shaft that was previously cut off was now used to core out the white foam so that the broomstick could pass through the foam. 
The broomstick is passed through the foam but not secured until I could determine where the CG was supposed to be.

[Papa]

Bitchen' I mean Bewitching.


Jack.

[sihinch]

Do you need some bed knobs?

[bweaver]

The motor mount and a 480 park electric motor are installed.  I will be using a Radian folding prop and spinner.


The esc, receiver and battery are temporarily placed in various positions to find the CG.  The loose foam fuselage is adjusted back and forth in this process as well.  Once the CG is located, the foam can be secured to the broomstick and then shaped to a more streamlined fuselage-like form.


Then you need to go and get a Tim Hortons coffee (regular) and ask for it to be "double cupped".  The extra cup will make the front portion of the fuselage.  The bottom of the cup is cut out and pieces of blue foam will be glued together and shaped forming the cowling.


The Tim's cup will be reinforced and an access opening cut into as a battery access hatch.  I am debating as to wether I will be putting a canopy on, salvaged from another junker.  Pilots will be removed.

[bweaver]

I removed the pilot and copilot from the old canopy.  Both of them are looking for new jobs. (Note: they were of little help in assisting me fly the previous aircraft). The old canopy has been modified by shortening it. Then I added blue foam to the back of it, shaped it to fit into the top of the wing and painted. The canopy hatch has been modified with two magnets to hold it in place.


I gave Tim Horton's an opportunity to sponsor this new aircraft with their cup clearing displaying their name, (like the Red Bull aircraft advertising), but they told me they wanted 5 cents for the cost of the double cup I had misappropriated under false pretense's with my last coffee purchase.  Because of their lack of financial support/sonsorship I have painted over all reference to Tim Horton's on the aircraft.  I think it looks better anyway.  I also told them that to make up the 5 cents, I will bring my own cup to Tim's next time I go there.


I trimmed off the lip of the cup and have modified the foam fuselage for streamlining purposes using a hobby knife and sandpaper.

Finished with a 1600 3 cell battery, the plane weighs in at 2.12 lbs. (0.96 Kg).  It may not be pretty but.....

I can't wait for spring and thermals.

Now that this build is out my system, I am going back to continuing this winter's build of the Savoia Marchette S55X which can be found at http://temac.ca/smf/index.php/topic,4454.msg26337.html#msg26337

[battlestu]

very cool!

[Papa]

looks really neat, you might have some lively control movements as the coupling between the stab and the wing look short. May be just the photo though.


Jack.

[piker]

That looks great, Bruce!