Construction has started!
10 years ago I built a 60" wingspan CL-215 (see photo below) from thin foam board, and bits of wood an carbon fiber. It weighed 25 ounces and flew great, for a couple of years, anyway. It eventually crashed after taking on water and becoming tail heavy.
I finally decided to build another.
This one will have a wingspan of 72", and will be slightly heavier, and I will take measures to make sure the hull is waterproof.
I am not using any plans, other than a small 3-view, and I am making up the construction as I go.
Wing ribs cut using a hard balsa template.
Basic wing structure (nothing glued yet) with webbing and carbon fiber tube.
Nice! This will be a beaut!
And another awesome seaplane to aggravate Simon! ;D
I was just thinking - what a waste of an awesome build! Oh well.
Great project Michael, shame about the subject!
xxx
Its a beautiful plane. Can't wait to see it maiden this summer.
Basic wing frame and bottom skin are done, including ribs, webs and leading edge. Total weight (including lots of epoxy) is 165 grams, or a bit less than 6 ounces.
Next will be the nacelles and motor mounts. I'll start that tomorrow.
I'm impressed. Keep us posted on the build.
Bruce :D
Quote from: Oscar on February 14, 2016, 05:08:44 PM
Its a beautiful plane. Can't wait to see it maiden this summer.
Summer? He'll be done this by next week Thursday! :)
Colin
Wow! That's fast.
No, I won't finish it by Thursday! It'll take about a month, or 2 months at most.
Anyway, I just put another 2 hours work into it. I made parts for the inner nacelles, out of hard balsa and light plywood. These notch over the carbon fiber tube at the bottom, and at the top of the foam webbing, I epoxied in a carbon fiber flat rod, which will make this wing very strong.
It does look like a fabulous build Michael. Congratulations. You're doing an awesome job of it.
Basic aileron frames and aileron bays are done.
There is still a lot to do for the wing: wing floats, servos, linkages, wiring for motors, nacelles and cowls, and plywood parts for holding the wing onto the fuselage, and of course, a top wing skin.
These will be done once the wing is mounted on the fuselage.
At this point, I'm putting the wing aside and I'll start thinking about how to build the fuselage.
Where did you buy the foam from, Michael?
I bought the foam at local hobby stores.
I'm using epoxy for all foam-to-foam joints, and each joint is scratched and/or scored (cut) so the epoxy can 'bite' into the foam.
AWESOME!!!
Fuselage sides and formers have been made. (This is the fuselage side, but not including the cockpit/nose; that will be built later.)
I literally draw the 'plans' right onto the foam sheets.
Note in the photos, I tape sheets of foam together so I can cut 2 pieces at a time (to make sure they match), and I pin the foam to hold the straight edge in place, so cuts are accurate.
Formers are glued onto one side (using pins and paint cans to hold them perpendicular) and then the other side is glued on, upside down, because the top edge of the fuselage is straight.
Bottom front sheeting.
This will not be a scale model, but rather a semi-scale, or even 'stand-off' scale model.
The bottom should have a concave profile section on each side of the center, rather than flat, as I've built.
Also, since I expect the model to fly slowly, and to save weight, I did not put flaps in the wing.
Lower rear structure.
Beautiful build Michael. Looks like it will be ready to test off snow really soon! ;D
Andy
Concave shape on the full size? I don't think so. I think flat is scale.
Hard to tell.
Here's a photo I took of the CL215 at the Bushplane Museum in Sault Ste. Marie during the summer.
Marc
I've been working on the tail, which is taking a fair amount of thought-time.
The structure is flat, but built-up, and strong with carbon fiber supports.
:D Thought is good Michael, but the amount of thought you use doesn't seem to delay the project. You appear to make the necessary decisions and move on. I have made a personal note.
Looking great!
Main tail construction is done; still needs a lot of sanding and shaping, but before that, I'll start on the fuselage front/nose.
Lower half of the nose under construction. A basic frame, then sides and bottoms, all cut to fit.
Upper nose construction ...
Very cool. The foam looks like a fun material to work with.
The nose construction is done, but still needs more sanding.
It's beginning to look like Waterbomber! ;D
very nice!
Wing hold-down parts completed (tapped plywood for plastic screws).
This will take at least another month to finish.
Elevator and rudder servos.
Servos, ESCs and wiring in the wing.
Tip floats.
Blue stryrofoam insulation has joined the construction components.
I'm starting the wing top skins.
It's a slow and delicate procedure, but if I'm careful, it should come out neat and strong.
It'll take a few days.
Nice! Great progress as usual.
Wing top covered. While still very light, the wing has become very strong; no twisting.
Wing tips. Once sanded, they look great.
Nacelles: I'm not sure how it'll come together, but I'll make it up as I go along.
Note the messy work table. It's indicative of a healthy mind. ;D
OK, that's enough for today/tonight. Time for a break.
Coming along ....
I had been thinking earlier, "It will be nice to see it all together." And there it is. Very impressive, Michael.
Still working on the nacelles.
One nacelle 'skinning' is done. It took a long time because I had to cut each piece to fit, I had to wait until the glue dried for each piece before I could cut and measure for the next, and each edge had to be beveled for a reasonably accurate fit.
I still have to do the other nacelle, and then the cowls.
BEAUTIFUL FITTING!!
Andy
Wow
what a nice job
Thanks guys.
Cowls are made up of layers of blue foam, depron front and sheeting around.
I just got back from holidays and have a lot of Forum to catch up on..... Your aircraft is looking great.
Major construction is finished.
Both nacelles done, leading edge transition to fuselage, battery hatch.
Next: lightweight filler, sanding, fiberglass seams, hinges, linkages, paint with primer, paint, decorate, fly.
Thanks, Bruce.
It's incredible how fast you work. Amazing model. Well done.
Mostly sanded, fiberglassed (with epoxy) on all joints near water, aileron servos installed, and several coats of primer brushed on, to cover the various textures exposed.
Total weight with flight battery almost 60 ounces; wing loading almost 13 oz/sq ft.
Michael
awesome job...Man
it looks so good...
Great TEMAC builder's meeting tonight.
Robert helped me program differential throttle. It works, and now I'm going to program another twin-model the same.
Differential throttle, used when floating on water, in this case, is when only one motor on a twin is advanced, by moving the rudder, to help turn the plane.
Right rudder will activate the left motor, helping to pull the left wing forward and around, to turn the plane right, and vice-versa.
Also, I started painting a bit.
Hi Michael - Good to see you have it workout on the DT. Do you want me to bring in the radio in the next meeting to compare the setup?
I'll speak for Michael. I think you should :)
The one thing we haven't been able to figure out is how to disable the channel functions that are normally linked to the switches that we want to use for the mix. I can't recall if I was able to do it on my setups for my flying boats. I'll check tonight.
Last year, when we tried to program Michael's radio for his Albatross, we would have been able to do the mixing as needed, but got hung up on how to disable the switches. Then a whole bunch of distractions came into the discussion, and we gave up. :P
Shall do ;)
If you take a look at the image of the plane a few posts above, you can see that the top of the fuselage forward of the wing is flat. Even though this model is 'semi-scale' in nature, it just didn't look right. The images below show how I fixed that.
A bit more progress.
Awesome!!!!!
:D
Rudder and elevator hinges glued in.
It's looking more and more like a CL215 every day.
Looks great! The water runway, whichever one we choose, is ready!
A bit more progress.
Tail glued on; will need some extra support.
Radio installation done, and adjustments in progress.
Balances well without additional weight.
Total weight, without propellers is 66½ ounces; more than I hoped for, but not too bad for a 6-foot wingspan model.
I will test for power, and should have the model finished this weekend.
More detailing will follow a maiden flight.
Nice work! And so FAST!!!
OK, I'm done.
3-blade 9/7 props are installed, and they look nice.
My amp-meter doesn't work, but there seems to be enough power to scoot and turn on a carpet. If anyone can bring an amp-meter to the next meeting (I use Sermos connectors), maybe I can measure the power draw there.
I'm leaving detailing for later, but I did simple marker lines around the front windows, and they make a big difference.
I put carbon fiber supports under each side of the stabilizer, and I covered the servos at the top of the wing.
Now I have to clean up for my next project.
Amazing what you can do with foam board. I can't wait to see it fly. I hope you post a video of the maiden.
Beautiful! I look forward to your maiden flight. :D
Another classic "RogoFoamie"! Way to go Mike, looks great!
Colin
If the weather is decent (not too cold, and nit too windy), I'm considering going to TEMAC at about 6 pm to maiden this model.
Does any care to help out (video with my iphone), as well as fly for a bit?
Sorry, I just saw your post. How was the maiden flight?
Oops, I meant to say this:
************
If the weather is decent (not too cold, and not too windy) this coming Wednesday, I'm considering going to TEMAC at about 6 pm to maiden this model.
Does any care to help out (video with my iphone), as well as fly for a bit?
I know you were working this weekend, but the water runway behind my house was spectacular yesterday, and would have been great for a test flight. I flew in the morning, then again after sunset, showing off the lighting system on the Beaver. What a beautiful day! ;D
Would you like to take my plane home and maiden it for me?
Sure!!! But you may not get it back... assuming it flies as good as I suspect it will ;D
I might have to make the trip down to your place for a day on the water when the Widgeon is done. I have the wings nearly sheeted. I'll be starting on the ailerons and flaps later this week. Then it is on to the nacells.
Maiden flight was successful!
Easy take-off, easy flight, and easy landing. Balance was perfect, and trim was almost perfect. The plane is stable and can fly very slowly. Wind was about 10kmh.
Jeff took the video. It is an unedited video of the maiden flight. At about 1:48 in the video the plane does a very slow low pass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzkgzObLIhk&feature=youtu.be
Beautiful!! It looks you have the differential thrust on when turning. Did you have it enable?
Yes, I left it on.
Congratulations Michael. It looks great! There was no doubts about it flying. ;D
Quote from: the giant on April 20, 2016, 11:00:50 AM
I might have to make the trip down to your place for a day on the water when the Widgeon is done. I have the wings nearly sheeted. I'll be starting on the ailerons and flaps later this week. Then it is on to the nacells.
For sure, Andre, you (and anyone else) are always welcome. But don't feel limited to that. We have float flies scheduled pretty much every other week this summer. The first is a week from Saturday. Will you be done? ;D
That looks wonderful, Michael. Congratulations!
I hope we'll see it flying from the water next week!
Updates:
- flown off water twice, successfully.
- Winner of the Sept 2016 Model Airplane News Pilot Project of the Month.
Congratulations..... You are becoming a regular in Model Airplane News.
What are you going to do with a multitude of Model Airplane News hats? ;D
Hi Micheal, Can you post the dimension of your water bomber? Length? and Wingspans? Thank you