College for Kids Class |
The prototype airplane was assembled using low temperature hot glue as this would not destroy the foam and is a quick method to build. First flights were very promising; this plane really climbs on 1/8” wide rubber. It has a long fuselage which makes for easy winding by hand if there is no slack in the motor loop yet still gives a pretty long motor run. I wanted a very stable flying foam airplane for kid classes that I teach and previous design ideas didn’t seem stable enough in some cases.
Fantastic Foam Flyer |
This past summer for the Engineering Through Models class which is part of College for Kids at WSU I introduced this plane to the kids. I had built the simple balsa fuselages and traced out the parts on foam plates, this way they only needed a scissors and low temp hot glue gun to build the airplanes. Construction went well and they flew the planes indoors because it was rather hot outside. The planes flew well and survived many hits to the walls and floor pretty well, I was impressed. On the last day of class I showed the students how one of these planes could fly outdoors when really wound up. It was a calm day and the plane flew very high over the campus but landed close to where it was launched, they were impressed.
Flying High over WSU Campus |
3-Panel Wing |
My longest flight outdoors ended up in me losing sight of the model after close to 3 minutes as it became a tiny spot hoisted aloft in a thermal air current. An online friend of mine that built one of these planes had a similar experience and lost his on the first flight after watching it for over two minutes.
Denny Dock and Grandsons built planes for camping trip |
Paul L. Built a Gull Wing Version Too |
Propeller from Sky Streak Worked Well |
The article on my website has very detailed construction steps and the flying surface templates can be downloaded in PDF format. Propeller assemblies can be taken from other all-balsa planes such as the ones sold by the Guillow company.
Construction Article Link - Fantastic Foam Flyer
FFF at 30 Second Film Festival
Blue Ridge Dart
Bill Kuhl
http://www.ideas-inspire.com
Videos
Glue Plane Quickly
Flying High Over WSU
30 Seconds Construction Video
Flight Phases Shows Over Minute Flight
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