Hi,

I recently had a 2 week holiday in our campervan in Cornwall & with the weather as it has been, I decided on a project to keep me busy if it rained-It didn't actually, but I still completed my aim of designing, building & flying a model all whilst on holiday.

Nothing special about the model really, just a 34" span electric Funfly type model but it flies really well & was very cheap & quick to build. Photos are in my gallery.

the whole thing is built from 3 sheets (36x3) 1/16", 1 sheet 1/8" & most of a sheet of 3/16" cut into 1/2" strips (built up ailerons, rudder & elevators) plus a few strips of 1/8x1/4 & 1/8 sq & a few scraps of ply. The undercarriage is from a redundant Pico-Stick. The 2 sheets of Solarfilm are the most expensive bits!

Servos are Esky 8g (about £20 for 10 from HK) & the Esky Rx & 2s 1800mah Lipo is from RCM direct at £10 £12  respectively.

It originally flew with a 2410-09 Bell motor but this only drew 7A on a 10x4.7 prop giving about 50W & although it was fairly aerobatic on this setup I felt it could do with a bit more power so I changed to a 2408-21 on an 8x4 & this drew just over 10A, so 75W & this transformed the model to a very lively litte beast! Flight times with the 1800 battery exceed 20mins & I normally land way before the battery is drained & motor, controller & battery are barely warm. Total weight with battery is 14oz & a wing loading of about 7.5oz/sqft. The battery sits in a channel underneath at the nose retained by an elastic band making changes a breeze.

The only thing I forgot was the control rods & horns & as the nearest model shop was 50miles away, I used bamboo barbeque skewers & some paperclip Z bends to connect the servos to 1/16" ply horns-Rudder is closed loop.

To sum up, a quick, cheap & easy build which gave me a great deal of satisfaction & caused quite a bit of interest on the campsite (what is that idiot doing sanding away at balsa in the sunshine!)

I intend to build another for IC engine, perhaps a Cox or small PAW diesel.

Hope you found it intersting

Well done Mark, some signs of a keen and inventive modeller there !

Unfortunately, your piccies have not been approved by the big white chief yet , so we shall have to wait a litlte longer.

I have given up on the gallery idea on this site, preferring instead to have an immediate image posting via a hosting gallery.

Thanks for the kind comments Timbo-Inventiveness always comes of necessity!-I remember as an impoverished schoolboy splicing bits from one of those bargain balsa offcuts pack to make decent lengths, so that's where the resourcefulness probably came from!

Here are some photos at last. Hope you like them.

Thats pretty cool my man - I take it then that the wife always packs her hairdryer

Shades of a cetian Mr Foss' wottie in the wing there mate? Did you plan it up a lot, or was it a case of build as you go, and if it looks right it will fly right ? 

Hi again,

I did have some idea of what I was going to build & packed (just) enough wood, covering iron, heat gun etc, plus tools & a sheet of paper! It was mostly a case of if it looks right it will probably be OK.

I managed to sneak it all in without my prettier half noticing!-in fairness she is normally very supportive & is used to being carted to bleak airfields & model shows. I always take my IFO with me on hols, but now it's 2 models!

It's that time again-off to Cornwall for 2 weeks!!

Just deciding what to take-the IFO must come & this little green one+what to build this time?

The choices at the moment are: design a 60"ish electric glider, perhaps with Jedelsky wings, take a Veron Cardinal plan (electrify & radio) & some wood or one of the many Ben Buckle kits I have, probably the Mini-Super due to it's small size & the PAW 2.5 I have waiting for it.

Any other thoughts anyone?

Hi Lima,

I had every intention to change them, but as it flies so well, I don't see the point-wish I'd put the servos on the bottom of the wing now though!!