Star Delta

[Stephen Jones]

Hi there ,

Over the winter months i like to fly indoors, where it is warm and dry and out of the wind.

I also like to experiment with new designs which i can make cheap from foam after all i have no idea if these ideas will actually take flight .

Tandem wing planes have fascinated me for some time now and i have made a fair few flying flea`s in my time.

But i wanted to see if i could take the design concept a step further by improving it`s stability while still keeping the plane as small as possible.

And i have found by adding a extra wing helps improve this.

So although this flies well it is not suited to indoor flying nor is it compact.

So after drawing some lines over a drawing of it a clear shape emerged.

As you can see the Delta wing . One on top of the other makes a Star shape .

But a Flying Flea has the front wing at high level while the rear wing is at low level and the front wing tilts to give more or less lift .

[Stephen Jones]

And so i built it like This ,

And this flies very well indeed , it will fly very slowly which is perfect for indoor flying it is also very maneuverable too. Which is also good to keep out of the way of other models or walls.

And after flying this for several months at Rochdale indoor meetings One guy came up to me and told me he made something similar to this which was a control line model.

The following month a differant guy told me that he had download this plan but could not get the parts to match up .

"How did i print mine out " i explained that this was my own plan .

So before you all tell me it has already been done before .

I Know

So i will share my build log with you all .

Steve,

[Stephen Jones]

Ok ,

The key to any good indoor flying model is to keep it as light as possible .

Also keep it as cheep as possible as it will at some point get damaged even if it is through no fault of you're own.

So i made mine from 3mm Depron ,while being light it has enough flexibility to allow the air frame to absorb some of the knocks it will encounter during the course of indoor flying .

I also have not used any carbon fiber to aid it`s construction.

The radio gear will also need to be light too as this is the biggest portion of the total weight gain.

 

I have used this radio set-up in many of my indoor models and found it to be a good performer in power , duration and low weight.

Motor is a brushless BL1504 and a 6amp ESC.

2 gram servos and a light weight receiver as i use Frsky mine is a VD5M.

And is powered by a 2s 240ma Lipo battery.

 

 

Edited By Stephen Jones on 16/04/2016 23:55:45

[Colin Leighfield]

Looks good Steve. Another one I found to work well in a small size was an X-wing, with the front wing set high and swept forward and the rear wing the same size and sweep, but swept back and set low.

Following with interest.

[Stephen Jones]

The wings are just cut out of 3mm Depron with the elevons cut out of the lower/rear wing.

The control horns i made from clear plastic.

They are glued on with Uhu Por and clear packing tape is used to hinge the elevons.

[Stephen Jones]

Hi Colin ,

Here is a picture of the Boeing X 50a.

Do you have a picture of the x wing you are talking of ?

Steve

[Colin Leighfield]

Sadly no Steve. If you imagine though a 30 degree forward swept tapered wing with aspect ratio about 6:1, as the front wing, and an identical wing but swept back, with the root leading edge lined up with the root trailing edge of the front wing, you should get the idea. Front wing on top of the fuselage and the rear wing on the bottom.

Sadly I scrapped it a long time ago having proved that it worked and I don't have any pictures. Wouldn't take long to knock one up from Depron though, perhaps I will now.

I haven't seen the X50A before, very interesting.

[Stephen Jones]

Ok ,

The next part of the build is the motor Box which i made up from 5mm Depron.

Now the side panels are cut from 3mm Depron along with the top and bottom of the body.

[Colin Leighfield]

Very sound and straightforward Steve. What do you use to mark the Depron for cutting, an ordinary marker pen?

Are you working on the principle that the overlap between the two deltas will perform the same function as the third wing? Looking at your drawing, it gives the impression that it will.

[Stephen Jones]

Hi Colin,

I print the parts out, then stick them onto the depron sheet with Pritt stick or spray mount .. That way i cut the parts out more accurately i then use a damp cloth to remove any glue . So best only to lightly stick where needed and cut out right away.

Yes, you are right the third wing area is made up from the overlap of the two delta shapes. .

I have found that the model flies much more stable at varying angles of attack without any sighs of bobbing which can occur with a Flying Flea until it has settled into its flying patten.

And so you can not really throw this model wrong it will just sort it`s self out and fly

Steve

[Stephen Jones]

Next the fin needs to be cut out 5mm Depron along with the up-rights too help support the fin.

I fitted a rudder although i do not use it in flight i did find it helps with trimming .

It is best to build the body upright using batteries or some other supports in order to keep everything square.

[Stephen Jones]

 

Next add 5mm Depron for the nose block ,

Ok now for the motor i use a standard servo disc but 1/16th ply could also be used.

 

 

 

Sand the nose block to give a little right thrust.

 

 

 

Edited By Stephen Jones on 17/04/2016 16:00:32

[Stephen Jones]

Now solder you're Esc to the motor and check it runs in the right direction.

Glue the motor mount to the nose and make a notch for the motor wires so that the Esc can be fitted on the underside of the battery box.

Pass the control wire between the Fuselage floor and the bottom of the battery box .

And pass the power cable of the Esc through the battery box so that it is at the top of the battery box.

Now the battery has a nice space to sit in with easy connection.

[Stephen Jones]

Next fit servos and receiver .

I pushed a pin into the top of the battery box to retain a small rubber band then fitted the top leaving a small hole.

So that the battery hatch can be held in place.

Hope these pictures illustrate well enough.

Steve

[Stephen Jones]

I found it best to add any decoration to the body now before adding the wings as they get in the way.

Next connect up the servos to the Elevons.

Now check all the radio gear works correctly before adding the top wing.

Steve

[Stephen Jones]

Top wing can be glued on or magnets used to hold in place.

Now turn it over and fit the landing skids and dummy drop tank which can be used to hand launch the model.

Although this model was only designed to be flown indoors, so will take off and land on the skids.

It can be flown Outside on very clam days so that is why i put the drop tank there.

[Stephen Jones]

Here is a video of it flying at Rochdale indoor flying meeting.

 

Steve

 

Edited By Stephen Jones on 18/04/2016 00:30:26

[Stephen Jones]

Some pictures taken outside .

Steve

[Colin Leighfield]

It looks like a very stable flyer, any peculiarities?

[onetenor]

1959 Aeromodeller by Pete Holland "Duplex Delta"

http://www.outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=3399 CL I never built it but as you say it was done before . Well done you for making a good flier

[Stephen Jones]

Posted by Colin Leighfield on 20/04/2016 23:02:35:

It looks like a very stable flyer, any peculiarities?

Hi Colin ,

Yes it is amazing just how stable it is , and the only peculiarities are it`s looks,

It will turn on the spot and loops for fun although rolls are not too good .

I may see if i can address that.

Will fly very slowly or fast with no pitching problems , all in all not bad for a flat plate wing.

Well i am happy with it, for a indoor flyer.

Steve

[Stephen Jones]

Posted by onetenor on 21/04/2016 05:07:56:

1959 Aeromodeller by Pete Holland "Duplex Delta"

http://www.outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=3399 CL I never built it but as you say it was done before . Well done you for making a good flier

Hi ,

I was peed off when i found out that this design had been done before as i had built and designed it from my own extermination.

I was equally peed off when someone shown me a video of a model that had been kitted that also shared similarities to my Little Bit Special.

Steve

[Colin Leighfield]

I imagine that it is very unlikely that someone somewhere won't have had similar ideas to yours, whatever you do. It doesn't make it any less your idea and it was you that made it work.

[Stephen Jones]

Hi,

Do any of you remember this i built,

As a test bed ,

Well someone else also built one,

Not so mad,

Steve

[J D 8]

Now who is for building a Caprioni triple triplane, just about the most unlikely aeroplane ever.