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Foam board Me 110


Eric Robson
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Due to the shortage of balsa and Warbird Replicas Me 110 kits I decided to make one using Maker foam and Hobbycraft foam board and the last of some depron I had. It is a scaled down Brian Taylor plan of71" span, mine will be 57" span.

the deciding factor was the availability of a Dynam canopy ( thank you Richard Wills) the basic fuselage is foamboard with f b formers covered mainly with 1/8" depron the wing is a simple maker foam flat bottom wing. I have a Flite test P38Lightning with this set up and it fly's very well.1557038397_DSC_10852694.thumb.JPG.03b376c122ddc89c39993f687bd1524f.JPG  1484551552__20220102_1128552698.thumb.JPG.466829e64dde98f744b1a24e4b6b7617.JPG

Edited by Eric Robson
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Great work Eric.

 

This is fascinating and I'm going to have a crack.

 

For anyone interested, this 'how to' video for the Flite Test P38 is essential viewing.

 

One thing I note; their approach is really refreshing. Rather than trying to replace balsa,they are trying to find the best way to make an airplane from this material. I think this is the right mindset. I'm looking forward to experimenting and seeing where we can collectively take this.

 

Graham

 

 

 

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Thank you for the comments,

when it come to the engine cowls I made a profile of the side and top views and started building up the shape with laminations of 5mm foam this seemed to take forever so after the first quarter I looked for a different method. blue foam would be ideal but is now made as black foam, still called blue foam? but is not available at the moment. It's beginning to feel like WW2 everything is in short supply. I went to Wickes to see what they had and come out with a block of insulating foam  1200mm x 450mm x 50mm thick with foil on both sides just under £10. it sanded quite well but care needed as it can be damaged easily,  I used a Permagrit  block rough side to take it down near size then the smooth side to finish. It is not as strong as blue foam but I am going to cover it with brown paper which should strengthen it. The cowl and the three blocks for the nacelle weigh less than an ounce at this point. The one behind the cowl will be removable, the rear two will be fixed once the wiring is in.685784831_DSC_11062753.thumb.JPG.8ee0278659e736539a09cc0ce9d06682.JPG

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One cowl and nacelle covered in brown paper. I has added a lot of strength to the foam, I found I only had enough screws and nuts to mount 1 motor so hopefully the order will arrive today and I can c get the other side done. the cowl will be glued on when all is up and running, motor and esc cooling is taken in from the under side of the cowl and exits where the under carriage should be. hand launching on this one.

DSC_1112[2803].JPG

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On 10/01/2022 at 10:22, Eric Robson said:

Thank you for the comments,

when it come to the engine cowls I made a profile of the side and top views and started building up the shape with laminations of 5mm foam this seemed to take forever so after the first quarter I looked for a different method. blue foam would be ideal but is now made as black foam, still called blue foam? but is not available at the moment. It's beginning to feel like WW2 everything is in short supply. I went to Wickes to see what they had and come out with a block of insulating foam  1200mm x 450mm x 50mm thick with foil on both sides just under £10. it sanded quite well but care needed as it can be damaged easily,  I used a Permagrit  block rough side to take it down near size then the smooth side to finish. It is not as strong as blue foam but I am going to cover it with brown paper which should strengthen it. The cowl and the three blocks for the nacelle weigh less than an ounce at this point. The one behind the cowl will be removable, the rear two will be fixed once the wiring is in.685784831_DSC_11062753.thumb.JPG.8ee0278659e736539a09cc0ce9d06682.JPG

Black foam is exactly the same as blue foam and available from Addlestone Model Centre.

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Thanks LHF, 

all I could find on the Addlestone model website was 5mm black foam, I was aware the black is the same as the blue, what I was looking for was the 75mm thick sheets on the Blue foam website which is still called blue foam The foam I am using has taken the brown paper ok and now that is dry it is quite strong.

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Thanks David, 

I will keep that in mind for the next time,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I just need to glue the wing and tail on and a few bits and bobs. The wing and tail plane will not be covered with brown paper but I reinforced the wing tips and fins with it, I had to cover one aileron as the covering on the maker foam come away. the motors with 8x8 props and 3s battery are churning out 365W and drawing 38 amps at 10v 

DSC_1115[2823].jpg

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Thanks Graham.

I never dope, my Warbirds models are just painted direct onto the brown paper with acrylics or Valspar from B&Q. and the glow models are primed with rattle can primer from the car accessory shop then B&Q paint followed by matt varnish, I try to avoid adding weight as much as possible.

When I built the Flite test Lightning I put the fins on as supplied after a while the paper started pealing and I was forever sticking it back on. On the 110 I stripped the paper off the fins, shaped the edges and covered with b p , they feel a lot better than the waxy stuff and tougher and weigh exactly the same 0.14 of an ounce. Sorry to work in imperial but Richard always asks for it.

Cheers Eric.  

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Thanks Eric,

I think that's what I was leaning towards; BP and paint directly. It will stiffen up the slightly floppy wing structure nicely.

 

I've used a similar structure to the FT lightning with a pair of foamboard spars, and an additional 1/4" balsa spar. I have used a balsa leading edge, but the only wood I had is a bit hard, so is heavier than I would like. Even so, the wing is hardly porky!

 

What structure did you use for the fuselage? I notice you used a load of formers for the curved decks and you said you used depron as a skin. Did you stiffen the foamboard with any wood? Did you use any ply or balsa doublers for wing reinforcement? I'm thinking of 1/32" ply, but maybe 1/16" balsa to stiffen the fuselage behind the wing.

 

Graham

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Hi Graham,

the entire fuselage structure is foam board with the paper left on for strength the only balsa is the 3/16" sq. top and bottom. the side where the wing mounts is two layers of maker foam with the paper removed,  on the side of the fuselage between the top and bottom formers there should be shaped formers 1/8" deep bridging the formers as this was going to be a faff I just stuck a 1/2" x1/8" strip along the fuselage to support the depron cladding, this worked fine. As it is going to be a one piece plane I have not used balsa or ply doublers, hopefully this will be ok as the Lightning does not have them and it has been alright. On the wing the only balsa is the main spar and the nacelle sides , the motor mounts are light ply. I have used 3/16" balsa for the tail plane seat  as I thought the foam may give with the stress. Always cut the paper away on the maker foam before gluing and glue direct to the foam as the paper comes off very easy, the foam board from Hobby Craft etc. has stronger adhesive so I don't worry too much about removing the paper for doublers etc.

Sorry for the late reply but I went flying.

Eric. 

 

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Thanks Eric,

 

I might use some balsa longerons or somesuch, but otherwise I'll go with your idea and just double up the foamboard where the wing seats. Mine will also be one piece so once it's glued together that's a fair amount of foam to crush. Mine is a conventional tail, so as long as it's reasonably stiff, it should be OK. I will need to make sure there's somewhere to grip under the wing too, or hand launching will be a handful. At this stage, I have no plans for any landing gear.

 

I shall do the same with the nacelles, balsa sides, lightply or maybe 1/8" ply motorplate, depending what I have stock of.

 

I'm going to top hinge the ailerons with some Gorilla mounting tape, and then cover over with BP. But I will make up full section ailerons at the expense of about 1/4 Oz! I may stiffen the Tailplane with a balsa trailing edge too as it also give something to stick the hinges into. However, I'll reserve judgment on that until I've seen how stiff a folded foamboard tailplane is. I'm more concerned that the elevator will be stiff enough and not just fold out of the airflow!!

 

I've 3D printed a pair of cowls, so that bit is taken care of.

 

I'll keep you posted!

 

Graham

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That looks great Eric. This whole foamboard thing is really quite exciting for me. You get quick build, light weight and low cost. And just look at the outcome! That's going to look great in the air.

 

Not wishing to derail the thread, but for anyone interested, I am building a Ki-45. So far, wings and nacelles are just about done. Cowls are 3D printed. The whole shebang weighs not much. 60" Span. It will use a pair of 3536 motors I had lying around and probably 4S 3700 packs. I think it would fly fine on 3S, but my packs are 2200 and I think it may struggle to balance.

 

Graham

 

Ki45 Wing 200122.jpg

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Hi Graham,

that is looking good, no problems putting it on my thread but I think you should start one of your own as it may generate more interest. 

To balance mine I will have to revise the battery mounting,  I did build a box going in to the nose but the tail end is so light it is nose heavy. It has 35 36 motors on 3s the same as the Lightning .

Are you making a flat bottom wing? one of the flyers in my club has built a Lancaster and Halifax, conventional builds and he has Clark Y on one and semi symmetrical on the other and the Clark Y is the better of the two. 

Eric.

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Hi Eric,

I may well do a thread. I didn't take many pictures as I was making it up as I went along, and mostly stuck to the workbench (I love hot melt!)...

 

I went with a flat bottom section, but the balsa leading edge means it has a bit of camber to it. I guess it is fairly close to Clark Y.

 

I'm also a bit concerned about nose heaviness. There's so little material behind the wing, balance won't be a problem. I will probably mount the servos towards the rear as it makes the pushrods simpler. I'm planning to slide the battery in from the cockpit, so will be able to stop it wherever it balances. I suspect it won't be fully forward though.

 

I'm going to go with an inverted 'U' for the fuselage. So there will be a straight line from the tailplane forwards. I will then build the curved upper deck onto this and leave the lower fuselage open until everything is installed and working. That way I can add stiffeners if it seems to need it, rather than commit to them early. I am stripping the paper from all the board, except fuselage formers. It's getting BP'd anyway. I'll also build in a grip under the wing around about the CofG to aid the low-winger flingers! I usually fly and launch solo, which I'm very comfortable with, but need a decent grab point. It's going to be so light, it should be a very easy launch. I've got some 3-blade drone props, so will run contra rotating motors, which keeps torque out of the equation...

 

If it looks half as good as your ME, I'll be very happy.

 

Graham

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