Hi guys, this is my first build ever so please go easy on me. The name GLIDIATOR is a mix of Glider & Gladiator as this is meant to be easy flying yet tough plane. I will be posting the build thread in sections as my GPRS connection is killing me. So the photos will also be heavily resized so please bear with me.


Before I start the thread I would like to thank RCI member R C without whom i'd still be sittin here staring at other people's build threads instead of posting my own. Even though he barely knew me for a month and had met me only once that too for like 30 seconds, he invited me to stay with him in Bangalore, helped me build the fuselage (more like built 99% of it himself ), introduced me to many other aeromodellers in Bangalore, taught me all the tricks of scratchbuilding and then sent me home with all the materials that are required to finish the rest of the plane. Thanks R C!!! And thanks Anwar bhai for giving us such a wonderful forum without which I would've just given up on aeromodelling and sold off all my stuff.

Ok enough of the emotional stuff, moving onto section 1: The fuselage

The fuselage sides were first cut out of 3mm coro and then the frame was constructed onto it using wooden sticks (4mm strips of the flat wooden patti that is used to line doors and stuff).

The tail feathers are also made of 3mm coro and the hinges are the traditional coro hinges (by cutting one layer of the coro along one of the flutes)

(Will post the exact dimensions of the fuselage & tail feathers later)

Section 2: The pushrods

The pushrods are made from the same wooden sticks that are used to make the fuselage frame. Grooves are cut into the ends of the sticks and cycle spokes are glued into them using CA.

On one side of the sticks be sure to glue the spoke with the threaded side towards the outside (so that you can glue the clevis onto it).
Check the diameter of the spokes and buy the appropriate size clevises to sit on the threaded end of the spokes.

Section 3: The servos

For simplicity sake, I decided not to use a servo tray and just ziptied the servos onto the side of the fuselage.

On the outside of the fuselage I glued transparent plastic cutouts (with holes for the zipties to pass through) so that the ties do not cut through the coro.

(You can buy the zipties at stationary stores. The are sometimes called  cable ties or cable organisers)

I attached the pushrods to the servos horns using adjustable servo connectors.

(servos will soon be replaced by corona 12g metal gear servos and also double sided tape will be added to secure them.)

Section 4: The hot wire cutter

The frame for the cutter is made of scrap wood that I found lying around the the house.

The string (no.1 guitar string) is attached to the frame by a activa/dio side stand spring on one side and the string tightening mechanism from a guitar on the other side. This allows me to adjust the tension with minimum effort.

I've used a 12Volt 5A transformer, a ceiling fan regulator and no.1 guitar string.

section 5: The wings.

Instead of cutting the wings using the traditional hot wire method (i.e. with wooden airfoil sections kept on either side) I used a different method which is easier and requires a smaller hot wire cutter. It may also be done using a long blade if a hot wire cutter is not available.

I call this the USTAD - Ultra Simple Thermocol Airfoil Design


I cut a 1" thermocol sheet into wing shape i.e. 9" wide sheets. Then I embedded a wooden spar into the top of it (1/3rd the way from the leading edge) by cutting a groove using a blade and then glued it in place using 1 minute epoxy.

Then I ran the hot wire cutter over the top of the wing as shown in the first picture. The cut is quite smooth as the spar supports the hot wire on one side and I used the edge of the table as support for the other side.

I have only done the middle section of the wing so far. After finishing it I plan to sand the surfaces smooth and cover with cellophane or kite paper using fevicol diluted in water to glue it.





This is a scratch build so I dont have any plans.. But I will post the build in as much detail as possible.. If you have any questions feel free to ask

This is all the progress I've made so far..

1)What do you guys think?
2)What is the best way to sand the thermocol wings without it breaking up into thermo balls?

Thanks for reading..

A lot of effort is going in into building the Glidiator. You have my respect, any time and any day. May the winds favour you! God bless!

Thank you VC sir.. It means a lot coming from you Sir do you have any tips for sanding thermocol? Also should I cover it with cellophane or kite paper (using diluted fevicol)?

Good going. The fuse has come up well. Wonder why you chose to make the wing out of thermocole. Coro should do the job equally well.

-Ismail

Coro wing will be much heavier.. And also I've run out of coro.. Besides, I really wanted to use the hot wire cutter

Nice stuff you have.Finish it as quickly as you can and enjoy your flying.Most of all,keep us updated.

Thanks I will try to finish and maiden it in this week itself.. I'm just worried as this will be my first time flying..

I am still not able to make planes from corro
i just cannot handle this stuff
i dont how people come out with such beautifull things with this material

Its quite a easy material to work with Akky.. It sticks well with CA.. And best of all you don't have to break your head about hinges.. You only have to be careful when ur cutting diagonally through the flutes.. The blade tends to jump off course every time it has to cut across a flute wall.. But that to can be solved by changing the direction of the blade such that the flutes push the blade into the ruler/guide that ur using..

Thats a nice build. I have quite a lot of 10mm thermocol sheets lying here so will make use of it Will get in touch with R C for help

Waiting for the maiden

Building a model as well as presenting a building log simultaneously is a tough job.
But making the model; taking photographs at right time and explaining it later to your fellow members is very self satisfaction job. 
I congratulate you for presenting a nice building log here. 
After completion of this project please make a video with your building log and upload in youtube.com. You will get many responses around the globe. 

met aneesh today and drilled holes in the servo horns
such a cool plane!
i look forward to attend the maiden of her with him!
best of luck

Excellent Job Aneesh.....Just Great!!!!
Ohh If I were in GOA now!!!!......
About sanding your thermocole wing......use a fine sand paper ,sand lightly...not with pressure...don't think the thermocole would crumble so easily..You already have the aerofoil shape with the help of your Hot Wire Cutter....coat/s of Fevicol and paint will make your wing nice and strong.....I don't think it would require any sort of covering.......
   Good work once again......Keep it up and Go FLY!!!!

Aha!! so this is what you were up to at the Mandur Health Center eh??
just imagine is the Dean of GMC comes to know...
Awesome build fellow friend..Lucky Prateek will be there with you at the maiden?
where have you guys planned to fly?
Just one suggestion, I don't know if it applies but why did you not place the zip tie locks at the inside of the fuselage?
Waiting to see your maiden...

Thanks guys.. I just connected all the linkages.. Thanks prateek for drilling the servo horns for me, the connectors fit perfectly

@Rajathv8: R C is coming down to Goa now.. Once he gets back to Bangalore you should get in touch with him.. He'll surely help you..

@Anwar & Sb_Maharana: Thanks! Will post the vid as soon as I maiden her

@Jonboy20: Hey John, congratulations on your first post! I was wondering when you were going to break radio silence I'll try with fevicol first, if it doesn't work then I'll go for covering.. Will start sanding tomo..

@contrloflyer: He He.. Till the plane is ready, the health of the Mandur people is safe in the hands of my fellow interns! There's barely any work to do here.. I'm done with my patients by lunchtime.. Then I just have to go and show my face periodically for attendance purposes

I kept the zip-ties on the outside as I used pliers to tighten them and didn't want to damage the fuselage/servos in the process.. Will keep them inside when I'm replacing  the HXTs with the corona metal gear servos..

Aneesh!

Look at the Kuwaiti Local e-bay of hobby related products..



http://www.q8hobby.com/

Hey Dorwin, nice site!

And I just finished fitting all the linkages.. I've used adjustable connectors on the servo horns.. And threaded clevisis on the other end..

How much should the throws be ideally?

Forum member R C came to my hostel today.. so we decided to test glide the plane.. It glided so beautifully that we decided it was time for her first powered test flight   

So we flew it... Straight into a tree!     

For some reason the plane kept trying to go left (we already checked the balance and control surfaces).. And got stuck in a tree! One of R Cs friends tried to climb up and rescue the plane but he couldn't reach it and it was about to start raining.. So out of desperation as a last resort we decided to launch a ground to air footwear missile  So up went R Cs shoe and down came the plane.. And a brilliant catch by R Cs friend  So my plane lives to fly another day 

The thermocol wing is surprisingly strong and came out with only a few scratches and bruises.. 

Photos and videos will be uploaded as soon as possible.. Unfortunately the camera was off during the test flight.. But to make up for it I'll upload the shoe toss video 
(Finally a video of a shoe being tossed at something other than a politician!  )

In the mean while here are photos of the completed wing (no covering).. The second pic shows the airfoil..

hey looking good dotor!
anxiously waiting for the "shoe rescue" ceremony video! 

Quote from: controlflyer on September 08, 2010, 09:35:55 PM
hey looking good dotor!
anxiously waiting for the "shoe rescue" ceremony video! 

Hey,
I will put the video tomorrow.