I am building a nitro foamy based on the Tribute 4D profile plane from Hanger 9.

The fuse is 3/4" Bluecore. Wing ribs are 1/4" FFF. Wing covering is 1mm Depron. Tail and rudder will be 9mm Depron.

1/16" lite ply and plastic motor mounts are used for mounting the OS MAX .56 4 stroke nitro engine.

The model will be covered in Oracal 651 vinyl for fuel proofing...

More details and SU files will be posted later.... stay tuned. Attached files

 

Since this plane is going to be made up of different types of foam, I have divided the SU files into sections.

Mind you, this is a work in progress and may be changed before the final build is complete, but I have cut out most of the parts and fitted them already.

The wing panels are incomplete in that I have not marked the positions for the aileron control horn openings nor have I positioned the battery compartment lid as yet.

What I am now waiting on are sheets of 1mm foam and the carbon fiber tube for the wing that I ordered earlier in the week.

For landing gear, I may use the Ohio Models profile landing gear (http://ohiomodelplanes.com/tetherite/) or I may just make my own from ABS plastic sheets. I will include an SU file for that as well if anyone is into cutting plastic and forming it with a hot wire. Attached files BatteryCompartment.skp (608.1 KB)Â LandingGear2D.skp (24 KB)Â LandingGear3D.skp (257.8 KB)Â PosterBoardTemplate.skp (138.6 KB)Â Tribute3D.skp (841 KB)Â TributeElevRud.skp (360.5 KB)Â TributeFuseThreeQuarterInch.skp (811.3 KB)Â TributeNoseTemplate.skp (297.3 KB)Â Tribute_Ribs.skp (364.9 KB)Â

 

1mm Depron and carbon fiber rod arrived today. The 1mm Depron straight from the box has a curve in it that makes it perfect for doing the wing!

Cut the leading edge pieces by hand. Hot gluing the wing at this point. Battery box and servo trays are mounted.

Coming together nicely. Attached files

 

Of course you may use it. I have some extra foam and carbon fiber. If I get this one flying soon enough, I will build a wing (covered with Oracal) and send it to you to take with you.

 

ET - Exactly what I was thinking.....

 

Looks good, Flash. I think that when I'll do it I'll put 'legs' on the ribs on one side to make sure I have the wing strait and not twisted after the top side sheeting is done.

Yoram

 

Great idea Yoram! I've been silently wondering how to tackle that problem. I was experimenting with various braces last night.

 

Here is the completed wing (less ailerons). The wing weighs in at 9.1 oz. Considering this plane would normally be a 4 to 4.5 LB plane in Balsa, I am expecting some pretty good numbers when it is all finished.

I was able to sheet the top side easily, working out from the center as I hot glued each rib. The 1mm Depron is quite flexible and easily folds back providing a simple way to hot glue the sheeting to the ribs.

The fuse and plywood engine mount are shown in the background of one of the photos.

I have only covered the canopy on this section thus far. Attached files

 

Wow that looks great! It looks like it would be a cool big e-powered plane as well! Good job!

 

Covered the Fusealage and did a dry fit of the new wing....

Attached files

 

Good eye tbird. There are quite a few bug a boos in this first build, including the droop in the trailing edge which you noticed.

I suspect the droop was caused by me not being careful enough as I was gluing down the first 3 or 4 ribs. I did not have a jig of any kind to help me align them and since this was my first attempt at something like this, it is a learning process.

The next issue was that the original plans called for doing two wing sections and gluing them together. At the last minute I decided that I could do the entire wing with one piece of 1mm Depron but did not take into account that it was a bit shorter than what two of them would have been.

I should have recalculated the distance between ribs and my failure to do that resulted in the center ribs being offset.

So, yes, this build is far from perfect. But I am learning what not to do on the next build, so that is a good thing I suppose.

I also learned some new tricks working with the Oracal vinyl today as well. Using Windex on the vinyl allowed me to easily position layered pieces and be able to remove them and reposition them as needed. It also assisted getting rid of any bubbles between the layers. The squeegy worked so much easier and made a much better installation.

Using the heat gun also worked well for doing corners and rounded edges and making the vinyl more pliable.

I learn a little more each time a do a new plane. It's kinda like flying, if you're not pushing your limits you will become stagnant and not improve your skills.

 

I would use carbon fiber for the leading edge also and a carbon fiber towards the back where the back hole comes to a point. That should sturdy up and flatten the wing.
I modified one to something like i would use if i were to build one that large.
Check it out. It may help. Attached files Tribute_Rib.skp (87.2 KB)Â

 

I ended up putting sections of foam between each rib for the leading and trailing edge.

In hindsight, I should have laid in a guide for the trailing edge, maybe a piece of flat carbon fiber to make sure that when I glued each rib, they were aligned with one another.

After putting on the ailerons, it is not as noticeable. I doubt it will affect the flying characteristics enough to be concerned about, but it would have been nice had I not screwed it up in the first place.

It turned out to be quite stiff with only the single carbon fiber tube, but two or even three would certainly make it that much better.

My next big issue is going to be the stiffness of the fusealage. I had a nice flat 1/2" carbon fiber strip somewhere in my shop which I have been unable to find. The fuse is going to need a good healthy dose of carbon fiber to give it the stiffness it will need to be able to handle the 4 stroker I am mounting on it.

I got the stab and rudder mounted last night. For the canopy, I have added some 1/16 ply and a slot in the fuse both front and back. I glued 2 1/16" ply sections into the canopy to fit the slots in the fuse. It should give me the support I will need to keep pressure on the wing, although I will still probably glue the wing in place rather than make it removeable as I originally intended.

Here is a photo of the fuse and stab, and the Platboyz logo (Thanks Mark).... Attached files

 

Flash,

I can't wait to hear about or see a video of how the Tribute 4D flies! It's going to be awesome with all the nitro power available coupled with light weight of the airframe!

 

If anyone is thinking about building this, please wait till I get the plans finalized. I discovered the stabilizer is scaled too small and the ailerons need some adjusting.

As with any new plane, the prototype always needs some tweaking. Having had a chance to see how this is coming together, I decided there were some build errors on my part that need to be corrected as well as some miscalculations in dimensions that warrant the rework.

The 1mm foam sheeting comes in a size that makes it perfect for doing a single wing vs two halves that I was going to build then glue together, so I need to adjust the distance between the ribs since it is just shy of the original plans.

I am going to rebuild the wing and the stabilizer and beef up the fuse. I also need to create the leading and trailing edge parts in SU (made from FFF). I intend to cut this wing in half and prepare it for Marks Toledo show.

I had to make another trip to the hobby shop last nite to pick up stiffer carbon fiber for the fusealage. Those at my flying field seem to think the 4 stroke will cause more vibration and the fuse is not stiff enough without a good strong carbon fiber in it.

At any rate, I am convinced that it is possible to build a full size foam nitro powered plane.

 

After two weeks, and two wings later, I am finally ready to maiden the Tribute 4D Foamy.

Some minor build issues (1 wing servo tray got placed between the wrong set of ribs, and possibly too small of an elevator) still exist but nothing that should prevent it from flying.

Here are some updated photos the second wing build and of the completed nitro foamy.

A 3/8" fiberglass tube was buried in the belly of the fuse to stiffen the plane up. Also flat carbon installed on ailerons, rudder and stabilizer as well as a carbon tube down the center of the wing.

The plane weighs a total of 3.5 lbs including the OS Max .56 4 stroke nitro engine. Attached files

 

I am sad to report that the maiden did not go well and I sadly I did not get video of it either.

It could have been worse. The 3/8" fiberglass rod in the belly did a wonderful job protecting the fusealage and the wing held up very well considering the 30 mph head on impact with mother earth.

In hindsight, I should have just left the elevator alone and flown it.... but Nooooo, I had to strap on an extension not taking into account the extra weight and stress I was putting on two very insignificant hinges....

see this link for more details and the gruesome photos...

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