Pretty slick looking little airplane. I can't figure out how I have missed this one. Will this cut okay on 6mm Depron or is it a 3mm plane? I am not having any luck at all with blue, or pink fff on my MKII.

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...

 

Sold! I just grabbed that one for the second time around.

 

7up (or anyone), would a 24gm blue wonder motor be a good choice for this plane? I was going to consider a 24gm outrunner, a 12 to 15 amp ESP and maybe even a 2S 7.4v lipo. I am anxious to build this little plane. Having trouble getting it on white depron (stock available sheets are too short). I have some black depron which is nice but very hard to decorate.
Great looking little airplane!

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...

 

I forgot to ask. Has anyone cut and assembled one of these planes yet? I cut one out today (6mm depron) and it looks like some of the pieces do not want to fit right. I am talking mainly about the tail feathers. The slots in the horizontal and vertical stab seem too short to slide the horiz in far enough so the rudder will attach to the te. On my cut, the very end of the fuse seems about a quarter of an inch short and does not meet the vertical stab in a straight line. Could me my machine is goofing up a little. I checkes calibration and it is okay. I can correct these problems with spare foam and a good knife, so no big deal. I was simply wondering if anyone else had the same problems.

Chuck

 

Shaun, I tested a motor (I think is was a 1300kv, they are not marked) on a 3S today and it got pretty hot so I figured the motor would not handle it. I put on a 2S and it ran cool as can be. Not as fast, mind you, but cooler. I also have a 1500kv and some 1700kv's and even one 3000kv. Normally, will a 1300kv handle three cells okay?

Chuck

 

Thanks for the updated cut file. I am dying to get one of these little planes going. I will finish the one as it was done originally. I made necessary modifications to make it work. It will be much, much simpler with the update though. I will go with the blue wonder and a 2S lipo to begin with and see how it does. Thanks again!

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...

 

The KF top step should help. I put a much smaller (only to the carbon rod from the LE) 3mm foam doubler on the bottom of the wing to add a little strength. It is my understanding that this also represents a KF although a small one. For some strange reason, whether the KF is on the top or on the bottom does not seem to matter much. Please let us (me) know how it does when you do it. Next time, if it works, I will do the same. Thanks!

Chuck

 

Chuck, the KF step on the top should be 50% for best results and on the bottom 40%. That's what I've read on other places.

 

I finished the PhlatJak. I cannot use a 2S lipo because I cannot get the plane to balance - not enough weight up front. So, I plugged in a 1000 mAh 3S and it looks better now. Plane is ready to maiden. I think I need to take a couple of photos before that event. I ran the 24gm motor on the 3S again and this time it did not heat up. Maybe can get a photo on here tomorrow before we fly in Saturday.

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...

Oh, Yoram, that is what I have read about KF's also. The small one I have on this little plane really only serves to strengthen the wing and prevent too much movement. Thanks.

 

If the motor heats up you need to prop it down

 

Hey Buk. Nice plane sir Just got done taping it up. Just needs the hardware and I am good to go. 100 big ones say's Brian confiscates this bad boy!



Attached files

 

cool thanks Buk. I'm going out in a bit and work that out.

 

Okay guys, I finished and flew the PhlatJak. It did really well. I used a 3S to increase the nose weight and kinda jammed all the wiring up forward (see attached photos). Power is a 1500KV 24gm Blue Wonder outrunner. I also upgraded the ESC to a higher amp to increase the nose weight. This is probably not a bad idea in any case. Prop is 8x3.8. I guestimated the CG at about 30% from the leading edge, seemed to work okay. This little plane is nimble, fast and damned good looking. Good Job! Here are just two photos...

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana... Attached files

 

The graphics are colored packing tape (2" wide). It is very, very light and has great adhesion. It will not come off but if you want to pull it off it does not damage anything and will actually stick back down. The down side is that it is thin enough that it will not cover dark surfaces such as grey Depron very well. It does great on white Depron. It is available a lot of places...white, black, green, blue, orange, yellow, red, purple. The blue canopy was painted with acrylic craft paints. I am thinking I should have used 5gm servos in the plane, that would have helped to balance it and they probably would have been strong enough.
The PhlatJak will fit nicely onto a available sheet of grey (black) Depron. I certainly wish it was re-done to fit on a sheet of White Depron which is only (I think) 38" long. That is all they offer it in. If I knew how to work SketchUp, I would move the parts around and jam them a little closer together so the white would work. I think I would only need to gain about 3 or 4". I would even opt to put it onto two sheets and then a KF doubler could be added for under (or over) the wing.
Thank you for the compliments. This is a nice, eye=catching airplane and designing it with the wing as a part of the flat fuselage as in the SDGEEBEE is a great idea. Imagine one of these at 150% which would yield about a 48" wingspan! A guy could use 9mm Depron or even EPP which I don't happen to like to work with.
Be sure to post a photo of your when finished. I love to look at what people do.

Thanks for all your work on this neat little plane.

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...