F-14 Profile Fanfold Foam Jet Build Guide

Transcript

F-14 Profile Fanfold Foam Jet Build Guide Thanks for downloading my F-14 Profile fanfold foam jet plans. My version of the plane has the wings in swept back position, and rather than full moving tailerons, it uses elevons. The first prototype I built actually did have full tailerons, but the infrastructure required to make it solid enough for flight added considerable weight, even though the lightest materials I could find were used (carbon fiber rod). It was also extremely sensitive, and I spent many afternoons combing through the soybean field in my backyard looking for the plane. I decided to take a step back and design it with fixed horizontal stabilizers, and make large elevon control surfaces. The end result is a plane that doesn’t require any weight in the nose and flies well. While not quite as nimble as the F-16XL I’ve designed, this plane is still a capable flier in its own right. Like the F-16XL, many hours of work went into the plans, build guide, and prototypes – but I’ve chosen not to sell the plans and build guide. Rather, if you enjoy the plane I humbly ask for any size donation that you deem appropriate so that I can continue work on other designs. My http://www.paypal.com/ id is [email protected], or you can email me at [email protected] if you want to send me something via the mail (or ask a question or two). I hope you enjoy building it (and more importantly flying it) as much as I have. Sincerely, Kyle Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 -1- Please use the following checklists of construction materials that you will need to build and fly this plane. You may already have many of these materials (including the r/c components such as the radio if you have flown before). All approximate costs were at time of writing (10/2005) and I have no association with any vendors in this list – I’m providing you at least a starting place of where I have gone in the past and purchased these items. Required construction items: Item
F-14 plans (printed on letter paper)
F-14 build guide (printed)
Scissors
2’ x 4’ sheet of ¼” thick bluecor foam
















Typically found at / approx. cost Lowes, $38 for 25 sheet folded bundle. Make sure “onion skin” is on both sides of foam! Exacto knife with #11 blade Walmart, $3 for knife Mini glue gun w/ package of glue sticks Walmart, $3 for gun, $2 for glue sticks –or you can use a standard glue gun that is multi-temp Paper clips Walmart, $1 Bamboo sticks / skewers Walmart, $1 Heat Shrink (20-12AWG) Lowes $2 Clear packing tape (2” width) Walmart, $2 3/8” square hardwood stick Walmart, $2 Velcro Walmart, $3 Needlenose pliers 30 watt Soldering iron and solder Radio shack, Walmart $10-15 Red 14 gauge wire Radio shack $3 Black 14 gauge wire Radio shack $3 Electrical tape (any color) Walmart, $1 Ruler Black permanent marker (Sharpie) Walmart, $1 Ball point pen Small hand saw Total construction materials cost (assuming nothing on hand): approx. $80 However, subsequent builds will cost you next to nothing, provided you buy the extra music wire. When you buy the bundle of bluecor at Lowes (or whoever else may carry it), you will be able to make 25 planes with it! Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 -2- Required r/c items: Item
Transmitter with 3 channels and elevon mixing
Micro receiver
Receiver crystal
2 micro servos
GWS EPS350C-BS motor – can use brushless motor such as BP21 as well
10A ESC (speed controller), with settings for lithium polymer batteries – be sure to get a brushless esc if you go that route, or a high rated ESC if you use a different prop such as a 9070
7.4v 2 cell lithium polymer battery you can also use 3s if you go the brushless route, 3s will toast the Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 Typically found at / approx. cost I use a Hitec Flash 5x and it has worked well for me. It has enough channels for some growth, and it is fairly easy to use. Allerc.com (online vendor) has this transmitter for $110. There are many more quality transmitters out there, but I would make sure it has multiple model memories, enough channels for future growth if you think you may move into larger more complex models, and it had elevon mixing. Make sure that it also has a crystal included, on a channel of your choosing. Ask around your area and see who is using what channels, and select one that is not in popular demand – you get more flying in that way! I use GWS Naro 6 channel with horizontal pins, matched to the same shift as your transmitter. I have not had any problems yet with this receiver. If you use Hitec, you can use a receiver also designated for Futaba “F”. Allerc.com sells this receiver for $24.50. Make sure it is compatible with your receiver and is on same channel as your transmitter. Allerc.com has a crystal for $7 Make sure they are compatible with the connectors on your receiver. I use GWS pico standard servos. Allerc.com has these for $14 each. Allerc has this brushed geared motor for $17 I recommend the Castle Creations pixie 20p brushed speed controller. It is programmable so you can safely fly lithium polymer batteries (set low voltage cutoff) and has audible alarms if you plug in the battery without the transmitter on, or when you “arm” the motor. Allerc.com has this ESC for $34.95 I recommend the polyquest 2s-1500mah battery. This plane has been balanced with a battery that weighs approx. 2.5 oz. This -3- gws350 pretty quickly.
Lithium polymer battery charger
Power source for charger
1 package Dubro micro control horns (DB848)
1 package Dubro mini E/Z connectors (DB845)
3 packages Deans Ultra connectors (male-female pack) (1300)
GWS 9047 slowfly prop, or 9x6 APC, 9x7 GWS prop (you may wish to use a larger esc if you go this route though). Another alternative is 8x4 on 3 cells. battery is able to handle the amp draw, and has several safety features. Allerc.com has this battery for $30. You may wish to buy two or more of these! I use the Thunderpower TP-425 and would recommend it. There are many other chargers out on the market – just make sure it can charge LIPO batteries, as you cannot use a NICAD or NIMH charger on these batteries! Allerc has this charger for $50 Either a 12v battery (such as a tractor battery) or a switching power supply (3a minimum output) will deliver the necessary power to your LIPO charger. Allerc has a power supply that will work for $45. Allerc.com has these for $1 Allerc.com has these for $2.50 Allerc.com has these for $3.25 per pack. You can also use the Deans micro polarized connectors, or any other connector of your choice, as long as it can handle 10 amps. Allerc.com has this prop for $1.38 Total r/c materials cost (assuming nothing on hand): approx. $355 This may seem like a lot, but there are several items that you will use for all of your planes in this total, and these items are not junk or toys. Once you get your radio etc, all it would take to get another plane up in the air (while keeping the first one in ready to fly state) is another receiver, crystal, servos, battery, ESC and the small stuff (about $130). Often times, I just interchange the ESC and battery between these planes (since they use the same motor etc). saving the cost of buying another ESC and battery. You will definitely want more than one battery though (trust me on this!). Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 -4- Optional items: Item
Extra package of Exacto #11 blades or hard white whetstone with a little 3-in1 oil to sharpen blades
Card stock to make plan templates
Sticker project paper to print decals on
Rotary cutting board
Teflon lubricating oil Typically found at / approx. cost Walmart, $3 – I replace the blade after every two planes cut out. Walmart, depends on what you buy. Walmart, $8 Walmart, $10 Lowes, Walmart may have it too. Approx $3 – always good to add a little oil to your motor.
Extra props
Popsicle stick (narrow)
Colored permanent markers (sharpies), or Krylon H20 spray paint Walmart has both, Krylon H20 (don’t get any other kind, it will eat the foam!) works well and is about $3 a can.
Low-odor mineral spirits Walmart may have it, most hardware stores - $2-$5
Fire-safe or other fireproof container to I strongly recommend this. I use a Sentry charge your LIPO battery in 1100 fire safe (Walmart, $20) to charge my battery in. LIPO batteries are very flammable if charged incorrectly. Never leave your charging unattended.
Digital kitchen scale, can read in grams Walmart may have it, typically around $20. or ounces Useful for determining the weight of components, and more importantly “all up weight”, which is when you have the battery etc. installed on the plane. It seems like a lot, but really once you have the stuff, it's not too hard to get another plane up in the air. Plus, all of my designs are built around the same platform (motor, ESC, battery etc.) so you can re-use stuff. Let’s get on to building your F-14 jet! Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 -5- Step 1 Print off the F-14 plans from the PDF. When you go to print, make sure that none of the centering checkboxes are checked. Once printed, there should be ½” border around each page, and 15 pages in total. Mark each page number in the order they were printed to help you. Printed page number – Plane pieces: 1 – Plan Overview 2 – canopy traces, front vertical stabilizer, front fuselage bottom 3 – canopy traces, vertical stabilizer, fuselage bottom 4 – vertical stabilizer, main wing front, fuselage bottom 5 – main wing, fuselage bottom 6 – main wing, fuselage bottom 7 – main wing 8 – rear of main wing 9 – fuselage top (nose) 10 – fuselage top, intake, tail jig 11 – fuselage top, intake, title box 12 – fuselage top, intake 13 – rear of fuselage top, rear of intake, horizontal stab, main wing 14 – horizontal stab, elevon, main wing 15 – main wing Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 -6- Step 1 Checklist:
Print plans
Check border, number of pages
Number pages in the order they were printed Step 2 Cut down each page to the correct size using the ½” border cutlines. Step 2 Checklist:
Cut each page to proper size Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 -7- Step 3 Layout the pages on a flat surface. There are two rows; first row has seven pages, second row also has seven pages. All of the plane pieces should align. Use the plan overview (the first page printed) if in doubt. Tape the pages together using scotch tape, making sure that the plane pieces on adjoining pages are attached with tape. Step 3 Checklist:
Layout plan pages
Tape pages together using scotch tape Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 -8- Step 4 Carefully cut out the plane pieces from the pages. The pieces should be held together with the scotch tape you applied in the previous step. Step 4 Checklist:
Cut out plane pieces
Cut off stick mount template Step 5 (Optional) To make a card stock template, use the plane pieces that you have cut out and lay them out on thicker card stock. Trace the plane pieces to the card stock and then cut out the template. The template is nice if you plan on making several of these planes, since typical printer paper is thin and tends to get crinkled or ruined when you transfer it to foam. Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 -9- Step 6 Cut the bluecor foam into one 2’ by 4’ sheet. Typically you must by a 50’ bundle of bluecor (25 folded sheets) at one time, which will let you make 25 planes. For now, you just need one sheet (cut it at the fold). Step 6 Checklist:
Cut one sheet of bluecor from the bundle Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 10 - Step 7 Take the plane pieces (either original, or the template if you decided to make one) and lay them out on the foam. Make sure you have all of the pieces placed on the foam, along with room to flip over the wing half (to make the mirror image) and to make two intake pieces. There should be enough foam to make all of the required pieces if you lay it out correctly. Optional – you can use a glue stick (not the same kind as what is used in glue gun, I think UHU stick is a brand) to affix the plane piece to the foam so it doesn’t slip when you trace it, but just use a minimal amount because you will have to clean it off later. Step 7 Checklist:
Arrange plane pieces on the foam Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 11 - Step 8 Trace the plane pieces to the foam. Preferably use a ballpoint pin, as felt pens tend to allow you to rub off the ink and it gets all over your hands. I typically start with the wing half first and mark a centerline spot, flip it over to make sure there is enough room for it on the foam. Once you are done tracing, remove the plane pieces (paper). Make sure you have two intakes traced. Set the elevon and intake paper pieces to the side, you will use them to mark the control horn and servo locations in a bit. Note – on the main wing piece, you may wish to have a centerline drawn on both the top and bottom of the wing; it will help during the gluing process. Step 8 Checklist:
Trace plane pieces on the foam Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 12 - Step 9 Take your exacto knife with #11 blade and cut the plane pieces out of the foam. Try to cut vertically (straight up and down) as possible, and as smoothly as possible. Your knife’s blade must be sharp! I usually replace the blade after every two planes cut out. An alternative is to sharpen your blades, by use of a hard white whetstone (or knife sharpening stone found at a place like Lowes) and some 3 in 1 (or teflon) oil. Remember, any goofs you make now will be part of the plane, but a millimeter off is not going to kill it either. You are making a foam profile plane that is “stand off” scale, in other words when you look at it while its flying, it should resemble the real plane, so don’t sweat the small stuff – have fun! Step 9 Checklist:
Cut plane pieces from the foam Step 10 (Optional) You can remove the black writing that is found on the foam by using a rag and low-odor mineral spirits. You will want to do this if you plan on decorating your plane with something other than just basic markings for orientation. Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 13 - Step 11 (Optional) Now is the time to paint your plane pieces if you choose to do so, either with colored sharpies or with Krylon H20 paint. I typically paint what will be the top half of the wing so that it is easy to identify once airborne, but express your creativity! I have found that under most conditions the H20 paint will be ready to handle after and hour or two (temperature and humidity is important to drying though). Step 12 Use the canopy template and a ballpoint pen to trace the canopy onto the fuselage. Line up each piece of the template and hold it steady while you trace around it. When done, you should have the canopy outline. Fill in the rest of the canopy with a black permanent marker (sharpie). Flip the fuselage over and repeat the process, so that you have the canopy colored in on both sides. *Those aren’t my nails! My wife likes to participate in the “decorating” process! Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 14 - Step 12 Checklist:
Trace canopy outline to fuselage top using template on both sides
Color in canopy on both sides Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 15 - Step 13 Lay the elevon paper pieces back over each foam elevon piece. Punch a small hole through the center of the control horn location square with the ballpoint pin. This should leave a small mark/hole in the foam of the elevon, where you will install the control horn later. Step 13 Checklist:
Mark control horn positions on each elevon Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 16 - Step 14 Lay the intake paper piece back over one of the foam intake pieces. Take your exacto knife and make a shallow cut around the edge of the servo hole, cutting through the paper and into the foam. This should make a shallow cut in the foam. Remove the paper overlay and finish cutting the servo hole through the foam. Note: The dimension of the servo hole on the plan assumes you are using the recommended GWS servos. Adjust the servo hole dimensions accordingly if you are using different servos. For the F-14, you also must cut a slot for the horizontal stabilizers. Repeat the process for the other intake. Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 17 - Step 14 Checklist:
Mark servo hole locations on foam using paper intake piece
Cut servo hole in foam intake pieces
Cut horizontal stabilizer hole in foam intake pieces Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 18 - Step 15 Grab the elevon pieces, make sure they are facing the correct direction (small cut in piece faces toward fuselage) and line up with tip of wing. Pick up one elevon, and along its forward edge, make a shallow cut (1/4”) along the center. Flip over the elevon (bottom side up) and about ¼” from the forward edge, make a shallow cut (1/4”). Peel the foam between these two cuts to form what sort of looks like an “L” shape on the front of the elevon. Repeat the process for the other elevon. Lay the elevons back down next to the wing, make sure the “L” channel faces downward, and the edge of the elevon matches up to the tip of the wing. Take the clear packing tape and use it to carefully tape the elevon to the wing. Try not to get creases in the tape. Trim any excess tape from the sides. Check the elevon’s movement, it should be able to swing upward very easily, and downward to the extent that the “L” channel will allow. Repeat the process for the other elevon. Optional – Although I have never had the tape peel up or a control surface separate (in flight or otherwise) you can choose to tape the bottom side of the elevon as well. This can be tricky, but move the elevon to the desired maximum upward deflection and then apply the tape. This should allow the tape to bunch up a little on the downward deflection and move upward to the desired maximum point. I have found that applying the tape on the bottom side makes the elevon a little harder to move, so most of the time I don’t apply any on the bottom side. Alternative method provided by Gene Bond - I didn't try the 'L' cut hinge. I used my old faithful: Do not cut the control surfaces off. Just cut 1/4-1/2 way though the foam on the bottom side. Put a piece of tape across the top of the cut hinge line. 'Crack' the joint over the table edge. Cut the film back 1/4" from the hinge line on the open side. Sand a 45 degree bevel on the 'cracked' face so the surface moves easily. Be carful to just hit the film/tape on the connected side. Once sanded free, bend the surface 180 degrees back over the fixed surface, and tape the open joint. Lay it flat and run a ruler edge down the gap pressing the tape tight. Very strong. Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 19 - Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 20 - Step 15 Checklist:
Cut “L” channel in each elevon piece
Tape elevon to wing
Trim excess tape from edges At this point, you should have all of the plane pieces cut out, decorated, and prepped for the control horns and servos. Good job, now are you ready to assemble the pieces and start making something that looks like a jet? Step 16 Plug in the glue gun and be sure to have some spare glue sticks handy. Let it warm up until the glue can be dispensed freely from it. Two warnings here – the first is that the tip of the gun and the glue is very hot! If you get the hot glue on you, it will stick to you and burn (don’t ask me how I know) – so be careful! The second is that glue is heavy. If you have a digital scale, try weighing a stick of glue. Remember, the lighter you can get away with making your plane, the better it will fly. Don’t overkill using the glue. Using the techniques described below, I haven’t had a plane come apart in flight yet, but I have had to add a little glue here and there where something was too loose for my taste. Step 16 Checklist:
Warm up the glue gun
Get spare sticks of glue ready Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 21 - Step 17 Before we glue anything, let’s mark the some cg points on the wing bottom. Lay your ruler out along the centerline of the wing bottom, and mark four lines at 19”, 19 ½”, 20”, and 20 ½”. Depending on your battery weight and other factors, your cg should fall on one of these lines (will describe more later). Grab the bottom fuselage bottom and cut out the battery slot. This should make the fuselage bottom into two pieces now. Glue the first (smaller) piece to the nose of the plane (wing bottom) along the centerline. Use the cut out piece to measure off the distance to begin gluing the second piece (make a small mark using the ball point pen to mark where the second piece of the fuselage bottom should begin). Glue the remaining piece of the fuselage bottom along the centerline, using the 12” at a time method above. It should be about 3” from the rear edge of the main wing bottom when properly glued. Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 22 - Step 17 Checklist:
Cut bottom fuselage piece battery slot
Glue bottom fuselage (nose) piece to main wing
Glue bottom fuselage (center spine) to main wing Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 23 - Step 18 Grab the bottom fuselage bottom and the two intake pieces. Starting at the tail end of the aircraft, glue one of the intakes such that it is even with the edge of the main wing (behind where the elevons are). Curve the intake slightly such that it doesn’t overhang in the front of the wing and glue in place (use 12” at a time process again). Repeat the process for the other intake; try to keep the same amount of curvature as the first intake so that it meets the front of the wing in the same place. Step 18 Checklist:
Glue two intake pieces to bottom of main wing. Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 24 - Step 19 Take the 3/8” square hardwood stick and test fit the epc350 motor on one end, making sure it is inserted all the way into the mount. It should fit fairly snug. Next, mark on the stick where the stick mount (of the motor ends). Remove the motor from the stick, and then measure three inches from the mark you made on the stick. Make another mark on the stick; this is where you will cut your stick mount. Take a handsaw or similar and cut at the mark that is 3” from the first mark. *Alternative – you can make the stick a touch longer to match it up against the fuse bottom to provide extra support, but I’ve not had on fail yet using the method above (in picture below). Take your knife and carefully peel the plastic film away from where the stick mount will lie on the rear fuselage. Take your hot glue gun and glue the stick mount to the fuselage. For extra support, you can take a Popsicle stick and break it in half, then glue it alongside (flat) against the stick mount. Step 19 Checklist:





Test fit motor to end of stick mount Mark stick where motor mount ends Remove motor from stick mount Measure 3” from first mark and make another mark Use saw to cut at second mark Hot glue stick mount Congratulations! Your jet’s airframe construction is almost complete. Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 25 - Step 20 Prepare the battery for charging (connector installation). Following the directions with the Deans connectors, use your soldering iron to solder the connector to the battery leads. Pay attention to polarity. You also need to prepare a charging lead for your battery, which means taking the charging lead they provide and in most cases cutting off the connector that is on the lead and soldering another one of your Deans collectors to it. Make sure that a) it is the match for your battery (male or female), and that you match up the polarity. Hook up your charger to your power source, and then your battery to the charger and charge the battery. Be sure to read the instructions that came with your charger for the correct procedure. You should not be charging the battery above 1C, or 1 times the rated capacity of the pack – in other words, for a 1500mah pack (as recommended), on the TP-425 charger you set the charge rate for 2 cells, and 1.3a. You should not charge the pack at a different cell count or above 1.5a (in the case of a 1500mah pack). It will take a while to charge the battery, which is something to get used to if you quick charged NICAD or NIMHs in the past. Plan on about 1 hour 30 minutes to fully charge a 1500mah pack at 1.3a. I would also recommend charging in a fire safe or other means as a safety precaution, and never leave your charging unattended. Step 20 Checklist:
Solder connector to end of battery
Solder connector to charging lead
Charge battery according to its ratings and per your charger’s instructions Step 21 Prepare the ESC for use by soldering the appropriate male / female connectors to each end. Don’t cut off the small connector that will go to your receiver! Make sure to match polarity on your connectors. Step 21 Checklist:
Solder connectors to ends of ESC (speed controller) Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 26 - Step 22 Prepare the motor / wire extensions. Take the airframe and lay it upside down (careful not to crush the tail). Place the motor onto the mount (once the epoxy has cured). Lay the battery in its slot with the leads facing rearward, and the ESC connected to the battery. There should be a gap of approx. 15” between the end of the ESC leads and the motor leads. Take the red and black wire you bought and cut to 15” length. Since your jet is a pusher, we need to reverse polarity so that the motor runs in the opposite direction than a typical puller prop plane. Take the red wire and solder it to the black motor lead wire and then wrap with electrical tape. Repeat the process for the black wire (solder to the red wire). On the other end of the red and black wire, solder another connector so that it matches polarity (and male / female) to the ESC connector. Now attach the motor to the stick mount with the motor facing up (towards to of fuselage, as depicted below). Attach your prop to the motor and tighten the prop nuts in accordance with the motor’s instructions. Step 22 Checklist: Cut red and black wires to length Solder wires directly to motor lead wires, reversing polarity Wrap these direct solders with electrical tape Solder a connector to the ends of the red and black wires so that it matches to ESC connector
Attach motor (facing up)



Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 27 - Step 23 Get your glue gun again and let it warm up. While it is warming up, take your servos out of their package and keep the half swing arm for each servo out. Also get your Dubro E/Z connectors handy. Take your exacto knife and twist in the outermost hole in the servo arm to make the hole a tiny bit larger. Only do a little at a time, until the hole is larger enough to fit the Dubro mini E/Z connectors. Attach the E/Z connectors to each servo arm, using the plastic piece and pliers to secure it. Don’t secure it so tight that it won’t turn. At this point, if possible you should perform a test on your radio equipment to makes sure your servos work and they are centered properly (make sure your trim settings on your radio are centered). Next, attach the half swing arm to the servo at a 90-degree angle to the servo. Lay the servos next to their holes in the airframe to check that you have the arm facing the right direction, which should be up (if airframe laying face down). Once you have them facing the correct direction, secure the arms with the servo head screw. Careful not to lose that screw, it is tiny! *Alternative – don’t screw in the servo arms yet, you’ll get to it later. By this time, your glue gun should be ready. Test fit each servo into its hole in the intake; push the servo wire into the inside of the intake. It should be a snug fit, but feel free to open the hole up a little with the exacto knife if you need to. Once you have it halfway inserted into the hole, take your glue gun and add a dab of glue on each end of the servo. Insert the servo the rest of the way into the hole, be careful not to get glue on yourself here. The glue on either end should be securely holding both ends of the servo in place. Repeat the process for the other servo. Step 23 Checklist:






Warm up glue gun Open up servo arm hole Attach E/Z connectors to servo arms Check servo operation and centering Attach servo arms, check orientation Secure servo arms with head screw Glue servos to intakes Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 28 - Step 24 Keep the glue gun plugged in, or warm it up if you’ve stopped between this step and the last. Grab your micro control horns. Enlarge the outermost hole on each control horn with your exacto-knife, just like you did with the servo arms. Using the spots you marked previously on the elevons, insert the control horn with the angle facing rearward in the elevon. This should pierce the foam. Remove the control horn carefully, and take you glue gun and add a dab of glue around the hole on the elevon, then reinsert the control horn into the hole (and the glue). The glue should surround the bottom plate of the control horn, securing it tightly. Repeat the process for the other control horn. Step 24 Checklist:




Keep glue gun warmed up Open up control horn outermost hole Pierce foam using control horn in place you marked previously Remove control horn and apply glue Reinsert control horn into hole (and glue) Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 29 - Step 25 Time to make the pushrods. Start by heating up your soldering iron and hot glue gun. Select two bamboo skewers / sticks that are not cracked or warped. Cut the pointed end off so that the skewer is 10.5” in length. Grab four paper clips and with pliers, straighten them. I’m using jumbo paper clips, so straightened they measure just over 6” long. On two of the wires, cut one inch from the lenth so they are 5” long. One each of these two wires, make a “Z” shaped bend. The Z bend end will be the end that fits into the control horn. Gather one of your wires with the Z-bend, another that is straight (6”), and one skewer. Measure off on each skewer three inches from the end and mark with a pen. Use your hot glue gun to tack the wire to the skewer (use a very small amount of glue here). Take a piece (or two) of heat shrink tubing and cut it into two 3” pieces. Take each piece of heat shrink and slip it over the end of the bamboo skewer. Use your soldering iron to shrink the heat shrink tube around the skewer and wire. Repeat the entire process for the other pushrod. Step 25 Checklist:





Measure and cut bamboo skewers Measure and cut paper clips Make Z bends Tack paper clip wire to skewer Measure and cut heat shrink Shrink the heat shrink tube using soldering iron Step 26 Attach the pushrods by carefully slipping the Z-bend end into the hole you enlarged on the control horn. The straight end will fit through the hole in the E/Z connector on the servo arm. You may need to loosen the E/Z connector set screw so that it fits through. Additionally, you will have to flex the pushrod a little to get it to fit through. Be careful not to break the pushrod when you flex it. You can retighten the setscrew a little after the rod is through, but you will be adjusting them in a later step. Step 26 Checklist:
Attach pushrod to control horn and through E/Z connector Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 30 - Step 27 Grab your Velcro strips. Measure out a 3” or so piece of Velcro (hook and loop sides) and attach the hook end in the battery slot that you cut out on the fuselage bottom. Place the loop (fuzzy) end on your battery. Cut a 1” piece of Velcro (both sides again), and place the hook end on a place/attach in the fuselage that both servo leads and the ESC lead can reach (this will be used to secure the receiver). Place the loop (fuzzy) end on your receiver. Insert the crystal into the receiver. Lastly, make a small hole in the intake that the receiver wire can fit through. Feed the receivers wire through the hole, and attach the servo and ESC leads to the receiver. Pay attention to polarity. Generally speaking, with the plane pointed up (or away from you) bottom side up, the left elevon is plugged into channel 1, right elevon in channel 2, and the ESC in channel 3 (Hitec/Futaba, other may differ). Once you have connected the servos and ESC to the receiver, secure it to the fuselage. Use scotch tape to secure the receiver wire to the underside of the wing, be sure not to leave enough wire free that can get tangled in the elevon or the prop. Reattach the motor to its mount (if you haven’t already). If its not a very snug fit, you can use a small strip of electrical tape on the stick mount (put it on one side only) and then try to re-slide the motor back onto its’ mount. Connect the ESC to the motor wires. Step 27 Checklist:





Measure, cut, and attach Velcro for battery Measure, cut, and attach Velcro for receiver Connect servos and ESC to receiver Make hole for receiver wire and tape down wire on wing Reattach motor to mount Connect ESC to motor leads Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 31 - Step 28 Grab the top portion of the fuselage, the two tails, and the main wing. Lay the wing on a flat surface. Begin applying glue to the main wing along the centerline. Hot glue will set up fast if you are not careful, so work quickly and try to lay down 12” of glue at a time. Affix the top fuselage piece to the main wing, firmly holding it in place until the glue sets (15 to 30 seconds). Then carefully bend the fuselage top piece slightly (don’t want to crease the foam) to apply the glue to the main wing for the next 12”, and so on until the entire top fuselage is glued to the main wing. For each tail run glue along the bottom of each tail, and carefully attach them in the middle of the engine nacelle – the front of the tail should be even with where the wing cuts back. Use the tail jig to lean the tail against and obtain the correct angle (tail should slant out away from fuse slightly). Repeat the process for the other tail piece. Note - If the glue sets before you get a chance to affix a part, you can try to carefully remove it by taking your exacto knife or fingers and carefully lifting an end of the glue, then gently pulling the rest up. You can also make a joint between two parts by applying glue along the 45-degree angle where the two pieces meet. Just remember, more glue adds weight! Step 28 Checklist:
Glue top fuselage piece to main wing Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 32 -
Glue twin tails to fuselage using jig to obtain correct angle Construction is now complete. Time to finish and tune the r/c setup. Step 29 Time to read your transmitter manual and use the ESC instructions to program your ESC for LIPO use. Set your transmitter to use elevon mixing, and you will probably need to learn how to reverse your servos (via the transmitter) and dual rates. Assuming you have your ESC programmed, you radio set up to use elevon mixing, plug in your battery and turn on your transmitter. Let your servos center. Make sure the trims are even on your transmitter. The servo arms should be at 90-degree angles to the servo. If not, remove the servo set screw and adjust. Next, center the elevon control surface on the wing (no deflection up or down). Tighten the setscrew for the E/Z connector, making the pushrod wire unable to slide back and forth. Do the same for the other elevon. Once you’ve completed this task, check to see if the controls move. Push the aileron (the right stick) to the left; you should see the left elevon move up (with the plane facing away from you), and the right elevon move down. Push down on the stick and both elevons should move down. Push up, both should move up. If the controls are not responding as expected, you should be able to reverse servo travel using your transmitter, or you may need to adjust the connections of the servos to the receiver. Throw amounts for low rate flight should be approximately 5/8”, measured from center to bottom of trailing edge of the elevon. High rate throws are approximately 1 ½”. On high rates, the plane reacts very quickly; so do not use these rates unless you have some experience flying on low rates first. I almost always use low rates for inverted flight as well as take off and landing. Step 29 Checklist:
Program your transmitter and ESC
Center the servos and set level for elevons
Check control surface movement and throws Step 30 One last check before your plane is ready to fly – the center of gravity (CG). The lowtech way – with the battery attached - hold the plane under the wing on your fingertips, balancing it so it doesn’t lean forwards or backwards. Keep adjusting your fingertip positions until it balances. Mark one of the spots with a pen (I use the forward edge of my fingertip). Measure from the front tip of the nose back to your mark (measure in a straight line, not around the curve of the intake). The starting CG on this plane should be anywhere from 20 to 22” from the tip of the nose. My prototypes have been flying at about 21 3/4” from tip of nose. Do not try to glide test this plane, it is tail heavy with no power. Under power, the CG shifts forward and the plane will fly well. If the starting CG is too far back for whatever Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 33 - reason (usually too much glue or epoxy used) you can adjust the CG by adding weight to the nose. I use pennies to achieve this, but I really hate to add weight unless I really need to. Add a couple of pennies (1/10 of an ounce each) to the nose if you need to, test fly it, and then adjust. If the CG is already in the range, test fly it and adjust accordingly. If you have a digital scale, weigh the airframe with battery. This is called “all up weight” or AUW. The AUW of this plane should be around 11 ounces or lighter. The lighter, the better! If heavier, your plane will most likely still fly, just not as well as it could. Now that you have building experience, you can always try to build the next one lighter (too much glue is the primary cause of weight issues). Step 30 Checklist:
Check CG; make adjustments (add nose weight or larger battery) if needed.
Determine AUW, if you have a digital scale Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 34 - You’re ready to fly! This plane can fly in some light wind (less than 10 mph) but due to its weight, the calmer the winds the better. Find a large field to fly in, and don’t fly over or around people or animals. I would highly recommend getting a hold of a seasoned r/c pilot in your area and have them teach you how to fly if you’ve never flown r/c before. I would also recommend investigating any nearby r/c clubs. They can help you learn how to fly (and have fun watching other fly too) and if you live close to a club, you may be on the same channel as another flyer, which could cause either (or both) of you to crash. Be sure to check out RCGroups forums, found here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php. There is a wealth of information out there in these forums, so read, read, read. Many thanks to those who contribute so often to the foamie forum and have provided creative inspiration! Lastly, I would recommend joining the Academy of Modeling Aeronautics (AMA), a modeling organization that has been around for many years and gives you some insurance coverage after becoming a member, among many other benefits. Their website is here: http://www.modelaircraft.org/ Now go have fun flying your new F-14 jet! Copyright 2005 – Kyle Sheppard V1.0 - 35 -