Cool New Graphics for Kevin

Kevin Hebestreit in PHX is working on a 2013 batch of planes with new LE grafix. These grafix got the Hot Rod look - literally. I told Kevin that I might have to put his design on a couple of my planes this year.

Cutting Foam Blocks

This is the way that I process the foam getting it ready to be hot wired. First things first - the foam.  Foam is typically advertised by its weight  likely pounds per square foot. Historically the best we could do was 1 lbs foam and in the off chance you could get some that was just under you thought that you would have the lightest planes on the planet. I currently have a source that is advertising 3/4 lbs foam and that is what I am building with. I have a small sheet of foam that was in packaging from overseas that weighs .46 lbs with small beads. Side note - it is generally thought that the smaller the beads the stronger the foam, but that also meant heavier foam...

When ordering you will need to be very specific with the foam shop, they have a tendency to substitute foams base on what the industry they serve is using the most. More than once I got home and weighed the foam "just to be sure" and found the foam that was supposed to be 1 lbs or 3/4 lbs was actually 1.5 lbs or more. When asked how they got the order wrong they told me that they "upgraded my order" at no charge. Upgraded to what? An upgrade to me would be 1/2 lbs foam... but they just assumed that I was making moldings or insulation as the other 99.9% of their clients are. They other switch they will often pull if they think you are outside of their typical industry is to use foam that is made of recycled materials from their own production processes, they call this "re-grind." Re-grind will likely be higher weight and will have different densities throughout the block which will cause you cuts not come out uniform. Make sure you order 100% virgin - 3/4 lbs (or 1 lbs if that is what they have) - white EPS foam, then when you pick it up CONFIRM that is what you are getting at the dock. I order 2' x 4' x 2" sheets and block them out myself because 1/8" is a common tolerance and that isn't going to work for competition F2D planes... 

I set up the table saw with an abrasive cut off wheel from a chop saw. Thanks to Bob Mears on that little tip. You can make the same cuts with a thin kerf metal blade but it will produce enough foam on the ground to make your neighbors think you are building a winter wonderland!!! With the cut off wheel there is barely any mess. 

First I cut 1/4" off one side of the sheet to make sure the face is square. Then I cut the sheets to the width of the LE taking into account the short rib and tip are 1/8". 

Second process is to cut the 1/8" by 1/2" slots in that will be on the ends of the finished blocks, the slots key in on the hot wire jigs and once at assembly receive the wing tip. Make sure you put the same face of the foam panel to the fence when cutting both ends to ensure the spacing is the same.

Now they are cut in the band saw to 2 1/2" tall blocks. I have a fine blade in my band saw but I have used a course one before with the same results  I like to hook up a shop vac to the saw to help cut down on the mess.

Re stack the blocks and mark one end of them with a marker. This is critical because from this point on the processes are not symmetrical and you will have trouble keeping track of which end is which if you don't. I use the marked end as the root (closest to the center of the plane).

With the Streamer Shuttle the ribs seat under the spars and into the LE foam so we need to cut those slots. I make each slot only the depth of the spar at the spot of the slot. Yes that is 3 slots per block and yes it takes a bit of time but it is TOTALLY worth it later when you are building!!

That's it. Now the blocks are ready for the hot wire and on to construction.

LE Foam Cutting

In this video I hot wire the foams for 20 Streamer Shuttle LEs. First the spars slots are cut then in the second jig the airfoil. You can find the link to the hot wire transformer I used on the left.

Final Frame Up

Here is the heart of the plane - the final frame up. This is where all the pieces come together to form a straight wing without the need for a jig. It really goes just about as quick as the dry frame up in the video!

Papering the LE

A couple of notes about papering the the LE. The basic idea here is that we end up with a "D" tube and that makes a huge difference in the stiffness of the LE. The paper will shrink a bunch so as long as you get the paper wet all over  (only on one side if you have graphix) so it is not necessary to get it super tight when you wrap it. I also like to have the joint be on the underside of the air foiled section of the LE, that way the covering is also helping hold the joint together once the plane is finished.

Cutting the Bladder Tube Relief

To cut the bladder tube relief in the back of the LE I use a soldering gun fixed with a piece of solid copper wire. Hand shape it by bending it around a bladder tube. It takes a bit of experimenting to get the length right so that the wire does not get too hot. Simple.

Leading Edge Construction

Ok I am going to try and get up some of the videos that I have on my computer. They are not going to be in order right now as I want to get them up then I will organize and maybe event edit them a bit. 

Here is the leading edge going together.

PIT BOX

 Laser cut Pit box 

2nd place podium in PHX season opener!

Just back from the season opener in Phoenix, Lance the the PHX crew delivered a great contest again. Smooth officiating, good contest pace, tons of killer matches and the usual perfect PHX weather! I really had a great time hanging out at the field and flying for the first time in 2 years. 

Thanks to my pit crews Alex - Andre and Bob - Andy. Thanks to Allen for loaning me shut-offs and 6mm mufflers!! Without them I would not have been able to make the contest at all.

It was a great test session for the new models that have been sitting unfinished. I was trying to remember what all the variances were... some the the neater stuff that was in testing was a Kevlar laminated center rib, film laminated ribs, new banding around the LE rib TE, new commercially available control horn and Bob Mears sourced PVC covering film. Reports to follow.

Andre and Alex keeping me covered in the pits with  ELES1 Models planes and pit boxes.

I QUIT!!

My JOB that is!!!

Man after 2 years of 12+ hour days, 7 day weeks, 200000+ airline miles -  I have left the company I was working for. Thankless and arrogant - good riddance to them!! 

I flew for the first time in 2 years a couple of weekends ago, wow I missed it. The wind was up 20+ so we didn't fly any matches but I did get some neat pictures that I have been wanting to get for like 6 years. I was hoping to go to Phoenix for the F2D contest that Lance and the PHX crew puts on but last minute looks like I am not going to make it.  

I am hoping to get back to producing kits and promoting control line combat. I looked at my files for the plane that would have been new in 2011 and it still looks like the goto design moving forward. It is a bit smaller and thinner to help with the 6mm muffler rule. The last set of prototypes I had cut needed some adjusting for the laser that I was using but should come together pretty quick. Drop me a line if you need some.

 I will keep the blog updated more often and hopefully get back into the swing of things like a normal human again.

Eles1

WOW!! Look how far out my streamer is compared to Allen's plane. He is standing just to my left with his handle lined up right next to mine.

Wingover at the famous Garland Hobby Park

I think my streamer is flying over the left wing

Euro Streamer Shuttle Hits the Streets @ 215g!!!

Harry Walker sent a shot of his 1st SS chill'en in the court yard before its first work out. Harry is the first Euro builder of the SS. ELES1 Models sent a few extra for Harry to pass around to his mates to get more feedback from across the pond.




BELLCRANKS

These are G-10 material CNC produced.  You can see the weave on the black ones making them look like carbon, neat look!!

The Buzzman Cometh!!!

Buzz Wilson has completed a small fleet of Streamer Shuttles for battle in the NW. These look fantastic with the colored covering and colored LE wrapping!!! You will notice that Buzz is running an external BC shut-off.

New flexing prop

This folding style prop "flexes" in the turns to allows the plane to turn quicker.
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Kevlar technology

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Blocking the foam for 50 LEs

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Some 2011 prototype stuff under development

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LE papers for Harry's 5 new LE

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Mexican Streamer Shuttles!!!

Mexican Streamer Shuttles from Fred Quezada. These look fantastic and Fred reports that he really likes they way they fly. Great work Fred!!!

Stubb is a believer too!!

The "Stole from Stubb" special edition Streamer Shuttle before a work out at the famous Garland Hobby Park.
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Howard William's fleet of 12 ready to cover!!!

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Production Action!!

Kevin Hebestreit sent me this shot of his fleet in production. Kevin has completed building and flying 2 Streamer Shuttles and has 17 ready for final assembly. How many do you have ready?

How I build "Rocket Fuel" Bladder Tubes

After taking a huge amount of crap for my bladder tubes made from bi-directional tape I have refined them into a really cool part and saved building time in the process. First find a suitable mandrel, if you are building Streamer Shuttles the bladder tube ends are in the kit and are 1.5", I use a plastic tube from the hardware store. I put a reference line on the mandrel 90 degrees to the end and put it loosely on a stick so I can easily turn it.

Next I wrap clear packing tape sticky side out around the mandrel at an angle that only has about an 1/8" to 1/4" overlapping each time around.

Wrap all the way past the end of the mandrel.

You can be really fancy at this point and draw up some graphics for the tube on the computer. I also measured the size I wanted so they would print on the plastic film. Print.

Here are the sheets for 8 rocket tubes and some graphics in the fill spaces to use up the whole sheet.If you are not going to print the sheets I would imagine any film that is say 4mil or thicker would work here just as well. Just don't use bi-directional packing tape or your buddies with make fun of you...

I pre cut the film to the correct size (that I pre printed on the film) and align it on the reference mark on the mandrel.

While smoothing the surface with your finger to keep out any air bubbles rotate the mandrel working all the way around. I use a strip of tape to attach the overlap.

The part can now be slid off the mandrel with a little twisting and pulling and trim off the excess tape.

Glue the wood caps on both ends, I like the super thick CA for this. Repeat for how ever many Streamer Shuttles your building, say 20... like Kevin.

The tubes are going to be as sealed as you want them to be. The more care you take when gluing on the end caps and sealing the covering to the tube the better the chances of not having fuel in your wing after a bladder pops in the tube.

If you have better ideas, let us hear them in the comments section below.

eles1

Killer "Rocket Fuel" bladder tubes

I am working on a new style bladder tube with graphics that is SUPER quick to build. Look for a tutorial after the first of the year.
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Leading Edge Graphix

As a spectator goes there only a few things that set the planes apart from each other, they are going to see obvious geometry differences and any tape and tail covering colors from plane to plane but that is about it. When I was looking to start building my own planes one of the aspects that was very intriguing was to find a way to set them apart in a way that the general public could see. After some various ideas like painting the wood, stenciling the covering, creative taping, and a few others that aren’t worth mentioning I found a way to print right on the LE paper itself. The printed graphics offer some really neat advantages. First and foremost great looks, with the help of a graphics program the sky is the limit, colors, text, and artwork can all be printed right to the paper. Secondly the weight added for this artwork is almost zero which is a really big deal considering that it is going to get wrapped around the LE.

First create a basic layout of the paper. You can see the basic layout of the muffler area, “back” of the LE where each rib will go, top, and bottom. (My seam is on the bottom just behind the LE spar not on the “back” where the ribs are like most models)

Work up some graphics in the areas that you want using the reference lines to make sure everything fits. I like to split the screen so I can see the inboard and outboard graphics in the same window to make sure they look good together. You can see in the screen shot the active view is the outboard and under it is the inboard. This takes quite a bit of time even if you actually know what you want it to look like before you start. I am learning the software and developing the design all at the same time. As I learn new technics and get new ideas the designs evolve. Actually I can’t remember if I have done 2 sets of planes the same since I started.

Then turn off the layer with the layout lines leaving just some reference marks so you know where to cut the paper.

A couple of things to keep in mind and they will all be printer specific: you have to be able to tell the printer that you want to print on a custom paper size (in my case I use 23x8.5), the paper I use will not feed properly on its own and must be glued (dust 3M77 on a reg piece of printer paper) or taped (huge pain) to the LE paper, the ink is water soluble ( I used water and white glue for gluing it to the foam).

With some experimenting and effort you can create a unique LE. Here are a few that I have come up with.

It is hard to see in the photo but the base color has a fake wood grain, neat effect.

This is some of the new top secret stuff I have been working on this winter, do you see the bladder tube?

eles1