DR1 - fun slow flyer - scratch build -

[hillbille]

I built a DR1 from PMJass plans derived from the FOAMIES - Scratchbuilt - DYI thread in RC Groups. There really isn't a "build" thread or a set of instructions either, just a set of plans which are tiled in either letter format or A4 whichever you prefer. The plans print out very well and are simple tape tpgether affairs which are then cut out and transferred to FFF(blucor) or depron. Depron was the original material as PMJass is in Australia and blucor is unavailable there - but depron is readily available.

The plane flies very nicely and is a slow parkflyer if ever I have seen one!

Top WS = 34 3/4" and I used a TP 2410-08 motor and the TP 18amp ESC with a GWS 10 X 4.7SF prop. The battery used is a Loong-Max 2250Mah 3S1P needed for the ballance factor - not for amps!!


Original thread on RC Gorups is here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288957

If any one shows any interest I might could be persueded to do a "build" thread here - it would actually just be a step by step build from the supplied plans. I will not post the plans here! If you want the plans go to the thread listed above and get them.

Get yourself a set of plans - post #67 in the thread above!


This is a very easy to build plane - looks great - and flys fantastic!

Pictures below.

[Larry3215]

Id like to see how the fuse is put together, motor mount, landing gear, wing struts, linkages, etc.

Im always looking for better ways to handle the details :)

Good looking plane too!

Larry

[hillbille]

Here's another pic of the Red Baron in flight - far picture but at least you can tell it flys! (I built the Red one for my buddy Nick - so it really is him flying!)

Hillbille

[hillbille]

Id like to see how the fuse is put together, motor mount, landing gear, wing struts, linkages, etc.

Im always looking for better ways to handle the details :)

Good looking plane too!

Larry

Ok - I'll start with the landing gear as I just happen to have thos pictures already. The landing gear is keyed to the motor mount and then triangularly to the fuse. I used piano wire for mine although the plans call for a configuration made from carbon fiber tubing. Too expensive for me so I reconfigured mine for piano wire. Here are the pictures which are worth about 15 paragraphs of my long winded explanations!! LOL! Also I might add that I took the DR1 plans and with a very slight mod made a D VII which flies fantastic also but that'll have to be a seperate thread!


PS - the fourth photo shows the two "legs - but not the 6" axel they solder to after a little wire wrapping. The wire that goes through the motor stick has 4.5" legs and the other "legs" are 3.5" for the triangle. They do NOT need to be soldered solid as a little adjustment at mounting time is necessary.
Hillbille

[Larry3215]

Excelent! There you go - a great idea I already have plans to borrow in the first set of shots :)

Thanks,

Larry

[hillbille]

Because this is a profile plane the fuse is flat - top and side. It is double layered in several places for strength though. The entire plane is assembled via a series of tabs and corresponding slots. Each tab has a slot to fit into and they all align to make the assembly strong and light.

First I will show you the parts all drawn out on one sheet of FFF (DOW Blucor). I printed the plans and then made templates from posterboard stock as I knew I would be making more than one plane and felt I needed the templates to last a little longer.

I lay the templates out on the bluco sheet and trace around them with a Sharpie marker. Once all the parts are there - I start cutting. I use an exacto and a straightedge rule as a guide for quite a few of the cuts as there are many long straight lines to cut!

Any way here are the parts layed out on a single sheet of blucor.


Hillbille

PS -

Top wing, middle wing, bottom wing, fuse side, fuse top, verticle tail, horizontal tail, (2) fuse side doublers, cowl doubler, aft deck, fore deck, rear fuse top, (3) struts.

[hillbille]

In the PMJass thread on RC Groups they ( the posters in the thread ) talk of being able to assemble one of these in three hours! Well I can tell you that the best I have done is about two days - averaging 5 to 6 hours work each day with the DOW Blucor. Most of the time is spent in the paint department. Blucor just dosen't take to paint real well! Also I made templates for the " decals" and paint them on ( white "crosses" and the black inner iron crosses) the wings and the tail in a two step process. More on that later.

For now I want to show the fuse parts - painted and layed out in the assembly order.

So here are a couple of pictures I took of the various fuse parts laid out together as they will be assembled. Although when the real assembly starts in a few posts - I usually start at the tail section and build from there - just because it is easier for me to align the tail first with triangles and get it straight right from the start but that's just me. Notice that all the parts you see in the pictures are painted!


Hillbille

[hillbille]

As you may have guessed this build will be like Voss's black triplane in the movie Flyboy's. The crosses aren't right in the decals because I went ahead and used the regular iron cross template I made for expediancy here - but the paint and trim are really open and up to the builder. I have some neon pink I will use to build my granddaughter one later this spring - now that should be a looker!

I counted the parts after cutting them out and I count just 16 main parts for this plane! This does not include the small square foam anchors used on the struts, carbon fiber, control rods or linkages either.

[hillbille]

Let's build one -

Start with the tail - you need a carbon fiber flat or small dia. rod to glue into the slot provided. Gluing this piece now assures alignment when we cut it into the elevator. I usually do this first (as well as gluing a CF flat along the leading edge of the BOTTOM wing) before I lay all the parts out and paint them.


Hillbilly

[hillbille]

Painting done? Gee that was quick! (LOL here as the painting usually take me longer than the assembly - I've built 4 of these so far and it's held true for every one!!)

The fuse as you will notice is a profile - meaning it has a "SIDE" and a "TOP-BOTTOM" which are made in profile. The "SIDE" is what is used to start with as this is the main keying element in the build process. The fuse has a curved area on the bottom front and a straight area on the "top". The fuse doublers you cut and painted can be glued to the front of the fuse now. One left and one right - you did paint the good sides opposite didn't you? I use hot glue for everything - except solder on the landing gear! You may use whatever you like as I am sure it will be lighter than my hot glue creations.


After the front fuse doublers are set - turn the fuse so that the straight side is down. Now try a trial fit with the elevator - stab, if it all fits together snugly your ready for the next step - if not - fix it - enlarge the slots or cut the tabs! When everything fits then go ahead and cut the elevator ffrom the stab along the two (see the picture below - Build_3b.jpg) and then bevel one side (the bottom) and hinge as you like.

Laying the prepped tail flat on the working surface then placing the small fuse end tab into the REAR most slot of the tail section - glue it here and use a triangle to insure square!

Hillbille

[hillbille]

Ooops - bad picture wit a good instruction! The way the picture is angled it appears that the fuse is tabbed into the forward slot instead of the rearward one - opticle illusion!

Picture Build_8.jpg shows the fuse keyed in the forward most slot of the tail section - WRONG - it should be keyed with the tab in the rear most slot - the slot next to the elevator hinge!!



Hillbille


Boy is this hard! LOL - the pictures and instructions I mean!

[pburt1975]

Looks to be coming along good Bill. You ever have any issues with the hot glue? I mean, a 98 deg day isnt going to make the plane fall apart right? The issue is leaving the plane in a locked car? Sure makes building a lot quicker, but GWS glue is nice too :).

[hillbille]

Well ok - moving right along with the build - next step is to check alignment and glue the tail section assuring square to fuse.

pburt1975: Yep - I knew that - but it isn't summer yet and my planes don't last long enough to fall apart in the air - they usually do that when I hit the ground with them after some low - too slow - maneuver!! LOL. I'll try the GWS glue though!! Thanks! I'll have to try that with the next build as this one is in the bag - or hangar already - heck it's already taken me longer to do the few posts and pictures than it did to assemble the whole plane!! LOL!!




Hillbille

[hillbille]

Locate the following parts!



Hillbille

[hillbille]

Lay these parts out on a flat surface and then trial fit the fuse to them to insure alignment and tab fit. If everything fits then here we go!!


Actually it should all fit rather tightly and you will see that alignment is fairly easy. Also remember you are working on the UNDERSIDE of the airplane - all finished surfaces should be face down on the work surface when you glue them. An awful lot of this airplane is TLAR engineering as the FFF Blucor is not structurally sound in and of itself so there is no strength until the pieces are attached to each other.

The rear fuse top keys into the V of the tail section and then the tab along the fuse. When it is aligned to your satisfaction - glue it.

Next the middle wing - it keys into the rear fuse section and aligns with the strut slot cut into the middle of the mid wing and the top of the fuse - these line up to form an angle for the forward rake of the wings. When this meets your eye - glue it.

Next is the cowl doubler. It keys into the front of the middle wing and tabs into the forward fuse for alignment. (When you were cutting out those patterns and templates you were very careful to align the strut slots - right??) When this meets your approval for alignment - glue it.


Hillbille

[hillbille]

I painted all the crosses and backgrounds on the wings but the original plans call for you to simply print them out - cut them out and use 3M-77 spray on the backside of the paper and then just stick them on - Whatever your little heart desires!! Take a break - your about 1/3 done with the build!


Hillbille

[hillbille]

Next get these parts.

The fuse top, aft deck and fore deck (gun mount)and the fin/rudder.

The fin/rudder (I chose not to use a rudder on mine - but you can cut it out and use it if you wish - do that now and hinge it before this step) keys to it's tab into the slot of the tail and then forward into the open "slot" at the rear of the fuse top. The fuse top also extends to and covers the cowl. The aft deck is just decoration and is affixed to the rear of the cockpit and tapers to the tail.

The fore deck (gun mount) is not actually used until AFTER the middle strut is shoved home into the slot of the middle wing and fuse. THEN the fore deck acts as an anchor for the middle strut. Careful alignment of all struts for square is a must for straight wings and flight!!

Hillbille

[hillbille]

Just two wings left - then the motor mount/landing gear and controls!

Get the outer struts and the bottom and top wings together and then you will need some anchors for the struts. 10 of them to be exact! They look like this.


Trial fit the struts into the slots in both outer wing panels - should be a "snug" fit. The struts should slide through the outer middle wing panels though - being held there by anchors and glue. Once all the parts fit well and as they should we are ready to proceed.



Hillbille

[hillbille]

Double check that the two outer struts are equal in length!

The struts lean forward in order to give the three wings their classic rake. Check the placement in the bottom wing and glue the struts in place making certain that they are flush with the bottom of the wing. They should lean forward of the scalloped ailerons.

When the glue sets slide an anchor onto each strut facing the wing - do niot glue this yet. The slide on another anchor facing the opposite direction - these anchors will slide up against the middle wing and be glued in place to anchor it. Now slide the struts through the slots in the outer panels of the middle wing. Align the wings symmetrically so that they are equal distance apart front and rear and aligned with the tail as you normally would do.

When you are satisfied TLAR - glue the anchors of each wing - I suggest that you glue them as a set watching the alignment closely as the glue sets.

Now is the time for that fore deck (gun mount) to anchor that center strut - all three struts should be of equal height and angularly aligned - as should the top and bottom wings. Check it now as if there is any corrections to be made now is the time to try!

When all is glued you are ready to procede to the top wing!

[hillbille]

I didn't take any pictures of the top wing getting aligned or glued as it should just tab and slot into place without too much hassle. When it is glued into place you are ready for the landing gear. If you follow the plans as PMJass drew them you will need carbon fiber rod and tubing to construct the landing gear - it is shown on the overall view in the plans and will work quite well. I however chose to make a simple piano wire setup that was integrated into the motor mount. Pictures are in the third post I think - any way it all solders together and then the mount is ready to be inserted into the front of the airframe. The downthrust is built into the slot for the motor stick. You make the right thrust by utilizing the doublers. I don't know the math but I do know what works - I place the rear of the motor stick in the center of the slot and offsrt the front of the stick to the right by half of the right doubler. Works for me.


Hillbille

[hillbille]

BTW - the specs for the LG in the other post is TLAR - if you notice in MY above post I lengthened the landing gear by 1" on both legs - too much - so the original 4.5" front and 3.5" rear legs look the best.

Now as for control rods and rigging - that's up to you - I have discovered that almost everyone does it different so it's what ever works for you. I will post a couple of pics of my setups and you can go from there. Essentially if you have followed this thread - you now have a DR1 triplane that is light and will fly nicely on very little - or is semi-capable of most 3D stuff in the right hands (certainly not mine!! LOL) and with enough power and a big prop.

My setups are as follows:

DR1-1
Motor - TP2410-08
Prop - GWS 10 X 4.7 SF
Two TP 9g Servos on Elev and ailerons

DR1-2
Motor - Electrifly 28-30-950
Prop - APC 10 X 5E
Two TP 9g servos on Elev and ailerons

DR1-3
Motor - TP 2409-18
Prop GWS 1060
Two TP 9g servos on Elev and ailerons

I also bashed out a D VII from these plans - added 1.5" chord to bottom wing - cut the middle wing outer panels off leaving just the fuse shape to maintain alignment and added 2" chord to the top wing - shortened the struts by 2" (later replacing the outer struts with traditional N struts made from stripped popsicle sticks!) Flys great!!



Hillbille


I blame Chellie for all my scratchbuilding - if she hadn't gotten me started...

[Larry3215]

Ooops - bad picture wit a good instruction! The way the picture is angled it appears that the fuse is tabbed into the forward slot instead of the rearward one - opticle illusion!

Picture Build_8.jpg shows the fuse keyed in the forward most slot of the tail section - WRONG - it should be keyed with the tab in the rear most slot - the slot next to the elevator hinge!!

Hillbille

Boy is this hard! LOL - the pictures and instructions I mean!

Your doing a great job!

It sure takes a lot of time doesnt it. I dont think a lot of guys realize that untill they have done one themselves.

Thanks for putting in the time and effort!

Larry

[hillbille]

Some pics for the above post - NOT necessarily in any order!

[hillbille]

Larry3215 - It's a sobering deal alright - very tedious - but the plane is such a nice flyer and believe me when I say this - if I can make one of these fly - anyone can!! LOL!!

I think PMJass originaly intended this to be a 3D type fun flyer - and it will do some - but for the most part it is a really docile slow flying plane that will do some aerobatics.

Thanks for the complements! If anyone else goes and gets PMJass' plans and builds one - THAT will be all the reward I need. Heck I just like building and flying them - the hack-bash-mod D VII version is a really nice little plane too!



Hillbille

[pburt1975]

Hey Hilbilly, on the hot glue, I's mostly asking because summer is coming up and I wanted to start using the stuff again. Have not been because Im out, but if a 98deg wont cause the glue to undo then I can justify, in my mind, buying another bag or 2 of the sticks instead of more epoxy or CA.

This plane sounds like fun, is it still a 10dollar donation for the prints?

[hillbille]

pburt1975 - Nah - the plans for this are FREE - the SE5a plans were $10.00. I think the original thread had the link to the free plans in post #67. As for the hot glue - LOL - like I said these don't last long as I fly the stuffing out of 'em and I tend to fly these like the little home plate foamy as they are similar in flight characteristics. The DR1 just won't scoot as fast as the flat will! Hot glue on Blucor seems to melt into the foam itself and bond - I live where it gets ovet 115 during the day a LOT of the summer and I have never had one fail yet - but the motor mounts and LG will need some other type glue as the vibration (LOL again - straightened shafts - don't ask! and hard landings!!) tend to loosen these without other support.

Heck I can build one of these is pretty short order and I guess that's why I am pretty carefree with their flying! (About $2.50 worth of Blucor - )!

Hillbille

[pburt1975]

pburt1975 - Nah - the plans for this are FREE - the SE5a plans were $10.00. I think the original thread had the link to the free plans in post #67. As for the hot glue - LOL - like I said these don't last long as I fly the stuffing out of 'em and I tend to fly these like the little home plate foamy as they are similar in flight characteristics. The DR1 just won't scoot as fast as the flat will! Hot glue on Blucor seems to melt into the foam itself and bond - I live where it gets ovet 115 during the day a LOT of the summer and I have never had one fail yet - but the motor mounts and LG will need some other type glue as the vibration (LOL again - straightened shafts - don't ask! and hard landings!!) tend to loosen these without other support.

Heck I can build one of these is pretty short order and I guess that's why I am pretty carefree with their flying! (About $2.50 worth of Blucor - )!

Hillbille


Very good to know man. I need to get me some and get some of these projects out of the way. That bipe.... I want one:D

[hillbille]

Just a few cosmetic changes to the fuse - alter the tail to suit and the wings get rounded and widened - voila' - it's a D VII or (the newest rendition!) an SE5a or what ever you want it to look like. This is actually a very versatile plan! I will post pictures - if and when the paint (Rustoleum - covers very well and so far light coat first - then cover coat the foam is fine!) dries - it is pretty cool here and the wind is blowing hard!! Dark green on top and cream under - with roundels it will look the part - from a distance!

These are not stand-off scale planes - they're stand wayyyy- back sorta scale look great in the air at 20mph but don't get too close planes! LOL!!

Motors used so far on these - TP2410-08, TP2409-18, GP Electrifly 28-30-950, TP2410-09. All work well as I am sure others will also.

Hillbille

[pburt1975]

ok, 1 last question (I think??), earlier you mentioned a 9g servo on the ailerons and elevator, are you not using rudder at all?

[hillbille]

Nope - No rudder so far! I don't do (no skill! LOL) 3D just the normal stuff so I really couldn't see the need for a rudder. Other than ground steering I hardly ever use it. But I guess I could cut one in and add a servo -

I think the 5g servos would work just fine on this plane.

Hillbille

[pburt1975]

9g servos are all we use so far, and if you're using that big 3s for balance, I should be fine to add a 3rd servo. It'll fly with a 2s or a smaller 3s. If it flies like the homeplate, it'll be a hit over here.

So what other slow flying slightly 3d planes do you build?

[hillbille]

I fly a few GWS planes like the Tiger Moth 400, the AT-6, and my big one the Formosa II. I have an all brushless Supercub and my venerable AP ship the Slow Stick. For all out aerobatics and speed I have a HP Simple Stick with a KDA 22-20L on it that scoots along very well! My eyesight isn't what it used to be so and my hand eye coordination suffers from it - so I tend to like slower flying planes as opposed to rockets. I like scale planes a lot and my next project is either going to be the E-Flite AT-6 Texan or a I/C conversion of a Modeltech SE5a to electric. This thread is probably in the wrong area - might should have been in the WWI or the Scale Planes - but... Oh yeah I also build a SuperFly and Hyperflea knockoff from blucor - doubled and tripled for the airfoil - but that's been covered by other threads and I'm sure I couldn't do any better job.


Hillbille

[hillbille]

I got a few pictures of these great little foamies in flight. My good friend Nick Keating whom I built a DR1 for took some pictures while I flew. I am amazed he trusted me to fly his plane while he took the pictures!!

On this day I also had the D VII that I made using the same plan - just lowered the top wing and cut out the mid wing and with a slight tail mod - D VII!!

[hillbille]

More in flight pictures! This time the D VII too!



Hillbille

[hillbille]

I did the maiden flight on the "Voss" black DR1 last Monday and it flies great - just like Nick's red and white "Baron" plane in the pictures above. There wasn't anyone there with a camera to take pictures. I will get some the very next time Nick and I go out as he takes pretty good shots!

The day the pictures above were taken I had not put any servos or control rods on the "Voss" DR1 so I didn't have it with me. I did have the D VII from the same plans though and it flew great as you can see from the pictures. As I mentioned in a post somewhere before I have a mock SE5a built in the same manner as the D VII - widen the wings and cut out the mid wing - alter the tail and nose and...voila' - SE5a. Actually the green and cream paint along with the roundels does as much for the looks as anything I did with the foam outline! I'll post pictures when I have it ready to fly!!


Hillbille