Foamy Tucano Version 2 build thread

[weeliano]

my computer isnt able to run the program i downloaded it and my computers graphic quality isnt good enough for the program but do you think if you have any spare time would you be able to create plans for a depron foam Cessna 152?
in PDF format?

Hi benjovi,

You don't necessarily have to design on a computer. I started out drawing on exercise books with square lines and then scaling up the drawings on Mahjong paper. I think you should try that route first. All you need is a very long steel ruler, pencil, paper and eraser.

If your computer can't run 3dstudioMax, I suggest using a free 3D software called Blender3D. You will have to spend a lot of time learning it though. That's why you are better off starting first with pencil and paper. That's how great airplane designers started. If you want to design a Cessna 152 model, I suggest you get as many reference images and photos on the Cessna 152 before you begin.

I'm sorry but I can't help you draft the the design as I have too many things keeping me busy at moment.

When I started designing and building airplanes, I had very little help, I just looked at a lot of model airplane plans, read a lot on aircraft design and aerodynamics and the rest is just trial and error. You have to start somewhere. Here's what I found on google.

[speedwing]

Congratulations on ur maiden flight!!! Your thread really motivate me to built my own plane. Im sure it motivate others too...Can't wait to see ur next project!!
Cheers!!

[weeliano]

Congratulations on ur maiden flight!!! Your thread really motivate me to built my own plane. Im sure it motivate others too...Can't wait to see ur next project!!
Cheers!!

Heh heh, the maiden flight was 2 years ago! I haven't built anything since, been tied down on other stuff lately. The plane is still in one piece, never suffered a crash and it's definitely not a beginner's plane. Highly aerobatic and and a speed demon if you can see in the videos.

[xypher]

Hey TS,

May i know what software you used to make the 3d model of the aircraft? Issit like Autocad or Catia?

[weeliano]

Hey TS,

May i know what software you used to make the 3d model of the aircraft? Issit like Autocad or Catia?

I used 3Dstudio MAX to design my plane, it is more for 3D animation and Visualization work but since it's a Autodesk product, it reads a lot of industry standard files including Autocad files.

I recently re-discovered the power of this free and open-source software called Blender3D. It's totally free and amazingly powerful. You can download the software from www.blender3d.org and get lots of free instructional videos from http://blendernewbies.blogspot.com/

It takes time to learn any new software, so be patient and take it one step at a time.

[xypher]

Ohhh cool. I shall try it out

[helk]

first of all congratulations for this very useful thread.
i decided to construct this plane and i wonder about the power of motor and the electronics.
Is there anything you suggest?
note that it is my first build and i am not an experienced <> either.

[weeliano]

For your very first plane, I would suggest that you stick to a safe design like a high wing trainer. Plane designs based on the Cessna Skylane or Skyhawk or the Piper Cub would be a good start.

You can most certainly build this plane, but I would not recommend you to fly this design unless you are an experienced pilot, because this plane is very maneuverable and you need to be flying it hands on most of the time because of it's low wing nature. Also, it's quite small and it flies very fast, you need to fly it in good lighting conditions otherwise you may suffer from orientation confusion.

I actually forgotten what is the power rating of my motor(haven't been flying for along time), but I do know that it runs on 11.1v LiPo and a brushless geared motor. If you look at the dimensions of the motor, you can probably guess the power rating.

One good way to attempting your first basic design would be to "reverse engineer" an existing design. Say you buy a GWS E-Starter and after you had your fun with it or if you crashed , and if the parts are salvageable, you can design and build a plane based on it's dimensions.

Study a few High wing designs, their airfoil profiles and their dimensions. Scale designs sometimes don't work as well scaled down, so you may have to tweak the dimensions a bit, for example you can try to scale up the wing, stabilizer and vertical Fin by up to 20% to give you added stability, but scaling things too much might just add up to high air resistance.

Or you can build from existing plans. There are plenty of plans on the internet, you can find some here http://www.profili2.com/eng/default.htm

Try building a high wing design first, like a Piper Cub, like this http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=565112

[helk]

thanks a lot for your help! i will try the piper first.
greetings from greece!

[Kurosakiyuzu]

Hey ya~~
Is it possible to give me the measurements and ratios for the foamy?><
I need it ugently...

thanks a lot! i'll wait for your reply ><

[weeliano]

Refer to this link for the dimensions
http://www.daddyhobby.com/forum/show...3&postcount=51

[Babylon_Jim]

Hi to all,

Weeliano, what power train setup are/were you using in your tacano.

I built a 400 size tucano from Nigel Hawes plans in RCM&E, but I built it out of foam instead of balsa and used a Tahmazo Outrunner, but I think I need to select a better prop etc becasue it seems quite sluggish in the air

Are you guys still flying at Sembawang, I would be interested in coming along and having a look. Can you PM me when you normally fly, I live in Jurong at the moment?

Best regards
James Corlett