Building the KF foam glider

[msc]

After watching Johnson fly his scratch build KF glider, I was impressed by the simplicity and the reasonably good performance of the glider.

The wing is just 2 pieces of 6mm depron foam, strengthened by 0.5mmx5mm carbon strip. The fuselage was built-up as I proceed. Just got a set of 8x4 folding prop from JH and 2s DN battery.

With the little time that I have between waking up early and sleeping late, I am now about 70% done with this glider.

Here are the plans and some pictures. I should be posting more pictures with report when I am nearer to completion.

MS

(the PDF plan is too large, you may want to download from here:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=633311&page=2

[Sunstorm]

The step is on top, but did you round off the leading edges of wing?
Looks nice.

[renold]

Hi MS,

Very nice and well done.

How about your Nano Glider? If you are looking for some one to continue. contact me.

[msc]

The step is on top, but did you round off the leading edges of wing?
Looks nice.

This is not completed yet. The LE of the wings and stabilizer will be rounded off later. I am still figuring out the wing mounting, battery hatch and cowling.

[MeePokMan]

Cool! I like the wings - nice curve!

Why can't you re-use all those batteries instead of buying 2S DN batteries? I've bought 7 batteries since Jan this year and it's more than 1 hour of flying time with all my models.

OK, time to do some shopping for materials to bring back to London!

[msc]

Cool! I like the wings - nice curve!

Why can't you re-use all those batteries instead of buying 2S DN batteries? I've bought 7 batteries since Jan this year and it's more than 1 hour of flying time with all my models.

OK, time to do some shopping for materials to bring back to London!

The one I bought was a small capacity, 840mAh, I think.
It has to be small enough to squeeze into the fuselage. Did not realized that there were Lipo inside, I did not check your bag with all the goodies.

[joe yap]

Kah man,

Try to use high-discharge Lipo with small capacity and small but powerful motor for gliders. The key is to give super climb to thermal altitude for a short period of time and cut the motor to fold the prop and glide for the rest of the flight. You'll save space and weight on the battery for better glide as well. This is the key fo rlonger flight duration for gliders. You don't want to keep the power on all the time when flying a glider. If not, it's not a glider anymore and you'll find that your flight time will be governed by the battery capacity.

To be technically correct, powered gliders like this should be named as " Self-launch sailplane".

[msc]

Kah man,

Try to use high-discharge Lipo with small capacity and small but powerful motor for gliders. The key is to give super climb to thermal altitude for a short period of time and cut the motor to fold the prop and glide for the rest of the flight. You'll save space and weight on the battery for better glide as well. This is the key fo rlonger flight duration for gliders. You don't want to keep the power on all the time when flying a glider. If not, it's not a glider anymore and you'll find that your flight time will be governed by the battery capacity.

To be technically correct, powered gliders like this should be named as " Self-launch sailplane".

Thanks for the advise Joe. I was flying the E-hawk with the 2200mAh 3s battery and noticed that I had to power-up about 5-6 times on every 20mins flight.
This foam bird is lighter, hopefully, it can glide longer. Will try to look for the small battery as you had mentioned.

Thanks!

[msc]

Cannot go down to the field.
What to do, when you have to babysit the kids on a SAT morning? Continue to build the KF glider.
Hopefully, I can complete this by Deevapali. Should have some time in the morning to catch up on flying.

Here are some of the progress.
Completed the stabilizer, made it removable with Nylon screw, so that I can transport it in a flatter pack.
Add in the hold-down for the wings on the fuselage.
Rounded the LE of the wings.

MS

[gEcky]

Kah Man,

looking good!

U're gg to mount the motor behind the firewall or in front?

My outrunner is in front, thus the difficulty in making a cowling for it..

[msc]

Kah Man,

looking good!

U're gg to mount the motor behind the firewall or in front?

My outrunner is in front, thus the difficulty in making a cowling for it..

Hi Johnson,
My progress is very slow.
My motor is enclosed in the cowling, and the folding prop comes with a spinner. I hope to flash the cowling with the spinner.

[joe yap]

Looks like the sailplane fever is kicking in. I'm also in the process of scratch-building my DG-300. Wings are done less covering. The fuselage and canopy have a lot more work to be done though.

[gEcky]

Looks like the sailplane fever is kicking in. I'm also in the process of scratch-building my DG-300. Wings are done less covering. The fuselage and canopy have a lot more work to be done though.

Wow! Is the fuse we see in the photo just the plug?

[joe yap]

Both. The pink foam plug is covered with 3 layers of medium grade glasscloth. I'm just short of pouring solvent to dissolve the pink foam away. The resin is tinted and it appears black.

[msc]

Both. The pink foam plug is covered with 3 layers of medium grade glasscloth. I'm just short of pouring solvent to dissolve the pink foam away. The resin is tinted and it appears black.

Hi Joe,
What adhesive did you use for glassing? I am thinking of apply a thin layer of glass cloth on the bottom side of my fuselage with just diluted aradite epoxy.