Tips - Foam, glues, sticks......
Not all foam board is the same. Elmers makes a good foam board that has clay covered paper for a nice finish, but it is heavier. It is 8 oz/sheet. Dollar Tree sells a foam board that is 4 oz per sheet and is much easier to cut. And , yes it is $1. This will make your plane 2-3 oz lighter. Lighter planes fly better and crash softer. Fewer repairs, easier build.
Decorating and painting the foam board is easy. You can use colored Duck tape, or spray paint. Use a fast dry paint and spray paints for plastic are better. Spray a light coat or two from a distance of 10". Some of the spray paint solvents will eat the foam and de-laminate the paper, so you want the solvents to mostly flash off before hitting the surface.
Sticks can be found at craft stores. They have packages of thin, narrow and wide Popsicle sticks. Use the standard size for the Biplanes except for the Fokker DR1 which uses the wide ones. Just cut a slot big enough for the Popsicle sticks and work them in. Adjust the wings before gluing.
Hot melt glue is the best thing ever for these planes. It's easy and sets quickly but not too quickly. You don't need a ton, so use sparingly. Weight is the enemy of good flight.
Bamboo sticks are found at a kitchen supply like Bed Bath and Beyond. They are used for shishkabobs. The sharp end is handy for poking the holes. Work them in, mark, pull out and cut with a rolling action of the Xacto blade. Then snap.
You will find music wire for landing gear and for the servo control rods at a hobby store. Get the finest wire they have for control rods.
Where bamboo sticks are used for spars or cabane struts. Work them in at the angle they will be used. The sharp end will poke into the fuselage between paper and foam and then you can glue. Cut the ends off with snips where the skewer protrudes from the wing and sand off smooth.
The bamboo is also used for retaining the pod, as rubber band attachments, and struts. 1/2" overhang for the rubber bands is good. Other places where the bamboo is used for pod retaining, the bamboo is cut flush with the fuselage, because it does its job inside.
Balancing is super critical. Tail heavy leads to impossible flight. Nose heavy makes for stubborn and difficult flights. For stable flight locate the CG (center of gravity) at 30% of the chord. Measure the width of the wing from front to back. If it's 6" then get your calculator and multiply 6 x .3 = 1.8" back of leading edge. Anything forward of that the plane will glide fairly steep. Anything back of that the plane will threaten to tip stall into a breeze.
Angle of attack or wing incidence angle. In most cases the wing angle (a line drawn from leading edge to trailing edge) relative to the stabilizer is about 2-5 degrees. As the stabilizer keeps the plane moving level, the wing catches the airstream and creates lift.
It is best to setup the 1System Pod with a fixed thrust angle. You can build in 2 degrees right thrust, and 2 degrees downthrust. Then each model's AA bulkhead can be shimmed as necessary to get the model trimmed. If you have to adjust the pod each time you switch plane's it is very time consuming. Once you determine the best downthrust for each plane glue in the shim.
Motor down thrust. Relative to the stabilizer at a zero angle the motor thrust is about 2 degrees down. This sets up a downward pull on the nose in opposition to a downward push of the tail as the plane tries to pivot around the balance point.
Much trickier on a pusher biplane where the thrust line is high. To get around this the thrust angle is also set down. The forces balance as the tail is deflected down and nose is pitched down.
Motor right thrust. The torque of the motor tries to turn the plane clockwise as seen from the front. This creates a left turning effect. To counter this tendency we set the side thrust to 2 degrees right thrust. This balances the torque while under power and does not effect glide with no power.
The easiest way to achieve down and right thrust is to put a washer or grommet under the top left motor mount, or build in the thrust at the motor mount.
Check all the alignments and don't test glide until the plane is balanced, incidence angle is correct and motor thrust is correct.
Finally, you have to make sure the rudder and stabilizer are square and level. There should be no built in left or right rudder relative to the fuselage center-line.
Test glide over soft grass with a straight and level push from shoulder height. Note any left or right tendencies and check that the wings aren't twisted and that the rudder is straight. Once you are sure the wings are level and there is no twist, adjust the rudder slightly to trim for straight flight.
If the plane glides too steeply, shim up the leading edge of the wing by 1/8" using a scrap of foam. Test again and the plane should glide out at a 5 degree down angle softly and touch wheels first. It is normal for this type of plane with no elevator control to cartwheel sometimes.
If the plane goes tail down and stalls and then drops nose first, add a bit of weight to nose. If the plane glides out to level and then stalls to the side it may need a 1/8" shim under the trailing edge to reduce the wing incidence angle.
Rudder control linkage. How did the rudder control work on vintage aircraft? It was a pull - pull system activated with foot pedals. Most RC planes today use a push pull rod off a servo arm. For a very lightweight airplane that is a tough system to achieve. Using two thin wires from the servo arms the rudder is positively pulled to the side. This system makes rudder control positive very realistic and very lightweight. The linkage doesn't even need to be terribly accurate as long as the wires are the same length.
Decorating has a purpose. Duck taping the Leading edge strengthens it, and softens the square edge to a more rounded profile. Less drag, less power used.
Those stripes on the wing look cool, but also tell you the orientation of the plane. I like to put stripes on the left wing. If those stripes are down I know the plane is turning left. Tail markings can help you see from a distance which way the plane is headed.
The markings on the bottom of the wing will show when the plane is turning away from you. Stripes on the bottom of the left wing will be up if the plane is turning right and away.
The planes all turn left easier due to engine torque, so setup for left turns while learning.
Decorating and painting the foam board is easy. You can use colored Duck tape, or spray paint. Use a fast dry paint and spray paints for plastic are better. Spray a light coat or two from a distance of 10". Some of the spray paint solvents will eat the foam and de-laminate the paper, so you want the solvents to mostly flash off before hitting the surface.
Sticks can be found at craft stores. They have packages of thin, narrow and wide Popsicle sticks. Use the standard size for the Biplanes except for the Fokker DR1 which uses the wide ones. Just cut a slot big enough for the Popsicle sticks and work them in. Adjust the wings before gluing.
Hot melt glue is the best thing ever for these planes. It's easy and sets quickly but not too quickly. You don't need a ton, so use sparingly. Weight is the enemy of good flight.
Bamboo sticks are found at a kitchen supply like Bed Bath and Beyond. They are used for shishkabobs. The sharp end is handy for poking the holes. Work them in, mark, pull out and cut with a rolling action of the Xacto blade. Then snap.
You will find music wire for landing gear and for the servo control rods at a hobby store. Get the finest wire they have for control rods.
Where bamboo sticks are used for spars or cabane struts. Work them in at the angle they will be used. The sharp end will poke into the fuselage between paper and foam and then you can glue. Cut the ends off with snips where the skewer protrudes from the wing and sand off smooth.
The bamboo is also used for retaining the pod, as rubber band attachments, and struts. 1/2" overhang for the rubber bands is good. Other places where the bamboo is used for pod retaining, the bamboo is cut flush with the fuselage, because it does its job inside.
Balancing is super critical. Tail heavy leads to impossible flight. Nose heavy makes for stubborn and difficult flights. For stable flight locate the CG (center of gravity) at 30% of the chord. Measure the width of the wing from front to back. If it's 6" then get your calculator and multiply 6 x .3 = 1.8" back of leading edge. Anything forward of that the plane will glide fairly steep. Anything back of that the plane will threaten to tip stall into a breeze.
Angle of attack or wing incidence angle. In most cases the wing angle (a line drawn from leading edge to trailing edge) relative to the stabilizer is about 2-5 degrees. As the stabilizer keeps the plane moving level, the wing catches the airstream and creates lift.
It is best to setup the 1System Pod with a fixed thrust angle. You can build in 2 degrees right thrust, and 2 degrees downthrust. Then each model's AA bulkhead can be shimmed as necessary to get the model trimmed. If you have to adjust the pod each time you switch plane's it is very time consuming. Once you determine the best downthrust for each plane glue in the shim.
Motor down thrust. Relative to the stabilizer at a zero angle the motor thrust is about 2 degrees down. This sets up a downward pull on the nose in opposition to a downward push of the tail as the plane tries to pivot around the balance point.
Much trickier on a pusher biplane where the thrust line is high. To get around this the thrust angle is also set down. The forces balance as the tail is deflected down and nose is pitched down.
Motor right thrust. The torque of the motor tries to turn the plane clockwise as seen from the front. This creates a left turning effect. To counter this tendency we set the side thrust to 2 degrees right thrust. This balances the torque while under power and does not effect glide with no power.
The easiest way to achieve down and right thrust is to put a washer or grommet under the top left motor mount, or build in the thrust at the motor mount.
Check all the alignments and don't test glide until the plane is balanced, incidence angle is correct and motor thrust is correct.
Finally, you have to make sure the rudder and stabilizer are square and level. There should be no built in left or right rudder relative to the fuselage center-line.
Test glide over soft grass with a straight and level push from shoulder height. Note any left or right tendencies and check that the wings aren't twisted and that the rudder is straight. Once you are sure the wings are level and there is no twist, adjust the rudder slightly to trim for straight flight.
If the plane glides too steeply, shim up the leading edge of the wing by 1/8" using a scrap of foam. Test again and the plane should glide out at a 5 degree down angle softly and touch wheels first. It is normal for this type of plane with no elevator control to cartwheel sometimes.
If the plane goes tail down and stalls and then drops nose first, add a bit of weight to nose. If the plane glides out to level and then stalls to the side it may need a 1/8" shim under the trailing edge to reduce the wing incidence angle.
Rudder control linkage. How did the rudder control work on vintage aircraft? It was a pull - pull system activated with foot pedals. Most RC planes today use a push pull rod off a servo arm. For a very lightweight airplane that is a tough system to achieve. Using two thin wires from the servo arms the rudder is positively pulled to the side. This system makes rudder control positive very realistic and very lightweight. The linkage doesn't even need to be terribly accurate as long as the wires are the same length.
Decorating has a purpose. Duck taping the Leading edge strengthens it, and softens the square edge to a more rounded profile. Less drag, less power used.
Those stripes on the wing look cool, but also tell you the orientation of the plane. I like to put stripes on the left wing. If those stripes are down I know the plane is turning left. Tail markings can help you see from a distance which way the plane is headed.
The markings on the bottom of the wing will show when the plane is turning away from you. Stripes on the bottom of the left wing will be up if the plane is turning right and away.
The planes all turn left easier due to engine torque, so setup for left turns while learning.
