Mike Freeman

Hi David, I’m pleased to hear you are happy with your St8us. I agree about the possible long term need for reinforcement in the nose area. When I was building the original I wanted to make it 100% Foamboard and brown paper. I’m currently working on a follow up Foamboard model which needs a slightly longer nose so I’ll be adding some ply doublers to this one to strengthen the fuz at the wing LE which is where my St8us is starting to show some creases. Mine is still in pretty good nick and still gets plenty of air time when I fancy an adrenaline rush but I must admit I usually take off from the ground rather than hand launch. It slides nicely off the grass without the need of u/c or a rudder. Cheers Mike

Hi Mike, Yes, that’s me!! Finale was the plan feature in the April 1988 issue of Radio Modeller. Blimey!! There’s a blast from the past!! Cheers Mike

Hi David, You’ve done a lovely job there!! She looks ready to go. I hope the maiden goes well! Those access hatches are a good idea for maintenance but please be aware raw foamboard edges don’t like getting wet, water soaks onto the edge of the card and starts to come away. Great whilst building but not after!! Hopefully you’ve lined the openings to prevent water getting in. It’s great to see another St8us out there and I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. Cheers Mike

Hi David, Thanks for the update. I'm pleased you are enjoying building your St8us, it is certainly an unconventional build!! It's probably a bit late for you now but there's a copy of the full article on the modelflying home page including the photos you wished for. I'm impressed you worked it out without the photos!! 😁 I'm looking forward to seeing your finished model and good luck with the maiden!! Cheers Mike

David’s post above highlights that I didn’t make it clear the fins are removable. Apologies for that!! Here are a few pictures to explain how tape can be used to hold the fins in place. I used coloured tape for clarity. If I was going to do it I’d use clear tape but an interference push fit has worked fine for me so far!! Cheers Mike

Thanks Rich. The A4 sample I picked up from my Range shop is 5.5mm thick so I assume the A1 sheets will be the same. The plan refers to the original Westfoam board that is 5mm thick and the new stuff Hobbycraft sell which is 6mm thick so, if using the Range foamboard at 5.5mm a little bit of extrapolation will be required. Cheers Mike

You’re welcome David, I look forward to hearing how you get on. It’s an unorthodox build but quite rewarding I found. What other hobbies throw up curved balls like this!! incidentally, where did you get your foamboard from please? During the design development I was getting mine from Hobbycraft but the stuff they sell now doesn’t work with a warm iron. Rather annoying as the Westfoam they used to sell was great to work with. The Range sell some that works. I bought some A4 sheets to experiment with but A1 sheets are a bit harder to find. If you know of someone else that sells stuff that works it would be great to hear!! Cheers

Hi David, Thanks for the interest in St8us. Yes, I made the fins removable on the original so they can be removed and replaced if they get damaged. Card is added as a lining to strengthen the slot and extra card can be added to form an interference fit. For added security tape can be added to the tab that slots into the bottom skin and stuck to the bottom skin to hold the fins in place. Alternatively they could be glued in but would then be difficult to replace if required. My prototypes have been fine with the spar and joiner shown on the plan even with lots of abuse but balsa alternatives should work fine too if preferred. I must admit I wanted to make a feature of the model being made entirely from foamboard and brown paper. I can’t imagine too many people will make up the control horns as shown on the plan and will substitute plywood instead! 🤣😂 Cheers Mike

Thanks KC, Three A1 sheets of 5mm foamboard are needed and that will leave probably half a sheet spare to practice on or try again as you learn how to handle it. I found UHU POR and Gorilla Glue Clear best for most of the build but I used the expanding (brown) Gorilla Glue for gluing the top skin onto the ribs and spar when folding the wing up. The recommended equipment is... 4-Max 50mm PowerFun 3S 5400kV EDF 4-Max 50A ESC 4-Max 3S 1800mAh Lipo Cheers

My April issue arrived this morning and I'm really pleased to see my St8us in print! As promised here are some more details and explanations. First we must talk about the foamboard product. Sadly, it isn't like balsa which comes in soft, medium or hard! It appears different manufacturers use different methods to produce something that all look very similar! The prototype St8us' were built using Westfoam foamboard which has turned out to be a very versatile product and would be my first choice if I could find a convenient outlet! I mention in the article the alternative, un-named foamboard "Hobbycraft" have been selling recently which can be used but is a little less convenient. I have since discovered that "The Range" sell foamboard manufactured by "Art Studio" and I have tried this. Thankfully it does react to heat but the samples I bought are 5.5mm thick so if using this a little trimming of components might be necessary. If you do an internet search for "Westfoam" ignore the stuff sold on Amazon by "Protectafile" as I tried it and it is similar to the Hobbycraft stuff that needs soaking in water to remove. I've contacted Westfoam and asked them for some details of outlets and I'll pass on any info I receive. Now down to some details..... On page 55 there are photos of a tool that needs to be made to trim the efflux nozzle. The blade needs to be 20mm off the building board. Dead easy with accurate 5mm foamboard but if using one of the others you'll have to trim or build the tool from balsa. On the plan I show a slot in the top wing skin for the fins. Due to the different foamboard thickness options I had to show a narrow slot which is opened up when the wing is folded up and glued. In truth this is a bit of a fiddle and I've subsequently thought of a better idea which means the slot is positioned accurately irrespective of the foamboard used and is cut out in one go. Hopefully the attached photos will show the idea - once the paint patches identify the four corners of the slot simply push pins through to the top skin, join the dots and cut out! you can use the bottom of the fin on the drawing as the slot marker and trim to the profile in the photos. Let me know if anything needs explaining.

I'm really pleased to see my St8us flying wing design is being featured in the April 2025 issue. It's built entirely from Foamboard, card and brown paper, there's no traditional building materials in there at all! As the construction is a little unorthodox I thought I'd start a thread here to answer any questions and discuss any mods that have evolved. As soon as the April issue hits my door mat I'll start adding some additional details and new ideas that have materialised since I sent the package to Kevin. Hopefully these will make the construction a little easier (it isn't difficult to build, just a bit different!!) and help anyone thinking of giving one a go a head start! Cheers Mike

Thanks PDB. Yes that's it, its the same description they've used for a long time but the stuff they sell now is different. It's actually 6mm thick and the card cannot be removed with a hot iron. It looks like they've changed supplier. The original 5mm foamboard is called "Westfoam" and it looks like Amazon sell 10 x A1 sheets for £28.99. I'm hoping to find an outlet that sells single sheets. Hobbycraft sell 4 sheets for £12 but the stuff they sell now isn't suitable.

With balsa prices so high I thought I'd found the perfect alternative for my latest own design - Hobbycraft 5mm Foam-board. After a year or so of experimenting with this mysterious material and picking up tips from this very informative forum I ended up with my EDF powered flying wing called "St8us" as seen in the photo. She's made 100% with 5mm Foam-board and brown paper, there's no wood at all - even the control horns are made from 5 laminations of the card removed from Foam-board. I was so chuffed with it I drew up a plan and Kevin was about to publish it in RCM&E. BUT, I've just discovered that Hobbycraft have changed their Foam-board supplier and the stuff they sell now isn't compatible with the design. The new stuff is 6mm thick (although they still sell it as 5mm) and it isn't possible to remove the card with a heated iron - a very handy feature for saving weight and easing bending and a crucial requirement of the St8us build!! Amazon and others sell 5mm stuff but there's no hint if it's possible to remove the card with heat and you have to buy 20 sheets - St8us only needs 3 - 2 at a push!! I'm hoping someone knows a supplier who sells the original 5mm stuff that Hobbycraft used to sell in quantities of 3 or 4 sheets. I've been experimenting with the 6mm stuff and it is possible to remove the card by soaking it with water and gently rubbing it off but it takes a while, is rather messy and much harder than simply removing it with a heated iron. I can adjust the plan and article text to work with 6mm but I'm hoping to be able to leave it as designed and point readers who fancy having a go at building a St8us themselves where to easily get their Foam-board from. Here's hoping!! Cheers Mike

Hi Paul, Sorry for the very late reply, I've been away. I ended up moving the CG 15mm behind X-Fly's recommendation! As spec'd I found the model almost impossible to fly!! I know manufacturers quote "safe" CG's but this was way too far forward!! I found the take off run extremely long, even with the better CG so I upped the elevator throw by 2mm and linked it to a flight phase to help get the model off the ground. Once airborne the recommended throws were ok for me. In the end I took the u/c off, whipped the nose wheel servo out and now hand launch it. It looks so much better without the gear dangling down!! Good luck Mike

Hello All, My Weston Park 2023 article is in the September issue of RCM&E, out today. I hope you enjoy it!! Al and I had a great time in amongst all the fabulous models and talented pilots and took over 4000 photos over the two days we were there. We managed to whittle them down to around 90 which we sent in with the article. Kevin and the RCM&E team used 34 of them and I thought I would share a few of the others that we are proud of here..... Luke Oliver’s Hanger 9 MB-339 performing a lovely knife edge up the strip. One of the CARF Models Havard duo on a fly by. Gary Oliver's Yak110 on a traditional Farnborough Pass. Piloted by Gary's son; Luke. The CARF Models GeeBee on a fast flypast. The CARF FlyBaby about to touch down after a lovely display. George Shone's 19ft wing span Boing B50 beats up the strip. Dave Franks’ 1:5 scale F-16 gets away for another super display. A Dawn Patroller’s Sopwith Pup makes a safe return. The colour scheme of Steve Kilbon’s FlyEagle 1:4.5 scale F-16’s looked fabulous against the dark trees that surround the strip at Weston. The AZAerosports F-86 Sabre duo pair looked fabulous in the Saturday evening sunset slot. Finally, a small correction to the "On the cover" caption on the contents page of the September issue.... I am part credited for the photo but the photo is All Al's work, I had nothing to do with it!! He's dead chuffed to have one of his photos on the front cover!! Cheers Mike