Rosco

Your workmanship is immaculate Chris. Very neat and precise. World's away from mine! Nice work Rosco

Very nice Simon, I'm looking forwards to a maiden Vid. Weight is good too. Rosco

I'm still here Chris Work has taken over my life for the last 3 weeks. I've actually not had a day off and even now I'm at work!.....anyway..... ....Your wing is looking good. I'm looking forwards to it being 'dummy' mounted for a photo moment. In my building experience, when you can fit up a wing to a model , even if it's not mounted properly and just dummied up, it feels like a moment of celebration and relief. I seem to get a feeling of inspiration and relief, that things are coming together. Keep it up mate Rosco

Looks good Simon. I might try planking with foamboard on my Skywriter-X. I'll be interested to see how close your weight prediction is to the finished product. Rosco

.....that stuff is called 'corflute' here in OZ. Rosco

I tried building a model with a foamboard frame and a cardboard skin once Simon. I found that the cardboard skin wasn't quite holding itself to shape (if that makes sense). For example, there was quite a bit more sag between the wing ribs that I anticipated. I also tried paper mache'ing it but that was what finished it in the end. I might have got away with it had I not done that. I never finished the project but I'm not saying that it can't be done. Unfortunately I can't post links from my phone but cut and paste should get you to this one...... https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D4Pf_Qiy5J6s&ved=0ahUKEwjR29uMu-jQAhUBPrwKHapsBqYQtwIIGTAA&usg=AFQjCNH4j9pjG7cg0Z3YEfd9RFIQ3m1j1Q&sig2=oljwqVJS95x6Dr6SRoMOQA Here is my attempt. Sorry but you'll need to read through the thread to see the progress. It starts from the last post on the page (by oldschoolhg (me))..... https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2165336-Aussie-Foamboarders/page16 RoscoEdited By Rosco on 10/12/2016 02:10:03

Yes Chris, I'm hoping that it dosen't end up looking like too much of an ugly Duckling. I'm going to be making an effort to keep smooth flowing lines. The intake was going to be like your FJ-2 example - straight in from the nose. The exhaust will be a bit trickier. One thing I need to keep in mind is weight.....yes Chris, I said weight!..lol. If I don't need it, it won't be there. EDF's are like turbos, they need to 'spool' up a bit before alot happens. I need it's lightweightness to assist in that department - less of a heavy airframe to get moving. If I can get this to work, the model will be a little slow off the mark but should pick up some speed once it gets going. I quite often hand launch my jets and feel like they will just drop out of the sky! Once they get moving, they are quick. Obviously, this will be a little different to a jet, there is alot of drag in the physical airframe so that's one reason why I need to make it as light as possible. All a big experiment and something different really. I hope to have a flying EDF Skywriter-X at the end of this. Hopefully some will stick around to see how it goes! RoscoEdited By Rosco on 06/12/2016 22:52:24

Honorary 'weight manager' Chris. Come to think of it, I've not lately enquired about any weight 'items', you must be doing something right and have been listening ... Ha,ha....lol Nice looking half of a wing there my friend. It's getting closer now. Looking good as usual. Thumbs up from me. Rosco

Thanks John. I'm not planning on having any ugly ducklings like some of the ones above. Just think of it as replacing the traditional motor with an EDF. I hope to be conceding the whole lot inside the fuselage and the only difference will be that it has no prop. There may be a slight mod to the tail section for the exhaust but I will be trying to keep it looking like the Skywriter. I've set myself a challenge now...... Rosco

some food for thought.......   Rosco     Edited By Rosco on 06/12/2016 10:57:12

Unfortunately I think I'll leave the 70mm fan where it is Chris. I had another quick look today and I really don't want to pull the fan out. The model it is in - an F18 Hornet, is such a great flyer that I don't want to mess with it! I can't bring myself to dismantling it! The 64mm fan will probably be it. The 50mm fan means that I'll need to get the model weight down to around 250-300g (with all the electrics and battery included), so it would be quite small. I'm Still thinking...... Rosco

Just a brief one..... After looking through my parts and reconsidering the power system, it seems I may have to downsize the plan a bit. I do have several combinations to use but the one for the full size model will require removal from another model. The 70mm fan.....oops...did I just say that?, is in one of my jets that I was thinking of retiring but cannot bring myself to do it! I may downsize to fit a 64mm fan.....oops....I did it again. I could go even smaller to a 50mm fan......! Thats just my thoughts for today. Rosco

Hi all again, I've been thinking a little more and researching too. All I'm going to say is that what I have in mind has been done before which kills the originality of my modification but it is proof that it can be done. Enough said....! So....back to my plan...... First of all, I will need to modify the plans to be 'foamboard build friendly'. By this I mean that because of the fact that it will basically be a 'box' with wings, the original Skywriter plan will basically become an 'outline' that I will trace and make any adjustments and modifications to before relaying it to the foamboard sheet. If anyone is familiar with how the FliteTest guys do things, they will know what I mean. I am planning on building it in a similar way to the FT boys but need to take into consideration the modifications that will be needed to accommodate things. My Ballerina build followed a similar path to the FT style but I went my own way with a few things after a little while. This time I'm planning on sticking to keeping it simple and using a few of their techniques but first things first, time to look at the plans and start getting an idea of simplifying them to suit my build...... Rosco

Hello Gents! Firstly, I must say that I really did not intend to build a Skywriter for a few reasons but I've decided to join the MB because like you all, I enjoy the 'hands on' building and then the flying of the model (or the challenge that comes with getting it to fly!) As some may know, my building medium of choice is foamboard. I enjoy watching what the FliteTest boys do with foamboard but have my own style of building with it. First, because the foamboard that they use is different to the stuff I use and second, I just like to do it a bit different! My intentions with this build are to keep it fairly simple. I built the Ballerina to a smaller scale but I think I'll keep this one at 100%. It'll be interesting to find out its final weight compared to a balsa one. I'm not planning on straying too far from the original design but I do have something completely different in mind so I've got to try and keep this in mind as I go with the build.....by the way, I'm not going to say what it is that I'm going to try but if it works, I don't think you'll see another one like it? I cannot guarantee that I'll be able to make it work but it's a challenge to me that I hopefully will enjoy making it work. @Chris, ARF = Another Rosco Foamboard build. So much for sharing your ideas I hear you say.....stay tuned! Rosco Edited By Rosco on 04/12/2016 16:29:14

Hi all, Seeing as though there's a couple of 'thoughts at this stage only' threads started, I might as well get mine going too. There's nothing much to post yet but this post is like the first kick after the whistle - the first play to get things started. I've got a few ideas but they are still bumping around in my head. I'll post them when they start making sense to me and I've got a little bit more time! Rosco

I can see why you are so meticulous with your build Chris. I can appreciate your interest in the details and your work ethic. Keep up the good work. I'm looking forwards to a finished wing soon! Rosco

Thankyou very much for sharing that Chris. I take it that it is you sitting on the R8? RoscoEdited By Rosco on 02/12/2016 10:54:11

Sorry Chris, a bit off topic and not really about your build but I'm interested in your 'racing cars' background! I've had some doings with 'racing cars' too..... Rosco

I wouldn't use the word 'race'! Maybe 'journey' is better suited. Rosco

Cheers John, that's what I thought but just wanted to make sure. That gives me a month of thinking time...... Rosco

Now that the official build is the Skywriter, is there an official build start date? Rosco

I highly recommend Lucas' offer. He helped me out with the Ballerina plan for the 2016MB. Thanks again Lucas. Rosco

Murphy is always lurking in the shadows. I quite often find him hanging out it nut threads. It's always the last one too! Just when there's one more bolt/nut to be tightened, he jumps out and threads it or breaks it somehow. When I worked in the crash shop, after I'd hung a panel and bolted it on a thousand times during the repair he'd stick his head out when the panel was painted and was going to be bolted on for the last time. He'd twist it so it never fitted how it did before and sometimes would make my life really difficult by chipping an edge! Rosco

When I need to add nose weight, one thing I do/try is to use a heavier spinner. Because it's right upfront, it only has to be a little bit heavier to make a big difference. Another one is using heavier wheels. They are both still 'useable' weight too. RoscoEdited By Rosco on 29/11/2016 20:10:46

I know mine is not going to be an orthodox build but for me, probably two pieces of foamboard, comes in at $30AU or there abouts! Recycled electrics of course. Rosco