Ron Gray Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 This is just a short build report of the Hanky Planky that featured in November 2022 RCM&E designed by Terry Anderson and is put here so that I can link it to the 2023 Mass Build thread. The difference with my build is that I used mainly foam, rather than balsa. At the time of writing this the motor that Terry specified is not in stock but George (4-Max) does have a suitable replacement which is what I used. I was looking for a cheap and quick to build model to fit the requirements of the club flying competition that I am introducing for next year and this design fitted the build. However, rather than use balsa I thought about trying to build it in foam which, let’s face it, is considerably cheaper than balsa and arguably provides a quicker build. I have a small stock of 6mm Depron so this prototype is being built from this, foam board from places such as Hobbycraft is thinner (5mm) and would be ideal. Note that some foam board comes with a paper facing on both sides but this is easy to remove by using a warm covering iron and peeling it off. It took about 10 minutes to cut the various parts out, the fuselage then had 1.5mm balsa doublers added (for strength) using Gorilla Glue Clear (easy to spread, incredibly strong but takes ages to dry!) and the wing (2 pieces) were glued together (Gorilla Glue Clear) with a 5mm dia carbon tube spar to prevent flexing. Balsa fuselage formers (made from some 5mm and 3mm balsa) were glued to one side making sure that they were at 90° then the 2 sides were joined, again ensuring that everything lined up correctly. Before joining the 2 sides together I cut some square foam strips (6mm x 6mm) and stuck those to the edges of the fuselage (hot glue as it's so quick!) as this not only gives a greater surface area when gluing the fuselage tops and bottoms but also provides a great depth of material when sanding to form round edges. I also added some 5mm sq balsa as bearers for the servo tray. Top decking was then added and left to dry. The motor mount bulkhead was just put in place to help keep the shape, it was glued in later. Now as I have a 3D printer and just love producing parts with it I made a lovely servo tray complete with raised fixing rails to ensure that the servo arms wouldn't clash. This was glued in place onto the balsa bearers, what a waste of time as you will see later! The engine mount was marked and drilled using the dimensions on Terry's plan and then glued in position with some 5mm sq balsa strengtheners behind. Undersized sheeting was then glued in place. The great thing about Depron is how easy it is to sand so an hour later all components have been rounded or aerofoil sections created which then meant that I could apply the laminating film. This works great on a lower than normal (100º) setting and doesn’t damage the foam. Next I stuck the tailplane to the fuselage followed by the fin which had a couple of cocktail sticks stuck in it and through the tailplane for additional strength. All hinges were formed by the 'overlapping covering’ method with the exception of the rudder which uses mylar hinges. I couldn’t resist putting it together for the next shot! So fitting the servos was next on the agenda. The aileron servos were fitted by cutting holes in the wing, inserting the servos (after centering and adjusting the servo arms!) and then holding them in place with clear packing tape. I reinforced all of the horn fixing points with some thin ply (I can't remember the thickness but it was easily cut with a pair of scissors!). Now earlier in this post I said that the lovely 3D printed servo tray had been a waste of time, because I had built HP in foam I ended up with a very light model, so light that when I mounted the motor I couldn't get it to balance without adding some weight to the tail. To overcome this I decided to move the mid mounted servos back to the tail which then gave me the correct C of G. The last job was to fit a battery / Rx mounting plate and to form the underbelly access hatch which is hinged using reinforced packing tape and for a latch I used an old servo horn (note thin ply strengtheners). The finished article (well ready for maiden but still to be painted / decorated). And finally the maiden flight. This was a very quick build and using different (quicker setting) glues it can easily be built in a weekend, probably even a day. The best of all it is very cheap (I'm producing 'kits' for my club members for approximately £40 which includes the motor, CF spar and prop - they provide the balsa, ply and hardware) and it does fly really well! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) Ron, an interesting build! And a very competant and confident video of the first flight. I guess you use a steel board with magnets? I have not yet used laminating film so it would be interesting to know the spec of the stuff you consider best for our purposes. A daft question perhaps - why don't you just paint some colour onto the depron before the laminating film is applied? Edited December 21, 2022 by kc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) Thanks KC, if it feels and looks right it’ll fly! The building board I use for smaller models is a thin steel plate on a ply backing and find it extremely handy. The only problem I have is when using the large magnets (for holding down sheets) is the amount of pull they have! Laminating film is brilliant, I tend to use 38 micron and yes you can spray before applying it, believe it or not you can even spray the back of the film before applying it. In my case I’m going to apply vinyl shapes for colourings- all will be revealed! Edited December 21, 2022 by Ron Gray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry A Posted December 21, 2022 Share Posted December 21, 2022 Hi Ron, well that was interesting I hope it performs as well as the balsa version, you certainly supplied better construction photos than I did in the article. I think there has been thirteen or more built now in the club and nearly every flying session ends with a couple of plankies wizzing about, out of interest what is the specification of the motor you have used, cheers Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 (edited) Hi Terry, thanks for an excellent design! Motor is the alternative that George suggested, 2834-1160. Unfortunately when I went back to him about a group purchase for my club (10 so far) he said that he only had 3 in stock so I've now gone with a similar spec motor, the Overlander Tornado Thumper 2830-1300 which is a bit lighter and shorter which will help with the C of G with the foam built ones plus the added bonus that it's £9 cheaper, oh yes its also British!! So I've ordered the initial batch of 10 of these. Regarding performance, I don't think it will be short of straight line speed or vertical as my foam one only weighs 14 oz and based on my initial maiden flight it isn't too shabby at gliding too, which is good as one of the rounds of my comp for next year is the 'Viagra Challenge' (all up, last one down). Now here's a thought, when I've finished working out the points scoring why don't you and the guys at your club run the same comp and at the end of the year we can compare notes (inter club score board)? Edited December 21, 2022 by Ron Gray 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 11 hours ago, Ron Gray said: The best of all it is very cheap (I'm producing 'kits' for my club members for approximately £40 Correction, with the Overlander motor it’s more like approximately £30! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Robson Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 Extra cells on that one Ron, pixels! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Hurd Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Ron. I like this version of the plane, and plan to build one in foam like yourself. But could you help me out with a couple of things that are confusing me. In the first post you say the balsa doublers to the fuselage are 1.5mm, but looking at further pictures the doublers look at least as thick as the firewall, which is stated at 3mm. Is this correct or is it the camera lens/ angle that is deceiving me. I would substitute what I think is right, but I have little experience in building / substituting with foam to balsa, and am looking for a few pointers etc. And did you use 2 pieces of depron one on top of each other for the wing ? Thanks Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 Hi Steve Well spotted! My intention was to use 1.5mm balsa but did in fact use 3mm but having done so I’m sure that 1.5mm would be fine. Regarding the wing, I used 2 pieces of 6mm Depron, the bottom sheet cut to allow for the CF spar, and stuck them together using Gorilla Glue clear. I’ll pm you with a sketch that I made of my build if you like? Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 Flying update, I flew it on Monday ( @Kevin Fairgrievehas some photos) and can confirm that it flies pretty well with a very wide flight envelope and a very benign stall. I’ve got to play around with the control throws / C of G as it needs a lot of persuasion to spin but all other manoeuvres are performed with ease. I’ve got to rethink one of the rounds of my ‘Wacky Races’, the ‘Viagra Challenge’ as with a 10 secs motor run the model disappears vertically! 5 secs will be more than enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Hurd Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Ron Again thanks for your help, if you could pm a sketch that would be great. Thanks steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 9 hours ago, Ron Gray said: Flying update, I flew it on Monday ( @Kevin Fairgrievehas some photos) and can confirm that it flies pretty well with a very wide flight envelope and a very benign stall. I’ve got to play around with the control throws / C of G as it needs a lot of persuasion to spin but all other manoeuvres are performed with ease. I’ve got to rethink one of the rounds of my ‘Wacky Races’, the ‘Viagra Challenge’ as with a 10 secs motor run the model disappears vertically! 5 secs will be more than enough. Hanky Planky in flight! Due to its small size and wide speed range, it is not easy to photograph. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 Thanks Kev! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 13, 2023 Author Share Posted January 13, 2023 Today provided the ideal opportunity to test HP in windy conditions (circa 20mph) as this would tell me if my planned competition, Hanky Planky Wacky Races would be affected. I was pleasantly surprised. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 13, 2023 Author Share Posted January 13, 2023 I changed the motor back from the Overlander to the 4-Max offering and have to say that the Overlander has more punch (similar specs on same prop). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 Nice turn of speed on that Ron, a lot of bang for the buck, i bet the foam to build the model was about a fiver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 13, 2023 Author Share Posted January 13, 2023 (edited) Certainly is, I’ve made some ‘kits’ for my club and I’m selling them for £30 including the motor! 10 sold so far! Edited January 13, 2023 by Ron Gray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 This page from my club’s website gives more information on what I have planned for one of this year’s competitions. https://bmfc.bmfa.org/index-to-photo-reports/hanky-planky-2023-club-competition-steed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 I have made a start!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 Good man Kev, the first of the 10! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted February 7, 2023 Author Share Posted February 7, 2023 I built a new wing for my HP yesterday, (loosely) based on the Kline Fogelman KFm-2 profile Tried it out today flying back to back sessions with the standard wing and was impressed. The model flew quicker but was more planted in 'yank and bank' manoeuvres, obviously faster flying puts it at a disadvantage in my Wacky Races, Viagra Challenge round so I dialled in spoilerons which helped it a lot. Given the ease of construction with this aerofoil when using Depron it has to be the way ahead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted February 7, 2023 Share Posted February 7, 2023 Interesting concept Ron, can you post a picture of the built wing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted February 7, 2023 Author Share Posted February 7, 2023 I stuck another strip of foam behind the spar so that I could bury the aileron servos in it, so not true KFm-2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 On 14/01/2023 at 13:07, Ron Gray said: Good man Kev, the first of the 10! Now 17! (Club members who have bought / ordered ‘kits’). Our Wacky Races competition should be a bit of a laugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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