My scratch build Bomber

[Stambo]

I have a plan.
That's all I will say for now.

[Derek]

I have a plan.
That's all I will say for now.

lmao.....and more suspense, ha ha ha

[Tony]

I'm just happy that you've been steering clear of the water-type landing surfaces. They just don't work, lol

Are you sure about that Derek.

Well, I've not been daring enough to test out landing a helicopter or quad on water. There is just something, deep down inside me, that says, "It's just not a good idea", lol

I can vouch for that Derek, it's a crap idea....lol

[Derek]

I'm gonna head over to my Dad's house today. We're gonna try to do the finishing touches on the plane, double check the cg, weigh the plane (with and without payload), run my watt meter on it, and hopefully do a taxi test. I'll be the one to do the initial maiden flight. Not sure if we'll get to that today but the plane really is looking great!!!

[Tony]

Have you any plans for this plane Derek's?

[Derek]

Actually no, I do not have plans for this plane. It's not my original design. However, if you'd like to see the inspiration for my Dad's plane, you can find it on Youtube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fv41XSx4YM

It's an "Experimental Airlines" design. My Dad and I made some minor alterations to the design but it's very much like EA's design. I've been a huge fan of EA's plane designs for years. He has a very simple method for making inexpensive but very functional planes from foam board sheets and packing tape. He really is brilliant!

[west0618]

Well, the "build" is complete. At least according to Derek...and I concur. EVERYTHING works as it should. All controls functional and the bomb bay door opens on cue every time. Makayla, I'm sure you all know Derek's daughter, insisted on us dropping the BOMB(one of those small footballs with a tail and fins) several times in my kitchen just to be sure. I guess we are at the point where we need to do some taxi tests and then we are airborne...on Derek's schedule. So if there is a delay...blame Derek. I'm ready to go...as soon as I find the harness for the figure to secure the chute to. If I do not find it soon it will mean starting over and sewing up another. CAN'T WAIT. I just need a big enough crew for video and pictures galore. I'll post the details of the size and innards soon. Thanks for your interest. As you may have already figured out...In "my" world I do not normally go in the same direction as the rest.

[Derek]

Yeah, my daughter really enjoyed seeing the lil football being dropped from the plane while my Dad held the plane up. The bomb dropper works very well. We hooked up my Turnigy watt meter to see what kind of power we'll get from the power system and prop. The plane weighs 4lbs 9oz (without payload) and my watt meter displayed 639 watts at full throttle. Cool!!!

[Tony]

thanks for the video D, i do like that type of plane, and this one is big enough for me to see too. so i will follow that up and see if i can make one.

sounds like yyour dads plane is nearly ready to hit the sky then

[Derek]

If you have any questions about the build methods, just ask Tony! I'm a huge fan of the EA techniques. He just makes it so easy to do.

As for my Dad's plane...yes....it's nearly ready! When we can get together again (my next day off when it's not raining), we'll take the plane out and taxi it around a bit to make sure that the steerable nose wheel is straight/inline and, since I'll be doing the maiden flight, I'll be trying to get the nose to lift off the ground and just see how the plane reacts a bit. When we are confident in everything, I'll mash the throttle and then start measuring the altitude, lol. At 4lbs 10oz (74oz or 2100 grams), with a 60" (1520mm) wingspan, and a 55" (1397mm) fuselage, Dad's plane should be pretty predictable while in flight. I imagine that it will be heavy enough to have a very intentional and deliberate flight path.

[Tony]

Sounds very methodical Derek... You must get someone to video it's maiden...

[Derek]

I imagine that Dad will video the maiden flight while I'm flying it. When it comes time to setup the Buddy Box, we'll have someone on hand to run the video camera. If not, I can put my Mobius cam on my ball cap, or something. We'll surely get pics and video and some commentary, too, I'm sure, lol.

[Derek]

It was a gorgeous day....Dad and I packed up his plane and a few of my models and headed for the flying field with the plan of doing the maiden flight of Dad's scratch built Bomber. We started with some simple taxi testing in order to be sure that the landing gear would track straight-ish...and it did. The plane wonders to the right very slightly but we were satisfied and went on with the maiden. Pictures and video to come.

[Derek]

I added some captions to the compilation of video that we got from the maiden of this plane. It was a bit scary on the first flight but the second was a bit smoother. We only have video from the first flight and then we talked a bit about some specs. Dad also talks a bit about the custom parachute that he made.

I'm using Window Live Movie Maker for the final cut of the video. It's saving right now. I'll have the video posted this afternoon. I just got home from work and now it's bedtime.

[Derek]

That took FOREVER to upload. Anyway...here is the maiden flight video of my Dad's plane. After the flight, we go over some specs of the plane and then Dad talks a bit about his homemade parachute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJlu4VsV7-g

[cml001]

Awsome guys.. Excellent job!.. I sooo need to do a scratch build... Just an awesome job.. Love the chute!.. Bimbos away! Lol... Oh & hey!!! Like that tool box Derek!

[Graham Lawrie]

Great video guys:) The size of the parachute was not obvious in the video, so glad you showed that at the end, great job on that:)

[Derek]

Thanks guys! It still needs a bit of work and some more color but its a "flyer".

[Giles Darnell]

Bundle of info that I have got from here. Whenever i have an issue regarding, just search the expertise forum like this.

[Derek]

Im happy to hear that you found this useful. This is my Dad's plane. He still isn't quite comfortable to fly on his own yet but I've flown the plane 3 times and landed it 3 times.

If the weather ever cooperates, we'll take the plane out again and get some more video.