Eindecker EIII

Cubcrafter · 25 Dec 2012, 19:16

A project that I have been working on.
This is 1/3 scale radio controlled aircraft.
135" wingspan, gas powered.

All work done with SketchUp and parts exported to Corel as .svg files for cutting on my laser.
This will be a kit that I will be selling in the near future.

I know of others using Solidworks to achieve the same results.

More to come.

Larry

EscapeArtist · 25 Dec 2012, 20:03

Very cool. Are you an experienced flying model builder? I understand that direct scaling of the camber/chord/etc.. of a wing does not always render a flyable wing in a scaled model, how did you adjust for this?

Cubcrafter · 26 Dec 2012, 00:30

Hi EscapeArtist

I have been flying R/C for 35 years and I fly in scale competitions across the country.
I am an architect and have been using SketchUp for about the last 3 years. This is my first real attempt to use the software for something other than architecture.

This plane is designed for "Fun Scale" competitions where the aircraft is not quite of museum scale quality. The real Eindecker had a flying tail and used wing warping. My design is using a proven flat bottom airfoil and conventional tail control surfaces.

In September 2014 there is going to be a large airshow at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. This is for the commemoration of the beginning of WWI. As soon as I am finished with this project I am going to design and build a museum quality flying 1/2 scale Nieuport 17 for that event. This will have about a 162" wing span.
I have some drawings that the Germans made of a captured Nieuport 17 from 1917 to use for the design work.

The group that I fly with here in the Midwest will have 10 to 12 half scale aircraft for this event.

Sometimes when I say that I use SketchUp the response seems skeptical, but now I just show the Solidworks guys some of the Eindecker drawings.

Larry

jeff hammond · 26 Dec 2012, 01:01

awesome

i love seeing drawings alongside the build.. i actually look at the pictures for more than a second or two

wtrouser · 26 Dec 2012, 06:16

Oh I'll be following this for sure... can't wait to see updates!

cotty · 26 Dec 2012, 08:56

@wtrouser said:

Oh I'll be following this for sure... can't wait to see updates!

+1

Mike Amos · 26 Dec 2012, 10:21

Nice, looking forward to seeing more.

EscapeArtist · 26 Dec 2012, 15:46

1/2 scale? That's impressive. I'm very glad to see SU being used in 3D real-world output, I hope to do someday as well. Looking forward to seeing the progress and perhaps a flight video?

tomislavm · 27 Dec 2012, 07:06

Perfect!

solo · 27 Dec 2012, 14:03

Interesting project, wanna see this until the end.

Cubcrafter · 31 Dec 2012, 19:30

Thought that I would post an update.

I got the parts cut for the fuselage and have been able to frame up both sides. Still need to put in the cross pieces and some other parts but you can see how things are starting to shape up. The length is about 84" and the out to out is 9". The firewall is 14" in diameter.

Larry

Mike Amos · 2 Jan 2013, 12:55

Proper craftsmanship in there, my hope is to get a workshop on retirement and build some of the things that interest me, mainly armoured vehicles that never made it to production. Someday perhaps. Thanks for the inspiration.