[philipa_240sx]

I have been working on this for awhile and now that I have plans drawn and started the Beta build, I thought I would share.

This is FFF (Blue Core) version of the DHC-2 Beaver. Here are some of the basic specs:

AUW: 12-14oz
Wing Loading: 6-8OZ SQ.FT.
Wingspan: 41.7"
Overall Length: 28.6"
Overall Height: 11.5" (inc. LG)
Suggested power system:
Motor - Blue Wonder 2712-12 (www.headsuprc.com) or HXT 2730-1300 (Hobbycity)
ESC - 10A
Prop - 9x4.7
Battery - 2S 800mAh
Channels: 3CH RET but can be converted to 4ch with ailerons.

Here are the plans:

[Max]

Hey that's pretty cool.

that looks very much like the GWS Beaver. Did you use that as a basis for this design? I got one of these GWS beavers for my kids and it flies pretty good!

[philipa_240sx]

Originally Posted by Max

Hey that's pretty cool.

that looks very much like the GWS Beaver. Did you use that as a basis for this design? I got one of these GWS beavers for my kids and it flies pretty good!

Well, I don't have a GWS Beaver so I couldn't really copy the design verbatim.... But, yes it was my inspiration.

We'll see if it successfully flies. This is my first scratch-built design... I'm hoping for the best!

Here is the foam parts mocked up before gluing:

[Dave Holmes]

I brought some FFF home from Florida, and this looks like a worthy use of it.

[Max]

Originally Posted by philipa_240sx

Well, I don't have a GWS Beaver so I couldn't really copy the design verbatim.... But, yes it was my inspiration.

We'll see if it successfully flies. This is my first scratch-built design... I'm hoping for the best!

Here is the foam parts mocked up before gluing:

Looks good!

Are the wings flat or is there going to be some sort of camber incorporated into the wing? I see tape on the wing- what's happening there? 2 pieces of foam with a dowel inside?

[philipa_240sx]

The wing is a KFM2 design. It basically starts as a flat airfoil and adds an upper layer that makes a 'step' at 50% of chord. The KFM wings are a bit unconventional, but they offer a stable design that is simple to build and has very gentle stall characteristics.

There is still a spar that is to be installed right behind the 50% step location. I will post more photos soon.

[John M.]

Sure is nice to see somebody MODELLING. All aspects of the hobby are fun but this is one of the most challenging for the gray matter.

Thanks for sharing.

[philipa_240sx]

Well, this is very basic modeling. Foam will never look as good as built up balsa plane. But foam does allow me to build a plane from scratch in a few hours... not weeks.

I've built a half dozen or so foam models from plans. This is the first that I've designed from scratch. If it goes well, I'm tempted to model the DHC-1 Chipmunk next.

[philipa_240sx]

Here are the beta version of the plans in PDF format. There are both full size and tiled version. See attached zip file.

These plans worked pretty much first time round. The parts fitment is near perfect. I have the fuse and wings built, next comes the components... and the more worrisome problem of getting the CG right. The Beaver has such a short nose that I am afraid it won't balance without nose weight. I'm already using a 2.1oz motor (rated at +100W) to help.

Edit: Plans are in post #1

[moo]

Very nice, perhaps you (or I) could translate the plans to Google Sketchup (free) and post a link to it in the Google Sketchup Warehouse?

Then stuff like floats and skis could be added...