FoamFly Stagger Wing Manuel utilisateur
StaggerW i n g
Instruction Manual
Electric Foam Slowflyer with “Zipper Method©” construction.
Designed By: Daniel J. Schwartz
Available Exclusively from:
www.FoamFly.com
4077 WoodCreek Dr.
Ypsilanti MI. 48197
USA
© 2003 FoamFly.com
©2003 FoamFly.com 2
Thank You for purchasing the FoamFly Staggerwing! Welcome to
the world of simple, durable foam flying machines. The Staggerwing is sure to
thrill, with it’s sleek styling, and old-timer flair. This plane is suitable for
beginners, but it is recommended that new pilots get the help of an instructor to
trim their plane, and help with the first flights.
Almost anybody can fly the Staggerwing. It’s as easy to build, and more
durable than pre-fab planes that you might find at the hobby shop. But you build
this yourself. In addition to the well earned pride, you’ll have a complete
understanding of the structure, and if it should ever need repair, you’ll be able to
do it yourself without costly replacement wings and cowlings.
The “Zipper Method©” Construction makes the plane quick and easy to
assemble. All the pieces are specially designed to interlock, and are computer
cut so that they fit perfectly every time.
Staggerwing Specs:
•WingSpan: 31.5”
•Length: 25” (26.5” Including Prop and Spinner)
•Wing Area: 268 Square Inches (1.86 Sq. Ft.)
•Ready To Fly Weight 7-9 Oz.
•Motor: GWS IPS-A (5.86:1 Gear Ratio)
•Propeller: 9x7, or 10x4.7 (9x7 Recommended)
•Batteries: 950mAh “HippoBatt” Lithiums, 2-cell
1020mAh Kokams, or 6-7 cell 300mAh
NiMHs. Basically any 1.5 – 2.8 Oz battery.
•Receiver: GWS R4P (4 Channel)
•Servos: GWS Pico BB (or Hitec HS-50)
•ESC: GWS IS-50 (2-Amp Speed Control)
©2003 FoamFly.com 3
Introduction:
FoamFly.com is more than just a hobby company. It’s a community too!
Please take pictures of your Staggerwing, and upload them to the photo gallery.
Feel free to drop by and see what all the other foam junkies have been building.
There are free plans, and lot’s of tips and ideas as well as unique new planes
that you won’t find anywhere else.
Okay, you’ve got your Staggerwing kit in front of you, and you’re ready to
cruise the skies. Only problem: the plane is lying in pieces in front of you. Well
we can take care of that too. There’s some techniques you’ll need to be familiar
with to make the most of your kit. I’ll refer to them as they’re needed, but the
details of those techniques will be in the Appendix at the end of this manual.
Let’s begin. Don’t let all the text in this manual scare you. Take each
step taken one at time, and you’ll find that everything is within your capabilities.
Here we go.
1) Cut out all the parts: (Kit builders will find this step all done for them.)
You’ll need to know which part is which, unless you want to end up with the
flying equivalent of Frankenstein’s Monster. So, let’s start by taking a look at
what you’ve got here.
a) Foam Airplane Parts:
(1) Fuselage halves (Left and Right)
(2) Fuselage Top
(3) Fuselage Bottom
(4) Fuselage Front
(5) Formers:
(a) Firewall Front
(b) Firewall Rear
(c) Hood
(d) Windshield
(6) Upper Wing Saddle Doublers (2)
(7) Lower Wing Saddle Doublers (2)
(8) Horizontal Stabilizer
(9) Vertical Stabilizer
(10) Rudder
(11) Hood (Battery Door)
(12) Windshield
(13) Wings (4, 2 Left, and 2 Right)
(14) Wing Struts (2, Left and Right)
(15) Optional: Landing Gear Mount
(16) Foam Tools: Dihedral Jig (2)
There’s a few foam parts in the kit, that aren’t destined to be
part of the plane.
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And of course even a foam plane needs a few odds and ends to tie
everything together. Take a few moments to inspect what you’ve you’ll need
here. As the items are called for you’ll get more info on their intended uses.
b) Non-Foam Parts:
i) Bamboo Skewers (4)
ii) Wood Motor Mount
iii) Laser Cut Control Horns http://www.FoamFly.com/accessories.htm
iv) 18” x .032” Wire for pushrods (2)
v) 3/16” x 1/32” Wood Elevator Joiner/Wing Reinforcement (3)
vi) Double Stick Servo/Receiver tape (3)
vii) Wing Mounting Rubberbands (6)
viii) .055” Wire for Landing Gear
Now we get to begin the process. Before you cut or glue anything, I’ll say
this: Due to the nature of the raw materials available, you’ll notice that most of
the pieces have printing on one side. Now, you can do what you want, but I
recommend planning ahead so that you put all the printing towards the inside of
the plane. ;)
©2003 FoamFly.com 5
2) Fuselage:
a) Taper the Rear end of the Fuselage Sides.
The Fuselage comes to a smooth tapered finish so you’ll need to shave
down the foam at the end of the Fuselage on the insides. From the
beginning of the last two tabs to the end taper the foam from full thickness to
razor thin with a knife or sandpaper. (See the Appendix section, “Tapers
and Angled cuts”)
b) Peel the insides of the tabs
After you’ve figured out which sides of the fuselage parts will be on the
inside of the plane, you need to peel the skin off the protruding tabs of each
of the following parts. (See the Appendix section, “Cut & Peel”)
i) Fuse Sides
ii) Fuse Top
iii) Fuse Bottom
iv) Fuse Front
c) Also Peel the fuse sides where the formers will glue.
You’ll also need to pull the skin off in the areas where the Firewall, and
Hood will glue to the insides of the fuselage. (See the plans.)
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d) Peel the two Firewall formers and glue them to each other
Take a look at the two Firewall formers. Decide which face of each you’d
like to see, and peel the complete opposite side. Glue the two fuselage
formers back to back with their tops aligned.
e) Cut Holes in the Firewall formers as noted. (See the plans.)
f) You’ll need to make holes in the Firewall both for the motor stick, and
for the motor wires to pass through. If you’re unsure, smaller holes are
preferable, so the motor stick will be tight fit in the foam.
g) Glue the Firewall Formers, and the Hood Former to one half.
Glue both the Firewall & Hood Formers to one side of the fuselage. They
should align perpendicular to the hood line, with the ‘lip’ on the former
hooking on the top edge of the fuselage.
h) Glue the Fuse Bottom and the Fuse Front to that same half.
Grab your Fuselage Bottom piece, and glue it into the matching slots on the
fuselage half that you’ve been working on. Make sure you get glue on both
the faces and side of the tabs. Everywhere the foam will be in contact.
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i) Glue the other Fuselage half in place.
Grab the other half of the fuselage, and glue it to the bottom, and the
formers all in one go. If you’re not using contact cement, you might need to
clamp it in place to hold the shape of the fuselage while the glue dries.
j) Glue the Fuselage Top in place.
Glue the top piece of the Fuselage into place, and you can definitely see a
plane taking shape now.
3) Motor Mount: 1 3/4” piece of 3/8” x 3/16” BassWood
a) Shave the motor stick to fit in the gearbox.
Using your knife or sandpaper, shave down one end of the motor stick until
it’s a good tight fit into the motor gearbox. Make sure that the stick fits all the
way into the gearbox. If you’re worried that the motor might pull itself off the
stick while in flight, you can put a few layers of Scotch tape onto the stick to
ensure that the gearbox is a tight fight.
b) Glue the motor stick into the Firewall with the thrust angle as noted.
Force the uncarved end of the stick into the foam, and position it to the
desired angle. You’ll want 2-3 degrees of right thrust, and about 1 degree of
down thrust relative to the firewall. It’s probably a good idea to glue the stick
in place with the motor on it (if you think you can avoid getting glue on the
motor) because the thrust angles really need to be relative to the prop shaft
more than the stick. Polyurethane glue, or foam safe CA work great for
gluing the stick into the foam. You can also use ordinary Elmer's glue as
well.
4) Tails:
It’s time to prepare the working surfaces of the Staggerwing. The tails give
the plane it’s directional stability, and let you do the steering.
a) Elevator:
i) Choose Top and bottom of Horizontal Stabilizer.
The foam has its own character, so you can flip a coin. (or an elevator)
and decide which side of the surface you’d like to have facing up.
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ii) Flip Horizontal Stabilizer Bottom side up
iii) Locate the hinge line
You’ll notice two small dimples in the outer edge of the elevator. If
you line up your ruler with the two dimples and the notch at the middle
of the elevator halves. You’ll have found the line you need to cut.
I prefer to use an, “integral skin hinge” for the elevator, but if you feel the
need, you can always cut the elevators off, and tape hinge them back in
place.
i) Integral Skin Hinge:
(1) Cut hinge line 80% through.
It’s important to cut the entire length of the hinge line at once
so that both halves of the elevator will line up with each other.
(2) Fold Elevator back 180˚
(3) Bevel each elevator half with Knife or Sanding Block
Be careful not to peel or cut the skin during this step. (See the
Appendix section, “Tapers and Angled cuts”)
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(4) Glue a 1.75” section of the wooden stick between the elevator
halves.
You’ll need to cut a small slot with your knife, for the stick to fit
into. Then, hold both elevator halves folded completely back,
or pressed flat on the table, while you glue the stick in place.
(This ensures that both halves will be straight.)
(5) Fit the Horizontal and Vertical Stabilizers together. (BEFORE
the rudder is attached!)
b) Rudder:
The Rudder is a little easier to do than the Elevator since it’s a separate
piece. There’s still some work you’ll need to do to it though.
i) Bevel the leading edge of the Rudder.
Cut a small 45˚ bevel on the front (straight) edge of the rudder, on
what will be the right hand side. (See the Appendix section,
“Tapers and Angled cuts”)
ii) Trial Fit the Rudder to ensure it clears the Elevator, and that both
surfaces will have free movement.
iii) Tape the Rudder. Carefully trim the tape out of the rudder cutout.
Run a strip of 2” wide packing tape along the hinge line of the
rudder piece. It should be half on, and half in empty space. Now
remove the tape where the elevator connector will go.
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iv) Tape the Rudder in place, then trim the excess tape. Put the tip of
the rudder against the center of the Vertical Stabilizer and pushed
at full deflection while you smooth the tape onto the Vertical
Stabilizer.
v) Test fit the tails into the fuse, and then glue them in place
5) Radio Gear:
a) Install the lower Wing Saddle Doublers in the bottom wing opening.
You won’t need to peel anything here, just glue them inside the fuse so
that the curves line up exactly.
b) Twist the Pushrods into each side of the fuse.
c) Start at a point about 1/4” below the front end of the elevator slot, and
aim the wire so that they come out on the inside about 2” further ahead
of where they went in. You can also get the hole started with a long pin,
or sewing needle.
d) Work the pushrods back and forth so they slide freely. It’s important
that the control rods don’t bind while you’re flying.
e) Before sticking anything, it’s a good idea to power up, center the servo
arms, and put the little connectors into the servo arms.
f) Mount the servos in the position indicated on the diagram (See the
plans.) at the correct angle to line up with the pushrods. Put your
double sticky tape onto the servos first, and then, after double checking
to see where the servo will end up, peel the other half of the sticky tape,
and firmly press the servo into place.
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