SloFly 22 Scratch Build

by AirPatoine | April 17, 2013 | (6) Posted in Projects

This is my SloFly 22 I built out of Dollar Tree foam board.  I used plans I found on RC Groups.  I just had to modify them slightly because of the thickness of the foam.  I used the building techniques I learned from the FliteTest scratch build videos.

I thought I would share this because it is a very quick and easy build (cheap too) - also lots of fun to fly.  Definitely not a beginner plane, but intermediate flyers can sharpen their skills on this one.  It can take a crash and if you do manage to damage it beyond repair it is only one sheet of foam.

The video is of the maiden flight.  The wind was gusting so it made it an interesting flight, but I wanted to test it out. 

I was trying to build an indoor flyer and this should work.  Even though it is a SloFly 22 the actual wingspan is 24 inches.  Might be my printer, might be the plans. Fuselage length is 27 inches.  All up weight without battery is right at 7 ounces.

 Components I used:

     Hextronic 24 gram brushless motor 1300KV

     Turnigy Plush 10 Amp ESC

     (3) - 9g analog servos

     Spekrtrum AR6400E receiver

     8x6 SF propeller

     460Mah 3s Lipo

The only change I would make is to mount the rudder and elevator servos forward.  To get the CG right I had to move all the other electronics and battery as far forward as possible.   I plan on trying other smaller batteries and it may be difficult to get the CG right with them.  I marked the CG on the wing at 3 1/3 inches from the leading edge.  This is 1/3 of the way back from the leading edge on my model because the wing is 10 inches wide.

I made the landing gear out of some scrap carbon fiber I had.  The wheels I pulled off a toy from the Dollar Tree.  I could save weight by leaving the landing gear off, but I usually land on an asphalt parking lot and it is hard on foam.  I used decals from Dollar Tree.  I used colored packing tape for the stripes.

Here's a link to the plans:  http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1182455 

The firewall is hobby plywood supported by floral foam (also from Dollar Tree).  I used my home made foam cutter to get the foam to the right size and used polyurethane glue (gorilla glue) to secure it in place.  I find that this foam is very light and very rigid.  I also used it for the motor support on my F22 Raptor and it has held up extremely well.  To secure everything else I used hot glue.

COMMENTS

bmakhale on April 24, 2013
F.T. should put this plane in their line up. I think they would sell a ton of them.... Nice plane..
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nunieboy on April 19, 2013
hey question. my plane just wants to hover. ist cause i'm too tail heavy? or motor too strong?
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AirPatoine on April 19, 2013
I would guess tail heavy. This one needs everything toward the front including the battery to get the CG right. I just tried it with a 350Mah battery and it tried to do the same thing. I put my battery just below the motor and even with the front of the fuselage. I may try to move the rudder and elevator servos toward the front more. Try getting the CG around 3 inches from the leading edge of the wing.
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AirPatoine on April 19, 2013
Could have something to do with motor too - what one are you using?
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nunieboy on April 19, 2013
hey it was cg. i just moved everything forward, and added support to the nose to use also as dead weight and i kinda got the cg forward. but dang i still need more weight.
i'm using the suppo 2208/14
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AirPatoine on April 19, 2013
That looks like a good fit. A little heavier than the motor I'm using and that may be a good thing. If (when) I build another I plan on using 5g servos for the rudder and elevator and adding an inch or so to the nose to move the motor weight more forward. I was wanting something that I could hover, though, and this makes it easy.
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nunieboy on April 20, 2013
yeah, i was thinking of moving the wings further back if i build it again
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AirPatoine on April 20, 2013
That's a great idea. It would give us more area to move things around to get the CG right. I was thinking about doing a forum post on this one if there are enough people who chime in and want to try it. It would be nice to share ideas and pictures, etc...
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sailorJohn on April 18, 2013
One of my next projects.

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phunkodelic on May 10, 2013
Thanks for sharing. Nice video and write up. This will be my next build.
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nunieboy on April 20, 2013
I really wish people would try this plane out. Great plane, very stable, and if i can fly it, i think anyone can fly it. My only experience with flying is ft flyer and ft 3d, but great planes, but i would only get in the air long enough for it to crash. I was flying this one long enough to kill the battery. only other thing i would change is put support on the elvator somehow (but will be added weight). The elevator is a little sloppy for my taste
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RoyBro on April 19, 2013
Very nice presentation! Nice moves on the video. Thanks for the detail pics of the plane.
How about some details on how you built your foam cutter?

Thanks
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AirPatoine on April 19, 2013
I've thought about that. I just looked around online and took the best ideas and combined them to build mine. It only took a couple hours to build and I used scraps I had in my workshop. The only thing I bought was the guitar string ($1). I will put it on my list of articles to post.
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AirPatoine on April 19, 2013
I have been very impressed at the performance of this plane. I fly it every chance I get. The only changes I have made since the pictures were taken is to replace the pushrods for the rudder and elevator with carbon fiber rods like I have on the ailerons. I found the 1mm music wire had too much flex. I also added a tail wheel so I can taxi.
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nunieboy on April 18, 2013
Looks awesome! I'm gonna give it a try
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Skipp2Maloo on April 18, 2013
Nice looking Plane.
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mkoutnik on April 19, 2013
Very nice!
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nunieboy on April 26, 2013
just an update; i moved the wings back about an inch. huge difference. no more need to smash everything in the front.
side note, doubling up on foam board, not really the most stable thing

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MOcchionero on February 5, 2016
I love this plane too. I have built 2 using 9 mm EEP foam. 3 x 9 g servos. 1300 kv turnegy bell style outrunner 450 mha 2S. Yes it is tail heavy with the layout suggested. I need to move the battery all the way forward and add a second as additional weight to get it to behave..

http://youtu.be/srSOixm4EJw

Version 3 will be lighter, and better balanced. I will be using 4.5 g servos, I will also shift the wing back about 10 mm from the current setup, maybe more, will not glue down till I have the wing in place to have the battery on the CG.

As it is I am keeping V2.3 because it is a ball to fly. Very stable in modest wind. And capable of tight maneuvers indoors,

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MOcchionero on February 5, 2016
The designer recommended 5 g servos in his build.
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SloFly 22 Scratch Build