Cutting wings

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Dr. Kamakaze
Posts: 169
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:51 pm
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Cutting wings

Post by Dr. Kamakaze »

Here is how i cut my combat wings. Credit goes to Doug Goldman for showing me how to cut wings several years ago.
I start with a 4x8 sheet of foam from Home Depot:
20170208_192208.jpg
20170208_192208.jpg (6.49 MiB) Viewed 13230 times

I lay the foam on my ping pong table topper on my pool table:
20170208_192223.jpg
20170208_192223.jpg (5.75 MiB) Viewed 13230 times
Then using the 52 inch bow with my feather cut i divide the sheet into thirds measuring 32x48 inches:
20170208_205554.jpg
20170208_205554.jpg (5.69 MiB) Viewed 13230 times
That's it for tonight, more to follow!
Andy "Dr. Kamakaze" Runte
-TEAM KAMAKAZE-
AMA #273119
RCCA #876
Andy "Dr. Kamakaze" Runte
-TEAM KAMAKAZE-
RCCA #876, North Central District Rep
AMA #273119
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boiler
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Re: Cutting wings

Post by boiler »

If you have a Menard's in your area, I get the foam un-scored.
Bob (Longhaul) Loescher
rcca# 621 RC Combat Geezer
Bring those planes in closer where I can see them.
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Dr. Kamakaze
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Re: Cutting wings

Post by Dr. Kamakaze »

Using the 40" bow from my feather cut I then section the foam into wing blanks:
20170214_124536.jpg
20170214_124536.jpg (7.48 MiB) Viewed 13207 times
By alternating the root and tip as i cut out the wing blanks I can get 9 wings out of 1 sheet of 4x8 foam with very little scrap:
20170214_133646.jpg
20170214_133646.jpg (6.06 MiB) Viewed 13207 times
Next will be cutting out the airfoil,
Andy "Dr. Kamakaze" Runte
RCCA #876
AMA # 273119
Andy "Dr. Kamakaze" Runte
-TEAM KAMAKAZE-
RCCA #876, North Central District Rep
AMA #273119
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mlapacz
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Re: Cutting wings

Post by mlapacz »

Andy,
What are your root, tip, and lead edge sweep dimensions?
Thanks,
Mike
Mike LaPacz
RCCA#1046
Green Bay, WI
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Dr. Kamakaze
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Re: Cutting wings

Post by Dr. Kamakaze »

Mike,
I use 3 sticks to mark where to place the wire when I make the cut. The first stick is 2 inches long and i place the other end of the wire at the corner of the sheet, this piece is scrap and establishes my sweep. The other 2 sticks measure 5 5/8 for my tip and 9 5/8 for my root. Once I get to the end of the sheet then the 2 1/4" x 1/4" is scrap. I'll post pics of cutting in the airfoil next when I get that far.
See ya in the spring,
Andy "Dr. Kamakaze" Runte
RCCA #876
AMA #273119
20170215_122821.jpg
20170215_122821.jpg (5.62 MiB) Viewed 13196 times
Andy "Dr. Kamakaze" Runte
-TEAM KAMAKAZE-
RCCA #876, North Central District Rep
AMA #273119
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mlapacz
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Re: Cutting wings

Post by mlapacz »

Thanks for the tutorial Andy.
I'll see you at Bob's event in May.
Mike
Mike LaPacz
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Green Bay, WI
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Dr. Kamakaze
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Re: Cutting wings

Post by Dr. Kamakaze »

Here is a pic of the 3 different sticks I use so my wing blank measurements are always the same. Also, as a safety note I ALWAYS wear goggles to protect my eyes and don't have anyone else in the basement while I use the hotwire bow. The bows are under extreme tension and the red tips fly off like a bullet if the wire breaks...ask me how I know!
20170216_082519.jpg
20170216_082519.jpg (5.78 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
Here is a pic of the feathercut and work surface. I mark the position to put the wing panels with painter's tape depending if I'm cutting the left or right panel. I sharpen the tips of pop rivets to pin on the wing templates.
20170216_082703.jpg
20170216_082703.jpg (6.65 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
Next is a pic of a wing panel ready to be cut. Note the red wires go from the bow to the swing arm with a 1# weight on the right side and just works off gravity
20170216_083438.jpg
20170216_083438.jpg (6.4 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
Here is the cut of the bottom of the wing done first. Note the weights on the bow are slid forward so the bow sinks and follows the template. I made the templates out of scrap formica from menards, it has to be smooth!
20170216_083603.jpg
20170216_083603.jpg (6.15 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
Front view of the feathercut showing the swing arm pulling the wires and hot bow through the foam
20170216_083626.jpg
20170216_083626.jpg (7.21 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
Next cutting the top of the wing, note the weights on the bow are slid backwards to allow the bow to travel up the airfoil easier. The holes for the pop rivet pins are drilled in the same places in both the bottom and top airfoil templates so alignment is easy
20170216_084126.jpg
20170216_084126.jpg (5.38 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
Pic of the finished wing removed from the wing chucks. The scores in the sheet of foam Bob mentioned in a previous post do not go deep enough to affect my wing
20170216_084630.jpg
20170216_084630.jpg (5.03 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
I put a different template at the tip and root that has a 1/8" hole drilled in the front so the hot wire bow can carve that out freehand for the leading edge spar...Bob Loesher gave me the tip how to do this part
20170216_090212.jpg
20170216_090212.jpg (5.21 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
Here's the finished leading edge groove
20170216_090652.jpg
20170216_090652.jpg (3.46 MiB) Viewed 13184 times
Now i need to finish cutting in all the airfoils and then use a router attachment for my dremel and cut the spar groves in with a straight edge. It may not be the fanciest way to cut wings but it's simple and anyone can do it. Not a bad way to get 9 wings out of a $29 sheet of foam.
Andy "Dr. Kamakaze" Runte
AMA #273119
RCCA#876
Andy "Dr. Kamakaze" Runte
-TEAM KAMAKAZE-
RCCA #876, North Central District Rep
AMA #273119
John flyer
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Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2017 7:14 pm

Re: Cutting wings

Post by John flyer »

Very interesting Andy. I never had a reason to cut foam wings before. I just may have to start one day.
Thanks
John York
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