Can anyone help me build a Foamie

[Heliman92]

Can someone tell me everything i would need to make my own foamie and everywhere i can get this stuff and roughly how much it would cost to build an INEXSPENSIVE plane. I don't want it to be small something with at least a 30 inch wingspan. I want it to be a 4 -channel plane because i have FUtaba Shypost 4 Radio that i would use in it:cheers.Maybe the steps it would take to build it. Do i need a gyro? I think you can fly them with out them right. I want something that i could fly in some slight wind

[Rick Rotorhead]

Nope! - If you have to be told EVERYTHING then you don't know enough to make the answere mean anything - really. And whats a 'Shypost 4' radio???? Do you mean Skysport 4........

What if I said to you 'Just tell me everything I need to know to buy,build, and operate a model helicopter' You'd rightfully laugh out loud.

Do yourself a favour and do some research for foamies on model shop web pages - you'll get all the back ground you need on motor sizes and batts and radio requirements. This is a hobby and as such ya gotta do some legwork to get into it - if you just want to be 'given' a working plane without worrying about what all the tech jargon means, then buy a ready to fly 'model' from Walmart or off e-bay. Once you got an idea about the motor sizes and costs, and batt sizes and costs, and see a range of suitable foamie kits or ready builds then you'll get a feel for the size and cost of plane you need to carry your radio.
THEN, come back with some proper questions and I'm sure folks will be able to give you specific answeres.

BTW FYI, I am also researching a 30 inch profile 3D foamie right now and what I can tell you is the kits are like 30 bucks (£30UKP to me :( ) the motors are small, around 20-40g, the batts are like 400-700 mAHr 2-3S and by the time I get 3 ultra tiny (3.5g) servos and a 2g Rx to control it I'll be looking at a cost around £140UKP and I'd expect the same stuff to cost you around $150USD - but then, maybe this is not the route you envisaged!

[Pinecone]

The easy way, get some foam, blue foam sheets from Lowes/Hoem Depot work fine. Cut out pieces that look like an airplane. Glue them together, add any small brushless motor, ESC, and some servos, go fly.

Or easier, buy a kit with einsturctions and recommendations for power systems. Hobby Lobby has some cheap Yaks wnad Esskay 400XT motors.

Kit: http://www.hobby-lobby.com/yak55.htm Watch for sales, these go on sale for like $15 - $20.

Motor: http://www.hobby-lobby.com/brushless-skatty.htm These go on sale for $15 also.

They do have a 20% any one item sale right now. Of course, you could place two orders. :) Actually last time they had this sale, I bought two aircraft from them, I called and they booked two sales, but gave me free shipping on the second order.

[Cromer]

Both rcgroups.com and flying giants.com have good foamie sections. You can get plans to download and print out and also read the threads on building and flying techniques.

Phil

[istandalone]

hobby lobby is a good one. hobbypeople.net has got some decent foamies too. seriously though, rick wasn't trying to be rude (or maybe he was lol) it's just that in this hobby you've got to be willing to do some legwork. you've got to know where to go for parts, upgrades ect or else when you wad it up, you won't know what to do. try google, i always find what i need through google.

[Rick Rotorhead]

Ha! No, I wasn't being rude - just pragmatic. You'd get the same answer if you wanted to get into, say, fishing. Just tell me everything I need to know to 'do' fishing - cos I've got a hook!
You'll see how the answer would mean nothing - you have to know a bit about what you want first - sea fishing or freshwater, angling, fly etc what fish are you trying for, can you caste? Do you want recommendations for the whole lot, including waders, tents, catch nets, bait boxes etc etc etc. So, if a soul can get as far as the depths of a Helifreak discussion forum, then presumably that soul could do a little preliminary research and have some idea of what they want help with........ That makes it easier for the 'old hands to give them a meaningful answer - see!

[Don1127]

Well Rick, That was inspirational. It's good to know that the old-hands are on the case to help the rest of us with some, uh.... rude sarcasm......

There are several suppliers where you can get ready to go foamies. My favorite is fancyfoam.com

They have some combo kits with great instructions and everything needed to fly. These are great for heli fields too.

Good luck

Don

[Pinecone]

a) he wanted to build his own, not buy a kit

b) he wanted to know everything, without any basis.

c) how would you treat the question if someone asked I want to know everything to build my own heli? Or tell me everything about becoming a rock star, or a pro football player, or any other goal that requires more than a short typed answer.

Totally open ended questions like this are not really answerable.

The other answer would be to go to RC Grouips, Wattflyer, or RC Universe and start reading. And when you have some specific questions, ask again.

It is sort of like the old joke, the tourist asks the person carrying an instrument case, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The musician answers, "Practice, lots of practice."

[Rick Rotorhead]

Thanks Pinecone - exactly so.
Don just didn't get it did he - he still thought i was being rude, despite me explaining in some detail as to why i was not being rude........ and in fact, as you said, he didn't in any case -answere the ops query - which you can't due to the point that we both made about open ended questions.

So Don, if I'd thought that the poster just wanted to be pointed at an on-line shop I'd have gladly given him some recommendations. Maybe if you'd like to provide heliman92 with full answers to all his questions in their full entireity, complete will every possible alternative option/vendors/prices etc I will kneel before your boundless wisdom (Ooops, there I go again!).

[Squirrlybird]

Can someone tell me everything i would need to make my own foamie and everywhere i can get this stuff and roughly how much it would cost to build an INEXSPENSIVE plane. I don't want it to be small something with at least a 30 inch wingspan. I want it to be a 4 -channel plane because i have FUtaba Shypost 4 Radio that i would use in it:cheers.Maybe the steps it would take to build it. Do i need a gyro? I think you can fly them with out them right. I want something that i could fly in some slight wind

WOW

Thats kind of a tall order, dont ya think? Throw us a bone here. Be more specific.:confused:

I can answer one of your questions: No, you do not need a gyro for an airplane. The guys that fly the turbine jets will usually use a gyro on their nose gear to assist with their long, fast take off roll, but other than that, no gyro needed.

As mentioned above, several guys have made some nice aircraft out of the blue foam that you can get at Lowes or Home Depot. I met a guy in my area who made an airplane this way and used it for an aerial photography business a few years back.

As for the rest of your post, you should try to research the subject in a more airplane friendly forum. Try www.rcgroups.com (http://www.rcgroups.com) or www.rcuniverse.com (http://www.rcuniverse.com)