RE: Looking for a cad guy for hire
Stealth, I might be able to help you out and even provide an assembled 3D representation in a standard file using Solidworks. What exactly is it that you need to be done? Check out my "Rollin' my own 50CC Yak" if need some example of my work (hint it gets better throughout the thread). I've scratch designed/had laser cut/built a few designs. PM me if you still need some help. J
Posted on: 6/29/2009 11:15 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8890622

RE: Edge 540 in 33% scale
I believe I mocked up a DA100 in solidworks a while back. I'll hunt around for it later. May take me a while since I am on vacation for a week starting tomorrow. Joefroooo, you interested in helping a brother out making a 100CC cowl mold for a Yak 55 I designed recently? J
Posted on: 3/19/2009 3:35 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8594686

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
I haven't used ACad since the 2007 version I believe so I don't have any experience with its lofting capabilities (2007 had rudimentary lofting built in). But, if you can get your hands on a student copy of Solidworks, I would highly recommend going that route. Totally worth learning it but I know a lot of ACad pros who simply give up because it is so different from SW. Patience with it will pay off in productivity gains down the road. Brent, you've been a building/designing animal. I haven't done much of anything as I am too tired by the end of the day to do anything but plunk myself in front of the tube. Gotta get back into the swing of things and get the cutsheets for the 100cc Yak 55 made! I concur with your statement that people should try a hand at designing themselves...often the road travelled is more fun than the destination. Cheers, J
Posted on: 2/24/2009 9:02 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8512415

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
Yep, still out there... But, been so drained from work, working on designs isn't in the cards these days. I actually have my 100CC Yak55 ready but need to create the cut sheets which is mind numbingly time consuming. Prob get that done over the holidays and start the build in January. Cheers, J
Posted on: 12/11/2008 9:54 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8234903

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
Under no circumstance should even attempt to scale up the eYak. It would break apart into a million pieces with a DL50! The airframe gets stressed a lot more at that larger scale and it was definitely not designed to withstand those types of stresses. I am jealous of you having a cnc router. One day, when I move out of my apartment and have more space, I will get one! HappyFly, I too use compufoil to create my wingtip and root airfoils. I then save them into a .dxf/.dwg and import into solidworks. From there I loft the wing and create the rest of the ribs using the intersection command on xyz planes that I setup. If you just use NACA airfoils then there are some java based generators I have seen online that will allow you to copy and paste the xy coordinates into a cad program for free. Cheers,
Posted on: 12/11/2008 8:20 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8234686

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
[quote] Nice work Sid!! What is your process for creating ribs/formers, one by one, slice and dice?? [/quote] NM, I create the solid model first. Then I shell it into 'skins'. I then create planes where I need the ribs or formers and use the "intersection curve" command in solidworks to create the drawing. Cheers, J
Posted on: 10/18/2008 12:07 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8060502

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
Hi everyone, I've lost touch with this thread due to crazy work hours. Decided to check it out and lo and behold there is still activity! I am still not ready to release the 50cc Yak plans. In fact, I'll probably create a new version before then. I've definitely learned alot about design with each one! The Extra 260 is in the same category. Will probably update that when I get around to it. I spent most of the winter recreating Air Wild's 50cc Edge 540 and then building one. It met an early demise when I tried doing a parachute earlier this summer when the motorbox seperated from the rest of the airplane. I had a couple extra kits cut and I now know a bit of reinforcement will be needed for the next one. Not sure why the failure occured as I replicated the motor box exactly as the original. This winter will be spent putting together a 100cc Yak [b]55[/b] I have just finished designing. Cheers, John
Posted on: 10/2/2008 10:33 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8013977

RE: DL 50 Carb on DA 50...It Works!
There is still a bit of a mid-range burble but not as noticeable as before. I don't have the DL carb number handy. The major difference, esthetically, is that the venturi is a bit smaller than the DA carb.
Posted on: 6/28/2008 10:17 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7670750

RE: DL 50 Carb on DA 50...It Works!
The two DAs that I have had been collecting dust in a box for over a year because I got so frustrated with them I bought a DL. I dorked the DL at the end of last flying season and hadn't sent it to DL USA for a check up so I was forced into trying the carb swap. There are so many guys at my field who had similar problems with the DA that they too swapped to DLs. It helps that we have a DL distributor flying at our club who gives us a great price on them! Anyhow, I am excited this appears to be working. I barely had to tweak the needle settings on the DL carb when I put it on the DA! Cheers, John
Posted on: 6/28/2008 1:04 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7669999

DL 50 Carb on DA 50...It Works!
Not sure if this has been posted before somewhere else. I figured I would let people who were wondering know that a DL 50 carb works great on a DA 50. My DA 50 has never run right...lots of deadsticks, even if I could get it started in the first place. As an experiment, I slapped on the DL 50 carb and lo and behold, the DA ran like a top. A 22x8 TBM prop turns at 7000 RPM with a slimline pitts muffler (about 500ft above sea level, 90% humidity, 90F). Cheers, John
Posted on: 6/28/2008 12:54 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7669978

RE: Laser cutter recommendation
CooseBay, He does do "a great job" and that takes into account wood, turn around time and general customer service. You are correct that they all typically have access to the same equipment but I haven't tried every laser cutter out there. I have tried CAM and he was really responsive and well priced. Maybe I am grumpy this morning but I took a bit of offense....he did ask for recommendations and nobody is forcing him to choose anything. Sharing feedback on vendors is an important part of RCU. I have tried three cutters in total and CAM was the best which is my subjective opinion. I am curious where the vendor list is? J
Posted on: 3/2/2008 10:27 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7164968

RE: Laser cutter recommendation
Try Charlotte Aircraft Modeling. Does a great job. http://www.charlotteaircraftmodeling.com/ J
Posted on: 3/1/2008 11:45 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7163603

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
To hide the extruded fuse, right click on it either in the history tree at the left of your screen and choose "hide" or just simply on the fuse itself and choose hide from the options that pop up. Some people create sheet metal parts for curved surfaces which can be "flattened" in solidworks. I profess to have not had the patience to figure this out. Instead, I export the surface or part I am interested in into an .iges file, to Rhino 3d and use that program's "flatten surface" command. Then I take the new surface and import it into autocad which is the program I use to create cutsheets. If the surface is flat but not on a parallel plane to "front" "side" "top" planes then I just export the part into its own file and convert the part's outlines into a drawing on the part's surface. Then I copy the outline and paste it onto the front plane. Then I hide the original part and what is left can be be saved into dxf or used in SW Drawing sheets. J
Posted on: 2/15/2008 2:44 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7080416

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
Create a plane where you want formers and create a new 2d sketch on the plane. Use "intersection curve" command and click around the fuse. It will draw lines where the fuse intersects the plane. Make sure you account for the thickness of the sheeting! J
Posted on: 2/15/2008 11:59 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7079516

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
Mark, I ordered the wood to be laser cut and the guy went out of business and then I ended up getting side tracked on reverse engineering the Airwild Edge 540 which I am now in the process of covering. I did get the stickwork on the 260 done in advance of the wood but nothing since then. I'll dig through my files and shoot you an email with the plans if you want to be the guinea pig! Ace, I mentioned before about doing the fuse twice. Another reason for it is that I usually only loft one side of the fuse and then mirror it in the first iteration but that usually leaves a visual seam down the middle. So after starting on it for the second time, I use splines to trace over the intersect curves and this give a seamless fuse finish when it is lofted (i.e. I trace the whole intersect and not just one side.) Highfly, Besides designing the P-47 which will take me a long time (because it will likely be fairly complicated) and finishing off my Edge 540, there really isn't anything in the hopper at the moment. Johan, You are on the right path. You need a profile on each end of the loft and guidlines intersecting them.
Posted on: 2/2/2008 4:20 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7013421

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
Lookin' good Gleb, My best lofting tip is this: I usually loft the same fuse at least twice before I am happy. I'll explain. Essentially, the first draft is fairly rough and once I get it "pretty close" I export the part to a new file. From the new file I use planes along the fuse and use the intersection curve command to create profiles on each plane and turn the lines into construction lines this essentially gives you a wireframe. I also add some horizontal planes and do the same thing so I can see where flaws in the overall outline of the fuse exist. From there I create new drawings on each plane using splines to smooth things out and adjust each sketch so that the vertical and horizontal drawings all intersect. Then I reloft the fuse all at once using these new sketches. Normally I try and avoid lofting the canopy until later if I can avoid it This is a P-47 I am working on. Since this picture, I have done a lot of tweaking, especially on the wingtips (elliptical wingtips are harder than you think to loft), but it gives you an idea as to how smoothly the fuse flows from front to back. This took a lot of time to get to this point. At least 35 to 40 hrs I think. However, every time I do a design, I get more efficient. For the canopy I discovered how to use the "boundary surface" command for the first time. Learn it...you will wonder how you lived without it!
Posted on: 1/29/2008 9:56 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6993414

RE: Warbird Airfoil Suggestions?
Thanks for all the comments! It will definitely help when I decide how to tackle the wing next week (away for holidays until Monday). Craig, I have drawn the airplane exactly to scale which, in this case, is 88.75" or 1:5.5 scale. Given the top-flite behemoth specs, this seems like a good size for a 50CC DA or DL of which I have a few lying around looking for a home. I could scale it up to 1:4 size which might happen after proving things on the 50CC version first. I am shooting for under 20lbs which I think is attainable with modern construction techniques but it remains to be seen. I think I will go with a thicker airfoil as stability is my main priority. I can also design a second, thinner wing if I want to punch holes in the sky. I will probably borrow from other wing designs for the retract rails. Basically one uniform spar with all balsa ribs. Except, two ribs made from ply in between which I will place two short strut rails. If you have a better idea, let me know! Cheers, John
Posted on: 1/3/2008 4:25 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Aerodynamics"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6848508

RE: Warbird Airfoil Suggestions?
Judging by the 3view wing cross sections I am working with, there appears to be washout in the full-scale wing. I knew that I wanted to build some in but never really thought about a more blunt (relative to the root) leading edge which is a neat idea. Thanks for the suggestions! Once these plans are done, I'll make them available to you guys if you are interested. I am shooting to make the wing loading as light as possible and everything interlocking. Most warbirds have been designed old-school style (on paper). With 3D CAD, you can make things much lighter and easier to build. You can see some of my work evolving on a thread in the scratch build forum under "rollin' my own 50cc Yak". I started with Autocad and graduated to Solidworks. I've applied what I learned into designing a Yak 54, Extra 260, Edge 540 and Pitts M14. I am working on the P47 and a Spitfire MKII currently. I might have to get Shinden to make up some custom retracts for the Thunderbolt...... Cheers, John
Posted on: 1/2/2008 10:43 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Aerodynamics"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6845063

RE: Warbird Airfoil Suggestions?
Thanks for the info (from a fellow hoser just down the QEW no less!), I have read the airfoil is a Kartveli design, whatever that means: "...the P-47 uses a wing-airfoil that is "flipped over" in shape (Kartveli-designed airfoil). The Kartveli-designed airfoil doesn't induce as much drag as a regular shape airfoil, but not as much lift either, which means an increased max speed but also a decreased climb rate." I am happy to try NACA because that is what I am used to on my aerobatic designs. Cheers, J
Posted on: 1/1/2008 10:27 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Aerodynamics"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6839563

Warbird Airfoil Suggestions?
Hi all, I am currently designing an 88.75" wingspan (about 1/5.5 scale) P-47D-25 in solidworks and have finished modeling the fuse and cowl and canopy. Now I am looking at designing the wings. From the 3views I traced a couple airfoil cross sections and lofted a wing but the model would likely be fairly unstable using the full scale's airfoil. So what do you guys suggest I use instead? Should I go for symmetrical on the elevator/vertical stab? Thanks! John
Posted on: 1/1/2008 9:37 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Aerodynamics"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6839236

RE: Solidworks Help
I knew it would [:D] I had to teach myself SW before using to design aircraft and I know what a PITA it can be but, once you figure it out, it is great! I just happen to be working on a Spitfire Mk II at the moment. Fuse is coming along nicely...
Posted on: 12/23/2007 10:59 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6797102

RE: Solidworks Help
First, create a new sketch on the plane you want to insert the picture. Second, choose: Tools, Sketch Tools, Sketch Picture Third, browse to the directory you have stored the picture and select it Fourth, resize the picture by dragging the corners to get it to the scale you need. GL J
Posted on: 12/23/2007 9:56 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6796852

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
Well, I first create, as you say, a workplane where I want the former to be. Then I use the intersection curve command and then select the surface I want to intersect (in this case I assume it to be the inner part of the skin you just created). This will then draw lines onto the plane wherever it intersects that surface. JS
Posted on: 10/29/2007 12:13 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6553668

RE: Rollin' my own 50CC Yak 54
I can't speak to how inventor accomplishes that task but I can talk about SW. Basically it sounds like you want to create a 3mm skin. If so then: 1. I click on the outer surface of the loft and create an "offset surface" with an offset of zero. 2. I then click on the newly created surface and then select "thicken surface" and choose my thickness (in this case 3mm) and then the direction. That takes care of it! Good luck, J
Posted on: 10/28/2007 1:24 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6549623

RE: 50cc Edge 540 Scratch Build
Really not my call but if there is enough interest, then perhaps Airwild would agree to it? JS
Posted on: 10/24/2007 3:15 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - 3D & Aerobatic"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6533096

RE: 50cc Edge 540 Scratch Build
Anyhoo, back to the build. HOrizontal stab. Glued HSSB and HSSA together to form sheeting and pin down on the trailing edge over the plans. Before pinning it down, laid some tape down over the plans where shown. Then laid HSGB across and glued in place. Then inserted ribs and glued to HSGB, but did not glue onto the sheeting, HS2 through HS7 making sure to glue the ply doublers onto H4 through H7 beforehand. Took HSLEB and glued it across the leading edge to each rib. Took HSTEC and inserted it onto the notches on the ribs at the trailing edge. Then I folded up the sheeting and glued in place to the ribs using epoxy and med ca to tack in place. Insert the elevator phenolic tube and glue in place. Then the second set of sheeting is made and glued to the other side. Glue HSLEA onto HSLEB and the sand the leading edge rounded to HS2 and HS7 Glue HSTEB to HSTEC and HSTEA to HSTEB and bevel using a sanding bar Repeat the process for the other horizontal stab. Finally glue 1/8" ply HS8 to HS7 on each stab. Make sure you glue them so you have a right and a left! And...done.
Posted on: 10/23/2007 8:31 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - 3D & Aerobatic"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6530056

RE: 50cc Edge 540 Scratch Build
Hey all, I was contacted by Airwild today who expressed some concern about kitting this. I totally respect that and recommended to Greg at C.A.M. (who agreed) that he not market this kit. I'll continue the thread to end for those interested. Like I said before, this was a bit of a gray area to begin with even if I wasn't being compensated at all. In the meantime, I'll get busy designing another Edge for Greg! Cheers! J
Posted on: 10/23/2007 7:59 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - 3D & Aerobatic"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6529885

RE: 50cc Edge 540 Scratch Build
Ok, so glue together ES1, ES2 and ES3. Put some tape down on the sheeting underside as shown (sticky part facing up in the pic) and then pin it down onto the plans. Only pin the trailing edge in spite of what the pictures show. Next lay down EGB as shown against the the sheeting and the tape. The tape will hold it in place temporarily. Don't glue it down just yet. Start gluing E2, E4, E5, E6, E7 and E9 flush against the sheeting and EGB but only glue them to the sheeting aft of EGB. EGB will be tilted inward ever so slightly. Glue E3 in place on top of E2 and against the fwd face of EGB. There should be a 1/16" crown left around to accommodate the sheeting. Glue the sheeting into the crown and glue EGB to the sheeting where they make contact. Use a bead of glue along the inside of EGB to secure it to the sheeting along the entire length. Remember, it will be angled inward a tad. I made another gaffe and cut EB on 1/8" sheeting instead of 1/16". No biggie, I just chopped of 1/16" off of E8 to accommodate it and then glued it in along with E9 making sure they fit together. Glue EA on top of E9 and E10 on top of E9 as shown on the plans. Glue another ES1/2/3 combo together and install this sheeting on the other side. Glue ELB to EGB and ELA to ELB. Also glue EL2 to EL1 and then glue this to the leading edge of the counter balance and flush with the edge of the sheeting. Sand the counter balance to a round finish using E1 and E4 as guides. Sand the other leading edge (EGB, ELA, ELB) to a V. Voila, one elevator which is shown pre sanded in the last post along with H stab which we will tackle next. (Also missing is EA and E9 because I forgot to cut EA...they aren't actually necessary fortunately.)
Posted on: 10/23/2007 11:51 AM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - 3D & Aerobatic"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6525377

RE: 50cc Edge 540 Scratch Build
Up next are the horizontal stabs and elevators
Posted on: 10/21/2007 11:43 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - 3D & Aerobatic"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6521550

RE: 50cc Edge 540 Scratch Build
Ok, so I didn't get a lot of pics of the hatch process but it is really simple. Tape the hatch floor back to the fuse if you removed it already. Glue CF1 and CF2 to the canopy floor as shown. Glue FTDA, FTDB, FTDC together. The sheets are purposely cut crooked on one side so you can align them perfectly with eachother. During assembly, it became clear that FTDA,B,C which were glued together to make the hatch sheeting was about 1/8" too wide so I took off 1/16" on each side for a better fit. Run a bead of glue along one side of the canopy floor between CF1 and CF2B1/B2/A and tape the sheeting down along that side. Run a bead of glue on the other side of the floor and on each one of CF1 and CF2B1/B2/A (CF2B1/B2/A is made by gluing CF2B1 and CF2B2 together and then laminate this with the crossgrained CF2A) and fold the sheeting over to the other side. Tape this side down too. You may want to wet the sheeting a bit for easy bending but I didn't have a problem without that step. I made another gaffe and forgot to make a crossgrain second piece for CF3B1 and CF3B2. No biggie, I just used CF3B1/B2 as a template and cut another crossgrain piece. Fit CF3B1/B2/A onto the canopy floor and line it up with the trailing edge of the hatch sheeting. Glue the sides of the sheeting to the floor and the former in place and tape down. Fit CF2 at the aft part of the canopy floor into the notches and line it up with RTD1. Another gaffe! I had to take about 1/8" from the outer part of CF2 to make it a bit more flush with RTD1. Finally, I glued some 1/16" cap stripping as shown on the underside to add some support to the structure. I glued one set down and then another right on top. I used Med CA for this. The final result is a super strong but super light hatch!
Posted on: 10/21/2007 11:40 PM by Author "SydDythers" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - 3D & Aerobatic"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6521539