Plane Construction

After flying the ARF plane the team began prototyping. Many hours were put into the construction of our first prototype and competition plane. The propulsion hardware was selected and the rest of the plane was constructed to be compatible. The team divided into three basic subgroups for aircraft construction: fuselage, wings, and tail.



The first prototype "Plane 42" took a turn for the worst during flight testing. With stability problems reduced a new plane was constructed.



One step in the fuselage process holding the birch cross sections in place while basswood strips were inserted. The birch panels were cut from a CAD model using a laser cutter. Later the basswood strips were covered with a sheet of thin birch to form a strong and aerodynamic shell.



Foam was cut using a hot wire cutter and laser cut forms to create sections of the tail and other structural molds. After the molds were cut, they were attached to basswood spar members and the entire surface was epoxied to add strength to the lightweight foam.




With a complete competition plane the Design Build Fly team set out for flight testing.