A Basic Balsa Build -- 6-Channel High-Wing Park Flier

[@loganreuter6072]

Good to see you back!!! Cannot wait too see the maiden of the beautiful airplane!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Glad to be back!

[@KipH57]

Obviously school is going well. As always, thanks for teaching us something and great video.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Indeed! I have nearly finished all high school requirements, and, taking in stride my 12 Ivy League rejections, am on my way to RPI: my 'safety' school, but a very good school nonetheless which I will be pleased to attend. And thank you for watching and so kindly commenting! :)

[@goldenfish77]

Very nice plane! I admire you for being able to make the many little parts and glue them together. Great work!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thank you! I admire you work just the same; your builds have been wonderful recently!

[@goldenfish77]

@@AeroCraftAviation I am waiting for maiden flights for Your new park flier. Can You fly in higher winds with this model?

[@AeroCraftAviation]

@@goldenfish77 Yes, I can. During the maiden flight, there were winds with steady speed of 10 km/h, and gusts up to 20 km/h.

[@Hakinank]

Besides the plane is so awesome, great explanation of incidence topic with excellent illustrations. It was so beneficial for me, thanks a lot.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I am glad the little explanation was helpful. I was worried that the talking was too fast.

[@Gordon-Scott]

It is so easy nowadays to get instant gratification out of a box. Bravo young man, bravo!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Perhaps so, but to buy an RTF aircraft at this size would cost at least three times as much as it cost to build this; and money is too tight for that to be an option. I have learned the interchangeability of time as money and money as time. Besides, as I go into the professional engineering field, I know that such practical building experience will be a rarity among my generation, and will thus give me an undeniable advantage over my competition. So I am happy to devote my time to learning to design and construct. Thank you for your kind words. :)

[@somethingelse2740]

Well done sir! I've always had an affinity for that red covering and how it allows you to see all the lovely work that went into making a wing. Looks great in flight with the sunlight coming through it also.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thank you! It really is my favorite covering material. Little pricey but worth it. It was a beautiful flight indeed.

[@GrandadsOtherChannel]

Great to see you working on another build 😊👍 Looks fascinating.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

And boy am I glad to be working again! Thanks!

[@ontologicalpotato]

Thank you for the great videos as always!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

And thank you for watching, as always!

[@m.s.aviation7065]

Very cool video! I love the production quality and detail of the build. Thanks for sharing and cant wait for the maiden flight video! Also something tells me that you would like to fly control line planes...

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thanks! Yes I do really tend to fly in circles around myself. Haha. Control line has been on the list for a good while now.

[@kenkingsflyingmachines2382]

Pointless mathmatical shenannigans, VERY strong pushrods, and copious fiberglass reinforcement are ingredients for success. I always enjoy your videos.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Hahaha very true. I do especially enjoy mathematical shenannigans. Michael Penn's videos are particular favorites of mine in that regard. As always, I am truly glad you enjoyed. :)

[@luke_atthat]

Great buidl!

[@petercane6376]

You are a very clever young man!!! I have watched most of your videos and learnt so much. I am 70 now and made model planes since 10!!!! I want to make a dlg as per your videos but have problems trying to obtain an iron on covering. Here in Australia I can only get Ultracote made by Hangar 9 in Germany. Is that too heavy? Pete

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thank you for your kind words! I am glad you enjoy my videos. Ultracote will be heavier than what I use -- for a 1-meter model adding upwards of 30 grams extra -- but if you choose the proper airfoil for the higher weight and use an efficient high-aspect ratio planform, you should still get good performance.

[@petercane6376]

@@AeroCraftAviation Thank you. What worries me a bit is that at 70 and a spine already bolted together due to a near fatal car smash, is that doing a full ticket discus launch I will do my back in!!! So I am going to make a mini hi start. I would very much like you to make a hi start and see what you make of it? In that case I may get away with tissue and dope covering?

[@AeroCraftAviation]

@@petercane6376 Sorry I did not see this reply for a while. But yes, a hi-start glider can safely be built with a framed wing and tissue+dope covering. Strength will be sufficient, and also with that method you can get a very precise airfoil with the rib shape. I think somewhere on my channel I did a little bungee launched glider (it was supposed to be a hi-start but functioned more like a bungee). That was tissue covering with acrylic fixative covering. Worked great.

[@ModelAviationStation]

What do you use to cut the balsa wood? knife, hand saw, electric saw etc

[@AeroCraftAviation]

An X-acto knife works for most balsa (thinner than 1/4"). A small handheld razor saw is good for balsa that's dense/heavy, or thicker than 1/4". For complex geometry, use a coping saw. Also, I have a little tabletop bandsaw, but actually almost never need it for cutting balsa. Handtools usually work best.

[@ModelAviationStation]

@@AeroCraftAviation great thank you I really appreciate it and love your work, are you studying to be a aerospace engineer?

[@AeroCraftAviation]

@@ModelAviationStation I am. I'm at RPI studying aeronautical engineering. After, I will continue into graduate work. Thanks for your kind words. I'm sorry I don't post videos anymore. My studies take up so much of my time. When I have free time it is mostly spent playing music and spending time with friends. If you want to listen to some of my music you can here: soundcloud.com/elihu-333413621

[@ModelAviationStation]

@@AeroCraftAviation I understand thank you for the advice about balsa cutting techniques and the link to the music best of luck with school and your future plans.

[@PS-nf3xw]

Bottom and top fuse could have been laid cross grain.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Good point. I have done that once before. It is such a hassle because the part must be cut in many small sections. For this case, it would've been 7 sections (because I only have 4 inch wide balsa sheets). It would have been a bit stronger but it was worth it for the convenience.

[@PS-nf3xw]

Great description though

[@Dracsbest]

My patience could never draw 20 ribs and cut them all out😂

[@AeroCraftAviation]

It's quite a rewarding way to spend time once you get into the groove of building. Honestly, whenever I sit down to build I say to myself "I'll never have the patience to finish this." And then by the end of every day I say to myself "I'll never have the self-control to put down the tools and go to bed." Haha.

[@Dracsbest]

AeroCraft So true! I now just made an extension to my wire cutter and now it can cut foam board in half so I can make better no cals!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

@@Dracsbest Nice! I have recently built myself a 22” hotwire cutter, so I’ve been starting to do some vacuum-bagged foam core wings. But it is hard to do and I still mostly fail. Haha.

[@Dracsbest]

AeroCraft one thing that I noticed was you mentioned that gliders have some positive incidence on the tail surface and I really thought that was interesting like wouldn’t the glider just nose down when speed picks up?