Why EPP Airplanes? Why Fly Electric?
I think this video says it all !!!
I think this video says it all !!!
It’s hard to stay excited about RC if you have to fix your plane every time you fly. I build EPP planes and wings because they are safer, last longer and can take more abuse that other kind of plane! They are simple. They are durable. They can be built and repaired in a fraction of the time of other planes. We fly combat and limb and intentionally crash our EPP planes and they keep on flying when other planes would destroyed.
All of the planes you buy from Crashtesthobby are cut from EPP foam. EPP Foam is so durable it has changed the future of radio control! We build our planes’ cores and elevons from 100% Expanded Polypropylene (EPP).
EPP foam is incredibly tough. When bent, it doesn’t break. When crushed, it heals itself and pops back out. When EPP is torn, the two halves match up perfectly and can be re-glued with an almost invisible repair. EPP is so tough it is used in car bumpers! We choose EPP for a reason–all other foams crush and dent. Many manufacturers will promote their Expanded Polyolefin (EPO) or Expanded Polysterene (EPS or “Styrofoam”) planes as being durable. Don’t be fooled, they crush like a foam cup and don’t ever return to the original shape. Why do other manufacturers use these foams if they crush and dent? Because they can be mass produced at a very low cost. Our EPP wings and elevons are cut out of 100% EPP foam, one at a time.
The elevons in our kits are cut from a heavier grade of EPP foam. When you pull them out of the box they very flexible. You’ll be surprised, however, how stiff they become after two layers of laminate and after they are hinged onto the wing. EPP foam elevons have several advantages: they flex with the plane which makes the hinges last longer. They are not brittle like wood so they hold up better in combat and day to day wear and tear. Since they are the same material as the wing they look better.
I had a friend who built planes out of balsa with nose-mounted motors. He told me that he didn’t think there was that much difference in the durability of the EPP versus what he was flying, so I flew some vertical aerobatics with my EPP foam flying wing, and finished with an intentional dive into a brick wall at half throttle. I turned to him and said, “Your turn!” Of course he didn’t do it. He knew that his plane couldn’t hit a wall and survive. I picked my plane up and flew it again without any adjustment or repair.
I’ve heard of balsa but can’t remember what it is. Just joking! You’re asking the wrong guy if you want an impartial opinion. I have cut thousands of foam planes. I have also owned dozens of traditional balsa planes that have flown well, but they need gentle handling and much more maintenance and repair. If you want to fly a lot but don't have a lot of money to spend, you will get more air hours per dollar with our planes than any other planes out there.
I can build a foam plane faster than I can build a balsa kit. I can repair a major break in seconds, rather than hours. I taught my own sons on EPP foam wings. I like to build new planes, but hate to repair old planes. EPP is so tough, it’s a lazy man’s way to keep flying. I must admit that some of the balsa build up kits look real good, but if looks are what you want, you can detail the foam almost as well as the balsa. The airfoil and consistent shape of a wing is more accurate with foam than a balsa build up with ribs.
Balsa has also become more expensive and heavier than it used to be. We have a lot of competition for materials, now that shipbuilders are using balsa in supertanker hulls and lifeboats. The world supply and quality of balsa has dropped.
Avoid the high maintenance planes. I used to build fiberglass planes that took hundreds of hours to build. They were fun for a while, but I burned out because of how much time it was taking to keep them flying. I hardly flew for most of 3 years because of burnout and frustration. I got my enthusiasm back when I went back to simpler planes. Even in our flying group we see many warbirds, giant scale planes, jets, and high speed performance planes, but the planes that last the longest and get the most amount of flying time are the simple planes.
How to build a strong plane.
We use other building techniques that make our planes even stronger.
We use Extreme Tape has a tear strength of 150 lbs per inch, which adds incredible strength for its weight. When used in moderation the plane is still light but incredibly tough. The Extreme Tape has a weakness. It dries and yellows in UV light in just a few weeks. The laminate we include in the kits has UV protection that is so good that the tape will not discolor or come loose on combat planes for several years. Extreme Tape and laminate have their weaknesses alone, but together they are super strong.
We include a shock cord in the kits that wraps around the entire perimeter of the plane. It keeps the flying wings from tearing off tips or splitting between the elevons in a forward impact. It is a small thing that makes a big difference in how long your plane will last.
It is faster, stronger and easier to build and cover your plane then add the electornics than to build around the electronics. By taping and laminating before adding the electronics, you don’t have to work around all of the electronics that have already been installed.
The plane is much stronger if there are no empty spaces in the wing to collapse on impact. We make individual, tight fitting holes for battery and radio components after the tape and laminate are on the wing. Wires can be run in a shallow razor blade slit, and a clear piece of packing tape over the top will keep the wires in place but still give easy access for field repairs. Many builders even add LED lights after the tape and laminate are in place. Using our building method, all of the electronics are accessible for quick field repairs that will keep you in the air when everyone else is headed home to do repairs.
Gas vs Electric
I still own both gas and electric planes, but I haven’t flown the gas planes for years. There are several reasons I prefer electrics:
#1 Gas planes are noisy. The shrinking open spaces in our community is taking away our flying sites. I can fly my electric plane indoors, in front of my house, or in a small park, and people hardly know I am there. I have times I can’t hear my electric plane over the regular city sounds. Gas flyers are not welcome in very many places anymore, because the engine noise and fuel on the grass are such a disturbance.
#2 My wife didn’t like the gas planes because of the smell in the house and the spots on the carpet from fuel dripping as I would carry the planes in. I didn’t like greasy planes and the constant clean up, either.
#3 I hated trying to start gas planes and get them to idle in the winter. My hands would freeze when I got alcohol-based fuel on my cold hands. It almost ruins winter flying for me.
#4 I didn’t like dead stick landings which rarely happens with electrics.
#5 Electric planes are smaller and safer. Our flying wings have soft foam in the front, and the motor in the back, making them even safer. Lighter planes are far more aerobatic and are easier to keep close as they come in for a landing at a slower speed. Many don’t need a runway at all. Gas planes are noisier, heavier and most require a runway. One RC flyer in Orem was flying a gas plane at a local park and lost control. The plane went into a residential neighborhood and crashed in the backyard of a house, going clear through a metal slide. (They were lucky no child was on the slide.) If you watch the videos on our site, you will see I catch the electric flying wings I fly now. I’d never do that with a glow plane.
#6 Airplane fuel will kill grass. A fuel spill will leave a dead spot, making the land owner angry. It is posted at one local park that no RC planes (or helicopters) are to be on the grass for this reason.
#7 Electric plane technology has come a long way in the past few years. The new lipo batteries and outrunner motors have made small and midsized gas planes a thing of the past. Power-to-weight ratios on the electric planes are much better than the comparable gas planes. Most of my electric planes have great vertical performance.
Flat Foam vs an Airfoil
There are many foam planes that have a flat wing, without an airfoil They are easy to build and are usually a little less money. They can be cut with a razor blade on a kitchen table so any one can design and build a plane. There are huge followings of some of these designs but there are reasons that plane designers prefer airfoils. Planes with airfoils can carry more weight and are more stable and predictable.
I have designed several flat foam designs including the Snowball and Capricorn. If a flat foam plane gets heavy, it doesn’t fly well. They generate lift from forward motion with the wing at a positive angle of attack not from lift from an airfoil. They don’t turn and fly like a normal plane. Because they are light they don’t handle even light wind well. There is a lot of talk about the KF airfoils. They are built with layers of flat foam modified airfoil and do improve flat form performance but they cannot match the performance of a true airfoil.
Flat foam planes have their place. There are some incredible stunt flyers using flat foam planes. Some of their planes only weigh 4 oz for a 36" plane. Most of their stunts are unique to flat foam planes, and are erratic. Speed variations are a problem when you don’t have any drag and lift. Different angles of attack and dives may have instant acceleration. This is not normal flying.
Many people fly flat foam planes because they are cheap, not because they really like flat foam performance. The high performance flat foam planes cost as much if not more than the planes with an airfoil.
Lee
All of the planes you buy from Crashtesthobby are cut from EPP foam. EPP Foam is so durable it has changed the future of radio control! We build our planes’ cores and elevons from 100% Expanded Polypropylene (EPP).
EPP foam is incredibly tough. When bent, it doesn’t break. When crushed, it heals itself and pops back out. When EPP is torn, the two halves match up perfectly and can be re-glued with an almost invisible repair. EPP is so tough it is used in car bumpers! We choose EPP for a reason–all other foams crush and dent. Many manufacturers will promote their Expanded Polyolefin (EPO) or Expanded Polysterene (EPS or “Styrofoam”) planes as being durable. Don’t be fooled, they crush like a foam cup and don’t ever return to the original shape. Why do other manufacturers use these foams if they crush and dent? Because they can be mass produced at a very low cost. Our EPP wings and elevons are cut out of 100% EPP foam, one at a time.
The elevons in our kits are cut from a heavier grade of EPP foam. When you pull them out of the box they very flexible. You’ll be surprised, however, how stiff they become after two layers of laminate and after they are hinged onto the wing. EPP foam elevons have several advantages: they flex with the plane which makes the hinges last longer. They are not brittle like wood so they hold up better in combat and day to day wear and tear. Since they are the same material as the wing they look better.
I had a friend who built planes out of balsa with nose-mounted motors. He told me that he didn’t think there was that much difference in the durability of the EPP versus what he was flying, so I flew some vertical aerobatics with my EPP foam flying wing, and finished with an intentional dive into a brick wall at half throttle. I turned to him and said, “Your turn!” Of course he didn’t do it. He knew that his plane couldn’t hit a wall and survive. I picked my plane up and flew it again without any adjustment or repair.
I’ve heard of balsa but can’t remember what it is. Just joking! You’re asking the wrong guy if you want an impartial opinion. I have cut thousands of foam planes. I have also owned dozens of traditional balsa planes that have flown well, but they need gentle handling and much more maintenance and repair. If you want to fly a lot but don't have a lot of money to spend, you will get more air hours per dollar with our planes than any other planes out there.
I can build a foam plane faster than I can build a balsa kit. I can repair a major break in seconds, rather than hours. I taught my own sons on EPP foam wings. I like to build new planes, but hate to repair old planes. EPP is so tough, it’s a lazy man’s way to keep flying. I must admit that some of the balsa build up kits look real good, but if looks are what you want, you can detail the foam almost as well as the balsa. The airfoil and consistent shape of a wing is more accurate with foam than a balsa build up with ribs.
Balsa has also become more expensive and heavier than it used to be. We have a lot of competition for materials, now that shipbuilders are using balsa in supertanker hulls and lifeboats. The world supply and quality of balsa has dropped.
Avoid the high maintenance planes. I used to build fiberglass planes that took hundreds of hours to build. They were fun for a while, but I burned out because of how much time it was taking to keep them flying. I hardly flew for most of 3 years because of burnout and frustration. I got my enthusiasm back when I went back to simpler planes. Even in our flying group we see many warbirds, giant scale planes, jets, and high speed performance planes, but the planes that last the longest and get the most amount of flying time are the simple planes.
How to build a strong plane.
We use other building techniques that make our planes even stronger.
We use Extreme Tape has a tear strength of 150 lbs per inch, which adds incredible strength for its weight. When used in moderation the plane is still light but incredibly tough. The Extreme Tape has a weakness. It dries and yellows in UV light in just a few weeks. The laminate we include in the kits has UV protection that is so good that the tape will not discolor or come loose on combat planes for several years. Extreme Tape and laminate have their weaknesses alone, but together they are super strong.
We include a shock cord in the kits that wraps around the entire perimeter of the plane. It keeps the flying wings from tearing off tips or splitting between the elevons in a forward impact. It is a small thing that makes a big difference in how long your plane will last.
It is faster, stronger and easier to build and cover your plane then add the electornics than to build around the electronics. By taping and laminating before adding the electronics, you don’t have to work around all of the electronics that have already been installed.
The plane is much stronger if there are no empty spaces in the wing to collapse on impact. We make individual, tight fitting holes for battery and radio components after the tape and laminate are on the wing. Wires can be run in a shallow razor blade slit, and a clear piece of packing tape over the top will keep the wires in place but still give easy access for field repairs. Many builders even add LED lights after the tape and laminate are in place. Using our building method, all of the electronics are accessible for quick field repairs that will keep you in the air when everyone else is headed home to do repairs.
Gas vs Electric
I still own both gas and electric planes, but I haven’t flown the gas planes for years. There are several reasons I prefer electrics:
#1 Gas planes are noisy. The shrinking open spaces in our community is taking away our flying sites. I can fly my electric plane indoors, in front of my house, or in a small park, and people hardly know I am there. I have times I can’t hear my electric plane over the regular city sounds. Gas flyers are not welcome in very many places anymore, because the engine noise and fuel on the grass are such a disturbance.
#2 My wife didn’t like the gas planes because of the smell in the house and the spots on the carpet from fuel dripping as I would carry the planes in. I didn’t like greasy planes and the constant clean up, either.
#3 I hated trying to start gas planes and get them to idle in the winter. My hands would freeze when I got alcohol-based fuel on my cold hands. It almost ruins winter flying for me.
#4 I didn’t like dead stick landings which rarely happens with electrics.
#5 Electric planes are smaller and safer. Our flying wings have soft foam in the front, and the motor in the back, making them even safer. Lighter planes are far more aerobatic and are easier to keep close as they come in for a landing at a slower speed. Many don’t need a runway at all. Gas planes are noisier, heavier and most require a runway. One RC flyer in Orem was flying a gas plane at a local park and lost control. The plane went into a residential neighborhood and crashed in the backyard of a house, going clear through a metal slide. (They were lucky no child was on the slide.) If you watch the videos on our site, you will see I catch the electric flying wings I fly now. I’d never do that with a glow plane.
#6 Airplane fuel will kill grass. A fuel spill will leave a dead spot, making the land owner angry. It is posted at one local park that no RC planes (or helicopters) are to be on the grass for this reason.
#7 Electric plane technology has come a long way in the past few years. The new lipo batteries and outrunner motors have made small and midsized gas planes a thing of the past. Power-to-weight ratios on the electric planes are much better than the comparable gas planes. Most of my electric planes have great vertical performance.
Flat Foam vs an Airfoil
There are many foam planes that have a flat wing, without an airfoil They are easy to build and are usually a little less money. They can be cut with a razor blade on a kitchen table so any one can design and build a plane. There are huge followings of some of these designs but there are reasons that plane designers prefer airfoils. Planes with airfoils can carry more weight and are more stable and predictable.
I have designed several flat foam designs including the Snowball and Capricorn. If a flat foam plane gets heavy, it doesn’t fly well. They generate lift from forward motion with the wing at a positive angle of attack not from lift from an airfoil. They don’t turn and fly like a normal plane. Because they are light they don’t handle even light wind well. There is a lot of talk about the KF airfoils. They are built with layers of flat foam modified airfoil and do improve flat form performance but they cannot match the performance of a true airfoil.
Flat foam planes have their place. There are some incredible stunt flyers using flat foam planes. Some of their planes only weigh 4 oz for a 36" plane. Most of their stunts are unique to flat foam planes, and are erratic. Speed variations are a problem when you don’t have any drag and lift. Different angles of attack and dives may have instant acceleration. This is not normal flying.
Many people fly flat foam planes because they are cheap, not because they really like flat foam performance. The high performance flat foam planes cost as much if not more than the planes with an airfoil.
Lee
