Swappable Fuselage in Sketchup

I've always been interested in RC flight but have had little opportunity to practice. Recently I made the leap and ordered all I needed to build my first scratch-build and get my feet wet again. Well, about half the items I ordered actually came and it was frustrating to the point I just put it all on the back burner.

Recently I discovered FliteTest and this great community. I placed another order for everything I needed (This time going through HobbyKing) and immediately became impatient while waiting. I threw together an FT Bloody Wonder and the swappable fuselage and was quickly board waiting on my order again. I then started modeling a swappable trainer designed after the typical Nitro Trainer style planes.

FliteTest user cade861 recently created a wonderful article about his own swappable trainer so I though it would be a great time to share a few of the components I've created using Google Sketchup to hopefully make it easier for other people to create their own designs.

If you don't have Google Sketchup, it is a free 3D design software that has a relatively low learning curve. It can be downloaded at http://www.sketchup.com/ Due to not having webspace to host the files, I'm using a website called 4shared.com to host my sketchup files to share. You have to create an account or log in with facebook to download them but it is free. These models are also available in the Sketchup Wearhouse but they are not easy to find and do not link very well.

First thing I created to model around was the FliteTest Swappable Fuselage.

It can be downloaded Here

Then to get my spacing right I needed a good model of the HXT900 Servo

It can be downloaded Here

Then just to ensure my throws would work if people wanted to use full size control horns I built a model of a 16x20mm control horn.

It can be downloaded Here

Hopefully some of these parts will come in useful to you.

Here's a quick peak at the trainer I'm designing.

I have the layout complete and ready to build, but I don't want to post everything until I've had a chance to testfly and fine tune the design.

Hope you enjoyed and everyone out there building your own designs keep up the great work and please share your designs with the community.

Thank you all!

EDIT: Build plans now available at: http://flitetest.com/articles/swappable-trainer-build-plans-and-videos