An Alternative Way to Build with Foam Board!

by FliteTest | April 12, 2018 | (6) Posted in Just Fun

Experimental Airlines has been around for almost as long as Flite Test. Ed, the chap who started the popular YouTube channel, developed an innovative build technique using foam board and packaging tape is now used by hundreds of people across the globe! Personally, I'm quite a fan. Here's a brief introduction to Ex-Air.


The Build Technique

What Ed set out to do (years back when he first started making videos in 2011) was provide the community of RC plane builders out there with a set of standardised building techniques. These centred around using tape covered foam board as the primary build material. 


The advantages of the tape covered foam board was that it would last way longer than the standard untreated product. Before Flite Test Foam Board, the normal stuff was pretty useless at repelling water. If you want to build a reliable and robust airplane that will last for years, tape may still be a good idea. 


With tape covered foam board, Ed showed how to build standardised fuselage, tail and wing sections. These sections can be put together in any combination you wish to create all sorts of aircraft configurations. It's almost like the Lego system of RC planes! This FPV aircraft (below) was assembled around 3 years ago which using these very same techniques. The soaring behemoth had a wing of 2-meters and could fly for over an hour.


The Experimental Airlines Fleet 

One of my favourite designs from Ed is the very simple and sleek looking Synapse Flying Wing. This aircraft is made up of two standard wing sections cut and attached together. You can even fold it up for transport if you wish. Along with this, the Synapse has a removable pod that allows an operator to mix and match wing and fuselage parts! Genious. I built one a few weeks ago and it really does deliver. 


Another popular design was the Axon. This was cleverly conceived with a 'double-decker' fuselage meaning you could fit camera gear above the battery tray. 


The Photon is another awesome creation from Ed. Its performance is highly impressive. 




Make sure you check out the other designs by Ed on his channel. There are over ten individual aircraft you can build. Most of these have full instructional videos. Although Ed has said in his latest video that he is taking a break from RC at the moment, we can't wait to see more from him in the future along with community builds using his own methods. 

Have you built any of Experimental Airline's Designs? Let everyone know in the comments!


Links

Experimental Airlines on Youtube

Experimental Airlines on Flite Test


Article by James Whomsley

Editor of FliteTest.com

James@whomsley.net

www.youtube.com/projectairaviation

Instagram @jameswhomsley

COMMENTS

Junyper on April 15, 2018
I'm also a big fan of Ed's work. He has done some great work, contributing some great concepts to the community and hobby, I especially like his modality of design.

Thanks for highlighting his work.
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bobalexander on April 14, 2018
Ed was fantastic to watch!
Nice article to raise awareness of his techniques.
I built this many years ago and it is still in good shape:
https://goo.gl/photos/d1yZQgxagHcWPB4d9

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steelydanfan on April 15, 2018
Ed's You Tube video on adhesive tapes he uses in his airplane building is a must watch. He mounts ALL of his motors with 3M mounting tape on an "L shape" bracket ! His reasoning: stable under flight, gives way in a crash with sudden shear forces dislodging the motor and preventing further damage. Sheer genius, that Ed is !
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An Alternative Way to Build with Foam Board!