Unusual Coroplast uses!

[SignManiac]

I saw a post the other day about using coroplast for a solar heating panel and thought I would share my idea for using it.

My business partner and I just missed out on entering the Red Bull Flugtag event here in Tampa. We wanted to build a homemade human powered plane for the event and thought it would a cool idea to build a real plane from coroplast. We have several thousand drop cuts that measure approximately 2' x 4' and have been looking for a way to use all of this material. On that note we came up with the ACME-AIR plane manufacturing company. We are going to build inexpensive kit planes for those who want to fly on a budget.

Using 10mil coro and some 6mil we are engineering a real bi-plane that my partner will fly. He holds a commercial and multi-engine pilots license. The photos shown are the basic wing structure that I designed and cut on our Multicam router table. We have the completed wing structure built and ready to cover in Saran Wrap. We used a lot of hot glue and the wing section is really strong.

Next week we start on the fuselage section and hopefully we should have the plane completed and ready to fly in a couple of months. Not to worry, we are both expert skydivers with many thousands of jumps between us in case of a major screw up.

If we are lucky we might get sponsored by Interplast who manufactures coroplast and 3M for the double sided tape, Arrow for the hot melt glue gun, Glad Seran wrap and last but not least, Heineken beer for the inspiration!

Here are a few photos of our progress. We have about six hours into the wings at this point.

[weaselboogie]

Wow.. That beat my post about pool heating. Incredible!

[SebastienL]

"We have the completed wing structure built and ready to cover in Saran Wrap"

Why not wrap it with a full custom print vinyl wrap? Since you need to wrap it anyway.
:Canada 2:

[cgsigns_jamie]

Very cool!

[SebastienL]

Yes, very cool!
Let us know if the bird actually flies.

[Mike Paul]

That's Awesome,
Take it to Kitty Hawk and get National News coverage.:thumb:

[SignManiac]

"We have the completed wing structure built and ready to cover in Saran Wrap"

Why not wrap it with a full custom print vinyl wrap? Since you need to wrap it anyway.
:Canada 2:

We considered covering it in calendar vinyl but decided the cool factor would be greater if the covering was clear and you could see all of the internal structure.

[SignManiac]

That's Awesome,
Take it to Kitty Hawk and get National News coverage.:thumb:

We already considered Kitty Hawk. Trust me, we plan to get maximum exposure one way or another :) First things first though, gotta make sure it will fly!

[ChicagoGraphics]

Why not wrap it with clear vinyl.
I can't see that thing ever getting off the ground without breaking into peices.
But I wish you luck.

[Mike Paul]

I'd trust the 3M VHB tape adhesion but would be skeptical of the glue sticks...
How well does that adhere to the plastic?

[SignManiac]

Some of it is built with 3M MHB tape but to tell the truth, I was really impressed with how strong the hot melt glue sticks worked on the coroplast. The stuff really does hold it together like a metal weld.

[ProWraps™]

wow coroplast spars even. your friends is a ballsy guy. they been makin rc airplanes out of the stuff for years. i take it you will make a typical bulkhead with stringers design for the fuselage?

[Replicator]

Wow . . . !

[SignManiac]

wow coroplast spars even. your friends is a ballsy guy. they been makin rc airplanes out of the stuff for years. i take it you will make a typical bulkhead with stringers design for the fuselage?

Yes the fuselage will be built from double laminated 10mil coro for the bulkhead walls with the stringers reinforced too. It will consists of three sections with the pilots cabin being built heavy duty. I'm even going to try and build the wheels and landing gear from six ply's laminated.

We plan to do several low altitude test flights before we take it up to any serious altitudes. If this works maybe we will build a rocket next :)

[ProWraps™]

heh nice. what kind of powerplant? and i take it it will have to be mounted with aircraft aluminum. how do you plan on reinforcing the mount points? sorry, im an enormous aircraft buff with over 300 r/c planes, gliders, helicopters and the like. i would ask what airfoil you chose to use, but i would be a real tool. i do see that its not symetrical so i guess what no inverted flight!?!?!?! this is probably the coolest thing ive seen on ANY forum.

[Sign_Boy]

You all are NUTS!!
That's cool, but oh heck it's just amazing!!!
Good luck

[The dude]

Don't you just love America there's so much talent everywhere you look.

[Sign Works]

Interesting project their Signmaniac. I also couldn't help but notice the pool table in your print room there, now that's a productive work environment, probably got the Busa in the next room as well huh?:thumb:

[houseofgrafix]

Don't you just love America there's so much talent everywhere you look.

From NM..

I'm less then a hour away

[ProWraps™]

i have to disagree. its not everywhere you look. ITS HERE. again ill say it one more time. THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING THING IVE SEEN ON ANY FORUM.

[49hd]

Good ol' american ingenuity, and a HUGE set of kahonies. Good on ya, and good luck.

[Typestries]

wrap wings in clear shrink wrap (eg for boats ) rather than saran? Would add some stability? Just an idea??

[Lunatic Taskbar]

wow cant wait to see how this progresses. Good luck with it. its gonna be fantastic.

[SignManiac]

Interesting project their Signmaniac. I also couldn't help but notice the pool table in your print room there, now that's a productive work environment, probably got the Busa in the next room as well huh?:thumb:

LOL...Yes the Busa is very near by and it's gets ridden most everyday. Hmmm? Imagine if I could bolt my busa motor on this plane :) We used the pool table to jig up the wings. It's perfectly straight and level. On a project like this you have to improvise a lot! When you're flying by the seat of your pants you often have to just wing it..hehe, cheezy word play. I must be having one of my more creative days.

[SignManiac]

wrap wings in clear shrink wrap (eg for boats ) rather than saran? Would add some stability? Just an idea??

The shrink wrap is what we actually did order. That stuff is super strong and easy to work with. I was only hoping to use the Glad wrap because its more of a household name and could lead to some potential advertising exposure. We built a prototype wing and tested the glad wrap. It's not as strong as I would prefer. Worse case scenario, I'll try and use clear laminate but not Avery's considering their product failures of recent.

[biggieg]

I bet the Convex Lam would hold up although it may be too heavy. I can't wait to see it all put together. Good Luck!

[zmatalucci]

your f---n crazy!!!!!!!!
I love it!!!

[high impact]

very kewl!!!

[OldPaint]

check youre DOOR SIZE...BEFORE YOU ASYMBLE IT)))))))

[SignManiac]

Already thought about that Joe, the wings are detachable. They had to be in order to transport it to and from the airport come test day.

[iSign]

good luck Bob, and have fun!

[i45signs]

All I Can Say Is "may The Force Be With You"

[SignManiac]

Thanks Doug. Hey once you get to know your router table better, maybe you could build and outrigger canoe or a long board for those north shore swells out of spare shop materials:)

[LJ4133]

WOW, I'm impressed and a little late, but why not use Monocoat from the rc airplane industry? It's super strong and it shrinks tight when heated with a heat gun. Also think about multiple lipo powered electric motors to power it. I've used one motor to power a twelve foot wingspan rc plane......a couple (few more) should surly power a bit bigger plane. After all, they are designed for rc's big and small.

[Cadmn]

Ok whats the latest I built a S(imple) P(lastic)A(ircraft) D(esign)last week info about those can be found at a website called SPAD to the bone I fly R/C planes & these are cheap & fun

[Joop]

I hope you take some good video footage... looks awesome, good luck!

[GregT]

Very nice...I do think I will pay full price for air travel;)

[Prism1]

That thing looks Cool...We want to see more pics... Speaking of more pics, I can't believe no one commented on your "Wall Art"...haha.

[JimJenson]

Interesting project. A lot of airfoils and wing assemblies I have seen, have about 15 degrees of twist between the root and the wingtip. The angle of attack should be greater at the fuselage, which will leave the ailerons still flying when a the wing begins to stall. This will make the stall characteristics of your craft much less violent.

Best of luck with the project. Please do continue posting you and our partners progress.

[signmeup]

So.....whatever happened with this?

[Cadmn]

excellent question I wanna know more

[Border]

Yes! update please???

[Sign-Man Signs]

As a pilot and knowing how crappy coroplast is, you need to take a reality check before you kill yourself. Looks cool but in my opinion, it's death trap waiting to be sprung.
Have you contacted the FAA on the structure material? Hot glue? Chance of maybe a warm day, something coming apart? Ever watch the coyote with his ACME stuff? You guys aren't serious are you? A plastic plane glued together. Now that's something to think about when you're a thousand feet in the air?
Seriously, just back away from the project........
Read this PLEASE.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/06/does-af-447-reveal-safety-risks-new-aircraft-materials

[houseofgrafix]

They die

[skdave]

awesome !!!

[onan]

WOW take me for a ride

[onan]

please update.

[ProWraps™]

i sure hope the reason that this hasnt been updated isnt because of a test flight gone bad. but i have to admit i was VERY impressed and curious about the results.

[jimbug72]

I'm pretty interested to see results as well. Looked pretty danged neat

[The Sign Dude]

I was curious if this will be a glider type or will it have an engine?

[omgsideburns]

that's awesome. i've built r/c planes with coro before, but never full scale.. haha.

[SignManiac]

We've been really busy and had to put our experiment on hold. Last week we put in a bid on a paramotor engine for the power plant. We are hoping to find some time to get back to working on it again. Not sure when we will be able to test fly it but it will definitely happen sometime in the future.

After the plane we are thinking of building a tank for my business partners young son with a potato canon gun on a working turret.

[Cadmn]

great & remember they told the wright brothers it wouldn't work also, just be cautious.

[SignManiac]

Update on the CoroPlane project. Put in a few more hours yesterday afternoon. Next week we're going to work on the under carriage and front nose compartment. Estimate to total weight to be around 200 lbs. when completed.

I think we have a line on a somewhat affordable Rotax engine. The tail rudder needs to be larger, that's an easy fix. And I have to start thinking about the joy stick and linkage for the control surfaces. It's nice to see it shaping up to be a plane :)

We already have a super cool idea for our next project that we can use the engine and prop again. This is one of those ideas that help prevent burn out from the sign business.

[signmeup]

Yeah the vertical stab looks a little small. I'd be pretty scared to test fly a plane that was designed "on the fly".
I commend you on your ambition and building skills but without a proper design you're flirting with disaster. Actually you're poking disaster in the eye with a pointy stick. How can you be sure where the CG goes and what do you do if you get control surface flutter on climb out? Parachutes need a lot of altitude to be any help. If anything goes wrong at anything over 25 feet you're toast.

[SignManiac]

All true but that's what makes life more exciting! The closer one gets to death, the more one feels alive. You know, everybody thought the Wright Brothers were nuts too. And then there's always the possibility for a Darwin Award :)

[Jack Knight1979]

That's is great. I'm an EAA member.

This needs to be posted there. EAA.org.
I think a rotax is probably going to be WAY to heavy for this. You'll have to deal with center of gravity issues.

Gorgeous work, BTW.

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Are yoo using the yellow glue sticks at harbor? Stuffs amazing.

[SignManiac]

Home Depot white glue sticks. Stuff is the next best thing to duct tape! We started to use zip ties to safety wire key attachment points. Plastic is fantastic!

[jiarby]

You can certainly build something that LOOKS LIKE an airplane, but it is difficult to believe that it will have the structural integrity to resist the forces that it will have to endure.

What is the shear strength of teh plastic around those holes where you have put zip ties? Airframe manufacturers spend a great deal of time drilling, inspecting, even x-raying rivet holes... because that is where cracks start.

why not just make it a big R/C un-manned rig...

how can it support the weight of a human, an engine, fuel, controls?? It looks great but do you think it might shake apart going down the runway at 50mph...using tape & zip ties to hold it together??

I don't want to see you guys getting hurt... make sure your buddy has a will and that he has signed an ironclad safety disclaimer, or his family may sue to pay for his care and feeding for the next 40 years.