Category Archives: Experimental
Boxes made from recycle cardboard
Did you know that the boxes used for shipping Squirrel model airplanes are made by recycling cardboard?
Boxes of the right size are collected from two different sources and they are then cut down to fit the “box-o-matic” which cuts them into templates. Here are a few pictures.
In these pictures you can see two different box sizes stacked almost to the ceiling.
Squirrel Airfoil
You can add a thick airfoil to your Squirrel with just one piece of balsa that is the same as the leading and trailing edge.
Here’s an old document that shoes an easy way of doing it.
In a nutshell you run a spar from winglet to winglet. You attach it to the front of the winglet so it braces the winglet. You cover the top and bottom of the wing with tissue.
You can notch it to go over the wing handle or remove the wing handle. It could be installed before the wing handle and then the wing handle sliced so one piece is ahead of the spar and the other is behind the spar.
Advantages:
-It strengthens the winglets by bracing them.
-It reduces wing warp.
Disadvantages:
-It’s more work.
-Nobody has proven the extra steps are worth it.
Free flight from the past
This is a great deal more complicated but it’s an interesting video none the less!
It shows that free flight has been around for a long while!
Laser Cut Squirrels in QA
I’ve been doing some experiments with new cutting techniques.
The Squirrel is designed so it can be made easily without a laser. But laser cutting balsa is definitely an interesting technology.
Here I’m making two machine cut Squirrels and a laser cut Squirrel at the World Maker Faire in New York City.
The laser cut version has a mark in the middle of the wing so you don’t have to estimate where the Wing center is. Also I noticed when your opening the package, it’s easier to get the parts out.
Once built you can’t really tell the difference between the machine cut and the laser cut ones. They fly the same and look the same. In fact, I can’t remember if the Squirrel in the test below was a laser or machine. One way or the other it was consumed by the Maker Faire sign. 🙂
