Rampage

Crash Resistant 60in EPP Pylon Racer / Sports Aerobatic Slope Soarer

Designed by Stan Yeo Produced by PHOENIX MODEL PRODUCTS

Introduction

The Rampage is a stylish 60in EPP pylon racer / sports aerobatic sloper designed to meet the demand for a high performance crash resistant 60in EPP pylon racer conforming to the current 6Oin EPP pylon racing rules. As with all flying wings a control mixer is required to mix the elevator and aileron controls. Although this can be done using an on-board mixer better control set-up will be achieved using a computerised transmitter. Please do not attempt to use plastic geared servos - they do not last long in EPP models! If pylon racing is not your forte then you will be more than satisfied with the Rampage as a sports aerobatic model as it will perform all manoeuvres (rolls, sustained inverted flight, loops, bunts etc.) expected of a flying wing with grace and poise that will turn heads!

As with all EPP models, building time has been kept to a minimum; typically a quarter to a third that of an equivalent wood foam model depending on the skill and care taken.

Tools / Materials Required

The only tools required are a modelling knife and spare blades, 180 grade Wet & Dry sanding block, a set square, soldering iron and a hand drill with a 5mm bit. Glues etc. required are spray impact adhesive (Stikatak), runny super glue, 12 minute epoxy and Sellotape Diamond plus 'top covering'. Please observe safety precautions for the glues!

R/C Equipment

The R/C equipment used in the prototypes consisted of two metal gear micro servos (HS81MG /85MG) a AAA size square Rx battery pack plus a JR R700 / Align 6 / Futaba 147F / Hitec Slimline Rx along with a switch harness and two servo extension leads. All the items are available from PMP at competitive prices.

Building the Fuselage

1. Lightly sand the fuselage sides, top and bottom with 180 grade wet and dry to remove the 'release' agent. Remove dust with a small brush or vacuum cleaner.
2. Mark position of 4.5mm distance pieces (2 off) to fuselage sides ensuring you have a left and right side!
3. Superglue 4.5mm sq. strip and triangular nose strips to fuselage sides.
4. Superglue wing seats in position.
5. Super balsa in-fill at base of fin in position.
6. Superglue nose former and the other two 4.5mm distance pieces to one fuselage side ensuring they are all perpendicular (use set square) Check dowel former can be slid in position.
7. Fit balsa block B4. Adjust width so that Fin is a snug fit in the slot i.e. can be easily slid into place without any slack.
8. Join fuselage sides together over plan checking that the fuselage sides are correctly aligned using set square.
9. Cut 1.5mm fuselage top to length and superglue in position.
10. Repeat Step 9 above for fuselage front bottom front allowing for wing dowel plate.
11. Fit 1.5mm ply bottom to rear of fuselage.
12. Cut / Sand ply top and bottom to size.
13. BUILD WING
14. Construct Wing Nut block assembly as per plan. Slide into and hold in place with scrap foam rubber. Slide into position the 6mm ply Wing Dowel plate.
15. Fit the wing to the fuselage and mark position of wing dowel hole on dowel plate. Tip - wet end of dowel tube with felt tip pen to leave impression on dowel plate. Ensure dowel hole is in middle of dowel plate and drill dowel hole. Do not allow centre of dowel hole to drift towards bottom of fuselage as this could prevent wing fitting snugly in wing seat.
16. Superglue dowel former in position. If necessary, slide former 'in & out' as appropriate to compensate for any inaccuracies in drilling dowel hole.
17. Fit triangular strip to front of former (see plan).
18. Fit wing to fuselage and locate position of wing nut assembly.
19. Glue nut assembly in position.
20. Glue EPP sheets to fuselage sides using spray adhesive (spray both surfaces). Allow a couple of minutes for solvent in adhesive to evaporate before fitting EPP to fuselage. Allow the EPP to extend past the nose former by at least 12mm (see plan). Also remember this is a ONE shot operation!
21. Trim the EPP to shape of fuselage using White Spirit to lubricate knife. The best tool for this operation is one made from a broken piece of hacksaw blade approximately a 75mm long. Grind the teeth off without getting the blade so hot that it loses its temper and goes soft. Sharpen blade on a whetstone or oilstone so that you could almost shave with it! The advantage of this blade over commercial blades is that it is flexible allowing the 'handle' to be bent out of the way when cutting the EPP to achieve an acute cutting angle.
22. Glue 10mm thick EPP to fuselage top aligning Fin slot in EPP with Fin slot in fuselage.
23. Glue 8mm thick strip of EPP to fuselage bottom at nose. Again extending beyond nose former.
24. Glue approximately 100grams of roofing lead to front of nose former in cavity formed by EPP sides. This is typically 2mm thick and equates to 5 layers of lead. Flatten lead before fitting. Roofing lead is available from a scrap yard at reasonable cost.
25. Trim EPP in front of nose weight to provide flat surface on which to glue EPP nose-block.
26. Fit nose block and shape fuselage i.e. round corners using sharp knife and 180 grade wet & Dry (use dry!).
27. Cover fuselage using CW tape. Overlap each strip by 6 - 10 mm or 1/4 to 3/8 inch. Use Film Iron to remove wrinkles around compound curves. Temperature required for this operation is fairly critical. Do not dwell in one spot too long to avoid damage to the foam. Use white spirit to lubricate cutting knife. Fit 6mm square strip to base of Fin at front.
28. Top cover the fuselage with either coloured vinyl tape or an iron-on film such as Profilm (highly recommended).
29. Glue plastic aerial tube / Fin fairing to Fin leading edge using impact adhesive such as Evo-Stick. Tape in position until glue is set (24hrs).
30. Cut 3mm dia. Carbon rods to size. Wrap the two rods inserted into the Fin with 25mm masking (see plan). Using impact adhesive glue remaining carbon rod to base fin.
31. Glue Fin in position checking that is perpendicular to fuselage.
32. Excess impact adhesive can be removed using white spirit.

Building the Wings.

1. Lightly sand wing surfaces and remove dust as before. Trim and sand spar slots to accommodate mainspars. This is best achieved using a very sharp knife and a spar length straight edge (Tip - stick 180 grade wet & Dry to under surface for grip) plus a short length of 10mm thick ply fitted with Wet & Dry along one edge for final sanding of spar slot. Unfortunately CNC cutting tapered wings with spar slots results in a tapered spar slots due to the way CNC cutters work.
2. Tip - When adjusting spar slots tape a straight edge to trailing edge of wing to ensure TE remains straight.
3. Remove waste from wing bracing slots.
4. Fit top wing spars (the thick ones) using Epoxy keeping spar bracing slots free of Epoxy. Place packing tape along spars, place wing on a flat surface. Hold flat with weights until epoxy set.
5. Repeat Step 4 for bottom spars.
6. Trim spars to length.
7. BUILD BALLAST BOXES
8. Fit 6mm sq trailing edges using epoxy again keeping bracing slots free of epoxy. Use masking tape to hold spar in position whilst Epoxy sets. Trim to length.
9. Dry assemble wing to check that wing roots mate with a straight trailing edge. Adjust as necessary.
10. With wing upside down fit wing brace. Note once again the trailing edge should form a straight line i.e. not be swept back or forward.
11. Fit rear spar brace and trim to size when epoxy set.
12. Fit rear wing brace using epoxy.
13. Manufacture Elevons and wing centre by laminating 0.8mm ply and balsa trailing using spray impact adhesive. Place under weight until adhesive has properly set.
14. Glue centre section to wing observing wing reflex (apparent up elevator). Refer to wing seat on fuselage.
15. Fit 0.8mm ply ends to centre section and one end of each Elevon.
16. Sand wing tips to shape and trim Elevons to size. Sand to shape.
17. Epoxy balsa block in position at wing join. Bottom of block should be flush with bottom surface of wing.
18. Trim top surface of block to shape of top surface of wing. DO NOT trim bottom of block.
19. Locate centre of balsa block and centre of wing leading edge. Drill hole for 5mm diameter brass tube the houses 4.5mm diameter hardwood wing locating dowel.
20. Epoxy wing dowel tube in place. Mark centre of tube hole on 6mm ply dowel locater in fuselage. Use felt tip pen to assist in this.
21. Manufacture a long drill using 4.5mm diameter piano and drill dowel hole in 6mm ply.
22. Drill hole for M5 wing bolt in wing and ply bolt plate. Do not drill through rear spar!
23. Fit 1.5mm ply wing bolt reinforcing plate using superglue.
24. Shape wing tips.
25. Mark position of wing servos (plan drawing is NOT full size. Position of servo is dependant on servo lead length. Allow 30mm from end of plug to servo lead exit from wing for connecting to receiver extension lead when fitting wing. Note servo arms both point outboard of wing.
26. Cut rectangular hole for servo in wing ignoring servo mounting lugs.
27. Cut slot in EPP for servo lugs and fit servo so that it is flush with top of wing. Note gap between top of servo and bottom of wing. From block of EPP removed for servo from wing slice off the required amount and fit in this void.
28. Centre servos (see Prepare to Flap article on website) and rotate output arm so it is flat to the wing in preparation for covering wing. Cover servo with masking tape.
29. Spray wing with spray adhesive and cover wing with CW tape. For torsional rigidity cover the wing with CW tape diagonally. There is no need to wrap around rear spar but do overlap by 5 - 10mm at leading edge. For smooth finish do not overlap CW Tape. Use film iron to remove wrinkles at tips.
30. After covering fit aileron servos. Cut vertical slot in wing to hide servo leads.
31. Cover wing with either coloured vinyl tape or an iron on polyester film (NOT polypropylene it stretches!). This is necessary for two reasons, one to decorate the model and secondly to protect the CW Tape from the effects of ultra violet light. If film covering roughen surface of CW Tape and lightly spray with impact adhesive.
32. Cover Elevons in an iron on film in chosen colour. DO NOT use CW or vinyl tape.
33. Hinge Elevons using Sellotape Diamond as shown on the plan.
34. Fit control linkages and adjust to obtain required throws (see flying section).
35. DO NOT replace the plastic mini-snaplinks with metal devises. In the event of a mishap the plastic snaplinks will break thereby reducing the risk of damage to the aileron servos.

Building Ballast Boxes

1. Remove foam from ballast box cut-out from wing.
2. Construct a distance piece that will hold the ballast box sides in place whilst the glue sets. Again it should be a snug fit and not a force fit. Cover in Sellotape / cling film to prevent it sticking to box sides during assembly.
3. Cut 1.5mm ply sides to size and number them.
4. Using the distance pieces glue ballast box sides to wing.
5. Superglue balsa ends and top in position. Sand to shape.
6. Fit ply hatches. Adjust distance pieces so that when covering the wing the hatch cannot drop down into the ballast box.

Flying

To achieve the design performance of any model care must be taken in setting up the controls and balancing the model both laterally (wing tip to wing tip) and longitudinally (nose to tail). The Rampage is no exception. Control movement must be symmetrical i.e. the same for both Elevons.

1. Set the controls to give the following movements for initial flights: Ailerons+/-18mm Elevons +/- 5mm Reflex at TE 1.5mm UP Balance Point 75mm +/- 3mm from LE at back of dowel former.
2. Adjust balance to within recommended limits. This can be done by taping a hexagonal shaped pencil along the bottom of the wing at the balance point and resting the model on a flat surface. Prototypes required a small amount of additional nose-weight to that fitted in the nose.
3. Check than Fin is perpendicular to wing. Adjust wing seat as necessary.
4. Launching the Rampage is easy. Place the thumb and second finger either side of the fuselage just in front of the wing leading edge. The forefinger is placed on the underside of the wing. This is important as the forefinger ensures the model is launched in a level attitude and stops you pulling the nose down and launching the model into the ground! The transmitter is naturally help in the free hand.
5. Remember all aerobatic manoeuvres require energy to perform them. If the model has insufficient speed it will fall out of the manoeuvre or perform it half-heartedly. Vertical or near vertical dives are not an efficient way to build up speed, 20- 30 degree dives are much more efficient. Avoid sudden control inputs. In most cases all they do is scrub off speed and lose height but they could also result in a violent 'flick' roll. Try to fly smoothly with the minimum of control input as not only do the manoeuvres look better but you will be able to perform more of them before having to regain height. Try stringing manoeuvres together, paying particular attention to positioning. Be creative and set yourself targets for each flying session.
6. If the lift is very good or you are having difficulty penetrating into wind try ballasting the model. This will increase penetration and help the model maintain speed through manoeuvres. Note when adding ballast take care not to disturb the balance point. We have found the optimum ballast to be about 200 grams. Over-ballasting any model will lead to a degradation in its performance, often accompanied by a tendency to tip stall.
7. The suggested control settings are a starting point and can be adjusted to suit your personal tastes. An indication that the balance point is about right can be gauged by the amount of down elevator required for smooth inverted flight and how the model recovers naturally from a dive i.e. sticks in neutral and no pilot input.
8. If you are using a computerised transmitter program in positive (JR) Exponential on the Aileron and Elevator controls. This will 'soften' the controls around the neutral position and facilitate smoother flying particularly on the elevator control.
9. Rampage will take a lot of punishment. It is excellent for building confidence and will add another dimension to your flying but please remember if you take a big enough hammer to anything it will break. The CW tape used for covering also degrades in ultra-violet light so store the model in a relatively cool place away from direct sunlight.
10. The MH64 wing section is very efficient and performs well in light lift so with good ballast selection Rampage will cope with almost wind / lift conditions you are prepared to fly in.
11. Finally should you require further assistance or advice please contact us either by letter, telephone, email or visit our website (http://www.phoenixmp.com) where you will find useful information on sloping etc.

Rampage Design Features

1. It uses the highly efficient MH64 wing section.
2. It has an ultra slim, EPP clad, ply box fuselage. Not only is the fuselage extremely strong but it has less than 50% of the cross-sectional area of most if its contemporaries. Fuselage volume has a large impact on a model's performance. The more air that is displaced the higher the drag!
3. The Rampage is a two piece model. The wing is attached to the fuselage via an easily replaceable M5 nylon bolt and a 5mm hardwood dowel (housed in a brass tube). These are designed to shear in the event of a 'mishap thereby minimising any resultant damage,
4. The Rampage has good directional stability due to the combination of a generous fin area coupled with semi-flat fuselage sides. Round fuselages look good and are arguably more streamlined but do not offer much resistance to the air to counteract any tendency to 'fishtail' or aid spin recovery.
5. The hardwood mainspars extend all the way to the wing tip. This not only stiffens the outboard section of the wing but offers protection to the control surfaces should the model land on a wing tip.
6. The top spar is thicker than the bottom spar. This significantly strengthens the wing as most wing failures in flight are due to the top surface failing in compression.
7. The leading edge of the Correx fin is dressed with a 4mm diameter plastic tube. This not only provides a fairing for the fin leading edge but acts as a conduit for the receiver aerial improving reception (better aerial positioning).
8. The thin balsa control surfaces are laminated with 0.8mm ply to add stiffness and make them more 'ding' proof.
9. The easily accessible, inbuilt ballast boxes, allow rapid change of ballast between flights to take advantage of changing flight conditions.

Happy flying

Stan Yeo

Rampage

051202