The Dabbling Teal – Scratch-built Sporty Little Plane


My Sporty Little Plane, “The Dabbling Teal,” is a little low-wing sports plane with a 25″ wingspan, made from blue Dow fanfold foam. See video of it in the air at the bottom of this post.

Heavily influenced by StevensAero’s adorable SkyBoy model, and Dereck’s Very Short Plane, the final design – especially the shape and construction of the wing – is mine, and was worked out in 3D on the computer before I started cutting foam.

If you’re interested in its design and construction, you’ll find more information and photos, here. Video of the plane’s maiden flights are here.

With plenty of dihedral to the wing, the plane flies just fine as a three channel rudder/elevator/throttle plane, but the ailerons add maneuverability (and aileron rolls!)

A non-exhaustive list of materials:

  • Dow Protection Board III Underlayment (extruded polystyrene foam board)
  • Styrofoam packaging foam
  • Surgical tubing
  • Fiber-reinforced tape
  • Blister pack plastic
  • Pop bottle plastic
  • Bamboo barbecue skewers
  • Mint-flavored tooth flossers
  • Blenderm medical tape
  • Rubber bands
  • Sewing pins and t-pins
  • Balsa scrap
  • A metal washer
  • Cancer awareness ribbon
  • Vending machine rubber ducky
  • Thin plywood
  • Piano wire
  • Salvaged wheels (Tower Hobbies P-51 and AirHogs F15)

Current setup:

Cockpit

The pilot’s name is Luther.

This entry was posted in Custom & Modified, My Fleet, My Planes, R/C Planes, Scratch Built. Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to The Dabbling Teal – Scratch-built Sporty Little Plane

  1. Pingback: [BLOCKED BY STBV] The Sporty Little Plane flies! | Basement R/C

  2. Pingback: [BLOCKED BY STBV] Sporty Little Plane – Build Thread | Basement R/C

  3. nizamms says:

    can u tell me how to connect two wing , especially how to add carbon struts for dihedral wing

    • Mark says:

      Check out the build thread, here:
      http://rc.markclarkson.com/?p=1444

      You’ll find more information and photos about the wings. I built the wing as one piece, bent the under camber into it, and then cut it in half and re-glued it with dihedral. (I sanded the joins to create the correct angle.)

      The rods are glued into channels burned in the foam with an old soldering iron. The sit in a bent piece of aluminum tubing to hold the correct dihedral.

  4. nizzamms says:

    i really like ur airplane and wanna build one
    but i cannot find the plan to build it,

    i am understand if the plan for this plane is not for distributed

  5. Pingback: [BLOCKED BY STBV] My Sporty Little Plane achieves some fame. | Basement R/C

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