GTP Flying car.. something different.

[Troy P]

I have been selling a kit of my design for a while without too much advertisement because of early on production limitations. I started and just when things got going my laser guy folded up shop and I was SOL. So I then got a new guy going and he has been awesome and I have been getting restocked with kits to sell. You may have seen it at the Toledo show and SEFF through one of my distributors. They sell my kit and a flying missile/rocket design (not my design). All feedback is good and people really like the concept, design, and engineering. I am by no means a full time hobby business but I have done a lot of hard work to get the kit dialed in and service for shipping timely. I do this for fun and to fund toys. I can't compete with the China invasion for ARF's and molded detail but this is certainly unique and fun.

The original concept came to me when I was watching the 24 hours at Daytona in the Rolex GT series. I love the look of those cars and I knew I could design a good flying foamie that both drives on the ground and flies. I had seen other flying cars; they didn't look scale and they didn't do anything on the ground. I built into mine steerable front wheels for the RC Car experience and then I ended up adding front suspension to absorb any shock from landing or rough driving. The flying is just like any other flat-plate flying "thing" in that it has low aspect ratio (.7 to 1), high roll rate, and slow speed capabilities. This is bigger than a lot of the 'boats' that have been out there and everyone tells me it flies more stable and handles more wind.

The kit: It's not an ARF but it has quite a bit of interlocking structure to build easy and straight. The airframe is a combination of 6mm and 3mm Depron where strength and lightness is needed. It has 3-dimensional structure for realism and to add airframe rigidity. It also uses several carbon tubes and rods to add even more rigidity, including an 8mm carbon motor tube that is stout and easy to use standard 8mm motor tube mounting on many popular CD-rom designs. Building is straight forward for those who have built a few foamies. The laser cutting helps jig things up and the instructions are very detailed. They had to be that way because there are very few parts that share common aircraft names other than tail and wing. But fear not, there is a detailed part # system to keep track of it all and plenty of pictures. The kit is not pre-painted, you have to paint or add decals to your desired scheme. I generally just paint with Krylon Short Cuts and print logo decals from my inkjet printer and glue on with elmers white glue. Nothing fancy and you can see the results are great.

Flying/Driving: First and foremost, this is NOT a beginner's aircraft. It falls into intermediate to advanced class for experience. It's not that it's hard to fly, it's important to set up correctly and since it's foam, it will go crunch if you dumb thumb it. So when Uncle Bob asks to drive it around in the street, say 'no' and site the unfortunate Enzo Ferrari accident with Eddy Griffin (he crashed). Flying the G.T.P. is a very straightforward exercise and once trimmed out, you will be amazed at how hands-off-stable it is. With 400+sq" of surface area, it will also float around and do very tight loops. Inverted flight is no problem and even nice inverted flat spins are in it's bag of tricks. And yes, it does hover with enough power and skilled thumbs. Once you get it trimmed out, you'll find that you never knew touch and go's, and low, flat, fast Drive-By's (not fly-bys anymore) could be so much fun.

Kit contents are:
-Laser cut 6mm and 3mm sheets. Parts have small tabs which keep them safely locked in place until builder is ready to use them (keeps them safer in shipping and easier to keep track of small, unusual shapes). Slots, tabs, and helpful guides cut into parts.
-Laser cut ABS plastic to form higher stress components and control hardware.
-Assorted carbon rods and tubes.
-4 big dia. Wheels
-Custom machined steering linkage.
-Suspension springs.
-Cut-to-length 1/32 music wire pushrods.
-EZ connector.
-Nylon EZ-Links.
-Ball Links.
-Heat shrink tubing.
-Detailed 15 page Instruction Booklet.

You will need:
-Glue: Polyurethane like Gorilla Glue or Sumo. Foam safe CA ok for tacking together but use Poly-U in corners and high stress areas.
-Masking tape or assembly T-pins.
-Hinge tape
-Foam Safe paint or markers
-Exacto hobby knife
-Heat gun (for shrink tube)
-Radio/Motor/ESC/Battery listed below

Specs:

Span: 17"
Length: 28"
Surface Area: 404 sq"
Weight: 15-17oz/ 5oz sq'
Radio: 4-6 Ch with elevon mixing
Servos: (3) micro servos 12-14 oz torque (Hitec HS-55, Blue Bird 6g, etc)
Motor: 130-150 watt, 45-60g outrunner (Scorpion 2212-22, 2208-30, Hacker A20, Eflight 370, Axi, CD-Rom double). Motors that will spin a 8X4 to 9X6 HD at ~8600-9000 RPM.
Battery: 3S 900-1500 (3S 1320 most common)
Skill Level: Intermediate to Expert

Kit price is $65 with a flat rate shipping of $10 here in Con U.S.
The custom box is long and wide so USPS isn't giving me much of a break on that.

Here's the skinny on kits right now. I am expecting two boxes of foam by Tuesday and will be gathering my hardware to complete the kits. I am planning on taking about 12-15 to the San Diego Spring Fling next Saturday. I will be hanging out with Mike from DW Foamies Saturday morning only. This would be a good chance to save about $10 on shipping and pick up a motor from Scorpion (if he attends). I will have an additional 10 kits to ship via box and USPS within another 1.5-2 weeks after I get back from a business trip. I do limited batch runs so this batch is 25.

I'll also get some build pics going here to help construction.

Video:

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Right click here to save the video

[madmax]

Dude, Troy, that thing is absolutely awesome!!!! Congrats on the project!!! Very cool.

[Troy P]

Thanks Max! Now if could only scale it up to 1:1... I could retire!

[Troy P]

I added a new video:

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Right click here to save the video

[scot]

VERY cool... is that IMAC legal?!?

[Troy P]

I think we could make the argument...

[pitviper51]

nice! alway fun to see it drive off the cliff haha looks like a good slope spot for sure
mike

[Xpress..]

Troy, you never cease to amaze me. Is there anything that the car/plane CAN'T do?

Are you going to be selling these tomorrow at the MWE?

[Spdstr280Z]

I saw these flying at SEFF, lit up as night flyers. Not painted nearly as nice as your examples though. I was shocked at how well the seemed to fly. A buddy got several pics, have to see if I can find them...

Here we go, didn't come out all that well...

[VKGT]

Very cool!

[KIM]

ok i want one dave you should get on too

[Troy P]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Xpress..
	Troy, you never cease to amaze me. Is there anything that the car/plane CAN'T do? Are you going to be selling these tomorrow at the MWE?

Yep!! I just got a big pile 'O foam at my door today and I already pre-packaged up all the hardware. I will be machining up some of the steering linkages tonight and pack it up for tomorrow. I will only be there in the morning and have to leave by noon but Mike at DW Foamies may keep a few on hand for me...