GODFREY PRO - FOAM SERIES EXTRA 300 BUILD and REVIEW

[SleepyC]

Well, Biff handed me this foamie quite some time ago, and said build it and do a thread...
I said no problem and thats where it stopped...
Big birds and summer got in the way... and finally its time has come.

So I opened the package, and I have to say.. this is the most unique foamie I have ever seen. Its big, and made of a foam I have never seen before, its stiff, but not fragile, dense but very light, and the parts are laser cut to perfection.

Also, the foam is cut into Jig Saw shapes that when put together make for a VERY Strong plane.

Also this thing is BIG... 42" wingspan, and a very unique and rigid wing structure says "OUT DOOR foamie to me!"

Ok check out the parts..

2 horizontal fuse halfs that include the stabs, 1 big vertical fuse part, 2 wings, and rud, ele and ailerons... yep its all there!
Also included are balsa strips and hard points, control horns, and linkages! Pretty inclusive kit!

Here' the kit!
(Ok who said 2 sharpies and a sleepless night can't make a pretty cool scheme on a foamy! )

[SleepyC]

Ok... start with the fuse, assemble the half's (they snap into place)
and glue down the seams... the wings attach at this point as well.
(Pretty straight forward build)

[SleepyC]

Next is a really NEAT part of this plane...
it uses a combo foam, and balsa wing strut to strengthen the wing.
Done correctly, this wing is stiff!
After you put the foam braces on, you but two strips of balsa/bass wood on each side, and then pin them together with tooth picks... very neat wing.. check it out!

[SleepyC]

The kit includes small bass wood hard points that fit snugly into laser cut pockets on all the control surfaces. Just wet them with glue and slap them in...
easy as pie. Then poke the plastic horns into the wood to make divots, drill out the divots and glue the horns in... pretty basic stuff.. but excellent quality and fit.

[SleepyC]

Next up, assemble the elevators.
No rocket science required here!

The gap needed is 12" to clear your stabs, space out the two elevator half's at around 12.25" and your golden. The kit includes a piece of hard balsa angle stock, this is your ele joiner. Make sure you get it aligned right (flat part toward the top of the ele, and the angled part going down, you will use this angle to bevel your whole ele later.) Cut out a 1/4" pocket for this joiner and glue it in... make sure your ele half's are straight when gluing. At this point I added a little piece of carbon fiber flat stock to help keep both ele half's together.

[SleepyC]

At this point I beveled all my control surfaces. A nice sharp bevel will help you get some nice throws. I use a sanding block, this foam is easy to sand and it leaves you a clean edge!

[SleepyC]

Fuse skid...

The kit comes with another piece of bass wood that you glue to the bottom of the vertical fuse. It provides a full fuse skid, and should help make this plane durable.

After the skid was attached I assembled the two fuse half's. This requires you to cut 95% of the vertical fuse in 1/2, but leave the front section uncut, slide the two half's together, and then each will snap into place. Glue down each joining section, and WHAM.. one solid flex resistant fuse!!

[SleepyC]

Hinge em Up!

Tape the top of each control surface nice and flat, and then push the control surface all the way over, and tap the back. This way you will get perfect throws, and no binding.

On that note, I actually bought that Du-Bro HINGE tape.. WOW.. this stuff is AWESOME. Its some kind of 3M medical adhesive tape, and man it sticks to foam like Glue, and its SUPER soft and flexible, and yet strong as Max's Beer LUST!

[SleepyC]

AIRFRAME IS DONE!

2 beers, 2 smokes and 2 hours later, I have a finished airframe.

Haven't decided on a power system as of yet... I will do so in the next day or so and pick up on the thread then... I'm going to weigh the air frame and servos and such, and see what motor I will need for this beast! This is a BIG foamy... I'm thinking the park at the end of my street will never be the same soon!


Personally I think the plane looks pretty darn cool... and I'm really diggin using permanent markers instead of paint, I believe the total weight added was around "0"

[Biff]

Looking good Sleepy! I've been flying the Extra, Davis and Giles. The wing design will be the biggest departure from the norm when you see the line of planes. Pretty much an I beam with dowles pinning the wood together. There is no stiffer wing I know of for foamies. Then you'll think, gosh, this isn't very aerodynamically good. Wrong again! Robert explained the threory, it works! The planes are super easy to hover/fly. The kits are extremely well engineered and fit is top quality. The parts count is low. The wing is the only thing you'll need to study a bit before building. But once the little light goes on in your noggin' it's a breeze. (I'm not saying it's hard to do AT ALL.) Just a radical departure from the norm. When was the last time you needed a drill to put foamie wings together?

In honesty, I've tried about the whole line of Godfrey foamies. I've powered them from the recomended set up by Robert, all the way up to STUPID power with a 2100 3 cell pack. I've tried to break them in flight,, didn't happen. There is some fuse flex, but you could do the old fishing line brace thing if that's what you want to do. It isn't something that really bothers me.


They fly really well, SUPER easy to TR/hover. They also don't mind some wind (within reason). Great build thread Sleep!

To order or to check out the line, go to www.bobflies.com

[SleepyC]

OK. here's a BIG old addition...

I went to the website.. and
A) These planes are manufactured in the USA! (yea you heard it.... FOAM made right here!! hence, the unique properity of the foam!)

b) They are only $39.95!!! This model is MUCH better than many a foamie that costs $59+ !!

This is seriously a Great deal!!!

[SleepyC]

Ok.. built a very sturdy motor mount out of some 1/4" x 1/2" x 2" bass wood strips.
Put one of them in each "pocket". I epoxied them in and let it dry.
(I made sure to keep all four fronts very straight )
Then I epoxied on the actual motor mount and let that dry.
Now here's the interesting part.

I drilled though the font motor mount into the four strips.
Then I inserted and glued in 4 tiny nails that were about 1" long, but also very thin and weighed practically nothing. This way any rotational force will be divided between all four posts at all times. this mount seems really strong.

Check it out!

[SleepyC]

AND FINISHED!!!

The rest was just attaching the servos and hooking up the control rods.

I decided to go with a Eflight 450 out runner, with a 25 amp esc.
all Eflight servos, and either my 1800 3 cell battery, or an 1200 3 cell.

I can't wait to fly this thing, if only the stupid weather would straighten out!

As soon as I get it in the air, I will report.

But for now my report is: The plane looks killer, and is a very quality kit.
Very easy build, and very unique construction.
So far a winner...

[ShortBus]

Steve how long does it take that foam safe CA to dry? I'm looking for some foam safe that actually dries.

plane looks nice BTW

[SleepyC]

No clue... after 20 seconds I shoot it with normal kicker.
done.. end of the game. DRY CA.

I used the ZAP stuff, and it is STRONG!!
and it did not do any damage to the foam at all.