Competition rubber-powered balsa airplane kits for Science Olympiad Competitions. Cezar Banks Leading Edge 2010 designed for optimum performance for the 2010 Wright Stufff Division B rules. Hand-selected materials, custom Ikara props, precision rubber motors, for winning contests. 

Home Page 		  TURNERTOYS FLIGHT CENTRAL 

IMS Parlor Copter: Supplementary building instructions - 2

Copyright 2010 Ed Loewenton - All Rights Reserved
THIS IS A BIG PAGE - PLEASE BE PATIENT WHILE IT LOADS
Supplement Page 1  Dragonfly Directions (Page 4)  DRAGONFLY Helicopter Directions


[User Instruction Pages - Samples]
 
Home Page

Outdoor Pages:
Hikes, Mountain Adventure, Nature, Fall Foliage in Vermont, New Hampshire, & Maine

READ ONLY:
Original Articles on Toy Safety, Health, Psychology
and whatever interests me

Natural Wood Infant Rattles

Wooden Growth Charts

Suggestions for Assembling the IMS Parlor Copter - Page 2 - 
     Building  tricks - quick, cheap, effective
This page is part of the instructions for building the DRAGONFLY 2+ minute copter model. 

Page 1  includes basic assembly information -  also part of the DRAGONFLY directions.

Page 2 supersedes Page 1 in the event of a contradiction. 
Page 3:  THE DRAGONFLY 
Page 4: Specific instructions for constructing the DRAGONFLY MODEL.

Please read Page 1 first. It shows basic construction. Then read this page, which has some alternative ideas, methods, modifications, discussion of making weight, more. 
Page 2 supersedes Page 1 in the event of a contradiction. 


Copter with 12" rotors, straight ribs, 11" tailboom.  Tailboom is made up of 2 1/16" sticks glued together to make 1/8" x 1/16" piece. Vane is attached with wire glued between tailboom pieces. 

   You will be adding a nose guard for ceiling contact, to prevent the rest of the copter from hitting ceiling. Length is arbitrary. Short is OK, but a longer probe is needed for a sloped ceiling.  We used 2 pieces of 1/16 balsa.  This also forms the structure that holds and secures the motor shaft for the spinning (upper) rotor. 

   Front hook or bend was applied to Propshaft before gluing sticks. Hook is secured with a little glue, and also pushes against a step cut in rotor hub. The ceiling guard encloses the channel that the wire shaft rides in. 
Jigging for assembly is easily done with grip pins, whatever is at hand, and some creativity. 
The lower rotor is attached here. The motorstick and rotor are supported by a small box, with something inside it for weight. Do not stick pins through balsa parts of model.
Weighing large assemblies on a small scale pan is done by putting a support on the scale and using the tare function. Balance the object to be weighed so that it touches only the support.
   Make sure vane spins more freely than the results we initially got. We took our vane off the tailboom, cleaned the wire with acetone, then applied some silicone spray lube, pushed it back through the vane channel ( 2 1/16" pieces with bevels glued together to form V-groove, enclosed by vane - see P.1) and worked it to provide for some play in the channel until it moved freely, cleaned the tailboom end with acetone, and glued it into the tailboom. Much better performance. We also used teflon bearings. 
   
At left: Pin was later installed between two 1/16 sticks used for tailboom, and reinforced with tissue. 


   Winding is best done with a partner. Practise removing and re-installing the o-ring from the rear hook without winding. Best to feed the 0-ring directly onto the hook from the winder, NOT remove it with your hand. A slip after winding will destroy your model. Tip: don't call your partner a stooge, it reduces performance.

   No partner? Here's one idea: a crude but effective winding stooge made from 2 small Jorgensen clamps with foam blocks applied to jaws with 2-sided tape. 
   This is very tricky to use safely.  Get a partner!
   On last winding, it was not tight enough. Copter popped out and shattered like glass. Lesson: do not lose control of the model or motor while winding!