Cessna Bird Dog

thingiverse

The Cessna L-19 Bird Dog is an army liaison and observation aircraft designed after WW2. It's powered by rubber bands, but the weight is holding it back. I plan to upgrade it to electric RC soon. The specs are: Wingspan 510 mm, Length 360 mm, Weight empty 90g (ABS). I've printed a few already, and it's fun because of the thin .5 mm walls that print quickly. It's great printing practice. Assemble with cyanoacrylate glue for surprising strength if you get your settings right. Turning off the cooling fan can help make thin walls stronger. To balance the center of mass, I added 10 pennies (30 grams) to the nose and glued them inside the cowling. Start with 8 pennies and see if that's enough. Glue usage will affect results, so aim for a balance point 3/4 inch behind the leading edge of the wing. I designed the wing struts but didn't use them since it was strong enough without. The rear stabilizers, elevator, and rudder need surface added; I used packing tape, but you might find something lighter. Cutting away areas in the fuselage middle and center wing helps save weight. I used these propellers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006OBI38/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Watch my test flight here: https://youtu.be/30J9oSQrXho. I'll keep updating the design and posting it in a make. Let me know what you think! Happy flying.