Flite Test F-22 Raptor Nose

thingiverse

Although the standard Flite Test F-22 Raptor nose isn't bad, it has some primitive features. However, this is a byproduct of making it easy to build given the limitations of foam board construction. Since I have a 3D printer, I designed and printed a lightweight plastic replacement nose. I used dSun PLA Plus filament, also known as PLA Pro, which is a "tough" PLA product that's not as brittle as conventional PLA. I sliced the nose with Cura and specified "Spiralize" mode to keep the weight down to 14 grams. This mode is known by different names depending on the slicer used, but it prints a solid as a continuous outer shell only one layer thick. I used a .4mm nozzle and .2mm layer height. I haven't flown with the new nose yet, so it remains to be seen how durable it will be. However, since printing spares is cheap and easy, and since it's just held on with white electrical tape, it should be quick and easy to replace when necessary. The aft surface of the nose is a rectangle 47mm x 65mm. To make it fit, trim the side plates of the F-22 nose a bit forward of the canopy where the height of your fuselage side plates is 47mm tall. Install a foamboard bulkhead at that point. If you're scratch building, you can use the extension of the fuselage bottom which normally wraps up and around the standard nose to form your bulkhead. Naturally, you will have to change the location of where you remove foam to make the folds. Continue wrapping the piece which forms the bulkhead aft along the upper fuselage surface 10 or 15mm until it meets the leading edge of your canopy/hatch. The exact measurements depend on your particular aircraft version and how you build it. The key is simply trimming the fuselage at the appropriate place so that you can make a flat bulkhead forward of the canopy which measures 47mm wide and 65mm tall.