Sold on the foam airplane

Three dollars of foam, wide scotch tape, some Elmer's glue. It glides, 20 inch wing span, a mass of flying scotch tape.

The trick was all the foam flyers on the internet with great designs, which intrigued me, got me thinking what a true hobby net contract might look like. I can image a trade, in foam airplan compnnents. For examle, one or the other of us get real good with motor mount and top wing bracing, and we make that specific, interchangeable par with typical fuselages. Another group does the servo box, in reconfigurable, and sturdy  but light weight wood, then there is the wing and fuselage group. Maybe pre produced flaps and rudder combos, complete with linkage.

This is a labor contract, the hobby net discusses hours spent, not really fooling anyone. It boils down to getting one or the other group busy in the shop for a few days.  Equivalent to about as pure a labor market as we can get. The foam makes it so, it is very liquid in the sense of obtaining it in various form and cutting and gluing it back. So we get hobby engineers, finding a better wing, then selling a batch of them. The equilibrium is an interchangeable market, most fuselages can be adapted to new wings, with a little shaping and glue. All the shops end up in video how tos, I have watched enough for a masters degree. So, there is no doubt about services and capacity, you know that guy can go and knock off  wing sets much faster than I, he gets pestered by price.

Foam logistics

This is a lot about minimizing shipping, and that requires the standard, two three foot long box, four foot boxes discouraged.  Then all combinations of that model could include a 4 5 foot wing by connection, 2 foot 33 inch fuselage, and tail assembly may be required.  But it is always the same box, and shipping simplified by stacking them n the back seat, or pick up bed for a drive to the Post Office. All the suppliers keep a stack of these in their shop. There is never a question of shipping cost, they eventually arrive.

 I didn't stumble across this, I was hunting around for a hobby if the point came where who cares anyway.  But, this idea of construction an airplane out of Dollar Tree stuff was intriguing, I went back and looked.  I saw wooden dowels and pops cycle sticks, flat light weight board in kiddie painting aisle. And their regular foam sheets, complete with scotch tape and Elmer's glue.  Laminate those sheets, roll them doubled over, make a great wing, construct fuselages. All those techniques on youtube.  Pure labor market, public traded with quantity boards, and time build observed.

My experiment. This three hour model is 30 inches in fuselage, just a rolled dollar tree slab. The main wing is one 30 inch folded foam slag, with internal foam to make the shape. Same with rear wing, and tail no flaps, scotched taped.  But it works as a wind model, I can alter it change it and refly it as a glider, find the center of gravity, wing alignment for nature level flight. Get lift to glide by eye. All for four buck.   All my cuts, ad hoc, try something different.