We built the FT Spitfire with the sole purpose of trying out the foam board from www.foamboards.com.au. This review will look at both and how they perform…
www.foamboards.com.au
I’d been looking at this company since I first discovered foam board as a building material. Down here in Australia we simply can’t get the $1 Adam’s Readi-board that is used at Flite Test HQ. There was also concerns about the weight of Australian foam board with some modellers stating they simply couldn’t build a flying model from the stock available down here.
I did a lot of research and it is true that Australian foam board generally uses foam core of a much higher density than Readi-board. It is possibly to get lighter board here but it can only be imported in the container load and that was something I simply couldn’t do!
Many of my models to this point have been made using board from Riot Art & Craft. The board isn’t that heavy but at $15 for an A0 size sheet (841 x 1189mm) it was far from cheap.
I eventually took the plunge about a month ago and ordered a 25 sheet box of white 5mm foam board from www.foamboards.com.au. The ordering process was easy and delivery was quick enough.
Cost here is the biggest issue. A 25 sheet box (1016 x 815mm) costs $178. The real problem though is shipping: due to the size of the box required to ship this size sheet they have a flat shipping rate of $30 across Australia. This remains the same if you order 5 or 25 sheets so obviously there are cost benefits to saving up and buying a big box at once (or clubbing together with some mates and ordering a box).
The board arrives packaged simply in a strong cardboard box. There was no major damage to any of the sheets and the boards were dry and flat.
Of course this still isn’t as cheap as Adam’s $1 Readi-board. It is however better than I am used to: Readi-board is half the size of the sheets I ordered so I get two for the price of one. Break my order down then and I am paying approximately $4 per FT size sheet. Not bad at all!
The Flite Test Spitfire
I ran a little poll on this site to see what readers would like to see me try the new board out on. The results were a tie between the FT Spitfire and FT Viggen.
There are going to be a number of people who are disappointed I haven’t built the Viggen but I had my reasons:
- EDFs require a lot of setting up and careful gear selection. The Viggen is a new model and I really wanted something a little more traditional that I could be sure I would get a good result from.
- The Spitfire is an “advanced” build but the Viggen is another step up in complexity. I didn’t want to chance making a mistake in the build that might be detrimental to the flight performance.
- I didn’t have the right size EDF sitting around in the workshop.
- I have a mate who really wants to fly a Spitfire!
I don’t think I really need to say a lot more about the FT Spitfire as a design. David Windestal has done an astonishing job of capturing the pivotal RAF fighter in a format that is easy to reproduce and has excellent flight qualities.
If you want to know more about the FT Spitfire or download the plans you can take a look at the articles on Flite Test:
Bringing the two together…
There was nothing astonishing about this build. I used my normal technique of laying the plan over a sheet of foam board and tracing through using a pin. The worst bit was all those curved edges that can only be cut freehand. The trick here is to be slow, steady, and try to cut the entire curve in a single slice.
The new foam board cuts as well as any I have used. It always pays to use a sharp blade and I use a mixture of scalpel, cheap snap-off “box cutter” style blades, and a couple of the new specialist cutting tools (which I found a lot cheaper at Cavalier Art Supplies).
I very soon had a big pile of parts and plugged the glue gun in to warm up for the build session.
The most important thing to know about building with Australian foam board is the denser foam won’t crease like you see it doing on the FT build videos. In fact, the Spitfire build video is the first to demonstrate the solution. You will need to score cut all folding lines (such as those in the wing) and then run a skewer or pen along the line to open them up a little and make the fold easier.
The wing is a great construction and it is easy to quickly create a smooth and strong dihedral wing.
I thought the fuselage was going to be a much tougher job but 20 minutes later I had the basic airframe complete. The design and tabs are so solid that the whole thing simply slots together. Even feeding the wing through and securing the tail straight was simple following the excellent build video.
I had decided from the outset that this would be a one-piece model so I didn’t even have to worry about the wing retaining blocks.
The biggest problem I had (and always have) is the power-pod. I’m still not entirely sold on the “swappable” idea. I like being able to remove the whole power unit for maintenance but I don’t think I will ever swap a unit between models during a flying session. In the Spitfire then I simply couldn’t get the pod to fit with the tabs in place. Fortunately removing these doesn’t actually change anything (once the skewer is in place) so I was still good to go.
Finishing off
I was a bit worried about the turtle decks and I never relish the thought of doing them. Once again though, the design was flawless and fitting the decks was an easy and painless process.
Hooking up the control surfaces and motor was merely a formality. I noticed the original used an NTM 2826 motor and having a few sitting around I fitted the same to this model.
The first thing I did after finishing the model was weigh it. The plans state an AUW (without battery) of 420g (15oz) – my model in its finished state came out at 480g (17oz). This was a very nice surprise as I expected a much heavier model and boded well for the test flights.
Time for a maiden flight…
I was desperate to try this one out so I ducked out between rain showers. The only addition I made was a couple of stickers and some reinforced tape to protect the belly and leading edges from the damp grass.
So, without further ado…
Basically, it was awesome!
The ending to the first flight was unfortunate but that can’t detract from the performance. The FT Spitfire flies like it’s on rails – even the victory roll looked authentic!
I will say that the NTM motor with the wooden 9×4 was gutless and has since been replaced with a 10×4.7 slowfly prop that has given much more thrust with only an 18A draw at the ESC.
Conclusion
Despite my initial misgivings about the product from foamboards.com.au I am no longer sorry I made the purchase. The board is as good as I have used at half the price of anything else I can source. It cuts well and builds well and as yet has shown no indication of de-laminating (like the considerably heavier and more expensive Quill board from Officeworks).
If you are looking for cheap Australian foam board and can afford the bulk buy then I would strongly urge you to get online and get some in…
UPDATE!
I just tried to weigh the board I used for the build and by my calculations it came out at 0.29g sq/in (although I could be out a bit with the dodgy scales I used).
What’s more important is that I took another look at the box it came in. The board I was supplied with is called “Antons NuCore” and to my surprise I was supplied with a 30 SHEET BOX for the price of 25. That brings the price down to $3.40 for a half sheet – woohoo!
– See more at: http://flitetest.com/articles/ft-spitfire-australian-foam-board#sthash.0OYKs0Ha.dpuf
Brilliant article Mike. Essential information for the Aussie scratch builder.
Just a query…is this out of 5mm Foam board or 5mm Matt board from Foamworks???
I added an update to the FliteTest article but forgot to add it here!
This is the 5mm Foam Board from foamworks. In fact the box was labelled as “Antons NuCore” and when I checked I had got 30 sheets for the price of 25! Now we are looking at $3.40 per half sheet, which is pretty awesome!
Nice! Well, fingers crossed for a box of 25 being 30 that are on their way to Victoria! Thanks for all your work (and this site) Mike……Now let’s see…the Bloody Wonder Mk2? The Ft F22? The “Spit”???? Oh what the heck…I’ll have the foam…I’ll build ’em all!!! LOL!
Well, I’ve already got one Bloody Wonder but I do have 2 or 3 transmitters, and that combat flying looks like fun…
This is Awesome. I really liked the smooth flight thru the air. Thank you for the update on the Foam. I will definitely get some. Made my own spit out of 5 mm I got from a local frame shop. This plane is a great flyer.
How does this foam compare to 6mm white depron?
The foam board is a lot heavier than 6mm Depron but it is also a lot stronger. You wouldn’t want to build an indoor model from Australian foam board but for flying outdoors it is actually a lot better as it can handle the wind better than Depron.
That said, for curved surfaces like turtle decks the Depron is better as you can “cold roll” it to form a curve – something you can never do with foam board as the paper just wrinkles.
Have you seen this from FT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB905B4d6HI&t=12
Well it would be nice to get the same foamboard as they use.
Cheers Zac
I have and I’ve also been in touch with the guys at Flite Test to see how we can go about getting it over here. I’ve even offered Red20RC’s services as a distributor if required. Fingers crossed!
Can u peal off the paper from this foam board the one u bought it from
foamboard.com.au
????
I must admit that I have never tried to! I’ll give it a go and let you know.
Just thought i would add, I bought a 25 pack of A1 size off ebay. Took a little searching to find it on ebay. I too got the bug after watching the flitetest videos. My brother and i have nearly finished our builds of two FT 3D’s. Pretty good stuff! (5mm Acid Free White PS Foam Board with 157gsm Coated Paper Art Board, A1 x25pcs) Ebay ltem number 271636233327. Hope it Helps 🙂
Thanks! Always worth finding good new sources of foam board!
157 gsm seems ludicrously light – standard office paper is 80gsm, and this stuff is supposed to be less than double that? Even Adam’s foam board (the Dollar Tree stuff) is 250+ gsm, and it’s supposed to be the lightest one.
I think that eBay seller may have made a mistake.
Maybe it meant the paper was 157gsm?!
Thanks Mike.
Full disclosure…Foamboards.com.au is my business and I take great pride in being able to supply foam board sheets here in Australia.
Biggest problem for us is that it costs about 10K to land an empty container here in Australia and foam board although light-weight has volume which is reflected in the pricing.
We do try to provide the best service and always attempt to deliver product in the best condition we can an if there are any issues we are a genuine company that will back our products because we are not here for the short term..in fact our parent company has 25 years experience in Australia.
Something most people don’t know is we do have uncoated boards in 3mm, 5mm and 10mm thickness. They are not listed on the website as standard but if you have a need for them please reach out as I am more than happy to help where we can.
My personal background is in boomerang throwing and manufacture and I’ve used foam boards as part of my carbon fibre boomerang manufacturing process since 1998.
Although not an RC model builder I have extensive experience at building things that fly.
Several times throughout my life I’ve held world records for a variety of flying objects.
I still have a world record for the furthest distance any object has been thrown. 427.2m set on the 15th March 2005 for an Australian Guinness World Record television event.
My main business is located in Brisbane but we co-share warehouse space Australia wide in each State capital to enable the business to deliver sheets pretty much anywhere in Australia.
For the people who prefer to get a pre-cut design there are options available to get designs cut on our CNC machines. This may defeat the scratch-built approach but can save time if that is a concern for you.
If you ever need samples please hit us up.
Although suppling foam board is part of my business I genuinely have a passion for creative people and I enjoy hearing of the different results people have with our product.
Thanks for making my job fun.
Best regards,
David Schummy
Hi David,
Thanks so much for taking the time to first of all read the article and then write such a great reply!
This article is now well over a year old and not only am I still using your foam board, but I am still recommending it to anyone who asks me where to buy from. It is by far the best board I have found in Australia and at the best price also (in fact I do need to order some more – you’ve just reminded me).
I know your board is denser and slightly heavier than the stuff Flite Test use but to be honest, given our climate and tendancy for windy conditions here on the coast, I think a little extra mass in the air isn’t such a bad thing. I recently built a KFm6 FPV wing from your foam board that penetrated well, even in 45kph winds!
Keep up the good work. I’ll definitely remain a customer for a while yet. (worth knowing about the uncoated boards as well) 🙂
Cheers,
Mike
What do you use for the turtle decks? Trying to find it in Brisbane. GSM? Name? Big Thank you! Looking at getting down foam from foamboards.com.au too.
You’re in luck. I just found a sheet of it in a box of foam board and it still had the label on it!
I used Quill 230gsm posterboard. The only one I could find in the local Nextra was flouro yellow so I just used it back-side-up but I’m sure they’d have a whole range in somewhere like Officeworks.
Check this out for cheap foam board
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuqpSlXtHoI
Office Works foam board has possibilities. It is expensive, but no more so than the equivalent in balsa wood. The paper covering constitutes about 46% of the weight and, once it is removed, one is left with excellent quality 4mm foam. It is easy to remove the paper. First, apply methylated spirits to thoroughly wet the paper. Keep it wet with metho. After a while, you can apply a water/detergent mix. On no account start with water! You will see the paper start to lift in a couple of places and it can then be easily peeled off.
I scaled a “Flytrap” FG wing to fit the standard 770mm x 500 mm Office Works foam board and fully assembled and taped [but without servos, Rx & battery], it weighs 149 g. It would have been lighter had I removed the paper covering interface between the upper and lower wing sections. I kept the paper on for strength. The finished wing has no need of a spar and the coloured tape adheres readily to the foam. Still to be flown, but I’m confident it will be a goer.
Motto: don’t write off Office Works foam board if an alternative is hard or inconvenient to obtain.
Hi Everyone,
Great article…
Just a quick question,
I know that the best foam board that we have available here in AU is from foamboards.com.au,
Having said that,
has anyone used one called “Jasart Foamboard”?
I just came across with it here in Melbourne the price is probably similar to the quill from officeworks but It looks like the weight is a lot better…
I know that staples is also selling it…
Just wanted your comments in regards to weight ans use..
Cheers
Sorry, I totally missed this comment!
I haven’t seen Jasart board yet but I’d be interested to hear if you have built anything with it yet.