Snow Master

Instructions Fuselage

1.Cut out the fuse according to plans.Make sure the flutes of the coro are running parallel with the fold lines on the very bottom of the fuse sides.

2.Mark and score the green fold lines.

3.Start gluing. It helps to tape the first step in the bottom of the fuse and glue that section first. I used polyurethane glue on all corner joints. If you wet the glue after it is applied it will expand like crazy. It is best to put masking or packing tape along the seams to help hold the glue from getting all over.

4.After the glue on that section has cured, you can then work on the front section. Use a heat gun or blow dryer to curve the coro to match the sides of the fuse. Then tape and glue with poly.

5.When the front is cured you can do the back. There is a bit more of a curve, but with a little heat and a little patience you can curve it to match the fuse sides.

6.Cut 2 pieces of 4 mil coro 9”x 3” with the flutes the 3” direction. Glue these inside to double up the where the wing will mount.

7.Cut 2 bulkheads out of 4 mil that will fit inside of the fuse ahead of and behind the wing mount doublers. These can also be glued in with poly glue.

8.Cut 4 2” square pieces of 4 mil coro. Glue them in place inside of the fuse in front of the forward bulkhead and behind the rear bulkhead. The forward ones may need to be trimmed to fit. These will be used to stiffen up where the wing hold down dowels go through.

9.Now build the tail feathers. Cut 2 vertical stabilizers out of 4 mil Coro. Make sure the rudder hinge line matches up with a flute, and that they are both exactly the same. Glue the 2 stabs together and cut out a flute on each side to make the rudder hinge.

10.Cut Horizontal Stabilizer out of 4 mil Coro. Cut the elevator hinge line.

11.Cut 2 L brackets out of PVC. They need to be 3” long and each side of the L should be 1 Ό”.

12.Using #6 sheet metal screws, screw the L brackets to the top of the vertical and the horizontal onto the L brackets, making sure everything is square.

13.Now mount the Stabilizers in the fuse. Cut slots in the bottom of the fuse to line up with the tabs on the bottom of the Vertical. Make sure the rudder hinge line is lined up with the back of the fuse.

14.Glue the stabs in place with poly glue. Make sure the horizontal is parallel with top of the fuse.

15.Cut the V-stab stiffener out of 4 mil coro. Cut a slot in it the same width as vertical stab. Slide it in the fuse towards the top to help hold the vertical in place. You may need to trim it to get the fit just right. Once you have it trimmed so it fits and the Vertical is square, glue in place with Poly glue.

16.Mount the elevator and rudder servo in the fuse. It is best to put them as far forward as possible, just behind the forward bulkhead. I made a tray out of 4 mil coro. It works, but one made of light ply or PVC might be better. You will need a flexible pushrod or cable to connect the elevator servo. You will need something to hold the ends of the cable guide in place. I used PVC control horns screwed in place beside the servo. The cable guide was run from the servo part way back inside of a flute of the Coroplast. This looks a little neater but is not necessary. The rudder can be controlled with a conventional pushrod.

17.Once everything is mounted, the top of the fuse can be enclosed. Cut the front and back covers out of 2 mil coro. Glue the covers to the tabs on the top of the fuse. The ends will need to be trimmed to wrap over and fit inside of the fuse.

18.Cut two 5 ½” long Ό” dowels.

19.Drill the wing hold down dowel holes ½” in front of the leading edge and ½” behind trailing edge of the wing just below the top of the fuse.

Engine Mount

To build the engine mount, you will need a plastic cutting board. They can be purchased for a few dollars from Walmart or your local hardware store. There are 2 different kinds, Poly and Acrylic. The Poly is the kind to use as the acrylic is too brittle. The board will be about 10”x14”x7/16” thick. Cut out the mount based on the plans. A band saw works best.

The prototype was built with an OS .25FP engine, a 4 ounce fuel tank, and a standard size servo. This engine is adequate for flying from snow and the 4 oz tank gives plenty of flight time. If you plan to fly off water or are looking for a little more performance, you will probably want a ball bearing .25+ size engine or a bushing .40 size engine and will need a larger fuel tank. The mount will have to be modified to fit your engine and fuel tank. Just make sure you have room for everything to fit and room for your prop to clear the top of the fuselage.

Wing Instructions

1. Cut a 10 ½”x48” piece of 4 mil with the flutes running the 48” direction.

2. Cut out the ailerons and mark the spar location according to the plans.

3. Cut out 2 10 Ό”x24” pieces of 2 mil with the flutes running the 10 Ό” direction.

4. Mark and score the fold lines according to the plans.

5. Glue the top wing sections to the bottom wing sections. Over lap them Ύ” and glue in place according to the plans.

6. Using CA, glue a 1 1/8” tall spar to the bottom wing section according to plans. This can be made of yardstick using two 24” sections glued together in the center using 6” doublers on both sides of the joint.

7. Using #6x3/4” sheet metal screws, screw the engine mount in place according to the plans. Be sure to use a 2”x4” piece of PVC between the screws and the bottom of the wing to help hold it in place.

8. Trial fold the top of the wing. You will need to trim the center of the 2 top wing halves to clear the engine mount. Make sure the trailing edge does not overlap the aileron hinge. If it does, trim it to fit.

9. When everything is trimmed to fit, put CA glue on top of the spar, and glue the trailing edge in place.

10. Make a 6” wide wing wrap using 2 pieces of 2 mil. The flutes should be the 6” direction. The front section will wrap over the leading edge and will need to be trimmed to fit on either side of the engine mount. The back section will need to run back from the engine mount and wrap over the trailing edge. It will have to be trimmed to fit between the ailerons.

11. The aileron servo is mounted in the top of the wing in the center just behind the spar.

Wingtip Floats and Caps

1. Cut the float out of 2 mil coro according to the plans.

2. Score the dotted fold lines.

3. Using a heat gun, curve the bottom to match the sides.

4. Fold the float up and tape it in place. Put a liberal amount of Shoe Goo on the inside of each seam.

5. The float top is 1” longer than the top of the float. Mark lines ½” in from each end.

6. Put a good bead of Shoe Goo around the edges of the top where it will fit onto the float. Glue the float to the float top and tape in place. It will take a good 24 hours or maybe longer for the Shoe Goo to set up. After it is set up, you can remove the tape and clean off any excess Shoe Goo.

7. The floats are then screwed to the bottom of the wing with #6 x ½” sheet metal screws. Use 1 screw in the front and 1 screw in the back screwed through the excess 2 mil on the float top and into the 4 mil wing bottom. Be careful of the screw towards the TE of the wing. ½” may be to long depending on how your wing is glued together. Mount them in about ½” from the wingtips.

Wingtip Caps

Finished

That should about finish it up. Make sure the CG is correct by balancing the plane with your fingertips under the wing. It should balance level at the spar. A tad nose heavy is all right but tail heavy is VERY BAD!!! Set the throws on your Elevator and Ailerons at about ½-3/4” either direction, or 1-1 1/2” total. I still haven’t had a chance to fly the prototype from water, so I’m not sure how it will react. If you plan to fly from water I would suggest putting a coating of Silicone on the outside of the seams on the fuse to help seal everything up. I plan to put foam weather stripping around the top of the fuse where the wing mounts. It is also a good idea to wrap your receiver in some sort of plastic to keep the moisture away from it.

If you’re not comfortable flying from water and want to build a SnowMaster anyway, go ahead. It fly’s great from snow and during the summer it can be hand launched and landed in grass. I also plan to add landing gear to mine but I haven’t quite figured out how I want to do it. I would like to come up with some way to have it removable but still be watertight. I have thought about adding retracts to make it a true amphibian but this one is a bit small for the added weight. I may stretch the wingspan to 60”+ and use a Thunder Tiger .46 Pro or a Magnum XL .53. When and if I do, I will take construction photos and update if anyone is interested. If you have any questions or comments, please send me an Email. Thank you and Happy Flying!