KAMS Member Build Project

3D Printed 2 Metre Slope Racing Glider

3D printing has become a modern and increasingly popular way to create model aircraft airframes, allowing builders to produce complex, lightweight parts with impressive accuracy and repeatability. It opens up new possibilities for custom design, rapid prototyping and easy replacement of damaged components, making it an ideal method for experimenting with new model designs, refining performance and bringing innovative model aircraft projects to life.

Below is my first venture into 3D printing a model, not just any model but one which closely follows the current trend in 3 metre F3x glider design. See below for model details & photo’s of the build process ~ Rossco

3D Printed Airframe

Slope Setup

Radio Install

Flight Testing

Project Overview

This build focuses on creating a strong and practical 3D printed slope glider suited for medium to strong local slope conditions and Sportsman (2 metre) class F3F racing, while still being cheap to make, simple to repair, tune and refine.

The aim is to document the airframe print, assembly with carbon reinforcement, radio installation, balancing and real-world flight performance as the project progresses.

Build Goals

Light, strong printed main structure utilising PETG, ABS and PLA filaments
Use readily available carbon strip and square bar to increase airframe rigidity
Ability to carry a decent amount of additional ballast around the designed CG
Clean, simple control setup and linkage geometry
High flight performance in local slope soaring conditions
Good slope bash-ability and repairability

Airframe & Build Notes

This model is based on a design from Geode. Thanks to him for the original design work, which I used as the basis for my own interpretation shown here.

The original design was a 1.5 metre span and printed entirely in PLA. I modified the wing span to 2 metres, added additional length to the carbon spar caps, used longer wing joiners, thinner aerofoils and larger V-tails.

From the outset I wanted to use ABS and PETG as the primary construction materials for the airframe. I settled on ABS for the fuselage to make it relatively bash-proof, and PETG for the wings for added stiffness.

I’m using my Creality K1C printer, which is capable of printing parts up to 220 x 220 x 250mm. The model is broken up into sections shorter than 250mm to fit within these limits. This means I can print three wing panels, a full set of tails or all the fuselage sections in one go, making the printing process fairly efficient.

My bulk carbon order finally arrived – now I can continue the build! (see the image gallery below)

Of note, the fuselage will have an internal 10mm square hollow tube as it’s backbone, the wing has 8 of.5x10mm spar caps from the wing root to 3/4 span & 4 8×8 solid carbon joiners – strength won’t be a issue!