I started rc3Dprint back in January 2020, I can vividly remember sitting at Heathrow airport (on standby) clicking the button to make the website live. I couldn't possibly have known the turns that 2020 would take.
Its been a pretty miserable year for most of us, but the one thing I can be grateful for was the hundreds of hours I was able to spend designing the models now available on the website.
Building RC planes, and especially 3D printing them is full of ups and down, big highs of successful maidens and big lows of watching something you have spent hours on smash into the ground. From a designers point of view, watching my creations being flown by someone I have never met, in some far flung corner of the globe is an amazing feeling and has certainly made the project worth while.
Hundreds of planes have been downloaded this year, and with the exception of one, I have only received warm, constructive feedback - even when have had to forge ahead together to diagnose and fix printing difficulties occasionally, it has been a pleasure. And so, to everyone who has downloaded a model or been in touch, thank you for making this year so exciting, gratifying and a bit less covid-miserable.
There is a lot in the works for 2021. I have two models essentially complete but needing testing. We have the 1m wing span Grumman X29 and another twin, the 1.3m span Lockheed 12A Electra Junior.
The Piaggio Avanti, which was released as a prototype has received enough feedback and help now that I feel confident going forward with it. The design will essentially be started again from scratch, using techniques that I have developed and improved thought the year.
The Cessna Skymaster is also ready for an upgrade. Lee Ray, from the podcast RC Roundtable was instrumental in getting the original Skymaster flying so well and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his patience and expert advise. Thanks to Lee's feedback the version 2 Skymaster should be easier to build and operate. I also plan to make it printable in LW-PLA.
After dipping my toe into the world of VTOL I plan to dive in, with the completion of the AW609 that I was trialling in the summer, and another classic VTOL design (which I'll keep under wraps for now, and just say this, EDF 😛). Both of which will be built around the cheap and easily available kk2 control board.
And finally, I have one other project planned for next year that I'm really excited about and hope will bring 3D printed RC flying to even more people, especially those without masses of space to fly. With LW-PLA I'm going to see what we can up to with UMX electronics. More to come on this on 2021.
Thank you all for making 2020 so successful for www.rc3dprint.com, with you help we can push the world of 3D printed model aircraft to new heights!
Let me know in the comments what you would like to see in 2021?
All the best,
Jon
rc3dprint@icloud.com