Glow Stick — Build Guide

At a glance

• Difficulty: Beginner to build, easy to fly
• Wingspan: 1204 mm (47.4")
• Length: 926 mm (36.5")
• Flying weight: 800 g (1.8 lb, no LEDs) – 1050 g (2.3 lb, 536 LEDs)

Overview

Thank you for purchasing a model by Lofted Aero! 3D printed aircraft are an exciting new segment of the hobby, and we've got no shortage of ideas for new designs. Your support helps us make those reality.

The Glow Stick is inspired by old-school stick type models that nearly every pilot has owned or flown at some point. But it's not just a nostalgia trip – in a high-tech twist, it can be optionally equipped with over five hundred individually addressable RGB LEDs.

Skill meter

Build: With a simple design and low parts count, this build is just about as easy as it gets! It is well suited to be someone's first 3D printed model.

Flight: This model has stable handling characteristics and a low wing loading. This combined with its simple rudder-and-elevator-only controls makes it quite an easy model to fly. While 3D printed models still generally aren't durable enough to be a first R/C airplane, pilots of any skill level shouldn't have much trouble flying the Glow Stick.

Specifications

Spec	Value
Wingspan	1204mm (47.4")
Length	926mm (36.5")
Wing Area	33.6dm2 (3.62ft2)
Print Weight	~400g
Flying Weight	800g (No LEDs) – 1050g (536 LEDs)
Wing Loading	24-31g/dm2 (7.8-10.2oz/ft2)
Airfoil	Custom, high-camber

Recommended equipment

The following hardware & electronics are required to complete the Glow Stick. In addition, you'll need some CA glue and activator, your R/C transmitter and receiver, and a LiPo battery charger.

Power system & avionics

Item	Details
Motor	SunnySky 2216 1100kV with APC 10x4.7 Propeller
ESC	40A ESC
Battery	3S 1800mAh (no LEDs) to 3S 2700mAh (full LEDs)
Servos	Micro Metal Gear (x2)

Lighting equipment (optional)

Item	Details
Addressable LEDs	WS2815 12V LEDs IP30 16.4ft (x3)
Control Board	Arduino Nano or Equivalent
Cables & Connectors	Servo Extensions & Plugs, XT30 for Power

Filament

Use	Filament
Foaming LW-PLA for Wings and Tail	3DLabPrint PolyLight
Regular PLA (Or PETG) for Fuselage Parts	3DLabPrint PolyAir
TPU for Tires	3DLabPrint FlexiLight

Hardware & structure

Item	Part
Fuselage Square Tube	Carbon Fiber 10mm x 10mm x 8.5mm Square Tube
Wing and Landing Gear Rods	Carbon FIber 3mm x 1000mm Rod (x2)
Axles	M3 x 20mm Cap Screws with M3 Washers and Nylock Nuts
Pushrods	K&S 1.2mm Piano Wire and optional Dubro EZ-Connectors
Fuselage Clamp Fitting Screws	#3 x 5/16" Tapping Screws (or equivalent)
Wing Attachment	Good old-fashioned rubber bands

Printing thin-wall models

Desktop 3D printers are perfectly capable of producing great-flying R/C models durable enough to withstand hangar rash and general use. However, aircraft designs contain a unique mix of thin surfaces and intricate solid supports that require some practice to print perfectly. Keep the following tips in mind when printing your model.

Slicing with OrcaSlicer

The model download includes .3MF project files for OrcaSlicer – a modern, free, and open source slicer with wide support for popular printers and the ability to utilize multiple plates and varying settings within a single project. These project files include print settings tailored to the model as well as filament settings with adjusted temperature and retractions. The provided settings have been tested to suit a wide range of printers – in most cases, no changes should be necessary aside from choosing your printer.

The video below provides a guide for opening the .3MF project files in OrcaSlicer and ensuring the included process and filament settings are applied properly.

Tutorial video

Modifiers and per-object settings

OrcaSlicer allows per-object modifications to slicing settings, and this method is frequently used in the provided .3MF files. When making settings changes, be mindful of these per-object settings as well as any height range or other modifiers that have been applied to each part. You can use the "View all object's settings" button to quickly view the modifications for all part files in each project.

(example screenshot shown – may not represent this model)

Other printing options

If you'd rather configure and slice the STL files yourself with the software and method of your choice, refer to the table below to configure slicing settings for the different types of parts.

Parts	Material	Perimeters	Infill	Top/Bottom Layers	Print Temp	Bed Temp	Supports
Wings, Tail	LW-PLA	1 (Vase)	None	None	230C	56C	No
Tires	TPU	3	15%	6/6	240C	Off (25C)	No
Wheels	PLA	3	100%	5/4	225C	60C	No
Battery Tray, Servo Mount, Tail Skid	PLA	3	100%	5/4	225C	60C	Yes
All Other Parts	PLA	3	100%	5/4	225C	60C	No

Quality filament

Using good quality filament can be the key to successful thin-wall prints. Foaming LW-PLA is the filament of choice for these prints due to its low warp and high interlayer bond strength – but not all LW-PLA is created equally. With poor quality filament, you may notice surface imperfections, underextrusion, or inconsistent foaming. We've had the best results with 3DLabPrint's "PolyLight" LW-PLA and strongly recommend it for printing Lofted Aero models. If it's not available in your region, Colorfabb's LW-PLA is a good substitute. Bambu PLA Aero will produce acceptable results, but weight and surface finish tend to be worse than the 3DLabPrint or Colorfabb materials.

Print log

Reference print weights for each part.

Part	Weight
LW-PLA
Wing L1	30g
Wing R1	30g
Wing L2	31g
Wing R2	31g
Wing L3	31g
Wing R3	31g
Wing L4	10g
Wing R4	10g
Tail L1	18g
Tail R1	18g
Tail L2	4g
Tail R2	4g
Vertical Tail	16g
Tail Joiner	1g
TPU
Tire (2x)	2g each
PLA
Wheel (2x)	9g each
PLA — “Fuselage Parts” plate
Aft Wing Mount	8g
Battery Tray	13g
Elevator Control Horn	1g
Forward Wing Mount	9g
Landing Gear Base	8g
Landing Gear Joint (2x)	2g each
Pushrod Guide	2g
Rudder Control Horn	1g
Servo Mount	7g
Tail Mount Bracket (2x)	3g each
Tail Skid	4g
Center Wing Joiner	19g
Forward Wing Joiner	8g
Aft Wing Joiner	4g
Motor Mount	12g

Joining parts

The Glow Stick's printed sections are joined with CA glue (Bob Smith brand works well) and activator. There's only one type of joint primarily used in the model.

Tongue and groove joint

Mating parts typically have a tapered/stepped "tongue" on one part designed to slide into a recessed "groove" mating area on the other part. Place a bead of CA along the perimeter of the tongue – the best area is usually where the angled and straight segments meet. Then place that part on top of the grooved mating part, using gravity to hold the parts together. Verify proper alignment and spray CA activator to secure.

Wing assembly

1. Arrange the wing 1, 2, and 3 parts as shown. Don't worry about getting 2 & 3 mixed up – they're identical! If planning to use LED strips, check the channels for "elephant's foot" and trim if necessary so that the strips can pass through the joints between sections.

   

2. Use CA to glue the sections together. You can use a carbon fiber rod to assist with alignment if you'd like, but don't glue the rod in yet.

   

Optional LED installation

1. Cut LEDs into eight strips of 29 per wing. Lay them out as shown, paying special attention to the direction of the printed arrows. Prepare some ~80mm long servo leads for the connections between strips, and a servo receptacle on the top corner for the input connection from the control board.

   

2. Solder the joiner leads on the side with the input connection. The input signal lead should connect to the "DI" pad on the first strip. From then on, the "DO" of each strip should connect to the "DI" on the next.

   

3. Slide the LED strips into their slots in the wings, with the input connector at the root leading edge. Slide them in far enough such that they protrude from the tips at the far end.

   

   

   

4. Solder joiner leads on the tip side. Again, make sure to connect the "DO" pads with adjacent "DI" pads.

   

5. Slide the strips back into the wing and tuck the wiring into the spaces between slots.

   

6. If necessary, trim slots in the wingtip joint area to clear the LED joiner wires.

   

Wing completion and joining

1. Glue the wingtip onto the completed wing assembly.

   

2. Repeat with the opposite wing. If installing LEDs, be sure to mirror the direction of the strips such that the input is still at the root leading edge.

   

3. Prepare two 110mm lengths and two 500mm lengths of the solid carbon rod.

   

   

4. Glue the long and short carbon rods into the leading and trailing edges of the wings, respectively. They should protrude about 7mm inwards at the root.

   

   

5. Glue the forward, center, and aft wing joiners together as shown.

   

6. If LEDs are fitted, feed the input leads through the hole at the front of the center joiner.

   

7. Slide the joiner assembly onto one wing. Apply glue to both the carbon rods and the wing skins.

   

8. Repeat with the other wing to complete the wing assembly.

   

Tail assembly

1. Using a straightedge, carefully trim away the material covering the underside of the hinge on Tail L1 and R1. Trim at a 45 degree angle between the spanwise ribs, cutting through only one layer.

   

   

2. Perform the same procedure with Tail L2, Tail R2, and the vertical tail.

   

   

Optional LED installation

1. Cut LEDs into four strips of nine per tail. Lay them out as shown, paying special attention to the direction of the printed arrows. Prepare some ~80mm long servo leads for the connections between strips, and a servo receptacle on the top corner for the input connection from the control board.

   

2. Solder the joiner leads on the side with the input connection. The input signal lead should connect to the "DI" pad on the first strip. From then on, the "DO" of each strip should connect to the "DI" on the next.

   

3. Slide the LED strips into their slots in the tail, with the input connector at the root leading edge. Slide them in far enough such that they protrude from the tips at the far end.

   

4. Solder joiner leads on the tip side. Again, make sure to connect the "DO" pads with adjacent "DI" pads.

   

5. Slide the strips back into the tail and tuck the wiring into the spaces between slots.

   

Tail completion and joining

1. Glue Tail 2 onto Tail 1.

   

2. Repeat with the opposite wing. If installing LEDs, be sure to mirror the direction of the strips such that the input is still at the root leading edge.

   

3. Glue the control horns into their slots left tail and vertical tail.

   

   

4. Glue the tail mounts into their slots on one side of the horizontal tail. This image shows a previous version of the tail mounts, but there's no functional difference for installation.

   

5. Glue the elevator joiner into the same side of the tail as the tail mounts.

   

6. Glue the opposite horizontal tail onto both the tail mounts and the elevator joiner.

   

7. Glue the vertical tail onto the top posts of the tail mounts to complete the tail assembly.

   

Landing gear assembly

1. Prepare four 180mm lengths of the solid carbon rod.

   

2. Glue the landing gear base and joints to the four carbon rods. You can use another length of carbon rod between the axle holes to keep things aligned – though this shouldn't be glued.

   

3. Slip the tires over the wheel hubs. You can use some flexible adhesive (such as UHU or Foam-Tac) to keep the tires attached securely.

   

4. Mount the wheels to the landing gear using M3 screws, washers, and lock nuts.

   

Fuselage assembly

1. Cut the carbon square fuselage tube to 805mm in length.

   

2. Slide the fuselage components onto the tube in the positions shown. These are simply recommendations – you can reposition the battery, servos, or even the wings if need be to achieve CG later. The position of the rear wing mount can be set by placing the wing on the mounts and adjusting for a good fit.

   

3. Use tapping screws to tighten the clamp mounts on the fuselage components, securing them in place.

   

4. Use servo screws to attach the two servos to the servo mount. Center them, and slide pushrods through the pushrod guide.

   

5. Slide the tail assembly onto the aft fuselage, with the aft tail mount flush with the end of the carbon square tube. Tighten the clamps on the mounts to secure and use Z-bends or EZ-Links to connect the pushrods to the control surfaces.

   

6. Install the motor using its mounting screws.

   

7. Use cable ties to install the ESC and secure the motor and battery leads.

   

8. Similarly, use cable ties to secure the receiver, antennas, and servo leads.

   

9. Use Velcro and/or a strap to secure the battery to the battery tray. Install your propeller after ensuring safe and correct R/C setup.

   

10. Install the wing using six rubber bands. Assembly is now complete!

    

Optional LED control board

1. The open-source example code drives WS2815 LEDs using an Arduino Nano or equivalent. Wire the Arduino as shown, using servo cables and connectors of appropriate lengths to reach the LED connectors on the wings and tail surfaces. You may wire the 12V LED power leads either directly to the main 3S battery, or with a connector in between. R/C channels for selecting LED patterns and controlling brightness are optional – but note that 5V and ground from the receiver is required either way to supply power to the Arduino.

   

2. Shrink wrap the control board as shown and use cable ties to attach it to the aircraft.

   

   

   

   

3. Use the Excel template spreadsheet to create lighting patterns of your choice and export them to the "patterns.h" header file.

   

4. Use the Arduino sketch to flash the lighting control sketch and patterns file to the board.

   

5. Additional information about the example code and flashing process are available from the GitHub repository and in the tutorial video below.

Setup & finishing

Adjust control deflections using the suggested throws below. Dual rates and expo are optional depending on your preferences.

Suggested control throws

Control	Travel
Elevator	30 mm up / 30 mm down
Rudder	40 mm left / 40 mm right

The recommended CG is located 85mm behind the wing leading edge at the root, along the third LED channel. Ensure that the model balances at this location with the battery and electronics installed. Sliding the battery tray is the easiest way to adjust CG.

You're ready to fly!

Contact us

Have a question, issue, or just a cool idea for the next aircraft we should model? Drop us an email at: info@loftedaero.com