3D Berridi “Gluefree” Entry Level Acrobat

Since we seem to have mastered some of the intricacies of 3D printing and have produced several of 3D Labs offerings I started to look around to see how other people designed their planes. One of the first I came across was the Entry Level Acrobat from 3D Barridi that boasted a “Glue free” construction system and the design was offered for no cost. Now being well known for having short arms and deep pockets I was very attracted to free bit so i thought I’d give it a go. Since I couldn’t locate an 15mm square tube I went for the 14mm CF tube model.

First observations.

The “Glue free” is a bit of a misnomer as it is only the wings that are glue free every thing else, ailerons, elevator and rudder has to be glued.

There seems to be no problem with the STL files as everything printed well without a hitch.

Assembly instructions are very sparse, there is a video but no close up shots of where everything goes.

Problems to be overcome.

Even though we followed printing instructions and printed trial versions of the front motor holder to get the correct diameter for the central CF tube the hole through the fuselage was very tight and had to spent some time with sand paper wrapped around a stick before I got a good fit.

The wing segments click together well but there is a lot of flex at the leading edge and gaps open up between each piece. I might glue small tabs to each piece to help them lock together.

I can’t work out how the front and rear covers lock to the central fuselage section, they keep sliding up and down the tube. A small spot of hot melt glue could be the solution to that one.

Would like to hear back from anyone that has built one and has their own observations on building and flying one.

Cheers, Phil.