Glade Runner RC Airboat 1:8 scale by Black Crow

Are you new to Black Crow Prints? All the STL files are here free on Printables.com. A non printed parts list is below along with easy step by step assembly videos. Help is available, usually within 24hrs. You can contact me thru private message or comments on the makes and comments tab. File updates are always listed at the bottom of each description page. Ways you can help: Let me know when I make a mistake. Share your builds with friends on social media and subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you would like to help me provide these models free to others you can become a “My Club” member. No obligation implied and you will get no special treatment from me other than my appreciation. .. Now go build an adventure. 

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Glade Runner RC 1:8 scale Airboat by Black Crow

Pull Trailer for Air Boat- https://www.printables.com/model/616420-glade-runner-trailer-black-crow 

Want to build a RC boat without most of the hassles of a boat? 

  As someone that hates the hassle of gluing and sealing tiny fragile hull pieces together with hopes that they don't leak, I wanted a boat that was, … well?… less boat like. It had to be easy to put together, strong, dependable and fun to drive. I think I accomplished that. This boat is put together with screws. Each of the three hull sections floats independent of the boat as a whole. Each of the three sections is a block that floats. Water can get between the sections without causing problems. The idea is that water is going to get in. The water that does get in is kept to a minimum by displacement. In other words, there is little area to get into. Any excess water that does get in is funneled out through drain paths when the boat moves forward.

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Airboat (Fan boat, Swamp boat, Bayou boat, Plane boat)

Airboats are a common means of transportation in marshy and/or shallow areas where a submerged propeller would be impractical, most notably in the Florida Everglades where I spent much of my childhood, hence the name Glade Runner. Airboats can also be found in the Kissimmee and St. Johns rivers, and the Mekong River and Delta, as well as the Louisiana bayous and Mesopotamian Marshes.  Airboats also have a place on Ice and snow. (Ice airboat) Airboats are very fast compared to comparably-sized motorboats. Slow airboats generally sail at speeds of around 35 miles per hour while race airboats can go as fast as 135 miles per hour at less than 16 feet long. Back in the 1970's one of the most sought after engines for an airboat was the 1962 Buick aluminum block Fireball V6. (also sold in the Jeep CJ5 “Dauntless” ) Today some airboats have engines with 1,000 HP or more. This model example is less of a bayou boat and more of a larger open area boat 

Pro Tip: Don't try to water ski behind an airboat. The winds can reach speeds of 150mph.

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Testing:

This model has been extensively tested for best motor/propeller combinations. I tested 9 propellers on two motors with surprising results. 

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Driving This Airboat- Airboats steer with the rudders. Just like a jet ski, without throttle you have no steering. Also if you are going full speed and let off the throttle entirely the boat will slow down then spin around backward. To keep from spinning out you must maintain some throttle until the boat drops below boats planing speed. (speed boat drops back down into the water) The throttle also increases the boat’s stability when hitting waves. 
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!!!!!!! The Ender3  was advertised as having a 235 x 235 bedplate. This was changed at some point to 220 x 220. It is possible to print this model at 220x220. You will have to turn off brims and skirts. You will also have to turn the hull portions one degree at a time then center until it fits. Pre sliced .gcode for Ender 3 is available at the top of the parts page. 

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Motors: I suggest using the FlashHobby D3542 1,450kv. I tested the flashhobby D3536 and it did very well. The The 9x6 prop is at the very limit of its capabilities. I suggest using a 9x5 prop if you are going to use the 3536 motor. In the end the D3542 motor had enough power to dominate the 9x6e prop and added dependable speed to the project. 

Propellers: The plastic efficacy 9x6e is the best all around prop for the D3542 motor. You could go as high as a 9x9e, but expect problems! The 9x9 does not allow the motor to get up to speed easily resulting in overheating and loss of ESCs. If using the smaller 3536 motor I suggest the 9x5e. 

Side note: The wooden XAOR 9x6 propeller did almost as well as the plastic 9x6e. No other propellers came even close  

ESC: IMPORTANT!! I tested several cheap 60amp and one 80amp ESCs on this boat and burned every one of them up. The only 60 amp ESC that held up was the (Hobbywing 30105060004 Quicrun-WP-10BL60 Waterproof ESC). I have also tested a cheap 120amp ESC that fit and worked very nicely. You will need to change the ends on your motor to 4mm connectors. An oversized ESC will not burn up a undersized motor. Motor pull what they need and no more. 

Waterproofing 

It is important to note the battery could become submerged. The research that I have done notes that RC lipo batteries are waterproof. The back side of the steering servo sits in water while the business end stays above water, at least most of the time. The steering servos are advertised as waterproof. The Motor, ESC and receiver sit well above the water. The motor is resistant to fresh water. Some project even use these motors fully submerged in water with a reduced life expectancy due to bearing lubrication loss. The ESC is waterproof. Most receivers are NOT waterproof yet can and should be made waterproof with methods easily found on YouTube. While I have not had any water leak through my Prusa 3D printed parts. Some might want to do a bit of extra waterproofing by painting the hull. Paint should seal the layer lines. I personally would use a clear coat paint but a nice non 3D printed look might be nice too. For a smoother faster boat an epoxy can be used on the bottom water surface. No paint or epoxy was used on any of the boats in the intro videos. Future videos testing the effectiveness of using epoxy will be labeled as such. 

  Disclaimer - Although the research I have done says RC Lipo batteries are waterproof, Lipo Batteries can be dangerous. Build at your own risk. 

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Builder's Videos - *** MUST SEE!! ***

  Eddie D. - Glade Runner on ICE  here

  Eddie D. - Glade Runner on Snow  here

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Assembly videos

Dimensions:  1:8 Scale - Bigger than most people expect 

Long 65cm  (25.5 inches)

Wide 28cm (11 Inches)

Tall 30cm (11.75 inches)

Full run weight 2.6kg. ( 5lbs 14oz) At the most! Yours should be lighter 

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Filament: 

I use only PLA plus. 

Filament Management Hull: 

The four hull sections use more than one full roll of filament. 1,200 You can buy two rolls of the same color or get creative. Example, The red stripe on the boat seen in the videos. Over half of the center section is a second color along with the first 7mm of the front section. This gets the total below 1kg. Strategy- Print the Center section last. Don't forget the battery cover.

Battery Cover - 30g (5% infill)

HullFront - 284g  ( 5% infill ) 

HullCenter - 384g  ( 5% infill )

HullRear - 376g  ( 5% infill )

HullEnd - 126g  (5% infill )

Supports: No Supports! - Disable supports. The supports are built into the model.

Infill and outer layers: This is a boat-plane that need to be light and strong! 

Hull, Seats and Rudders 5% infill and two outer layers.

Everything else 20% infill and two outer layers. 

Layer height: Designed for 0.2 ( Not overly important )

Nozzle: 0.4 ( This is important! ) When designing you always keep the 0.8mm minimum wall thickness in mind. The minimum for a 0.6 would be 1.2mm. I did not design to that restriction.

Other: I used gyroid infill with  5 top layers and 4 bottom layers. 

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Non Printable parts: 

Links are US Amazon Affiliates  

Motor- D3542 1450kv https://amzn.to/3ViBaO2 

ESC- QUICRUN-WP-10BL60 Hobbywing https://amzn.to/4nHptwB 

Battery- 3S Hard Case 138 x 47 x 37 https://amzn.to/43SwZM8 

Servo- Steering 25kg waterproof https://amzn.to/4cVPt2r 

Propeller- 9x6e https://amzn.to/4nzK0CW 

Connectors- 4mm female banana ( convert motor 3mm to 4mm) Also make sure your battery connector matches the ESC https://amzn.to/3vUCxcs 

Wire- 12 AWG to extend the ESC power wires https://amzn.to/4aQPOSo 

Bearings- Four 3x6x2.5 bearings https://amzn.to/3UczOEz 

My Favorite Radio TX for the money Spektrum - https://amzn.to/46rTE3R 

Screws: (screws are regular machine thread screws)

M3 x 16mm -6 ( 2 screws need to be button head holding bearings at bottom of rudder)

M3 x 12mm -9

M3 x 10mm -6

M3 Nuts -2

M3 Washers -8

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M2 x 20mm -22

M2 x 16mm -26 

M2 x 12mm -20

M2 x 10mm -8

M2 x 8mm -19

M2 x 6mm -4

M2 x 4 mm -11

Other: Thread locker for motor and servo screws,  double sided tape or glue to hold ESC and switch. 

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Update Oct 29 2023- Updated HullCenter HullFront, Added holes. Holes were missing to secure the floor. If you have an older version the floor would need to be glued down. 

Update Feb 20 2024 Fixed hole depth on 01CageLeft and 02CageRight 

Update Feb 27 2024 Added finned rear slide at bottom of parts listing. Fin reduces rear slide and spinout. (bottom of parts in this listing) 

Update Feb 29 2024 Added Cage and grab rails without supports to requested parts listing. Parts are in to 500 section. https://www.printables.com/model/396992-requested-and-retired-parts 

Update Mar 1 2024 Added two part cage for Ender3. 

Update Mar 1 2024 Added two part cage without supports for Ender3 in requested parts listing. Parts are in the 500s.  https://www.printables.com/model/396992-requested-and-retired-parts 

Update Mar 12 2024 Added tall slides to make steering less sensitive. reduces rear spin (No fin version) Also gives better ride on ice. (bottom of parts in this listing) 

Update Mar 24 2024 Added side support to supports on 01CageLeft and 02CageRight

Update April 23 2024 Fixed O4SlideRear2X - Slide had too many holes. Extra hole encouraged puncture of hull. 

Update June 9 2024 Fixed hole location on 09Cage to 12MotorPodBack 

Update June 25 2024 Added Ender3 V2 sliced files at top of parts page 

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Antenna Clip  https://www.printables.com/model/647136-glade-runner-antenna-clip 

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Over Extruding, You should really get that fixed! 

Prusa and Bambu printers usually print this model without any problems. Other printers might need to be dialed in. I picked this video because it explains all of the horizontal expansion settings.

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License- Some file sharing platforms are taking files off sites and placing them on their sites without the knowledge of the designer. I am not OK with that. These models are updated here with the feedback given here. I intend to keep the home of this model here. This is the reason for the strict license of this model. I am not concerned with hobbyists sharing and remixing this model, Enjoy