AIRPLANE

Hello,

I'm a student Industrial Design in the first year.

We were instructed to make a free flight airplane with a drive source, but we weren't allowed to use an electric motor or a gas motor.

HOW TO MAKE THE AIRPLANE ?

- The wing and the tail are made of a 3mm Depron foam.

- The fuselage is made of a soda bottle. The components for the propulsion of the airplane are attached to the bottle.

- The nose is made of the top of a soda bottle and can be opened and closed easily to inflate the bottle with compressed air.

Here are the steps you have to follow to build the airplane and the templates you can use as a guiding line.

BUILDING THE WING

Major components:

- Depron foam 3mm (3 sheets of 1000mmx700mm)

- carbon tube 4mm diameter (2 carbon tubes of 1000mm)

Glue: hot melt

Paper templates of the ribs (1) and the dihedral spacers (2): templates.pdf

STEPS:

1. Cut 4 center panels for the wing: 500mmx200mm + 2 strips: 500mmx5mm and 4 panels for the wingtips: 350mmx200mm + 2 strips: 350mmx5mm

2. Cut 20 equal airfoil ribs and drill 2 holes of 4mm into each rib (1). Make sure that all the holes are perfectly lined up. The easiest way to do this is to make a wooden template first.

3. Cut the dihedral spacers: 2 of the smallest one, 4 of the middle one, 2 of the biggest one (2).

4. Glue 1 strip to the edge of a center panel. Glue 7 airfoil ribs with 7 cm space in between against the strip. Glue 4 dihedral spacers (a middle, a big, a middle, a small) cross against the last airfoil rib. Repeat for the second wing. (mirrored)

5. Put the carbon tubes in the ribs of the 2 wings.

6. Leave 6 ribs between the wings.

7. Glue 1 strip to the edge of a wingtip. Glue 5 airfoil ribs with 7 cm space in between against the strip. Glue this wingtip on one side of the dihedral spacers. Repeat for the second wingtip. (mirrored)

8. Lightly sand down one side of the bottom plate.

9. Glue the upper plates on the bottom plate.

BUILDING THE FUSELAGE

Major components:

- car tire valve (1)

- stud fitting 6mm with male thread 1/8'' (brand: Legris) (1)

- elbow 6mm (Legris) (4)

- ball valve 2-2 6mm (brand: Legris) (1)

- swivel elbow 6mm with male thread 1/8'' (brand: Legris) (1)

- polyamide hose 6mm (600 mm)

- air amplifier 20mm (1)

- one soda bottle

Glue: hot melt and two-component glue (epoxy)

STEPS:
1. Drill a hole of 9 mm straight through the bottom of the bottle and put the car tire valve from the inside into the hole.

2. Drill a hole of 8 mm straight through the cap of the bottle and put the stud fitting into the cap. Fill the inside of the cap with two-component glue in order to seal the cap and to give strength to the cap. Connect a piece of the hose and attach an elbow.

3. Connect a piece of the hose till the edge of the bottle and attach an elbow.

4. Glue the ball valve with hot melt on the bottle. Make sure the hot melt isn't too hot otherwise the soda bottle will melt.

5. Connect the ball valve and the elbow with the hose.

6. Connect a piece of the hose on the other side of the ball valve till the bottom of the bottle and attach an elbow. Extend with the hose till the other side of the bottle and attach another elbow.

7. Extend with the hose again. Attach the swivel elbow and connect the elbow to the air amplifier.

BUILDING THE NOSE

Major components:

- one soda bottle

- Depron foam 3mm

- duct tape

Glue: hot melt

Paper templates of the nose (3): templates.pdf

STEPS:

1. Cut the top of a soda bottle. Cut one part of the bottle and attach the foam slightly inclined in the opening with duct tape or hot melt.

2. Make in the center of the other part two incisions and fold the plastic. Make the housing around the elbow of the corner with foam and duct tape according to the picture.

ATTACHING THE AIR AMPLIFIER

Major components:

- Depron foam 3mm

- duct tape

Glue: hot melt

Paper templates of the housing (4): templates.pdf

STEPS

1. Attach the air amplifier by making a housing around the swivel elbow.

2. Cut all the parts. Assemble the parts according to the picture.

3. Make the hinge with duct tape. By using duct tape the nose can be opened and closed easily to inflate the bottle.

4. Attach the air amplifier to the nose with duct tape.

5. Attach the foam to the bottle by using spacers. Use magnetic strips to attach the nose to the fuselage.

BUILDING THE TAIL

Major components:

- Depron foam 3mm

- balsa wood

Glue: hot melt

Paper templates of the tail (5): templates.pdf

STEPS:

1. Cut all the parts. Assemble the parts according to the picture.

2. Strengthen the tail wing with balsa. Apply a coat of glue along the interface of the balsa.

3. Apply a coat of glue around the opening and slide the tail over the cap of the bottle.

4. Attach the tail to the bottle with the corners. Apply glue around the cap to give strength.

COVERING THE FUSELAGE AND THE TAIL

Major components:

- Depron foam 3mm

Glue: hot melt

Paper templates of the cover (6): templates.pdf

STEPS

Cut all the parts. Cover the fuselage and the tail according to the pictures.

ASSEMBLING THE AIRPLANE

Major components:

- strong rubber band

- table tennis ball

- matt white paint (spray can)

STEPS

Finish the nose cowl by gluing a table tennis ball into the nose opening and by painting the nose (except for the canopy). Assemble the wing and the fuselage with a rubber band.

ADJUSTING AND FLYING THE AIRPLANE

Open the car tire valve and close the ball valve. Press the air in the bottle by using a bicycle pump. Test the airplane over grassy area by gently thrusting the airplane forward. Don't forget to open the ball valve just before launching.

Make sure you adjust the balance of the airplane so the center of gravity is in 1/3 of the wing.

Good luck and enjoy the flight !