Grounded RC Aircraft Model
by Brandon Builder in Circuits > Remote Control
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Grounded RC Aircraft Model
A self-made remote control airplane, wouldn't that be amazing? Unfortunately, the project failed successfully. Instead of a fully functional radio-controlled airplane, it turned into a fully functional airplane that runs in one direction. This project serves as a model that serves to educate how an airplane functions and why parts are designed in specific ways for the best aerodynamic performance.
Our names are Abhay, Brandon, and Chenyi, and we worked together in Ms. Berbawy’s Principles of Engineering class for half a year to create this project for which we all had high hopes. Although it did not fly, we still learned a lot about the mechanics and structure behind a flying plane.
A special thanks to Ms. Berbawy for giving us this opportunity and making this project possible.
Supplies
2x .374 inch diameter Wooden Dowels
2x .26 inch diameter Wooden Dowels
1x T6A-V2 Transmitter and Receiver
1x Brushless Motor with ESC and Banana Plugs
1x Ovonic 2S 50C 5000mAh 7.4V Lipo Battery
2x short Push Rods, 1x long Push Rod
3-D Printer and PLA Filament for:
- 12x Main Wing Ribs
- 12x Trailing Edge Ribs
- 1x Motor Mount
- 1x Head Housing
- 1x Vertical Stabilizer
- 8x Stabilator Ribs
- 2x Front Wheels
Preparation of the PVC Pipe
Before building, you must drill and cut the PVC Pipe in order to prepare it for the assembly of other parts of the plane.
In the top view, the hole on the top must be cut to allow the motor mount to fit and the zip ties that secure it.
Cut the PVC pipe in half so that you have one piece that is 27.5 inches. The rest can be left aside as extra for the motor mount assembly. Cut out an 8-inch section from the extra PVC pipe.
This will be used later for the motor mount. On one end of the PVC pipe, use a drill press to drill through a half-circle. The diameter of the hole should be 0.5 inches.
Creating the Wings
STEP 2.1: Printing The Ribs and Gathering The Materials.
Before beginning, think about the size of the model you would like. Depending on the size, the number of main wing ribs and trailing edge wing ribs will be different. We used 12 of the main wing ribs and 12 of the trailing edge wing ribs (also known as ailerons), and have attached the files for the exact copies; however, if you do wish to make any modifications to the design, follow a similar shape but modify the dimensions.
After you complete printing all 24 parts grab your .374 in. wooden dowel and .26 in. wooden dowels and cut them to a length of 20.5 inches. You will need two of each and in total 4 dowels.
STEP 2.2: Assembling The Wings
The next step is to assemble the wing.
**NOTE: When doing this project we have found hot glue to be a stronger and faster solution to filling holes and attaching two pieces together.**
In the diagram, we spaced out each of the main ribs 4 inches from each other along the big (.187 diameter) wooden dowel. Start your measurements from the furthest side of the wing. After verifying that the spacing between the ribs was accurate, you can begin the gluing process. While gluing each rib, make sure to straighten the ribs along a flat surface to ensure the evenness of all the ribs across the wing. Once the glue sets feed the small (.26 diameter) wooden dowel through the back of the main ribs. When feeding the dowel into the hole, slide on a trailing edge rib in between each main rib and make sure they match the top curve of the main ribs. Once everything fits and you're happy with the spacing, use hot glue to secure them.
Repeat for the opposing wing and be sure to invert the layout of the other wing.
STEP 2.3: Covering The Wings
Using a marker or pencil, trace the length and width of your main rib onto the butcher paper. Cut off the excess paper and set it aside, as you will need it for the ailerons later. Using a hot glue gun, apply hot glue along each rib.
**NOTE: Slow and steady application of the glue wins the race**
Gluing the paper to the ribs in sections will ensure that no wrinkles are formed in the process of covering them. Ensure that the ribs are in place and parallel to each other when gluing. Set all of them on the table and press the ends flat. This helps to make the wing straight and balanced.
Once complete it is now time to cover the trailing edge ribs. Repeat the process you used to cover the main ribs for the trailing edge of the wing.
STEP 2.4: Attaching The Alieron Servos
Attaching the aileron servos to the ailerons can be tricky. For the right side servo, cut a small section of cardboard twice the size of the servo and glue the servo onto the right side of the cardboard so that the white servo tab is facing the inside of the cardboard rectangle. Once complete, test the servo to make sure that it is on the correct side before gluing it onto the wing. When gluing the bottom side of the cardboard tab to the wing make sure you attach the opposite end of the servo cardboard to the bottom of the main wing rib as shown in the picture. Hold the servo in place as you wait for the glue to dry.
Creating the Motor Mount
First, acquire the motor and its two screws and print the motor mount in the attached file below. Taking the extra PVC pipe, cut a piece that is 8 inches long. From that piece, cut diagonally along the center of the pipe to create a 90-degree bend. To secure the two pieces, drill two holes on the top and bottom where you cut the diagonals. Feed zip ties through these holes to secure the two pieces. Take the hot glue gun and apply glue to the two sides loop 2 zip ties through the holes you drilled before. Press the two sides together, and tighten the zip ties. Snip off the excess ties as needed.
Next, take the 3D printed motor mount and screw it onto the back of the brushless motor (use the screws that came with it). Once it is secure, apply some super glue to the back of the motor mount and slide it into the PVC pipe. Let the piece sit overnight and you have yourself a new motor mount!
Downloads
Creating the Empennage
The empennage has 2 parts: the vertical stabilizer and the elevator. (Our original plan was to have a vertical and horizontal stabilizer, then a rudder that moves the plane left and right on the ground, and the elevator that helps it balance and take off. However, we did not have a horizontal stabilizer because the plane was already too heavy, and adding any more would unbalance the plane. Also due to time constraints, we were unable to obtain another push rod in time.)
The empennage was made by creating another PVC pipe connector that had a vertical stabilizer on top, and a section of it was measured to the same diameter as a wooden dowel removed: this was to insert the dowel and have the stabilator attached to it in a way similar to the wings.
We attached the files, and as you can see in the first CAD picture, a part of the tail section is removed to help secure the stabilators. There are holes in the vertical stabilizer because in case the rudder was necessary, we could use similar designs from the wings to make the stabilator and attach it to the nubs.
Creating the Fuselage
STEP 5.1: Drilling And Preparing The PVC Pipe
The 27.5-inch clear PVC pipe is going to be the main body and structure of the airplane. It is crucial to drill each hole correctly.
In the diagram, we have drawn out our PVC pipe and the distance from the head of the pipe to the tail of the pipe please drill your holes as shown on that diagram.
STEP 5.2: Creating The Electronics Housing / Head of The Airplane
For this step, you will need to print out the HEAD.stl and PVC CONNECTOR.stl files on your 3D printer. When printing the HEAD.stl file, slice it in half so you have access to the inside of the components (slice it so that it matches the Prusa Slicer photo above).
Once you have printed the head, grab the ESC and receiver, the splitter wire for the alerion servos, the elevator servo, and optionally the rudder servo (We did not use this servo but we attached it on the plane for future use if needed), take the ESC and glue it into the right side of the head print. Next, take the receiver and plug the different servos into the right channels (photo diagram above). The next step is to glue the whole housing together.
Take the two halves and glue them together with superglue, after putting the receiver antenna into the hole at the top of the head. From the print, there should be two holes on the back of the head. Feed the ESC wire and the two connectors for the aileron servos through the top. Feed the elevator and rudder servos through the bottom holes. When complete glue the PVC pipe holder to the back of the head and make sure not to get any glue on the ESC wire and the splitter wire for the ailerons.
Assembling the Plane
STEP 6.1: Wiring
Feed the aileron servo wires through the main wing hole and through the PVC pipe towards the front. Attach each wire to the splitter so that they are on the right corresponding side. Next, take your ESC wire and glue it to the backside of the half-inch hole (leave some extra wire to connect it with the motor mount later). After connecting the aileron servo wires and gluing the ESC wire to secure it in place, slide the PVC connector section of the head onto the PVC pipe. Once completed, secure the rudder and elevator servos to the side of the PVC pipe with hot glue. Make sure the wire that runs from the head connecting these servos to the receiver is tight and not slacking. To attach the battery to the body using two large zip ties. Tighten the zip ties enough to hold the battery in place, but not so tight that you can not slide the battery out for charging.
STEP 6.2: Attaching The Motor Mount
In this step, you will need to acquire the motor mount you made in step 3. Make sure to have 4 zip ties in hand; 2 long and 2 short. Feed the long zip tie through the hole on the left side of the motor mount and into the hole on the bottom of the fuselage (PVC pipe). Loosely tighten the zip tie. **Do the same for the right side** Next, take a short zip tie and feed it through the hole in the front of the motor mount and through the hole on the side closest to the front of the aircraft fuselage (again, loosely tighten). **Do the same for the backside hole**
After you have attached the zip ties and are happy with the placement of the motor mount, apply hot glue to secure the two PVC pipes together. As you press the motor mount onto the fuselage, tighten the zip ties as much as you can. These will act as clamps and keep your motor mount from falling off (just in case the hot glue fails to hold it together).
STEP 6.3: Attaching The Wings
Starting on the left side of the plane, take the left wing and fit the large and small wooden dowels into the two holes, as shown in the diagram. While fitting the dowels, feed any of the servo wires into the tube so it is neat and tidy. Once the wing is fitted into the holes, fill any open spaces with hot glue to secure the wing to the fuselage and smoothen out any potential gaps for the air to create drag. **Do the same with the right-wing**
STEP 6.4: Assembling The Empennage
First, without securing the tail section, slide the empennage onto the PVC pipe until the print lines up with the end of the PVC pipe. In the places where the 3-D print has long slits, use a sharpie to mark the end of it. This is where you'll need to drill a hole to put the wooden dowel in. When drilling, make sure that the holes are aligned. Do not drill through the print. After drilling and making sure that the dowel can slide in and out with very little resistance, use the hot glue and squeeze some around the PVC pipe where the empennage will be attached. Slide the printed tail section in and make sure that the vertical stabilizer is completely perpendicular to the horizontal.
After everything settles in, cut the 0.26 in. wooden dowel to about 16 inches and slide it into the PVC pipe. Approximate the middle and mark it with a sharpie. Use a ruler to spread out the stabilators evenly and mark the places where you want them to be. After confirming the locations, similar to the assembly of the wing ribs, put hot glue close to where you want the stabilator to be and slide it over the glue and secure it in place. Remember to make sure that all of them are in line with each other and parallel (or else putting the butcher paper around them would be harder and unbalanced).
STEP 6.5: Adding The Final Touches
For this step, it is up to your creative powers. The plane needs to be propped up so that it will slide across the ground smoothly. For our projects, we found three wheels as our surface to prop our plane up. You may use anything from skis to butter. As long as it slides, you should be good to go.