RadioControlled WingC. "airplanes"

L

lorddarthvik

Spaceman
Hi everyone

I'v been an R/C modell fan for a long time, now. I have cars, and now i got airplanes. I just bought a new airplane wich is made of Depron, a foam that is hard and lite enough to use it for such things. I'v seen lots of designs made from depron, includeing strange "costum/unconventionally shaped" airplanes. For those who desn't have a clue what I'm talking about: imagine a small about 90cm wingspan airplane driven by electric engine with a propeller, and controlled with a 2stick radio controller. Now, i thought, that I would start and make a new "airplane" from this foam, that would look like a ship from Wing Commander. The question I would ask is: which ship you think would look and fly best?
In theory, ANYTHING can fly, even a carrier like the Victory, or the Vesuvious. I'v seen lawnmawer shaped, and "Which on Broomstick" shaped things fly, so nothings impossible! :D

So, feel free to give ideas! :)
 
Whatever model design that is easiest for you to sculp. Also, it depends on how many servos you have. I'm a fan of the Morningstar, but I think a more blocky desihn like the Hellcat or Exalibur would be the best, just from the standpoint of easy desing.
 
The last time this came up (too lazy to dig up the forum link), something ocurred to me, but I never posted about it.

I'm thinking that the Hornet might make a good RC plane. Yeah, I know, the design as-is isn't really suited to atmospheric flight physics, but imagine, between the fuselage and the laser cannons, up towards the front end of the barrels, a clear plastic (plexiglass or whatever) set of cannards. Not only stablize those fragile-looking laser barrels, but help with flight stability, too.

Mind you, I've not run the math on it, so it's possible that the real world wouldn't be as forgiving.
 
You don't really need to worry to terribly much about physics with RC planes, just as long as you have enough survos to power the necessary control surfaces and a big enough enfine, you can make anything fly, as long as you take the time to build it.
 
I am into RC flying too. I enjoy the hobby a lot. You can either do pusher prop or go ducted fan and even turbine. Electric is getting more popular for RC flying.
 
I'll do a fake duted fan with a pusher prop probably, with a 7channel radio, so from with a 7servos max. Hornet would fly OK, but i don't really like its shape :) Hellcat/Excalibut and everything taht looks similar would drop its nose inflight, we would need something to stabalize the nose, like small wings :( I saw a plane shaped like something like a rapier without the front wings, and it couldnt fly.. it snapped :( A Vesuvius shaped thing could fly though! Maybe even a StarDestroyer, casue that would make a nice V shaped wing.

Sabre/Morningstar/Epee/Broadsword would fly alright I think! Waterloo class also looks suitable :)

From Kilrathi: Krants got a good shape! But I wann Dragon :D LoL By giving it some front stabilezers, any modell could fly! If you build in a fast enough engine than even a Banshee could fly!
 
Any chance the Tiger's Claw would be a good shape? The wedge shape of the flight deck should provide a good wing. If that's not quite it, maybe the Concordia is chunky enough to fly?

In case anyone's interested, here are some of my favorite RC shapes:

Flying Lawnmower
Snoopy's Doghouse
 
Gliderboy said:
You don't really need to worry to terribly much about physics with RC planes, just as long as you have enough survos to power the necessary control surfaces and a big enough enfine, you can make anything fly, as long as you take the time to build it.
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Hence the A-10 Warthog, among other things.

I read once about a F-16 driver that had one of his wings cut off during a air-air collision. He did not know he was missing the entire wing, just part of it. He flew it home, and landed it, then nearly passed out when he saw that he was missing the entire wing. They brought out the engineers that designed the plane to figure out how he got the plan to stay airborne, let alone land it. The moral of the story: if you can go fast enough, a rock can be made to fly.
 
The F15 story is actually quite famous. My favorite part is that the engineers asked to look at the issue declared that "there is no way an F15 can fly with only one wing!" :p

EDIT: One other interesting and related bit O' trivia is that the F-4 Phantom pilots used to joke that, "I guess if you give it enough thrust, a brick CAN fly!"
 
AKAImBatman said:
The F15 story is actually quite famous. My favorite part is that the engineers asked to look at the issue declared that "there is no way an F15 can fly with only one wing!" :p

EDIT: One other interesting and related bit O' trivia is that the F-4 Phantom pilots used to joke that, "I guess if you give it enough thrust, a brick CAN fly!"
Click to expand...

Ahh, thanks for the correction.

F-4=brick. An incredibly well-armed, surprisingly manueverable brick. :D
 
Hey, it works with the Shuttle, does it? (About the only aircraft universally known as a flying brick... better yet, a gliding brick!)

The R/C scene has changed a bit from when I managed to do it in high school (!) - these days you have park flyers and stuff (most commonly made out of the foam, and thus suitable for the neighbourhood park rather than a flying field).

I did know if I didn't cut it as a pilot, I'd go into R/C helos... though I'd really like to fly a turbine-powered model. Then again, that's a really rich kid's hobby - those engines are on the upside of $3k (anyone remember the B-52 model that entered a spin and crashed?), plus the necessary control electronics for it...
 
Worf said:
Hey, it works with the Shuttle, does it? (About the only aircraft universally known as a flying brick... better yet, a gliding brick!)
Click to expand...

Actually, it's lovingly known as "the falling refrigerator". It does glide, but only for sufficiently flexible definitions of "glide". Think of it more as a hypersonic slalom down the steepest slope of Mount Everest. (Which still beats the hell out of a capsule landing.) :)

The F-4 was prior to the shuttle though, and was probably one of the many pieces of aerodynamic history that made the Space Shuttle possible.

Porthos said:
F-4=brick. An incredibly well-armed, surprisingly manueverable brick.
Click to expand...

True 'dat. Those bricks were full of surprises. :)
 
Yep, bricks and doghouses CAN fly :D
So, I took a look, and i think that everything in the WC2 confed capship section could fly. Problem would be with the concordia that it would need to go daaaaarned fast, and than it would look ugly... it would realy be a zoooming brick :) So, I think we should go with a fighter? Or, with a capship that has got a bodyshape that is adaptable as a wing, like the Tiger's Claw's front section. I think that by some trial&error I could make it fly slow enough. Any more ideas?

BTW, I got a FuntanaS40, and a FunStar :) And I aint a rich kid, thats why I don't have a heli or a turbine jet. Here we don't have a proper runway though, only one with grass and big bumps :( I think theres only one concrete runway RC AF in our country, but thats about 120 miles away...

EDIT: An Orion or a Galaxy could probably fly, but the galaxy is hard to build.. Thanx for the interest in this ,altough i gotta tell you that actuall building will only start around August. Till then, first I try to figure out if someone has allready done this, then try to make the math of it, and then build it.
 
What about a Venture corvette? Heavy rear end and lighter nose for the thrust prop, and wouldn't look as strange as a capship whizzing around.
 
Well of course, you know I'm going to have to plug for my favorite fighter, the Raptor. With the front fins maybe it would be stabilized enough for air travel?
 
Maj.Striker said:
Well of course, you know I'm going to have to plug for my favorite fighter, the Raptor. With the front fins maybe it would be stabilized enough for air travel?
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I was originally going to suggest the same thing, but then lorddarthvik said, "I saw a plane shaped like something like a rapier without the front wings, and it couldnt fly.. it snapped"
 
Raptors not a bad choic, i'll just probably have to maketeh front wing-gun rotatable to act like the elevator. I'll probably have to make it bigger then normal though. Dunno yet, but its Number1 on the list :)
 
Schweet! However if you are strictly looking for the most aerodynamically engineered WC ship then I suppose you'd better go with the Morningstar. That's almost guaranteed based off its shape.
 
The Morningstar would be a pain to build, but I agree that it would seem to be a very good flyer, and besides, it looks so sexy.
 
I really don't like the morningstar, casue its too conventional... Its got nothing original in it, nothing WC-ish :D Okay, now that I built my overweight convencional airplane, I'm planning on first getting a simple/lighter build so I can fly in big halls and rooms, and then when the winter comes I would start building the WC ship. If anyone has something like this being constructed, or knows about someone building something similar, please don't forget to tell me, so I can learn form others :) Thanx!
 
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