About a or two months ago, I accidentally bumped into Yasu and Micro_Builder’s micro DLG threads on RC Groups forums, which inspired me to build my own micro DLG, especially after my free flight balsa glider kept flying off the field.
I thought, how hard could it be? I spent some time in free flight balsa/paper gliders, I know how to make and tune them. Although I had zero experience in RC (except a RC car I played when I was 10 years old or something), I watched a few Flite Test’s build videos. I know the general idea about RC electronic and installing controls. Besides, it will only be two channels. Easy peasy, right?
Well, the wing and tail were easy. I followed the plan provided by Micro_Builder. Wings were made from 2mm balsa with airfoil sanded in. Tails were also made from 2mm balsa and attached to 3mn CF tube. Everything went smoothly. I even made the control horns and push rods myself ('cus I’m cheap!)
Then I hit the wall and remade my pod four times. My tx (DXe) does not support DSM2, so I can’t use the brick I brought from HobbyKing and had to switch to the other rx/servo I had on hands, which do not fit in the first pod. I had to discard the second pod because I only account the space for electronics and forgot the space needed for control linkage and wiring. It's a mass.
I was pretty grumpy at this point. It’s been two weeks, and I still can’t get this glider flying. So I made the third pod extra-large. Everything can fit in the pod with plenty space left. I might even be able to fit in some cookies in case I'm hungry. Unfortunately, large pod produced more drag, and the hang time suffered. At least I got this baby flying. Oh, did I mention that I’ve never flew RC airplane before? Well, I crash a lot. I mean, a lot a lot. The third pod had gone through repairs after repairs. Eventually I had to make a new one.
The latest pod used the nose design of FT Simple Soarer: long and narrow with rounded nose. I had extra room for battery so I can move CG easily. The end result looks like this:
The pod is very sturdy. I had a wing snapped during launching. The plane (now with only part of the wing) went straight up and then straight down to the ground. The only damage to the pod was some bit dirt on the nose. Everything else held fine.
AUW with 100mAh battery is 24g with 480mm wing, 26g with 580mm wing. The hang time is about 30 seconds. I’m still learning about energy preserving and thermal seeking, but it’s hell a lot of fun.
What I learned during the build:
1) check compatibility before you buy/plan everything.
2) Not only the electronics themselves, their wire and control linkage also take up space.
3) As long as the electronics are intact, I can repair/rebuild everything on this plane, and it will fly better! maybe.
I thought, how hard could it be? I spent some time in free flight balsa/paper gliders, I know how to make and tune them. Although I had zero experience in RC (except a RC car I played when I was 10 years old or something), I watched a few Flite Test’s build videos. I know the general idea about RC electronic and installing controls. Besides, it will only be two channels. Easy peasy, right?
Well, the wing and tail were easy. I followed the plan provided by Micro_Builder. Wings were made from 2mm balsa with airfoil sanded in. Tails were also made from 2mm balsa and attached to 3mn CF tube. Everything went smoothly. I even made the control horns and push rods myself ('cus I’m cheap!)
Then I hit the wall and remade my pod four times. My tx (DXe) does not support DSM2, so I can’t use the brick I brought from HobbyKing and had to switch to the other rx/servo I had on hands, which do not fit in the first pod. I had to discard the second pod because I only account the space for electronics and forgot the space needed for control linkage and wiring. It's a mass.
I was pretty grumpy at this point. It’s been two weeks, and I still can’t get this glider flying. So I made the third pod extra-large. Everything can fit in the pod with plenty space left. I might even be able to fit in some cookies in case I'm hungry. Unfortunately, large pod produced more drag, and the hang time suffered. At least I got this baby flying. Oh, did I mention that I’ve never flew RC airplane before? Well, I crash a lot. I mean, a lot a lot. The third pod had gone through repairs after repairs. Eventually I had to make a new one.
The latest pod used the nose design of FT Simple Soarer: long and narrow with rounded nose. I had extra room for battery so I can move CG easily. The end result looks like this:
The pod is very sturdy. I had a wing snapped during launching. The plane (now with only part of the wing) went straight up and then straight down to the ground. The only damage to the pod was some bit dirt on the nose. Everything else held fine.
AUW with 100mAh battery is 24g with 480mm wing, 26g with 580mm wing. The hang time is about 30 seconds. I’m still learning about energy preserving and thermal seeking, but it’s hell a lot of fun.
What I learned during the build:
1) check compatibility before you buy/plan everything.
2) Not only the electronics themselves, their wire and control linkage also take up space.
3) As long as the electronics are intact, I can repair/rebuild everything on this plane, and it will fly better! maybe.
