Granted I have a blog and I will be keeping it posted on how this works, I wanted to add to this topic of scratch building.
I am working on a Weather Research Drone that is designed to study lightning.. The hardest part of the project was finding a concept that fit into the plan for the study, let alone finding a plane or other craft that has been used in the same manner. No such luck, really just kites. The short blunt side of what I am working on is a plane that is best called a craft, lol. It's to fly along the leading edge of a developing thunderstorm, at or around 200'-300' AGL while tethered to a research stand. So, its like a kite, the plane uses concepts found in many other planes. Like chines along the leading edge, the body is crafted after a lifting body, and the wing design is based on both flying wing, glider and blended wing concepts.
The one issue of late i have ran into is HobbyKing.. I have been waiting over a week for my order to get out of the East warehouse. I am not talking about order to house wait, I mean its been 9 days now, and it is still at the warehouse. That's nuts! They delay is making work on my prototype get pushed further back. The goal was start flight tests by the end of this month. Storm season is fast approaching and one of the biggest challenges to this getting a flying plane into the air.
--Allow me to close with a question; "Has ANYONE tried flying tethered to the ground while gliding aloft?
The flight model is a pusher prop design, which will use its power plant for launch and recovery phase(s). During its "mission-flight-phase"/ it will soar much like a glider or in this case a kite.
I am working on a Weather Research Drone that is designed to study lightning.. The hardest part of the project was finding a concept that fit into the plan for the study, let alone finding a plane or other craft that has been used in the same manner. No such luck, really just kites. The short blunt side of what I am working on is a plane that is best called a craft, lol. It's to fly along the leading edge of a developing thunderstorm, at or around 200'-300' AGL while tethered to a research stand. So, its like a kite, the plane uses concepts found in many other planes. Like chines along the leading edge, the body is crafted after a lifting body, and the wing design is based on both flying wing, glider and blended wing concepts.
The one issue of late i have ran into is HobbyKing.. I have been waiting over a week for my order to get out of the East warehouse. I am not talking about order to house wait, I mean its been 9 days now, and it is still at the warehouse. That's nuts! They delay is making work on my prototype get pushed further back. The goal was start flight tests by the end of this month. Storm season is fast approaching and one of the biggest challenges to this getting a flying plane into the air.
--Allow me to close with a question; "Has ANYONE tried flying tethered to the ground while gliding aloft?
The flight model is a pusher prop design, which will use its power plant for launch and recovery phase(s). During its "mission-flight-phase"/ it will soar much like a glider or in this case a kite.