CANARDS USED AS SECOND SET OF ELEVONS!!!

L Edge

Master member
Awhile back, canards interested me as to what they can do and their design limitations. Interesting stuff. Did quite a bit of exploring and dreamed up this one to see what would happen. Why can't they be used as elevons? Went hunting for research data and in the Langley facilities, found that work was done in the spin tunnel and it is possible. In summary, they felt it would work, but the weight factor to handle the stresses would outway it's avantage.

So, took my trusty old F-22, 2 h-55 servos and just glued then onto the horizontal fuse so the canards cleared the main wing. So, now the rotational point is about 1/4 " above the fuse. The canard is designed to have 1/2 area above the rotational axis and the other below. That is to try to reduce stress on the servos. Used 2 mixes to be able to control limits of canard elevons. If you view the video, elevon motion is shown first and just for the heck of it, go to 9:30, just see what I did. I didn't even put the servo screws in to see what kind of load is present.

Results:
Found I got an higher angle of incidence before it started rocking.
The F-22 responds a lot quicker in doing rolls and loops and turns.
When in tight turns, the nose doesn't tend to drop down in either left or right turns.

Does it work, heck yes!!!



What machine do you know of that has 2 motors, differential thrust, 2 sets of elevons that exits with these functions.

It took me about 3 seconds to come up with a modified planform (DeltaStorm) and what I wanted to do with it.

By the way, I drank 5 cups of coffee before each flight to handle this monster.


Any questions?
 
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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Canards are fun! :D

The "standard" RC canard configuration, as much as there is one, seems to be using the canards as elevons to control pitch and the elevons as ailerons only to control roll.

But I found it was really fun to have all the control surfaces work as elevons (the canards pitch direction just reversed from the main elevons)

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ftfc18-wwii-focke-wulf-fw-42.35967/

I didn't do much fancy testing, but I did find that with the canards and elevons both working together for pitch control, it loops really really fast :D
 

L Edge

Master member

Thanks!!!!! Now I know what type of canard to use if you want to hold the pitch axis fairly stable but want to improve the roll axis of your scratchbuilt model. It would be interesting to see your config with only ailerons.
 

L Edge

Master member
Canards are fun! :D

The "standard" RC canard configuration, as much as there is one, seems to be using the canards as elevons to control pitch and the elevons as ailerons only to control roll.

But I found it was really fun to have all the control surfaces work as elevons (the canards pitch direction just reversed from the main elevons)

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/ftfc18-wwii-focke-wulf-fw-42.35967/

I didn't do much fancy testing, but I did find that with the canards and elevons both working together for pitch control, it loops really really fast :D

Here is my scratchbuilt version of a canard where in the case of it stalling out, the nose would drop and catch speed to level it out. On other flights with a good steady wind, I could loop it. Only scratchbuilt that it size was determine by my car, a scionxb.

 

TEAJR66

Flite is good
Mentor
I’ve got that plane worked out a little better now. Just no video to prove it.

Bigger canard control surfaces gave it a lot of pitch authority. It can be set up to fly canards, or elevons, or both.
 

Piotrsko

Master member
If you make the pivot point 1/3 instead of 1/2 it's easier on the servos and less chance of fluttering. A rudder in the front does roll moments also per NASA Dryden
 

L Edge

Master member
I’ve got that plane worked out a little better now. Just no video to prove it.

Bigger canard control surfaces gave it a lot of pitch authority. It can be set up to fly canards, or elevons, or both.

The other thing I was interested in was how the whole moving canard is used as a brake when it touches down on the runway.
 

L Edge

Master member
If you make the pivot point 1/3 instead of 1/2 it's easier on the servos and less chance of fluttering. A rudder in the front does roll moments also per NASA Dryden

Agree with you, had that problem (Canards only) with a set and could not move it back(hit the wing) so solved the flutter by using wire that came out from servo going across canard, then bent back and down parellel 1" that was buried internally.