Challenge idea:: LEGO plane

[WhatDoesThisButtonDo]

Build a plane out of regular LEGO bricks and make that puppy fly.

 

[rcspaceflight]

I was going to experiment with building a plane out of K'Nex. The idea being that if you crash the plane, the pieces will break apart and you can just rebuild whatever broke off. But I think it would end up too heavy unless you make it too big for the K'Nex pieces to stay together without glue. (I did build a simple wing and weighed it. For sure too heavy to even bother with.)

Legos will be far too heavy and will require glue for it to stay together. Even if it's a lot of spars and paper for the skin. Glue will still be mandatory which will just be a lot of disadvantages without any advantages.

 

[Snarls]

If this is ever attempted I think that instead of the classic brick, parts more on the line of the Lego mindstom/robot kits should be used. Something like this: Then you are effectively making plastic beams for spars. Downside is that it won't exactly be that Lego feel.

 

[Tench745]

I think LEGO technic pieces would be your best bet. They interlock the strongest and are relatively lightweight compared to typical bricks or plates. A multicopter would be easier than a plane, LEGO studs are very draggy, and adding enough tiles to smooth out a surface would add a lot of weight.

 

[ghost civic]

even with the technic pieces, the best I can see is to make the framework out of them. Then you would have to "skin" it with something, just like is done with most balsa planes.

that said, these days we have some pretty dang powerful motors. and the air doesn't care if a wing is made out of foam or legos...as long as it has an airfoil it will create lift.

But it would be an expensive project....legos are not cheap!!! When I think back to the legos I had as a kid, I now realize my parents spent a fair bit of cash for them. I think today it is even worse, since 80 or 90% of the lego kits are based on some movie/character...which means extra cost for licensing.

 

[Tench745]

Agreed. But if you had eveything planned you could order just the pieces you need. Bricklink for instance sells by the piece. It would definitely be an exercise in engineering. Too small and you wouldn't generate the lift. Too big and the structure would have to be doubly heavy to support itself and your power system. I'd be interested in anyone who attempted this. I suppose you could do a KFM pretty easily.

 

[rcspaceflight]

I actually semi-tested the K'Nex idea because I wanted to design plastic pieces that snap together to build planes. As in specifically design pieces so you can easily make great airfoils and fuselages in a Lego/K'Nex manner. Then when you crash you just snap the pieces back together and re-skin the broken area. I think it would be too heavy to work. Especially since I would have to design the pieces to practically be crash proof to be worth the money to buy a plane kit. Even with a light weight skin over the stick frame of plastic pieces, the total flying weight would still be too heavy.

It's a great idea, but I just don't think it's practical.

 

[ghost civic]

this one may not fly, but it has just about every control a real plane has. dang impressive if you ask me.