CONTROL LINE ... without a crew and co pilot

Dravin21

New member
hello folks, working on a mini mustang build with an arduino nano in place of the receiver and a potentiometer knob on the starboard side.

An idea i've wanted to build and share since seeing Bixler trying to fly with heads ducking the lines lol
once i finish the code i'll be able to set the rpms with the knob, launch and fly and have the motor cut out after a few mins flying (adjustable flight time)
... if i could get my phone to log in here i would be shareing pictures of the build and the arduino code so far
 

Dravin21

New member
So far lol and it should be a flying powered plane for by far less cost than rc with the Arduino board coming in at a whopping $1.25on Amazon lol
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Dravin21

New member
I have things coded so far to power in and give very precise throttle control with the knob on the side ...working on the timer now
 

evranch

Well-known member
Always wanted to build a control line FT build, the guys at my LHS built one and it's pretty neat. They used a premade device to do the same thing, but a knockoff Arduino Nano is definitely cheaper and more fun to build! Are you going to add one button or just have it fire up as soon as you plug in the battery?

Everyone needs a box of those cheap Arduinos kicking around, saved my butt when a temperature controller failed in my lamb feeder last week. The working parts of the controller + Arduino were up and running within the hour keeping the milk warm again (y)
 

Dravin21

New member
esc and arduino power on as soon as i plug in the battery, if the potentiometer isnt at zero the esc just beeps and complains same as an rc build ... turn the knob to the speed i want and throw
i DID also take a step they forgot in the FT video ... 5 degree thrust angle and 3-5 degree rudder to the outside of the circle to pull and keep the lines tight
 

Dravin21

New member
esc and arduino power on as soon as i plug in the battery, if the potentiometer isnt at zero the esc just beeps and complains same as an rc build ... turn the knob to the speed i want and throw
i DID also take a step they forgot in the FT video ... 5 degree thrust angle and 3-5 degree rudder to the outside of the circle to pull and keep the lines tight
slacked lines cause crashed planes lol
 

Dravin21

New member
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I wonder if they saw this coming when they designed the plane .....control line and ready to fly mini mustang with 3d printed pilot and exhaust
 

Dravin21

New member
Back to the Arduino bit, it does have a button now to reset everything for the next flight, using the built in reset button on the board and a bit of balsa the front cowl is a hidden button lol press top dead center above where it says "old" ....ESC beeps once and the plane starts right back up ready to launch
 

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Dravin21

New member
here is the somewhat confused and a bit rushed "make your own fly" post
changing the number in "if (millis()>*******) changes the run /flight time (60000 millis per minute)

i'm having issues with fritzing so an image of the schematic is delayed

the plane powers on and gives the happy beeps of the ESC, knob is used to set motor rpms then let it fly, once the timer is up the motor shuts down and the plane lands ... pressing the reset button on the arduino board restarts the whole thing for the next flight

on reset you can either bring the throttle to zero and readjust or just push the button and go at the prior rpm


from esc (using the reciver end cut from an extension cable)
red or + goes to Vin on the arduino
black/- to gnd
sig to pin 9
...this is for esc with BEC ONLY

knob
two outer pins go to +5v and gnd and center sweeper pin to A0 (5kohm potentiometer)
FT-duinomake.png
 

Dravin21

New member
so what are the thoughts on this build if any? i know the plane isnt exactly perfect and pretty but this was more of an experiment to see if i could do it cheap and repeat it easily (low cost option for flight)