Charlbarl
New member
Howdy y'all! Last week I became interested in RC planes (I have a deep interest in Rocketry and love flying planes in Kerbal) and ordered a RadioLink T8FB transmitter, 2200 KV motor, ESC, pair of servos, and 3000 mAh battery. I stopped by dollar store for some Adam's foam board and duct tape.
I learned some basics of flight such as CG, wing loading, tail volume coefficients, etc. and watched some videos on YouTube about building foamies.
Anyway, this is to say that less than $100, most of which went to the transmitter, and a couple hours of research led to me building something that I can fly through the air with my brain!
Just some quick specs, I installed a pull-pull ailerons system and basic elevator mechanism (clothes hanger wire works so well as push rod). The pull-pull system used braided 85lb fishing lead as well as some washers and random hardware. All of my control horns were popsicle sticks with holes drilled in them. I didn't include a rudder as I only had two servos. That's also why I opted for the pull-pull ailerons.
I took it out for the maiden flight around 6 o'clock today. There was a moderate wind, but I was getting antsy after a week of waiting and working (a short time for sure, but I've never flown something!)
I had to hand launch since it has no wheels, but watched some tips from Flite Test on YT.
For my first attempt I didn't have enough throttle to start, so the plane glided for a few seconds and veered down onto some train tracks besides the park.
The second attempt I knew I needed more throttle and had to focus on gaining altitude. I launched it and it was flying beautifully straight!! I hit up on the elevator and the baby started climbing, fast!! It hit vertical and kept going. Before I knew it, a full loop had been done and I managed to get the plane flying straight again. I hadn't gained enough height now, though, and the plane was approaching some woods. To avoid a collision I attempted turning and the right wing collided with the ground, breaking near the fuselage.
I took the plane home and realized I was able to fix it up with some duct tape. The pull-pull system even survived totally!
Below are some pictures, post crash. I'm ready to fly this thing until it's irreparably smashed.
I mean how great is it to get to learn to fly with 5 dollars of destructible equipment in the air with 3 hours of build time 😎😎
Thanks for reading! I hope to learn and build a lot more!
I learned some basics of flight such as CG, wing loading, tail volume coefficients, etc. and watched some videos on YouTube about building foamies.
Anyway, this is to say that less than $100, most of which went to the transmitter, and a couple hours of research led to me building something that I can fly through the air with my brain!
Just some quick specs, I installed a pull-pull ailerons system and basic elevator mechanism (clothes hanger wire works so well as push rod). The pull-pull system used braided 85lb fishing lead as well as some washers and random hardware. All of my control horns were popsicle sticks with holes drilled in them. I didn't include a rudder as I only had two servos. That's also why I opted for the pull-pull ailerons.
I took it out for the maiden flight around 6 o'clock today. There was a moderate wind, but I was getting antsy after a week of waiting and working (a short time for sure, but I've never flown something!)
I had to hand launch since it has no wheels, but watched some tips from Flite Test on YT.
For my first attempt I didn't have enough throttle to start, so the plane glided for a few seconds and veered down onto some train tracks besides the park.
The second attempt I knew I needed more throttle and had to focus on gaining altitude. I launched it and it was flying beautifully straight!! I hit up on the elevator and the baby started climbing, fast!! It hit vertical and kept going. Before I knew it, a full loop had been done and I managed to get the plane flying straight again. I hadn't gained enough height now, though, and the plane was approaching some woods. To avoid a collision I attempted turning and the right wing collided with the ground, breaking near the fuselage.
I took the plane home and realized I was able to fix it up with some duct tape. The pull-pull system even survived totally!
Below are some pictures, post crash. I'm ready to fly this thing until it's irreparably smashed.
I mean how great is it to get to learn to fly with 5 dollars of destructible equipment in the air with 3 hours of build time 😎😎
Thanks for reading! I hope to learn and build a lot more!
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