Small RC Glider Electronics Help

RyanAlexander

New member
Hi all, ive been making a glider, and it works pretty well. its about 100 grams, with the fuselage and wing ribs 3D printed. I want to make it motorized without adding too much weight. I already have a transmitter, receiver, and servos I cant take from another DIY plane im making, but I have no idea where to start selecting small motors and ESCs. All the small motors ive found, are used for racing drones. If anyone could point me in the right direction, any help would be greatly appreciated! Im rather new to the hobby, and the electronics side still confuse me a little haha
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
I have a foam chuck glider in for conversion to RC. I may do a post on it but then maybe not. On mine I have already planned to make it 3 channel, (A,E,T), using just 2 servos. Both servos are to be 2.5g MAXIMUM.

The motor and battery I will be using are the same as supplied in the HK Mini Saturn. so only 2S and 300mA. Motor is a 1306 - 10 3100kV driving a 6x3(/4) plastic folding prop. All powered through a 6A esc.

For pushrods I currently plan to use the thinnest of music wire in plastic tubing for support though I may revert to a pull-pull arrangement if the pushrods appear too heavy during construction.

Just what I am planning here!

Have fun!
 

Paracodespoder

Elite member
Hi all, ive been making a glider, and it works pretty well. its about 100 grams, with the fuselage and wing ribs 3D printed. I want to make it motorized without adding too much weight. I already have a transmitter, receiver, and servos I cant take from another DIY plane im making, but I have no idea where to start selecting small motors and ESCs. All the small motors ive found, are used for racing drones. If anyone could point me in the right direction, any help would be greatly appreciated! Im rather new to the hobby, and the electronics side still confuse me a little haha
Depends, how big is it? Wingspan and fuselage length will help us help you decide what to buy.
 

RyanAlexander

New member
I have a foam chuck glider in for conversion to RC. I may do a post on it but then maybe not. On mine I have already planned to make it 3 channel, (A,E,T), using just 2 servos. Both servos are to be 2.5g MAXIMUM.

The motor and battery I will be using are the same as supplied in the HK Mini Saturn. so only 2S and 300mA. Motor is a 1306 - 10 3100kV driving a 6x3(/4) plastic folding prop. All powered through a 6A esc.

For pushrods I currently plan to use the thinnest of music wire in plastic tubing for support though I may revert to a pull-pull arrangement if the pushrods appear too heavy during construction.

Just what I am planning here!

Have fun!
Thank you, ill plan to buy those parts soon!
 

Paracodespoder

Elite member
The fuselage is about 6 inches long,
Is this a typo? A 6inch long fuselage with a 3 foot wing would not be ideal ;). With a 3 foot span I’d say that you might need, say, ans 1806 with a 6x3 prop a 2s-600mah lipo. A 12 amp esc and some5 gram servos to go with that and also a receiver as well.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
The fuselage is about 6 inches long, and has a 3 ft wingspan. the length of the tail is about 20" (i think)
You may need even lighter equipment! perhaps the same setup as used on the HobbyZone Champ. The parts can be bought as spare parts still but the prices are not cheap!

The wingspan on my glider is 1200mm and the overall length is around 1000mm.

Have fun!
 

FDS

Elite member
Please post a picture, as you can see confusion reigns!
These are the smallest servos you can get, you would then just need a micro 3ch receiver and power unit/esc/prop.
 

FDS

Elite member
The motor, gearbox and prop from that might be good for your build, you would need a brushed ESC if you go down the separate parts route. You might look for a crashed UMX series or Champ, Sport Cub S or similar to get the parts out of as it would be cheaper. AS3x SAFE boards need careful mounting but should still work if transplanted.
 

quorneng

Master member
3 ft wing span and a 6" fuselage (a ratio of 6:1) is not likely to work!
Any aerodynamic imbalance forces from the wing are likely to swamp any stability forces the tail can produce.
Even the huge full size super performance gliders have a wing to fuselage ratio of just under 3:1!