The "Arena Rat" ultra light indoor RC airplane

TooJung2Die

Master member
I'll have to remember that idea for indoor sized wheels too
You can make them for ultra-light outdoor use too. File a groove in the circumference when shaping the wheel. Use an o-ring for the tire. A bead of CA glue keeps the tire in the groove.

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TooJung2Die

Master member
Maiden Flight

I didn't get to give the Rat her first flights at the arena but there was one calm frosty morning this week. The Arena Rat flies pretty much as expected. She flies slow and turns quick. Just what you'd want for indoor flying. Even the suggestion of a breeze affects the flight as you can see. Jump to 1:33 in the video for the flight.


It needed some down elevator trim to keep it from porpoising. After trimming it was a joy to fly. I cracked the glue joint on the front cabane and reduced the wing incidence by half. It's been too windy to fly it again to see if the new angle improved the flight.

Jon
 
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TooJung2Die

Master member
Who needs a Vapor when you can build an indoor flyer that's way more awesome? She flies beautifully! Congrats!
Thank you. :) It got calm enough outside to test the new wing incidence angle just before dark. The LE of the wing is 2mm higher than the TE. It flies even better but still needed a touch of down trim to fly level. This wing has lots of lift. Now it can really slow down and float along with the throttle barely cracked open. I'm looking forward to the next flying session at the hockey arena to see how it compares to those Vapors.
Jon
 
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TooJung2Die

Master member
my wife tells me they had planes like this made in bamboo and rice paper - I might see what I can find!
Bamboo, balsa and esaki tissue are traditional materials. Plastic films and carbon fiber are stronger and lighter but aren't as pretty. I considered using tissue but there's a good chance it'll get wet being around the ice so plastic film was a better choice. There's less chance of punctures during transporting too.
 
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