RC DeltaGliderIV project

[RisingFury]

Hahahaha! Thanks!


Naw, I'm 20. Turning 21 in November and this is my second RC plane. I wish my school offered RC plane class. I'd totally kick ass there :lol::rofl:


I've almost finished covering the wings, I've made the vertical stabilizers and I'll soon be ready to start covering the body as well. I'll have a few more pictures up in the next few days

 

[RisingFury]

Alright, some new pics.


I've been very busy lately and unfortunately not just with the plane.

I've done a whole lot more work on the plane then is visible. To the naked eye, it might seem like all I did was glue the balsa skin on...

First I started by cutting leading edges of the profiles off and leaving a 2 cm long, about 1 cm wide strip on each profile, that I could glue the balsa leading edge on. Then I cut the holes into the leading edge balsa and made sure it fit across all profiles nicely. After I got that done for both wings, I glued on the balsa at the trailing edge, where the elevons will be. After that, I started gluing the balsa skin to the underside of both wings. When that was done came the hard part... the upper side of the wing. That was very difficult because the balsa had to be twisted across multiple profiles, sometimes very tightly... took a while before the glue settled enough for me to continue with the next strip of balsa...

After I glued on all the balsa skin for the wings, I started cutting the edges off so the leading edges would fit on. I then glued those on and then I needed to sand the top and bottom part of both wings, so the transitions between balsa strips were smooth. I also made the vertical stabilizers and rudders and I'll glue those on soon. After that, I started gluing the skin to the body. I haven't done the top and bottom parts because I need to work on the interior a bit and figure out how to do the landing gear. I want the front gear to be steerable and I also want the ability to drop gear after takeoff.

Also on the to-do list is the nose cone. I bought some 2 cm thick balsa that I will cut in and stack. I'm thinking of making a 6 cm thick nosecone, but might be 8. I'll draw the cone in paper and cut it out first. To prevent adding all that weight on, I will hollow out the balsa from the inside.

Also, I need to fully sand down the leading edges, so they're nice and round and not square.

After that, I need to finish gluing the top and bottom skin on and do a little bit of work on the back and some beauty stuff like making the cabin...

But for now, here are some pics:

So the total to-do list now is this:
- Sand down the remaining bumps in the wings.
- Sand down the leading edges.
- Make the nose cone.
- Finish sanding the left elevon.
- Glue on the vertical stabs, sand the edge of the wing into a nice shape.
- Make the landing gear.
- Finish the balsa skin on top and bottom.
- Make the cabin.
- Glue in the servo tray.
- Stick on the ailerons and rudders, make the connections.
- Wrap it all up in foil, give it a real DeltaGliderIV paint job
- Install electronics.
- Hope she flies, don't crash.

 

[n72.75]

I don't exactly have 5000$ to blow on a jet turbine...................

It's always a funding problem...

 

[Brycesv1]

very nice man. keep up the good work. i always had RC making/flying in the back of my mind but never really knew where to start. where would i go about getting a trainer and about how much would it cost?

 

[RisingFury]

You've got two options. If you think you're really dedicated to the thing, get a blueprint for PT-60, get some wood and build it yourself. Though if you have no experience building stuff, get someone to help you out.

But if you don't wanna build anything, buy an EasyStar. It's a foamy, but great for starters and can easily be modified to a 4 channels and it's under 100$.

 

[CigDriver]

The DG looks great! This is the first I've seen of this thread. Can't wait to see it finished. I've always wanted to scratchbuild a plane or at least build one from a short kit.

Brycesv1 - check out http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php

There is more information than you could ever want. If you want to build check out the foamy (scratchbuilt) section. There is a few trainers in there built out of insulation foam that you get at the local DIY store. A few of them get rave reviews and they are an easy first project. In time you can move up to 100 mph foamy jets. I stick mainly to parkzone micros because I can easily fly them in my backyard, but also do helicopters.

 

[RisingFury]

I don't have much respect for foamies... they just too light and handle like paper in air... and if you crash them, there's not much loss.

Though if you want foamies, here's a good website for them. Though unfortunately most plans cost like 10$. At least they're nice looking and not just flat.

www.rcpowers.com

 

[Brycesv1]

thanks guys. are home built ones generally more reliable? iv done some high quality models before and i cant imagine it being much different exept for electronics so i might try that route. as you said earlier, ones you make yourself you have a little more respect for. the last thing i need is to test my skills on my third flight by doing a loop... straight into the ground

 

[RisingFury]

thanks guys. are home built ones generally more reliable?

Only as reliable as you make them.

Most of the planes you can buy are made from foam, which means they're very light and soft. While it's generably desirable to keep planes light, foam is just too light.

The charm in making your own wooden planes is that you get to build them yourself. You can experiment as much as you want.

If you don't wanna build a wooden one, but still want to fly it, you can buy a kit and glue it together. They're cut out on a CNC machine, so they're very precise and in all probability a tad cheaper then buying the wood yourself.

However, if you're going for something as experimental as I did, make sure to have a small foam scale model. I didn't make a full DGIV scale model, but did make a small delta wing in the same sort of shape as DGIV.

iv done some high quality models before and i cant imagine it being much different exept for electronics so i might try that route. as you said earlier, ones you make yourself you have a little more respect for. the last thing i need is to test my skills on my third flight by doing a loop... straight into the ground

If you wanna crash planes, get a simulator. Lot cheaper :lol:

 

[n72.75]

Well, the body is already built, besides, the DG design doesn't exactly leave holes in the bodies for air intake...

But the DG-S does...

 

[NuttyPro67]

Wow! Nice to see RCPowers made its way over to this forum! I am Scott Lott, one of the parkjet designers for that website. Really interesting stuff to see somebody making an R/C Delta Glider. I am working on a foamie XR-2.

To everyone wanting EDFs and Jet turbines, at the speeds these R/C models work at, a propeller is twice as efficient as any EDF for the same cost(As in cost of money, weight, and energy). Using a motor rated at 20 amps with a 6x4 prop and a battery rated at 1 amp and 7.4v will run a 1 pound model for about 10 minutes, You won't find that kind of efficiency in an EDF.

Think of yourself rowing a boat down the river. The ore in your hands is like a propeller. Now take away that ore and use your hands or even a broom stick instead. You can get the same work done, but you'll need to work 10 times more VS using the ore. Same exact principal in the air.

All of my parkjets use 6x4 propellors(6 inch diameter with a 4 inch pitch). This gives excellent speed with superb acceleration, which is a HUGE deal if you want to do any kind of tricks. Check out this video, then go find another video of a EDF/Turbine jet doing the same stuff: (Good Luck!)

Hey, good luck on your Delta Glider! I can't wait to see it fly!

 

[Brycesv1]

i see your challenge and raise you 1 attempt

 

[Dig Gil]

In these videos the aircraft seemed to perform supermaneuverability!

 

[NuttyPro67]

Yes, I've seen this video, too. Pay close attention to where he performs his maneuvers. Always very high. Why? The acceleration on those turbines is poor. You gun it now and its at full throttle a solid 4 seconds later. Excellent find, though!

 

[Brycesv1]

i saw another vid where he does a lot of tricks under 10m. ill try to find it after i get back from my plane ride

 

[RisingFury]

Turbines are not for anyone who's been flying big planes for under 5 years. Turbine in the hands of a novice is a flying bomb.

Even though you saw that video, don't rely on a jet turbine to do tricks. They're designed for speed and have slow response.


Can't wait to see the XR-2! Good luck Scott!

 

[Brycesv1]

lol of course not. im gonna start with something cheap and light until i can fly it reliably. then upgrade to a small wood and prop plane

 

[RisingFury]

Irronically, I'd stay away from small stuff.

The smaller the plane, the more agile - less stable it is. The 1.5m wingspan trainer I have is very stable, predictable and judging by my experience, quite crash resistant... I'd advise that after you build a few foamies.

 

[NuttyPro67]

I would have to disagree with you there, Fury.

Whether you fly foamies or big balsa planes has alot more to do with your personal preference and alot less to do with "whats better". Personally, I would never buy a balsa or gas powered plane.

First off, Nitro or gas planes take way too much time tweaking and adjusting, then your plane has to be cleaned on a constant basis. On top of that, the plane has to be built twice as strong to withstand the vibrations and stress caused by an internal combustion engine. All this just seems like yesterdays technology to me. I don't see why anybody would choose all that over being able to plug the plane in and GO!

With the bigger planes, though, you do get more forgiving flight characteristics. It's common sense at that point. A bigger, heavier plane is going to be less effected by turbulence and handle wind MUCH better. However, you normally need a runway or landing strip of some sort. Additionally, if you crash a big plane, repair time and costs go through the roof, especially balsa models.

Personally, though, I love to be able to just throttle the little plane up and throw it out of my hand. Being able to fly in a area the size of a softball field is a blast. If the parkjet does crash, I can just glue it back together and throw it back into the air. Check out a bloopers video I did recently:

And at the end of the day, I just throw the plane back into my trunk and go home. If you are interested in a good beginner parkjet, check this one out:
http://www.rcpowers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2058

I don't mean to bash balsa nitro planes at all nor do I intend to get into an argument with anybody on here about their merit. If you've got the field and provisions for a big plane and thats what you enjoy, go for it. For the rest of us, the foam parkjets are an excellent, affordable, option.

 

[Dig Gil]

Flying without the nose cone. LOL

These little planes seem very fun to fly, but I still would choose the bigger balsa ones. These are the real deal in aerodynamics and for responsibility IMO.