Some time ago I got the idea that I would (within limits) recreate the DeltaGliderIV. I gave a lot of thought into which of the Orbiter vessels I'd recreate as a remote control airplane and I came to the conclusion that the DeltaGlider possesses the best flight characteristics. By nature, delta wings fly very stable, have a large tolerance for shifting CG and have a very high lift. Also, delta wings that are the same length as their wingspan usually fly very steady on roll and pitch control.
The DeltaGliderIV would due to it's low poly and no rounded edges be a very simple and easy construction, as well as low weight.
So I decided to learn AutoCAD and draw a simple blueprint. The paintjob will be mostly Mining DGIV combined with blue around the cockpit and white cockpit as on the Rescue glider.
Instead of a dual rocket engine, she will be powered by an electric motor. A 1100 kV outrunner with a 13x6 propeller on it. Producing around 25N of thrust, it will be capable of launching her vertically up and still capable of around 100 km/h flying straight.
A 2200 mAh, 3 cell, 25 C LiPo battery will provide around 3.5 minutes of flight time under full thrust. At full throttle while held down, the engine will burn around 55 A, in flight around 35 - 40 so a 60 A speed control will ensure everything runs without smoke from the electric parts.
Now... I used DeltaGliderIV from Orbiter as a reference point, but ended up doing some modifications:
- Larger vertical stailizers. Planes like vertical stabilizers...
- Larger control surfaces both on the wings and on the stabilizers.
- "Straighter" wings. If you look at the real DGIV, you'll notice thick wing close to the body and thin wing at the tips. I modified that so that the wing is almost the same thickness on all parts. That eliminated a lot of construction problems and reduced drag at the same time.
- Slight modifications to the underside of the body for easier constructon and better structural strength.
I'm ordering wood and coverfoil this week and construction starts on the next weekend. I thought I'd keep you guys posted, so I'll be uploading pics / videos of the build and flight.
The blueprint isn't fully done yet. I still have to modify some things and clean the whole thing up (and label everything if I decide to release the plans...), but I thought I'd post what I have so far:
The DeltaGliderIV would due to it's low poly and no rounded edges be a very simple and easy construction, as well as low weight.
So I decided to learn AutoCAD and draw a simple blueprint. The paintjob will be mostly Mining DGIV combined with blue around the cockpit and white cockpit as on the Rescue glider.
Instead of a dual rocket engine, she will be powered by an electric motor. A 1100 kV outrunner with a 13x6 propeller on it. Producing around 25N of thrust, it will be capable of launching her vertically up and still capable of around 100 km/h flying straight.
A 2200 mAh, 3 cell, 25 C LiPo battery will provide around 3.5 minutes of flight time under full thrust. At full throttle while held down, the engine will burn around 55 A, in flight around 35 - 40 so a 60 A speed control will ensure everything runs without smoke from the electric parts.
Now... I used DeltaGliderIV from Orbiter as a reference point, but ended up doing some modifications:
- Larger vertical stailizers. Planes like vertical stabilizers...
- Larger control surfaces both on the wings and on the stabilizers.
- "Straighter" wings. If you look at the real DGIV, you'll notice thick wing close to the body and thin wing at the tips. I modified that so that the wing is almost the same thickness on all parts. That eliminated a lot of construction problems and reduced drag at the same time.
- Slight modifications to the underside of the body for easier constructon and better structural strength.
I'm ordering wood and coverfoil this week and construction starts on the next weekend. I thought I'd keep you guys posted, so I'll be uploading pics / videos of the build and flight.
The blueprint isn't fully done yet. I still have to modify some things and clean the whole thing up (and label everything if I decide to release the plans...), but I thought I'd post what I have so far: