Model Aircraft Plans
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I have been wanting to do this for a long time. I designed a balsa-wood (hopefully to be remote-controlled) airplane. It is finished, so you can go ahead and build it yourself if you want. I'm optimistically hoping that someone around here is an aircraft modeler with some experience who could help me. I have attached the plans(.skp format) and the completed model rendition. Give some suggestions, critic is welcome. I'll need all the help I can get, as I'm oblivious to all the formulas and such that determine the flight properties. I don't want this to go down in flames, either. Thank you in advance!
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Better version. I will probably go ahead and construct the model today or tomorrow.
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An Auster Piper - or similar ?
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It is something I made up. I might try the piper; it looks nice.
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Good work Chris! Looks great
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Hi Physicsguy,
Looking at your model, which is very impressive, i notice that you have no means of securing the wings to the fuselage( look at TIG's pic of Piper to see what i mean ). The force generated on the underside of the wing could easily rip the wing assembly from the crown of the aircraft. Also have you allowed for tabs on the wings to make it roll in flight? If not and it takes off how will it fly back to you?
I've a small amount of experience with building models ( a lot of experience in fixing the real thing like Boeings and Airbus). That doesn't make me an expert but it something that stood out when i looked. Hope this helps and that she'll grace the skies soon
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Well put, rclub24. Yeah, I'll work on the ailerons later. Apparently I forgot about the wing loadings and G forces. I'll work on that later.
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The best part about using SketchUp to create the plans is that you can just use the intersect tool on any model, and you have the plans
. You can snag a model off the warehouse or design your own and you'll have the plans in minutes. -
Wow, Physicsguy, that took some time.
I think you may have the makings there for a good tutorial also. BTW, have you cut all these parts out yet? If not check out the PhlatPrinter post I made recently. Maybe you could get one of the RC modellers to do the job for you.
Mike
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Haven't cut anything yet, but I have all the supplies. I'll do a tutorial for this, because this is pretty fun. I might make a peanut scale version so I can find the best center of gravity for flight. What would someone want to see in the tutorial? Any ideas? There will probably be some better methods out there...
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Here is a VERY basic tutorial: tutorial.skp
Here is yet another optimized version of the plans:printoutplans.skp -
My 'Slicer.rb' tool could also be used to quickly slice up a model's body/wings/tail etc
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@unknownuser said:
Haven't cut anything yet, but I have all the supplies. I'll do a tutorial for this, because this is pretty fun. I might make a peanut scale version so I can find the best center of gravity for flight. What would someone want to see in the tutorial? Any ideas? There will probably be some better methods out there...
Thanks PS,
What I was suggesting a general 'This Is What I'm At' tut idea. And this is what you have started doing, thanks.
I lot of tuts show a particular way of making something but I think members would also be interested in seeing more general work flows. I hope I have explained what I have in mind.
Mike
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All I am getting is that you want something that explains the workflow, right?
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PG,
I think it would be great to see more about, how folks go about using SketchUp for their work / hobbies. This is the first time I've seen SU being used for what you are doing. I think a lot or members find it interesting. Things like how did you start of the project, rough ups, etc.
Mike
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I will probably get to work on the model itself within 7 days(I know I said yesterday). The remote control portion might be troublesome, so don't expect it to be working soon.
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Looks great. Apart from the wing bracing (and this is from my aeromodelling youth, which is some time ago)you might want to think about a bit more fuselage bracing too. After all, there's an engine to go in there (lots of torque), a fuel tank, an RC receiver and a couple (or more) servos. That last lot might not weigh too much, but they'll put a large inertial strain on the airframe in a tight turn.
The centre of gravity (if I remember rightly) should be on the centre line of the wings when the model is fully loaded, so I think it makes sense to have the fuel tank right on that spot.
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Thank you for the advice. I thought that the CG had to be at the epicenter of the peak point in the wing camber, though
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Hiya Mate
You might want to check out these for tips:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920416
pages 1 to 3 and also
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920416&page=10A step by step building a F4
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=947842A step by step:
[you will have to signup to see the pictures!]
http://www.phlatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=129Another Step by Step - the best I can find so far is:
http://www.kartonbau.de/wbb2/thread.php?threadid=16473Finally on Youtube something I will be trying out [as I'm a lazy so and so...]:
How to create 3D planes from 3-views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FJi1nmVGKgGood Luck!
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Thank you!
Right now I'm going to try to add reinforcements the fuselage and wings, and also try to fit in some alignment spars so I don't end up with 'a blob'. I've also derived some modeling tips from Model Aviation, a magazine popular among members of the aero-modeling community.
I will also be working on a flying wing design before I get to work on the original design, so I can test my modeling skills. I'll post some plans for that soon.
As for the original, the plans are itching to be printed, but I want to see if I can get enlarged versions of the plans scene in the model, because when they are not of the same scale as the model components, things will be VERY misaligned.
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