RC Airplane

Overview

Over the summer, I got a 3D printer and decided to design and build a RC Airplane using what I knew from working on the DBF plane. I decided to model the plane after the Eclipsilon GoWolf, a basic RC trainer plane. Although I took a lot of inspiration from the GoWolf, I designed my own version of the plane with CAD to better achieve my goals - extra stability and ease of flying, since I had never flown a RC plane before.

My Contribution

Since it was my personal project, I went through the whole design process quite quickly. I first chose parameters for the plane, like wingspan, wingloading, and estimated weight. Then, I drew out a sketch of the plane and modeled it in Fusion360. Since I was learning how to 3D print, I had to learn how to model the parts in a way that would make assembly reasonable as well as 3D print in a stable way. I also had to choose a motor, an ESC, servos, and the right reciever transmitter combination. I had to consider the required thrust based on propeller sizing and motor power, but also to keep things light. I then assembled the plane, and did various rounds of testing, between servo testing, thrust testing, and CG testing. I then flew the plane!

Results

The plane did end up crashing, but I learned a lot about the design process, and I know how to avoid such mistakes in the future. I put the CG too far forwards, so when I first ramped up the thrust, the plane nosedived and crashed due to being quite nose heavy. This experience was very valuable because I desperately needed more experience with the whole design process, and I learned a lot about how to design a plane that is stable and easy to fly (valuable traits for a plane).