RC PLANES
THE IDEA
The word Remote Controlled (RC) in RC Plane may make it seem like it’s a child’s toy but it has much more science to it than the previously mentioned triviality. ‘Remotely controlled’ implies the control of the flying vehicle from a stationary and distant position through radio contact. It is a major step for beginners to get past in the journey of designing, developing and building aircrafts and other aerial vehicles.
Miniature aerial vehicles are evolving nowadays. They’re being used in aerial mapping drones, thermal imagery and many other places.
There are even advanced prototypes being built for air-taxi, delivery of small packages through air, etc. All this roots back to the basic understanding of aerodynamics, fluid dynamics, design optimization and integration.
We at the Aerowing SIG of FARC wanted to build our own RC Plane and delve into the journey of aircraft design and building and we decided to start this journey with ‘The Bushwacker’ and the infamous ‘Stick Plane’. We focused mainly on the mechanical part rather than the electronics.
TIMELINE
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PHASE 1 - THE INITIAL BUILD
The group of new recruits were split into 3 teams and given the task of coming up with a design plan to build an RC Plane for the annual Wright Flight Competition a month later. We procured the required materials and began work on the cut-outs that were to be glued together in shape. The wing of the plane was worked on separately side-by-side. The electronics and control mechanisms were procured later and work on that began soon. The planes were build and put to the test on Wright Flight 2020
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PHASE 2 - STICK PLANES ERA
The experimental/learning process continued as work started on the creating a stick plane. The members were tested on their abilities to critically think and come up with a stick plane design. By using their abilities to gether resources and their technical skills to use machinery, the team came up with 2-3 sets of stick planes which were flown and tested out in different conditions.
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PHASE 3 - THE MAJOR BUILD
With the new semester and new energy, the aircraft took flight into new heights as they saw the participation to 'Aeriona competition'. The team decided to build a plane with a similar design to Wright Flight but with optimization on the body fuselage and wings. Unfortunately, it could not take to the sky due to the sudden COVID-19 pandemic causing the colleges to close down.
FUTURE WORK
What we truly learnt from the past year was that we experimented each time and to improve our efficiency and outcome, we decided to focus on building a solid understanding of all the factors that determine flight, drag and other aerodynamics aspects which would allow us to properly build an aircraft. Our teams will be back stronger and greater after using qurantine to our best use.
OUR GALLERY
