Originally Posted by
Petkov
Thanks everyone!
I will visit a field probably this weekend and any advice you guys give me on how to fly the damn thing is useful so I can know if the pilot is doing a good job. I might get a simulator to try it out myself, those look fun in the RC shops.
Eddie, I will need to look into those batteries and do my research on motors. I have no idea how the gear boxes work as of right now or even how a brushless motor is different than normal electrical ones.
Thanks for the links Charles.I posted in the electrical forum and will post in aerodynamics when I do my research and size up my plane a little better. The aeajr article was amazing. Wish I know all that info last year. As for motorcalc, I believe my school has a student version of the software. I will have to get me hands on it.
updates:
I have managed to roughly size up my aircraft using historical data of winning team planes. I estimate the plane to have an empty weight of 2 to 2.5 lbs and loaded 4 to 5.5 lbs. Using the average power-to-weight the other teams were getting(average of about 70watts/lb), I am aiming for 350-400 watts. With the 15amp restriction I will need about 22 cells of the 1.2V batteries which is about 1.2lbs with wiring and such.
I don't see any reason to limit the cells cram as many cells as you can into that 1.5 lb pack. the more volts you have the more watts.
I would have a look at the
Gossamer Albatross designed and built by a team led by Paul B. MacCready, a noted US aeronautics engineer, designer, and world soaring champion. for some ideas on wing section and wing construction you might also get brownie points for a reference to the wing design used on Oracle the AC 72.in your design notes.
High aspect ratio wing and long fuselage.
There was not much wrong with the design flown on your vid. Was it loaded on that flight. If yes you could have carried a LOT more weight. As you have a short take off run I suspect flaps might be the way to go possibly full span flaps.
Large dia wheels will help on the rough taxi. 6 inch ?
Do not build a canard though !
Go brushless and listen to the electric guys on what motor/props to buy. .