Hello, I am a senior in high school who is planning to build a my own RC Airplane for an engineering project,
I am wondering if the parts I have selected are completely compatible with each other.
I'm planning on a relatively cheap build. All feedback would be greatly appreciated!
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Item[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Weight (g)[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]Price ($)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Battery[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]187.1[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$18.14[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Servos[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]45[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$12.38[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Wires[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$9.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ESC + Motor[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]247[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$16.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Prop[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]45[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$5.60[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Reciever/Transmitter[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]9[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$30.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]538.1[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]LiPo Charger[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$36.88[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]AC 12V[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$8.88[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Program Cable[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$3.33[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: center"]$140.21[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

I'm planning to use insulation foam from Home Depot as my fuselage and wings, with little bits of wood for support.

Battery link does not come up.

Looks like it may work.

Would be better to give the airplane specs first. are you building from plans?

packing tape, bamboo and strapping tape will work if you need to add strength.


Buzz.

Yeah, what's the airplane? Those servos are pretty puny. I have serious doubts.

Without knowing what you actually plan to build, there's no way to tell if you have the right components. The motor and battery you've chosen are typical of planes that weight 3-4 pounds, but the servos you chose are standard on planes that weight less than 1 pound. The 20-30 oz/in of torque range is more standard for the 3-4 pound planes.

Of course, this all may be completely inappropriate for the model you plan to build. Do some searching on Aerofred. There are lots of foam plans there that people have built and tested. No successful plane designer has started out with nothing. Even the earliest pioneers of aviation took data from gliders and models to make something new, and even then they still failed a lot. By the "Golden age" in the 1930's, there was a solid 20 years of data that every designer used to make their new designs, and many of those were death traps too. Get a known good design for an RC trainer and build it, then get an instructor so you can learn to fly it. The Blu Baby from Aerofred is a great first build for a beginner. Then when you know a little more, you can tweak what you are doing to make planes that perform like you want them to.

And above all, be safe. The prop on even these small planes can put you in the E.R. in a second. And a plane the size you are talking about can seriously injure or maybe even kill a person if it hits them. Never fly near people or anything you'd get into trouble for hitting. Don't fly in parks where there are people. People are oblivious to the danger of RC planes. They will walk right in front of you, right in front of your plane when you are landing, ask to fly your plane when they don't know how, etc. This is a very rewarding hobby if you do it right, but doing it right means being methodical, taking your time to learn the right skills, and emphasizing safety above all else.