pdouglas

Hello!

I am interested in developing an RC jet that's fully autonomous (from takeoff to landing) and capable of maintaining a cruising speed of 480 miles per hour to a distance greater than 50 miles. The jet should be in full compliance with any FAA regulations regarding airworthiness and it should be fashioned with a transponder that can squawk mode c to flight control towers. I would like the jet to have outstanding video capability and FPV from the cockpit area even at distance.

As far as perimeters go, I would like the jet to be no more than 10 feet in length with a wingspan that's proportionate.

My questions are:
1. Will the FAA allow me to file a flight plan and fly the aircraft accordingly?
2. Can the jet be designed for a budget of $20,000 or less?
3. Would a jet with this type of capacity have a resell value that would exceed the cost to assemble it?

Thanks!

FenderBean

I sold my Avanti XXL to OSU and they did this, if this for personal fun or business?

pdouglas

mostly personal but hopefully both if I can find a market for them.

sport22

This may be a dumb question, but what type of ''engines'' would you use?

pdouglas

I'm still trying to figure that part out as far as the ratios go. I was hoping someone on this site would have some guidance. There are some engines I found that produce over 100 pounds of thrust and higher.. I feel like the air frame is going to have to be built around the engine and electronic components. The engine I'm looking for should keep the aircraft at a stable crusing speed of 480mph +/-

I've seen jets on youtube that appear to run off kerosene or jet a fuel and the fuel is stored inside bladders which are located in the hull and in the wings.

karl hibbs

My Feedback: (6)

Is this a joke?

Dieselman1220

My Feedback: (25)

Highly doubt the FAA will ever sign off on anything like this for an individual.

pdouglas

No. I will have money to invest in about 36 months. I'm passionate about all things "flight" and ultimately I would love to have a small collection of these types of aircraft. Where I live is very rural and there are many rural airports that have grass runways.

I understand the FAA is working on legislation that will allow enthusiasts safe airspace to fly in, provided we are in full compliance with their rules and regulations. Assuming that happens and I am legally able to fly my jets, I fully expect to do it.

Downrange, it would be interesting developing something that could go beyond the sound barrier.. if it's even possible.

F900

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It's probably a young man wanting to learn about aircraft design and aviation... nothing wrong with that we have all been there. Although and I hate to say this without more details you have to be careful these days what information is given, provided it's legit this should through a school with adult/teacher supervision who know what they are doing. 9/11 unfortunately changed aviation.

sport22

I don't have a spare nitro motor, but mainly nitro fuel and a small mix of 120 octane methanol will provide easy homemade jet fuel. slight use of kero would be added lubrication. from what I know those nitro engines of certain .cc's can be converted to run based from low grade jet fuel. 1960's it was done. at that speed so the frame wont warp from speed alone and be light for steady flight it may be constructed from aircraft aluminum. such as t6-6061 billet aluminum. As a manual machinist that whole chassis would set me back at of $200 maybe as high of $300 for the complete chassis with hardware. the nitro motors can be bought for typically less than $200. The receiver would have to comprise itself of long distant transmission frequency waves. Probably a newer style rc controller for $1000 or so dollars could do that. The plane would still need basically the same thing installed to communicate back to the controller. that part can be bought. its similar to a tv controller. sounds like you could use a developer kit with development software to code the hardware for said setup. that would be cheapest and self designed. the speeds I was told was at 320 mph capable of motors converted. - my thought

pdouglas

Thank you!

LGM Graphix

My Feedback: (22)

In answer to your questions

1. Extremely unlikely

2. Not a chance. To reach the speeds you're talking about as a sustained cruising speed, carry enough fuel on board, be able to take off and land (in not bungee launch) you will spend that much money on the engine alone. 100lbs thrust on an airframe the size you will need to achieve this wont get you anywhere close to the speed you are looking at.

3. Never in a million years. In this hobby it seems if you get 50 cents on the dollar for popular stuff you're doing well. The market for an autonomous aircraft flying nearly 500mph and requiring special permission from FAA is probably .001% of the hobby.

Development of these kinds of aircraft I would guess is easily in the 100's of thousands of dollars.

FlyJ

As said above:

1- I think this is the most important question, and I'm glad you're here to ask before trying. If you intend to register this as a turbine driven model in the US, you're bound to a max speed of 200mph. Beyond that, you're not permitted to fly out of line of sight with any model. An airplane flying 450mph will do 1 mile every 8 seconds. Trying to follow this in the sky will be extremely challenging. You'll also need to become a waivered turbine pilot to operate this thing. Recently, model aviation has struggled in a battle against the FAA due to the growing popularity of drones. Every accident that occurs, every time one flies too close to the airport, any calamity of any sort means tightened restrictions for us. If you have an accident with this thing, the RC flying community with bear the brunt of the circumstances. If you decide to proceed, please follow all of the rules that we abide by as modelers.

2- No way. Besides the cost, how long would you expect this project to take? Are you the only one working on it? There are a few scratch build threads on these forums that have been in the works for several years!

3- No chance. Models generally sell for ~60% the retail cost. At the end of the day, you're making a toy. Nobody NEEDS a 450mph UAV.

Halcyon66

The simple fact your asking how to do this, is the reason you should not be doing it.

You have posted onto a model jet site and basically asked how to make a 450mph cruise missile with a 50 mile range.

This thread should be flagged.

Regards,