Recently, Flite Test has done a video where they took a $10 foam "chuck" glider and converted it to RC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Y3ok-lTEE
No, this isn't a new concept. There are a lot of videos on Youtube about doing this. In fact, my first rc plane was a chuck glider that I converted to rc. It was amazing how much I learned during this process. I crashed a lot because I didn't understand throttle management nor did I understand how IMPORTANT "center of gravity" is in order to get sustained and controllable flight. In time, the plane became more hot glue and bamboo skewers than foam but it did fly, lol. Here is a video of my most successful flight with the rc converted "chuck" glider.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BETp4Y1PqGM&t=137s
When I watch that video now, I have to laugh at how much talking I did at the end, lol.
Anyway...after seeing the video from Flite Test, I've decided to take a break from my other projects and build a new $10 "chuck" glider and convert it to rc.
- chuck glider.jpg (88.71 KiB) Viewed 3241 times
This time, the plan is to use the 64mm EDF that I have in my parts bin. I've been wanting to do this specific project for a few years now but never got around to it, until now. I'll add some carbon fiber strips to the wings, to add rigidity. For control surfaces, I think I'm just gonna use elevons on the tail and fly by "bank and yank." I'm going to try to keep all the electronics away from the nose because the current COG is approximately 2/3 the distance back from the leading edge of the wing, which is odd because most planes have the COG 1/3 back from the leading edge. So, with the current COG so far back, I really don't want to add components too far in front of that. Granted, the EDF will definitely be in front of the COG but I think I can get the plane to balance out with the two tail servos and a 3S 2200mah pack just slightly behind the COG.
More to come!
