RC airplane bungee launcher pedal

thingiverse

I'm not very skilled at hand launching, except on flying wings, so I usually bungee launch instead, which looks cool to me as well. The launcher you see here wasn't inspired by the laser cut launcher on Thingiverse, although they share some similarities. I had never seen it until I searched for Bungee before posting mine. I'll give credit where credit is due though, https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2759891, since it seems to be a well-designed launcher for those with access to a laser cutter. I use my launcher with electric planes that don't have the motor running while being launched. I've used it successfully with both pusher and tractor setups. I printed the one pictured here on a Solidoodle Workbench with a 12-inch build surface. Not everyone has this kind of large printer, so I included the Launcher base in two parts that can be glued together using medium or thick CA. The pedal, as well as the remaining parts, should fit on an 8-inch print bed without any issues. I made two hook mounts, one short and generic, and another longer mount designed specifically for foam. I printed the hook and mount with PETG, but PLA or ABS shouldn't be a problem either. What's most important is for the hook and mount to be solid since they will be under a lot of pressure. I printed my red safety cap with TPU so it would press fit snugly onto the retaining bolt. I highly recommend not skipping the safety cap, as I learned the hard way that it's crucial when placing a plane on the Bungee ring. I lifted the ring slightly to put the hook in and the retainer ring slipped off of the bolt and hit me right in the knuckle. It was very painful. Everything else can be printed at 50% infill or more without any issues. Here is the link for the blue bungee cord https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbykingr-8mm-silicon-rubber-bungee-hi-start-cord.html?___store=en_us and bungee kit, which includes the metal stake and rings https://hobbyking.com/en_us/lightweight-bungee-kit-9-5m.html?___store=en_us. Alternatively, a plastic tent stake from a hardware store should work equally well and the rings, which are basically keychain rings, can be found at craft stores. The two steel spikes used to hold the launcher base to the ground and the one 1-1/2-inch long and two 1/2-inch long #8 or 5/32-inch machine screws are available at any hardware store or home improvement store. https://youtu.be/Bow5V5VPCXk