TINY AIRPLANE - STEARMAN

thingiverse

This project was made for kids to have a blast during the COVID-19 confinement period. It's an incredibly simple hack of an RC micro quad (you could also use a micro RC car or boat). All you need is: * Old microquads parts (remote + flight controller + 1 motor + battery + prop) * A little bit of foam (6mm thick Depron foam works great) - anything light enough will do the job, like Balsa wood * A rigid bar and some screws/bolts to make the balancing lever * Some kind of weight (I use a GoPro Hero 7) Instructions: 1. Create your own aircraft design or use one of the provided planes. Make it as light as possible, but don't worry too much since you have a balancing weight - just make sure your motor can move it. 2. Glue the motor to your aircraft with a little angle upwards for higher flights. It's better to use a low-pitch 2-blade propeller (less noise, slower flight, longer flight time). I used one blade from a Nano QX propeller. 3. Plug the motor into the correct back motor outputs (I haven't tried front outputs yet). 4. Find or make a rigid enough beam (Balsa wood, PVC pipe work well) and cut it to an appropriate length depending on your playground size (1m is fine). 5. Make the pendulum tower using foam, cardboard, or wood - whatever works for you. 6. Create a 2-axis pivot that turns 360° and moves up/down 10-45°. I used a screw and some loose adjustment, but ideally you could make something nicer with a 3D printer and ball bearings. 7. Attach the aircraft to the end of the bar, a weight to the other end, and the tower in between. Position the weight so that the balance point is achieved when the battery isn't onboard. Then attach the battery with an elastic or velcro tape, plug it in, make your first flight, and improve the system from there! Side notes: * Flying this thing slow is way more interesting to me, so adding flaps can really help. * I use velcro tape to attach the aircraft to the beam. That way I can easily change spinning direction or move the weight around for new aircraft designs. I highly encourage you to make it your own by creating new aircraft and improving the idea as you always do! I hope this helps you have a blast in these confined times. Stay home and enjoy, Alex