Vanessa CG Rig for RC Airpanes

thingiverse

This is my take on a Vanessa CG Rig / Machine. I wanted a simple way to adjust level without friction fit. Thanks go to bargoraj90 https://www.thingiverse.com/bargoraj90/about for sharing his Worn Gear Box https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2618323. I liked the design's simplicity, but needed to reduce it by 50% scale. A few parts required modification, but it was a great starting point for this project. The gear shaft had to be hollowed out for an 8mm diameter x 18" or 450mm long wooden dowel - length preference varies. I used 0.156" x 50' Braided Nylon Rope from Lowes to hang the device. Six small screws held the gear box together initially, but after adding locking wedges, they're no longer needed. A 12mm bolt was turned down into a Plumb Bob, so you'll need to find or make something similar. An outdoor heavy-duty sewing thread hung the plumb bob with a small adjuster (similar to a tent stake adjuster) to get it hanging just over the aircraft without touching. The plumb bob points directly at the CG. Adjust by adding nose or tail weight and re-leveling the Horizontal Stabilizer until you're on or forward slightly from the design CG. Depending on the airplane size, the suspender string / rope length may need to be adjusted. I used nylon rope and melted the ends together for a continuous loop (try nots until desired length). Wrap 4-6 times around the dowel rod in a mirrored pattern left compared to right - amount of friction varies. Suspend the aircraft around the fuselage in front and behind the wing, with the suspension rope going around the fuselage, not the wings. Most parts are designed to be symmetrical minus the gear box for ease of assembly. If interested in printing remote control airplanes, check out 3DLabPrints - I've made many and flown a few.