Building a DIY REAPER Drone... Ended Badly

[@RusstickDoom]

You did a stellar job building that reaper. Beef up your landing gear and get the one 6 cell in just the right spot and you’ll have an amazing plane. It looked like it had very well performing flying characteristics for a maiden. If you decide to start over, go bigger! Bigger planes are easier to fly.

[@leezensmith775]

i agree with the bigger statement, not only does a bigger size mean one or even two 6 cells bat. you could have bigger landing gears to the increased size, more avionics, 3d print the parts out of the rugged light PLA, and maybe some memory to have a time laps of the flight.

[@1pcfred]

I was thinking the same thing. Make it bigger.

[@tushitchatterjee8383]

yes It would also help to generate more lift and also enhancing controls of the aircraft👌👌

[@honestiguana]

You need a launchpad, urgently. Try and make one using a rail made of wood and rubber, some kind of slingshot, to eliminate the risk of a wigly throw, like the one that killed this plane.

[@NavyFE]

Agreed, CG should be addressed before any launch. We never took off before I did the CG worksheet before takeoff in the Navy.

[@motionsic]

Very informative video showing a very clean and impressive build. However, two things stood out to me (as a RC flyer with two decades of flying experience). 1. The linkage setup on V-tail is the worst possible combination. With link on outermost hole on servo horn and almost inner most hole on control horn, this gives the servo the worst mechanical advantage. Making the servo prone to failure and ruddervators prone to flutter. 2. Hand launching a pusher prop plane with prop at lowest point and a heavy setup is a very bad combo that can result in severe hand injury. A crashed plane is the least of your worries. Otherwise, keep up the great work!

[@OFCIFR]

depends if hand launch is turned on in the firmware which will turn the engine only once it has left your hand

[@magnussorensen2565]

Instead of trowing the plane make a drone launcher like zipline.

[@EnderRobber101]

Yes!

[@remiranda]

And the catcher

[@1islam1]

@@EnderRobber101 ⚠️ God has said in the Quran: 🔵 { O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous - ( 2:21 ) 🔴 [He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him]. ( 2:22 ) 🔵 And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful. ( 2:23 ) 🔴 But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.( 2:24 ) 🔵 And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with a provision of fruit therefrom, they will say, "This is what we were provided with before." And it is given to them in likeness. And they will have therein purified spouses, and they will abide therein eternally. ( 2:25 ) ⚠️ Quran

[@slamoto2]

Thats such a good idea. He should also make an universal adapter so he can easily reuse it for upcoming projects.

[@wowzande]

Slingshot on a switch?

[@jimhenriksen498]

Oh Michael, the fact that your design flew so well in most of your video was inspiring! The reason why we (used to) build out of balsa wood is because of it's "strength to weight" ratio, nothing beats it in the flying arena. However, and bottom line here Michael (because everyone gave you such wonderful advice within their comments) is that #1-check your C/G (center of gravity). To start with your maiden, go with 25% of the forward wing in front of your C/G; this will cause your bird to be a bit "nose heavy" but better nose heavy that tail heavy Michael! #2 Once you have the C/G where you want it, be absolutely sure that your plane balance laterally (I noticed that you had a camera on the starboard wing) the weight and drag of that camera will cause the aircraft to yaw to the "right," be sure that you suspend the craft from the nose and the tail down the centerline to check balance. I would bet that if you built the craft balanced, right to left, that you had to trim in a lot of left aileron/rudder to get it to fly level. I could be wrong; you very well may not have built it equally balanced on both right and left sides! Me personally; I would leave the camera off, too much weight and drag for the benefit! #3 A heavy plane made from epoxy, hot glue, lite-ply & paint will need a bit of a roll-out before you rotate into the air; but have faith Michael, (given, the forgoing guidelines are followed) rotate it will! Now here's the kicker Michael; the heavier you build it, the less "acrobatics" it's going to want to do, lighter is a good thing. However, you can go too light, so use your head and think your way through this and you'll be fine. Oh also; batteries are (usually) Lipos, but not all batteries of the same "described/advertised" value are the same size and weight, you've probably discovered that by now. Do some research and find batteries that are of the "voltage/4S-6S" value that your and use as light as you can get! Also, that plane is what, about 2 meters wingspan? A Raptor is basically a glider design; if you're motor is designed to run on 14.8v then use 4S batteries, if it is designed to run on 22.2v then use 6S batteries. Also, please be sure that your ESC can handle whatever battery you decide to use; otherwise you will burn it out and your plane will crater in like you've never seen before! Finally, and this is a bit of a reach if you don't have one already; get yourself a "watt-meter" Michael, charge your battery up to maximum and place the watt-meter between your ESC and your battery and see what Watts/Amps you're drawing at full power. Oh, I almost forgot... since you're powering a prop motor, the "C value" on your batteries don't have to be more than 45-50C, any more than that and you'll have enough go juice to power up an EDF, which you're not using! Great project Michael! With your attitude, spirit for adventure and obvious intelligence; you'll go far! Remember, a good pilot learns from his mistakes; he then utilizes this knowledge to become a better pilot!

[@robosmartsystems8976]

Has he implemented the flight control equations in software and loaded the executable file on the ardupilot controller or how it works. Can someone tell me.

[@Jarbooty]

This guy knows model planes

[@iforce2d]

I'm actually calling tail heavy on this one. As it left your hand the attitude changed quite quickly, rather than the stable dart like behavior that nose heavy would cause. All your control inputs were correct, the fact that it couldn't pitch up in time was just due to low airspeed (pusher prop giving no flow over the elevator). To check the CG of a scratch build, balance the plane on two fingers so that it's level, then shove it quickly directly upward, it should nose up just a little. You can also let it drop downward if that's easier - in either case you want the nose to lead slightly, and the tail to follow. Regarding the damage, it seems like the only connection between adjacent segments of the fuselage was the flimsy plywood frame? At least run some packing tape length-wise all the way down, would help a lot. Adding a vertical fin under the tail would save the prop, although perhaps spoil the look you're going for. Anyway it does look great!

[@RCP-1136]

Also the camera on the wing probably did not help

[@spyder000069]

@@RCP-1136 Agreed. 1. That camera on the wing would need the same amount of weight on the opposite wing. 2. A lot of arc in that throw and didn't throw it wings level so basically threw it into a stall with the extra battery weight as well. 3. Threw it at full throttle with a 3 blade prop means a lot of motor torque roll from the heavier prop and motor speed. In my experience with wings and mini talons I run about 70% throttle on just a slightly elevated launch (not far from level) and then by the time both hands are on the transmitter I can pin the throttle and things are stable.

[@SaveAllTheWolves]

AWESOME! Iforce2d makes a good point consistent with the documentation I recently studied to obtain a private pilots license. The prop being behind the Ruddervators doesn’t supply “forced” airflow across them so they aren’t as effective at low airspeeds. Also when a plane loses power, the first thing a pilot is taught to do is bring the nose down, but it appeared that your unit, due to too much aft weight, pitched up at low speed. The FAA has some very helpful information about the necessary correct balance of a plane and it’s free www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/12_phak_ch10.pdf

[@Phenx]

@@SaveAllTheWolves the link is dead, can you upload the pdf somewhere? Thanks

[@DanDaMan007]

You did a FANTASTIC job with this build! I bet if you had an asphalt runway you would still be flying. This was a great video, keep up the great work!

[@mracer8]

I still fail to see how it will be able to rotate with that huge prop at the back. Maybe a much taller landing gear

[@HarmonRAB-hp4nk]

more then likely,,, minus that last one... be a lot more damage hitting pavement .... and you need to reinforce the gear.. pavement tends to drive them through the plane... mmmm I only did nitro methanol running planes.. 60 inch span, 3+ pounds... those electric ones might be light enough... but mine could land in the grass... 2" wheels.. ;-)

[@eorfner]

Hi Michael, my 82yr old machinist dad and I have been building and flying (and crashing. Lots of crashing.) foamboard planes for about 3 years now. Our passion project is the Bugatti 100P and we're on the third iteration with counter rotating props. So far our fuselage designs have, well, sucked, and I really appreciate your frame and foamboard skin approach. The Reaper turned out amazing and it hurt my heart to see it crash. What would it take to entice you to do a video of your design process, particularly how you land on the correct size/shape foamboard skin components? Any other advice or direction you could provide would be vastly appreciated!

[@davidr5964]

I bet that's a great way to bond with your dad! Kudos to you both.

[@inter-linked]

This definitiely needs a follow-up! Especially the GPS automated flight patterns. Enjoyed it.

[@JayReding]

That's an awesome project! The last flight was definitely too heavy. Adding a higher cell count probably isn't necessary for something like that. Depending on what your amp draw is you might want to consider using something like a 3S 18650 pack, you can get a huge amount of flight time so long as you're not really pushing the amp draw to more than the cells can handle. You might also want to consider doing more with the LW-PLA. I bet you could save some overall weight by using LW-PLA panels instead of foam board. This might be a good design for a launch rail or even a high start bungee launch. Hand launching is always hit or miss, and I really hate having to hand launch something with a pusher prop. Hope you build a second version - that first one turned out fantastic other than being a bit too heavy with a big pack.

[@TurningoffyourGaslights]

Nice project! And it seems no one uses wood anymore in the hobby. As you pointed out, balsa is the go-to wood for many projects, but cedar wood is a good too, stronger, heavier than balsa but relatively light at 0.32gm/cc. And easy to get hold of too. Good use of modern materials too.

[@MaximKachurovskiy]

Amazing content, my friend, please don't be dismayed by this setback, it just forces your hand to built something better sooner.

[@knerduno5942]

What is amazing is he was kind enough to share the CAD drawing of the parts. Most making stuff like this do not do that.

[@michaelparker5963]

Not sure if anyone brought this up, but you seem to be lacking a flight control surface dedicated solely to yaw control. It would seem you have roll and pitch covered, but the V shaped elevators will only produce so much yaw, and not at a perpendicular angle to the Z axis in flight. I would recommend adding a rudder directly under the fuselage below the elevators at the rear. This should give you full yaw authority in any crosswind flying conditions.

[@SonicKiwi123]

It's nice to see videos like this still posted even when the end result isn't a success. There was still a lot of work that went into this, a lot of successes along the way and a large potential for success in the future. It would be a waste just to throw it away, as I'm sure other creators have

[@baraka629]

it was a partial success, the flight with the single lower capacity battery did go well.

[@robinconnelly6079]

This is so cool. I was a big model aircraft fan in my school days. That was the 80's. The closest I got to this was a programmable glider that used a shift-register to turn the tail left or right. I was too heavy to fly, though. If I was kid today, I think I would have so much fun. The new tech has endless possibilities.

[@gamerguy2159]

Please add a FPV camera that can output the Loitering view as if you were using it for ISR. You can use a small FPV monitor and would beable to get some cool shots.

[@Linuxpunk81]

Oh man reading ISR gave me ptsd 😅I was a submarine sonar tech and ISR missions were always the worst 😅

[@hazel-vf7on]

That was my first thought when I saw the thumbnail. I haven't even started watching the video yet....

[@davidanalyst671]

Your landing gear def needs help. Go look at the planes that land at that range, and see what they do. My guess Is to tune up the suspension (use flexible metal straps) for the suspension, which will absorb a landing instead of bouncing around. I love projects like this. This project is so much easier to control and program than a drone because it is more stable in the air given a velocity, and this has more energy capacity as it isnt' using all its energy to push down 100% of the time. You need to put on lights, a couple fireworks, a trailing advertisement, or do some cropdusting. Some farmers have switched to drones for crop dusting which is amazing.

[@ghostrunner2138]

I just realized how crazy it is there aren't really any reaper drones from rc companies after seeing yours I would buy one instantly.

[@mauriceevans6546]

Especially if it is set up as fpv like bona-fide pirates channel.

[@doomdjyo5997]

I think there would be a big problem if they were

[@ghostrunner2138]

@@doomdjyo5997 there are numerous other military planes and the drones we use for fun are already dropping bombs there isn’t really a line

[@Vaeloron]

There have been a few over the years but they just aren't very popular. I have been wanting to build and RQ-2 Pioneer or MQ-1 Predator for years but have never been able to find a kit. You might even be able to pull off a full scale RQ-2 and still fall within the weight limits as it only had a 16 foot wingspan.

[@bashdavid9223]

Hey all i've got an MQ-9 i bought off of hobby king yeaaaaars ago i just never got around to flying it. I'm willing to sell it at the right price

[@H.e.l.I.o]

I'm planning to make first custom drone and will it be too heavy to just use 3D printed works for whole body?

[@ghostrunner2138]

might be cool to have the esc under that top vent in the back it gets some airflow and can pull back the center of gravity plus that vent would actually be functional which would be cool. awesome build.

[@starsoldier3643]

Drones dont need wheels to land. Use a catapult system for launch and use a folding prop. Think military, they even use nets to catch drones.

[@nicolasa.4438]

This is awesome! Next step is to make some mini R9X hellfire missles that have spring loaded “blades”. And have it autonomously drop them on a mini foam core target house

[@Ton369]

You can't leave us with a buzz kill like that ! ! ! We're all counting on you. !!!

[@DanielCrist]

Impressive! Your frame would be like 1/3 of the weight if you used balsa wood instead of plywood though - which might have helped with your last hand launch...

[@1pcfred]

You can't even get good balsa wood anymore. It all got used up long ago.

[@ra3or]

@@1pcfred :o where did it go?

[@ra3or]

a much better, lighter, more uniform solution is to use foamboard for the ribs and balsa/carbon(alternatives: barbecue sticks, ice cream sticks, paint sticks) for spars

[@1pcfred]

@@ra3or it got cut down and used up. Most model aircraft crash so where do wood splinters go? Someplace I think I still have some vintage balsa wood around. I haven't seen it in years though. It has to be over 50 years old now. But it's the good stuff.

[@1pcfred]

@ProudOfYourRoots you're right. You don't know what I'm talking about. At least we've established that. You do understand that when trees are cut down milled and used up they are gone then, don't you?

[@brockjones1364]

Build to fly, not to crash; focus on light and strong not robust. Get rid of the landing gear, make it like a bush lanes or make it retractable for belly landings. Use a folding prop and your belly landings will be buttery smooth. Great work!

[@Cornellyusbest]

Good project. In your next iteration try adding another carbon fibre tube along the body of the plane. Rear motor should be mounted to the to that tube, all the ply cross sections have to be attached to it as well. Probably the chassis should be mounted to it. Just use it a a spine bone... Good luck in what you are doing and don't get discouraged.

[@zamerica0]

how are there 1.6m views but 76 likes?? This deserves more likes!

[@P.W.O523]

U mean 37000 likes!

[@filmweaver2013]

AWESOME! I'm not kidding but this seems to be the longest series of coincidences... I've been working on almost the exact same projects as you are working on! XD Generative design, drone cycloidal drives this drone is sth I'm planning to work on now edit: motor as well!

[@ahmedloay7555]

lol same here

[@JhawkFlyer]

There's a hero behind the camera. You better keep that one! They're hard to come by.

[@stetsonscott8209]

I developed a method for doing bevels with the laser on wood. You need a nearly perfect feed/speed setting to cut the wood at thickness (so that it isn't over or under penetrating). In the case of an interface that uses a pdf document, the area of the bevel needs to be covered by the line weight and the line needs to have a 0-100 gradient stroke effect. This means that a Lazer driven by black opacity will start at 0 and then slowly get hotter as it approaches 100 opacity. Speed must be set to allow for cooling depending on material

[@boxlessthinker1973]

Great job on the build! Sorry for your loss til you build the replacement. I was skeptical when you added the second battery. Had the plane flown despite the additional weight that would have been epic.

[@rklauco]

Looks awesome. Do version 2, please :)

[@DavidSmith-vd1zv]

You have to make sure it is in balance both forward and back as well as left to right. This is essential before ever trying to fly any airplane whether it is an RC model or a full size airplane. Great job on that Reaper drone. Hope you get it going again.

[@brandonb417]

I probably wouldn't change much, just use carbon rods to hold the bulkheads together, that will give you some added strength down the fuselage. Also, make sure you do a balance check every time you change something, it looked like you were so nose heavy the full up elevator wasn't enough.

[@1pcfred]

If carbon rods are good then a whole carbon fiber plane would be gooder.

[@brandonb417]

@@1pcfred and much more expensiver 😁

[@1pcfred]

@@brandonb417 sure. But you get what you pay for.

[@brandonb417]

@@1pcfred I suppose, but at what point is it diminishing returns?

[@1pcfred]

@@brandonb417 diminishing returns is nothing I worry about myself when I'm seeking the penultimate in performance.

[@RobR386]

Build, fly, crash, repeat, that's the mantra of this hobby 😀

[@battano]

Nice concept regardless of the outcome. I've been building and flying Betaflight drones for a few years now and am just now getting my feet wet with some INAV fixed wing builds using a MatekF411-WTE. I'm running INAV on Hexacopter but it was premanufactured and configured and only bought it for position hold and to be able to record myself flying freesyle. The fact so many people use Ardupilot and the entire mission planning and true autonomy part has me really intrigued and thinking once I get INAV functioning on one maybe I should do a backup and flash Ardupilot on one and give it a whirl...

[@ShaunBennett]

DUCT TAPE IS THE KING! Hot glue is the fun, hardworking prince!

[@sakarrc5001]

Wow, was thinking about next Long Range frame that is really worth building and here is a video for you. Thank you! Is it possible to edit the file and save it with modifications? Onshape is really intuitive.

[@kwaaaa]

This is so neat! Sucks that it ended in pieces, but I don't think anything short of it being just a block of EPP would've survive at all. I often think about 3d printing a giant mold and vacuum bagging composites to it for quick and detailed fuselages. I think that would benefit from the laser cut plywood frame, similar to how some of the EDF jet guys are doing it.

[@Arthurqcirne]

Hey, I guess one idea for your landing gear in grass is to make it interchangeable with skis. Maybe you can make them in a light and resistant material (like carbon fiber) and it might be better on grass.

[@AGeekNamedRoss]

Link to the laser-safe foam board you're using please.

[@sachintharavindu3356]

skid landing gear instead of wheels. higher number of blades on the propeller for efferent cruising. carbon fiber tube for the hull.

[@jeffreysilva3054]

Excellent job. I was wondering what the weight differences was between the 3d printed section vs the wood/foam board section. If the 3d printed section is lighter you might want to design the whole thing Tobe 3d printed in sections and ca glued with small wire supports. There are a few companies selling the print files. If you designed it that way you might be able to sell it to them or online so others can build it.

[@Vasiliki00lias]

Echo on the first question

[@THESPORTINGCAMP]

Dyson had 5000+ prototypes before his vacuum cleaner was ready. Excellent work! 🤝👏👏👏👏

[@judevector]

You did absolutely well ,the fact that it did fly for so long is a win already. This is beautiful to watch

[@daverson8609]

Good humour in adversity is the mark of a good guy. Very enjoyable piece, thanks.

[@pythonboi5816]

8:00 wait but doesnt it have a landing gear? why not just take off from the ground

[@ادمالشبل]

لا تتوقف استمر هذه التجربة تجعلك اكثر صلابه . استمر بالتوفيق صديقي .. 😊

[@johnwig285]

I guess you can call it ... The RIPPER 💀

[@CazYokoyama]

Find the CG location before throw. It is usually 30-40 % from the leading edge of the wing. Also don't throw up. Stall is caused by slow speed. Throw horizontally while human naturally throw up. From my 30 years of RC glider flying experience.

[@RiskyMirror6213]

5:43 Is that an a320 in the back?

[@DeshanHimaka3192]

😮

[@marianorodriguez9257]

Do you know where one could find similar foam? Am also building an RC plane, and think it could work perfectly.

[@trishaallatchman6735]

Obama needs this😂😂

[@TheOpeningRange]

Do you know that it’s his administration that allowed reaper drone to be used daily to kill. You’re late.

[@Capybara_Stopmotion_Racing]

Trump needs this also 😂

[@crusaderknight6928]

​@@Capybara_Stopmotion_RacingFor what??

[@Vigilante-k4q]

No Obama used the big ones to kill americans

[@Loxbsg]

Qassem solimani​@@crusaderknight6928

[@Alina_Vasilievna]

You should make Kamikaze Drone with Explosive. Or make ISR Drones or High Altitudes Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Drones, with an Aircraft Engine, LIDAR, Thermal Camera, Zoom Camera, Etc Big Fuel Capacity, No such KZbin video ever exist today. You should be the one that make it.

[@TangoCharlieAlpha]

Ukraine and Russia have entered the chat.

[@DerekMahon-w7b]

assuming you fix the weight issues you could try a launch catapult using rails and elastic bands

[@shiparelli3448]

I think wings are waaaay to unstable for that and would probably break or at least it would bottleneck the speed at What the drone is flying after the launch

[@MichaelGarrison93]

I subscribed just so I could unsubscribe after seeing you leave that third zip tie facing the opposite way at 7:14...... kidding, but that really grinds my gears

[@petermcmillan1773]

You always need to use bigger tyres than you want to flying off of grass, some goofy big tyres would have made this work so much better. Your build was awesome, don't get me wrong, but 1/4 ply seems way too thick, at this scale 1/8" would be fine and cut your flying weight considerably, hotglue is fast, but urethane glue is a lot lighter and you don't need as much, plus it expands and fills gaps.

[@HorstChristophSchreiber]

Thank you for also showing the fail. It makes it more authentic

[@kaustavkapur5532]

Great Job Michael. I was thinking maybe you can replace some of stressed members with carbon fiber sheets that be laser cut such as the fuselage spars. That should give your plane much more strength so it doesn't break like it did above. And you can use balsa wood for the non stressed members where there are small loads to save weight.

[@davidbean5807]

I would like to suggest you add solar panels to your design and a PCB way charging board that you'd need to create that would be controlled to only charge after the battery gets to a certain level and turn off at a certain higher level. I would also suggest you weigh your electronics and battery and find your plane's center of gravity then add your electronics accordingly to balance out your plane's center of gravity. I am no expert for sure but have watched thousands of hours of youtube videos on successful and not-so-successful Rc plane builds. I am disabled and don't get out much, but I do like to try to help where I can. I really liked your design and ingenuity in building your plane. Hope my suggestions are helpful in giving you some ideas. I would also like to suggest you raise the engine above the rear of the fuselage and build a launch rail system that helps send your plane into flight. Raising the motor above the fuselage might save you from landing damage. I am sure you could print a design that would be aerodynamic while allowing the motor to be high enough to keep the prop off the ground meaning you could cut weight also by removing landing gear.

[@bobmirror7164]

Little wheels for landing gear do not make scene, they snag on everything. Instead use a flat airfoil ski, think modified pop-cycle stick, with the tip angled up quite a bit when landing on a grass field. A sling shot catapult launch system or pusher rocket motor that falls away may work.

[@haydenpruitt5199]

The whistle edit almost had me in the hospital choking on my popcorn that was beautiful

[@DarrellShirts]

Since the fuselage is basically a long tube. Make the wing adjustable along the length. This will allow CG changes.. Liked the video... good job.

[@WhatThisVideo-WTv]

It didn't ended badly, you learned some new things. Now waiting for version 2. Also if possible, add some IR camera on front to give it full reaper look hehe. 😄

[@konstantink07]

great project! but increasing the battery voltage doesn't increase the flight time, increasing the mA/h does. Also I would suggest adding more structural integrity to the fuselage using carbon rods or something (I'm no expert at this) and also using it to securely mount the landing gear

[@danaolson2871]

Awesome dude. I have many videos of launches with results like this from 1990 when we started flying electric. The rear prop makes for a tricky hand launch where you are always thinking about that prop slicing up your hand. Runway or rail launch for that drone next time.

[@robvanscheijndel]

This is just a stepping stone to a better version. You learned a lot and a new version will be definitely better than this one. A few suggestions from me: make it bigger. The size is too small for a start on grass, double the size and you can fly anywhere. Using plywood this thin might be light, but laminated aluminium or carbon will be much better. It’s more expensive, but it provides a much better and sturdier frame. Lastly, if you make changes in the weight, take out the guesswork of balancing. Make sure your plane is balanced properly before you fly this thing. Keep on going with this great idea, I am looking forward for the next version.

[@kenzacharajr.1023]

You use 1/4 pine to build the wings on the human passenger minimax. Some ultralights use mylar plastic to cover the wings. Cut down on weight improve the glide ratio. Big difference between 8 to 1 and 30 to 1. same with the stall speed.

[@akash71272]

Last Part Reminds Me Of My First Rc Plane Build. It Taught Me A Lesson That How Important Weight And Balance On An Aircraft Is

[@will9357]

"Maybe I'll build it out of something more robust." Or maybe you could just take the bigger batteries out? When you have an airplane that tends to get broken landing gear, it's a pretty good indication that your aircraft is pushing the limits on mass. The other solution is to make a significantly larger aircraft that's built as light as possible. Simply beefing things without increasing the surface area of the wings, will only increase the landing speeds. You want a big wing surface area with a light body if you want to carry high capacity batteries. (Note: Of course, it's OK to beef up the landing gear, but try to keep everything else as light as you can possibly get it.)

[@maximus.4656]

Larger wing span . Catpult launcher instead of your arms . If it is still heavy use rocket for initial altitude and flight . Add a landing shoot. Best of luck cool content.

[@calvinwalker1781]

bungee launcher, remove landing gear to reduce drag, add a catch hook for retrieval. could also make a mold and lay up a fiberglass plane. light and strong.

[@rogeranderson8116]

a little more power + paved runway like real version uses. Less drag like some way to retract gear would help too. If you still throw it, it could start gear up (since you know the gear doesn't help a bit on aborted throw launch anyhow) and just have a servo pull a pin that allows a spring to force the gear down and lock. Thanks for doing this, I had fun watching!

[@dread8455]

awesome video man! just one thing though, when you solder you might wanna use some soldering flux just so its a little easier on those processors

[@andrettishields388]

Well done, would like info on CNC machine. Usually the weight has to be evenly displaced with a centerline of the aircraft for balancing.

[@patman0250]

If you want to make the plywood way stronger before you put it together, brush it with cyanoacrylate/super glue. It won't add any weight but it will make it incredibly strong.

[@edwardwaldrep7727]

Nice work on the wing trailing edges, sharper than just two pieces of foamboard which is like 1/2 an inch and draggy and just looks lazy. Just a little bevelling and it looks much better.

[@samernajia]

I do think you should rebuild it but replace the prop with an EDF and ditch the gear for a skid in the belly and at the wing tips. Really awesome project.

[@212caboose]

I think you did a pretty amazing job on the design/build- just tweak it and use some more CF tubing to reinforce the airframe

[@JOKRWLDRocks]

Another pcbway ad I just skipped right past. Yay !!

[@Davewest85]

What a grate job keep it up, May I suggest you use Plastic, some carbon fibber or fibber glass material if u can for strength, and make it a little bigger and place the heavy material at the middle or just the right place. increase the length of the landing gear so the distance between the drone and the ground will have a reasonable for take off with no need for you to lunch it. (Just saying) But you did excellent work.

[@petergudden]

A good lesson in craftsmanship! Good-old balsa-plywood construction with film covering builds you better planes. Hard to beat that with foam, hot-glue tape and tie-wraps.

[@Videolinquency]

Thank you for sharing on KZbin even though you obviously know what you're doing. You have my subscription.

[@flighteaglediy8220]

what settings on the laser cutter for foamboard? Mine just keeps burning the foamboard... (its a 10W Creality Falcon)

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Looking forward to the re-worked version! Very cool machine!

[@rexypoooo]

From my initial thought, the 6S will gives you more propulsion, but not necessary gives you more capacity, in conjunction, the additional cell structure added more weight. I would think using a higher capacity low cell count battery will provide you with longer flight time you desire, as fix-wing vehicle are far more efficient than quad, once airborne, you shouldn't need too much power to keep it afloat, especially if you are not planning on flying acrobatics. So, higher cap low cell battery, rebalance for CG should do the trick. Great build!

[@AndreiNeacsu]

A bit of buffing and some elbow grees, then it's good as new. On a serious note, have you ever thought of building something like a launching catapult for RC planes? In combination with a parachute system, it could make for some nice testing of (reusable) weird designs.

[@mudasserkhan00]

0:15 People think about 2 things 1. Quadcopter 2. Freedom

[@TheOGNiceGod]

Add shocks and all terrain tires, or make a portable runway.

[@UrbTac-7]

I love how you took the failure because it wasn't really a failure it's an incredible learning experience, I subscribe excited to see more of your videos. Thank you for sharing

[@YasonDinAlt]

"Some part is still good! " Amazing optimistic, you are cool, man, fix it and make better with controlled camera. Great project!

[@dalebrown6460]

Amazing build young man!! You certainly have what it takes to make this work! I loved doing stuff like this in my younger years! Carry on!

[@TheWadetube]

I think you need to mow a path for your plane or put larger wheels on it. Also it is more stable and more reactive to have your propeller on the FRONT of the plane so it's wash passes under the wings and aids in lift and maneuvering at slower speeds. Also a paint gun mount would be fun and some moving targets. How many friends do you have?

[@thomasmcfarland5019]

Try building a launch rail, either electromagnetic or elastic and modify the belly of the drone to accommodate the launch rail. Take a look at the Zipline drone system and borrow some ideas from their experience.

[@_slimekingyt]

Hi Michael, I just watched your video on building a DIY Reaper Drone, and it was so inspiring! I’m planning to recreate it and maybe make a few tweaks-especially after seeing how the wheels got ripped off. Would you be able to share the blueprints for the drone? Also, any recommendations for electronics would be amazing. Thanks a lot, and I’m excited to hear from you!

[@C0WB0Y25]

Very cool man keep it up

[@muhammadhassanyaqoob9948]

great effort indeed. he really needs a hug when it crashed.

[@TheRubidium7]

Just to give my two cents worth, I think the cause of the failure is when you change the battery to a much heavier one leading to a nearly ( or tendency ) nose dive flight upon release or take off. The weight to thrust ratio should have been taken into consideration. But since you have proven yourself capable of building a diy drone, I believe you will be successful in your attempts or endeavours in the future. And so, I am looking forward to seeing your upcoming videos. Good luck.

[@spaxx3849]

Increase rigidity and cut weight by wrapping the body in a light fabric you've 3d printed a hexagonal pattern on to it.. Probably only need to be 1mm thick w/ 3mm edge. You can even design small reinforced areas as needed like extra ribs

[@HasturYellowSign]

You should create a launching mechanism. Sort of like what they use on various TV shows when they have those type of drones being sent out. I would also remove that plywood and replace it with something like carbon fiber. It would probably be just around as light, maybe a little heavier, and you can get a beefier motor.