Building Another Indoor Free Flight Aircraft!

[@kenkingsflyingmachines2382]

The tuba solo was the real star of this video! Nice work all around!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thanks! You can tune in to WMHT-FM in a few weeks. I'll be doing a recital with this piece on the radio. :)

[@Joyplanes]

I would be happy if I did an indoor flyer as good as that one.

[@luke_atthat]

It seems nothing is out of your reach to build! Impressive! So tiny, and it works! Congratulations!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thank you!

[@FortuneSkies]

Hi. Welcome back and thank you for sharing this nice new creation.

[@Coyotehello]

Lovely. Aggressive blade angle on that prop...!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Yeah I guess so. Can't exactly remember what my thought process was with that decision... or whether there was a thought process for that decision. 😂

[@Coyotehello]

@@AeroCraftAviation LOL Good one!

[@MrJMaq]

I love the tuba.

[@allenmoore9848]

Good to see you back. I have been reading some airborne magazines from the mid 80's to mid 90's. They have a regular "Gum nut flyer" feature and there are some small rubber powered free flight plans. The full size plan is on a single A4 sized sheet. I thought of you when I have been studying them. Always happy to copy and send them if you are interested

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Hmm, those do sound interesting. Could you copy and send to [e-mail] ? Thanks.

[@allenmoore9848]

@@AeroCraftAviation will do. I have to go through a few mags to get them again. Found an interesting tip this morning on shaping those prop blades (same style as shown on this video) using a tin can and tapered soft drink bottle to induce constant or tapered camber.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

@@allenmoore9848 Thanks. No rush. :) I have tried that propeller-forming method before. Works pretty well, but I've not noticed any major efficiency improvement. However, I did just build this helical-twist jig: drive.google.com/file/d/1nUqIY2VHC4hmB3hH8yq6CWnqoi1NREIW/view?usp=sharing I'm thinking that with a really accurate helical twist, the efficiency improvement might start to be noticeable.

[@somethingelse2740]

I always wondered how they applied that super thin film without a disaster, or lots of wrinkles. Nice job!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

It is actually (sorta) possible to do it without a covering frame, if you have really good fine motor control. I've tried with some success to apply the film by hand. But really, the covering frame just eliminates all the room for error. Thanks!

[@somethingelse2740]

How about making a video of how you handle that thin film and get it laid out before sticking it to your frame. This might help others who want to try thin film but have zero experience with it. Do you lay the film on a table and then lower the tacky frame to the film? I've never seen anyone actually handle that stuff. Looks super delicate.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

@@somethingelse2740 Yes, I should make such a video. I have always been hesitant with real-time tutorial-type videos, because they easily become very long and drawn-out, and it is also tricky to get all the necessary visual info in frame while keeping a consistent and smooth production quality. But I think you're right; such a video really oughta be made. I will do my best to make it.

[@mariusberger3297]

I really appreciate these F1D builds - so simple in concept, yet so complex in production

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Very true. But the beauty of the finished product is worth all the complexity of construction. In fact, I guess that complexity is part of what makes is so exciting.

[@helidrones]

Great stuff. While my builds beat the air into submission, yours are gliding majestically and silently through the air. Very enjoyable. I like it very much as well as your music. Subscribed.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thank you! Dude, your builds are awesome. I have always really been fascinated by rotorcraft, and your variable-pitch quads are right up my alley. Such intricate mechanics. If I could afford to do more rotorcraft stuff I would be all about it. Just the coolest.

[@FlyingMonkeyrc]

Nice build! I've built a few indoor free flight type things... One thing to try that could get you better flight times would be messing around with the prop and rubber combination it will take a little testing, but I bet you could get 10 minutes out of that little guy with some high-quality rubber!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Yeah that's one of my thoughts. Unfortunately, I'm pretty limited with rubber sizes. I have no way to cut it, so all I've got are the scrap off-cuts from the other guys at my model aviation club. Definitely propeller pitch could be optimized though. I still don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to propellers. Haha.

[@FlyingMonkeyrc]

@@AeroCraftAviation ya, Joshua fin has a good tutorial for a vereabole pitch prop I think that could really increase efficiency.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

@@FlyingMonkeyrc Yeah I've seen that one. Incredible detail in those VP hubs. I don't know if I'll be incorporating variable pitch,. but certainly it is good to learn about the theory and practice behind propeller pitch.

[@williamrobinson7435]

Utterly excellent. Thanks for posting!

[@m.p.472]

Cool tuba solo by stoned player :-)

[@loganreuter6072]

Awesome little plane and great build quality! Nice too see you back!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thanks! Yeah I'm glad to have posted again. I hope now to avoid any absences longer than a month.

[@lawa3486]

Nice one! If you are really interested in indoor free flight I would recommend you to buy a F1M limited balsa kit. It comes with everything needed and you can get close to 10 min flight times. You can even compete with it if there are competitions held in your country.

[@FortuneSkies]

Hi. Where do you buy tkis kit? Did not find it. Tks

[@lawa3486]

@@FortuneSkies I looked too but seems like nowadays there aren't really many kits:/ sorry. I found the plans for the model that i built: www.thermiksense.de/saalflugmodell-der-klasse-f1m-l-von-bruno-waechter/ My dad bought a kit from this guy Heinz Eder but I don't know if he sells them anymore.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

I have seen some similar kits around. They look good. But I prefer to read the articles on indoornewsandviews, and experiment with what I learn. Watching the great flyers, and copying what they do is a good way to learn. Sometimes I will build a kit if I really have no idea where to begin. But since I have some good ideas about free flight, it is best to try to experiment and test stuff. I learn the most that way.

[@elij4h427]

That is very cool, Elihu. It is crazy how light you can make a functioning aircraft! Also I am assuming that was you on the tuba in the accompaniment track which was very impressive as well!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thanks! Yeah well, this is nothing compared to the pros;. Check out this 260 milligram EZB: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaXbeX-jlN2Wq5I Maybe someday I'll be able to build that light. Haha. Yeah that was me, playing Carnival in Venice. I'll be playing that on the WMHT-FM station next month.

[@ricomon64]

Beautiful! I'm sure you'll get some long flights with it. I'd love to see more flight video of it.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

I'll try to get that footage. It has a strange "sudden death-dive" tendency which i think is due to lack of downthrust. Or perhaps insufficient decalage. I'll play around with the trim a bit and see what I can get it to do. :)

[@ricomon64]

I have faith in your abilities, and I'm certain you have the aeronautical knowledge to make it fly like a dream.

[@ontologicalpotato]

This needs immense talent! I’m thinking of doing aerospace engineering in university after highschool, but I’d never imagine being able to do something remotely complex like this now! Is aerodynamics & physics taken into consideration in making this, or is it mostly creativity?

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thanks! You should totally do aerospace; wonderful field of study. Aerodynamics are taken into account insofar as basic aerodynamic stability and efficacy are concerned. Simple calculations are done for center of pressure, lifting capacity, and wing-stabilizer offset angle. There's no extreme optimization going on here. Mechanics and physics, however, are taken into account more seriously. With such lightweight structures, each frame member must be tested for its strength by measuring its deflection under a certain load at a certain fulcrum length. The thin wood used for rolling the fuselage tubes must be selected very carefully for certain structural properties. The size and sturdiness of propeller bearing and rear hook must also be considered critically. There can be some calculating involved here, especially with regard to leverage and power efficiency. Also with regard to structural load. But more than calculating, there is a lot of deliberating and critical thinking based upon intuition and experience. Also based upon consideration of external factors such as stresses induced by wind gusts, torque bursts from the rubber band, uncareful handling, hard landings and a few others. In many cases, the entire situation being considered is too complex to be adequately modeled by hand-done calculations. If one has sufficient experience, it often makes the most sense to work it out in one's head approximatively instead of applying calculations. Then, of course, there is creativity; a lot of it. When one is new to designing and building, the mechanical elements can be daunting and take up most of one's effort to address. But with a little experience, those factors can be handled easily and one can get much more creative with the design. It is similar to playing a musical instrument in that regard; at first, mechanical challenges dominate, but eventually that gives way to a deep understanding and an intuitive ability which allows creativity to be incorporated. I'm sort of in the middle-ground right now; still really have to think about the fundamental mechanics, but it is something of a creative outlet. If you ever see some experienced and truly masterful model builders, the extent to which they approach building as a creative endeavor is highly admirable and impressive. Someday I'll get there.

[@henryzhang3961]

That's fascinating. The tremors from my hand would rip this thing to shreds

[@AeroCraftAviation]

You know, it's funny, I'm actually similar. Very shaky hands. But it seems the shakiness is proportional to the range of motion I'm focusing on -- so delicate small work makes my shaking much less.

[@nevillecreativitymentor]

That was fantastic ... what do you mean it did not turn out to as good as expected ... you are an over bearing parent LOL ... ♥♥

[@Dracsbest]

I envy your building skills but this was a cool little project! What was your build time?

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Thanks! Build time was probably about 10 hours. Not exactly sure.

[@towitowi1]

Ciekawe ! Pozdrawiam

[@InferMel]

Wow

[@jasonhurdlow6607]

The title indicates it's rubber powered, but I neither saw nor heard any mention of rubber in the build... ??

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Yeah I usually don't get into details about the rubber. That's more of a decision that happens after the thing is built, as to what size loop and what cross section fits the aircraft best while staying under a desired weight. I quite honestly do not recall what cross section I ended up using here. I do recall it was a thinly cut piece of Tan Supersport, if that helps. Sorry for the lack of clarity.

[@rpmlg5767]

I think the prop has too much pitch or the rubber is not suited to the prop thus the lack in efficiency or the area of the blades isnt covering all of the wing.Other than that i think you did a good job

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Oh yes yes that is a good observation. I don't yet really understand the relationship between propeller pitch and rubber motor in terms of pitch. Need to read up on that more.

[@rpmlg5767]

@@AeroCraftAviation If you want to learn more i suggest searching up the nffs on youtube. One video there talks about the relationship between the motor and the pitch of the prop. Hope that helps

[@AeroCraftAviation]

@@rpmlg5767 Ah good suggestion. I had forgotten they had a channel! Will go watch now.

[@gabrielmorales9752]

Less than a gram, wow!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Well to be honest, this is incredibly bulky. I was really just having a bit of fun. An aircraft of these dimensions could easily be under 0.5 grams.

[@traderguynw]

Cover

[@traderguynw]

Film

[@CahnDalan310]

Madang

[@6OTE]

I didn't know Ben Shapiro made planes.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Hahaha not the first time I've gotten that comment! I do have a good laugh every time I'm reminded of the striking vocal similarity. Lol.

[@Abderrahmane_Aitouche]

................. 🔦🌷🎓💨