How to Build a Cheap and Easy Model Airplane that Flies - Version 2.0

[@riovonstahl2869]

uhm, small channel that explain things straignt to the point... subbed!

[@DavidMikule]

He is alive!!! YAY!!

[@Finhornify]

Thanks for making these. I appreciate someone explaining the design instead of trying to entertain me with jokes etc.

[@danlwill2]

Your videos are very well done. Good pacing and easy to follow.

[@arvind8927]

Thanks for detailed instructions on building airplane. I liked it and ordered foam board. Unfortunately the length of foam board was not sufficient to take out 30" wing. So I created airplane with 15" wing length and divided all measurements to half. But I ended up making heavy airplane which was sinking too fast and couldn't glide. I checked the wing cube loading and found it to be 25 :) Restarting from scratch.

[@abdulmueed4013]

Hi, I appreciate your work and efforts to put together aeromodelling understanding, for all those enthusiasts who are looking for insightful, practical and yet economical solution to satisfy their flying hobby. I have just started following your channel... Well Done... and keep up the good work...

[@pgrudzien1221]

Also for keeping weight down it's much more efficient to use crazy glue (cyanoacrylate) rather than hot glue as opposed to peeling off the paper.

[@mrx0088]

Nice channel. Please include the units in metric system too in next videos, so you can reach a broader audience. Thanks!!

[@artthur8856]

What a great video,I understood everything!I can now make my planes fly :)

[@jacoblunn29]

Thanks so much for this! I like how you explain the engineering and physics. Question: would a longer wing with a higher aspect ratio be better for longer flights?

[@my_dear_friend_]

Good instructions. Gonna try this design!

[@FrotanInferno]

Hi you linked a website that works out the center of gravity for a simple plane in your last video. What would you put for the sweep distance of a straight tapered wing which is symmetrical? Also does the website tell you where your center of gravity should be or just where it is based on where you’ve placed the wing compared to the tail in the measurements you have to fill in, essentially I’m wondering how you know what the distance between tail and wing leading edge should be for the calculator when you don’t even know where to put it yet based on the Cg since you haven’t calculated it yet

[@DesignYourOwnAirplanes-xd6lz]

The calculator in that link shows where the CG should be for the plane to fly right. To figure out where the CG would be if you built the plane for real, I've started 3D modeling airplane designs in OnShape (free subscription), and assigning densities to the materials. I then add extra weight into the 3D models on the front/back to see how much I'll need to get the CG in the correct place. For a straight, tapered wing that is symmetrical, if I understand your question right, you would have (sweep distance) = (root chord - tip chord) / 2. I hope that helps.

[@FrotanInferno]

@@DesignYourOwnAirplanes-xd6lz Thank you, for some reason people kept telling me the sweep distance would be zero. On the first point, if it’s telling you what the center of gravity should be, how do you know what the distance between the leading edges should be? Say you have a 1000mm fuselage, you have to put the distance between the leading edges of the wing and horizontal stabilizer in to the calculator. But how do you know what that distance should be in the first place? One another thing if you have the time to answer: when I want to turn my 2D wing designs into 3D ones after using that cg calculator, does the wing-tail ratio I use and the consequent sizes of the wing and tail not affect the cg in anyway? Or will I have to recalculate the cg using the weight moment method

[@DesignYourOwnAirplanes-xd6lz]

@@FrotanInferno You would decide how long you want your tail to be based on what tail volume you want. Slower planes need higher tail volumes (which we'll talk about in a later video). When you make your tail longer you'll have to add more weight on the front to counterbalance it. As for your second question, the calculator uses a relatively simple method to estimate the location of the NP and CG, so it could be off by a bit, especially when you start factoring in airfoil shapes and stuff like that. I've also used XFLR5 (free aerodynamics analysis software) to model plane designs and find the NP and CG locations.

[@FrotanInferno]

@@DesignYourOwnAirplanes-xd6lzThank you, all this info has been very helpful in my design so far. Can I ask how this calculator takes into account the fuselage? Because the fuselage factors into the center of gravity position doesn’t it? Do you use the values this website gives you and just use that as your wing and tail position or do you have to factor in the fuselage in some other way (like working out the center of gravity yourself with the fuselage and then trying to get the CG where the website recommends) or should you just line up the fuselage center of gravity with the one from the website even if it means the tail isn’t at the end of the fuselage?

[@DesignYourOwnAirplanes-xd6lz]

@@FrotanInferno I’m pretty sure the calculator doesn’t take into any aerodynamic effects caused by the fuselage. Moving the fuselage relative to the wing and tail is one way to adjust the CG location. I often decide where I want my fuselage to be and then move the weights forward/backwards to get the CG in the right spot.

[@pgrudzien1221]

Very nice video. I'll build my own - pleese include metric system as well :)

[@JohannJayamaha]

Hi, do you have a template of the pieces and sizes? Do you have a set of instructions or steps written down to follow. I really enjoyed the video and would love to try it myself. Thanks

[@yxhankun]

excellent n informative.

[@seeker6369]

Thank you

[@michellegraciella165]

Hello i was wondering what mm is the foam board?

[@michellegraciella165]

And is it ok if I use a 3mm foam board?

[@pretzel1006]

@@michellegraciella165 Yes, 3mm is fine. Make sure u cut it slow tho, they tend to break pretty easy under force.

[@FoxMarrion]

Thx

[@stephenmcdermott4929]

Yay!