Building an Advanced Magnus Effect Plane

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This is an RC Magnus Effect Plane! Magnus effect aircraft use a wierd aerodynamic effect to create lift. I wanted to build a plane with a cylindrical rotor driven by an electric motor. Underneath there would be a boom with a second motor for forward propulsion along with a rudder for turning. It would be similar to a paramotor. It's not a concept I came up with but there is hardly any info out there on the proportions of a plane like this, how fast the rotors should spin, and where its centre of gravity should be, so I thought I'd learn how to do it and share it with you.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:46 Ad
02:05 V1 Build
03:46 First Test Flights
05:29 Improvements
05:48 Second Test Flights
07:27 Iterative Development
09:30 Final Attempt
12:26 Conclusion
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▶ Follow me on Instagram to see what I'm working on: / jameswhomsley
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Music by Andrew Applepie
www.andrewapplepie.com
/ andrewapplepie
andrewapplepie.bandcamp.com/

[@JoelCreates]

There's something delightfully unnatural about watching that thing actually fly

[@Project-Air]

I’m still surprised the Magnus Effect is that powerful to easily lift 600g of plane! ☺️

[@creativitybooth8115]

I am working on a project to drop a plane from space with a weather balloon can you give a plane design with big wings to fit many solar panels as possible

[@n.o6889]

@@creativitybooth8115 a glider? Big wing, so many place to fit solar panels

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

​@@creativitybooth8115 Man that's a hell of mission to tackle if you don't know about aerodynamics. Also likely super illegal depending on location and prior approval/licensing.

[@creativitybooth8115]

@@thirtythreeeyes8624 as I am in india it is legal and there is no airport in the city I live so there must be no problem

[@PlasmaChannel]

Wicked cool. You're basically Alec steel meets Peter Sripol. Solid job on the video, and build.

[@jakedevries1455]

And Tom Stanton that's where I heard of project air when they did the miniature bouncing bomb with an RC Lancaster bomber and as soon as I see that video i was like I need to subscribe to project air and his projects have just gotten cooler! And all the channels you said are excellent as well... and yours is pretty cool too 👍 😉

[@cosmorito961]

Looks like J is the fan of aerodynamics

[@whatelseison8970]

Hey Jay, you should team up with one (or all) of these guys on an ionic wind powered plane! Or maybe realize Tesla's dream of a plane powered wirelessly by a massive DRSSTC. If anyone can do it it's you. If you do the latter make sure get Integza in on that somehow. I feel like he might not forgive you otherwise. 🤣

[@tobywebb2112]

Except Peter stripol makes absolute trash and usually breaks it before it can actually function. Hes fine with a mediocre display. But I prefer when people put effort and care into making something work properly. But that's just me aparently..

[@Vebtum]

Your brihish and I know that for a fact

[@IceJoolsstuff]

You should call it: "the flying paint roller"

[@IceJoolsstuff]

Senpai noticed me

[@sayedmuhammadidrees1453]

More like Wireless Paint Roller.

[@shannonm3841]

i was thinking flying toilet paper dispenser or the FTPD

[@shikhar3281]

@@shannonm3841 fricking trash police Department?

[@helpabrothawithasubisaiah5316]

@@shikhar3281 that applies to every police department in our current world system, no need to put an acronym for it.. its already established and just is what it is

[@acidxero]

Fantastic! I find it fascinating that you've adopted a bit of a "Slave One"-style orientation rather than something with a more horizontal juxtaposition, and I absolutely love it. Great work, sir.

[@Project-Air]

Thank you!

[@Linuxpunk81]

I was gonna say it reminded me of a B-Wing, but yeah slave 1 is more accurate.

[@adamwolfy4826]

I love the star wars vibe with this thing 👌

[@codetech5598]

You are not allowed to use the word "slave" anymore.

[@acidxero]

@@codetech5598 You're the only one I see complaining. It's funny how the people most insulted by the notion of censorship so often end up using bad examples of it to passive-aggressively complain.

[@spingebill8551]

Make a fuselage design that is smooth and covers everything and it’s something straight out of despicable me

[@loddude5706]

The 'Gru-mman Grassdiver'?. . . (sorry : )

[@potatofartsquad]

@@loddude5706 Nah, its the Slave-One

[@calgoh3589]

10:36 when it starts working and you can hear the happiness in his voice is priceless, Truly little nuggets of greatness on KZbin

[@a.sfennec3682]

The aircraft is asserting dominance

[@yayayayya4731]

T

[@tengkubingit4422]

T

[@biko9824]

T

[@joeydr1497]

T

[@Astraulix]

T

[@Swipey_BB]

looks like what i paint wall with

[@gabchaouat2946]

Lol

[@amorporcalopsita]

Que legal novas intenções surgindo. Parabéns ao Canal 👏👏👏👍

[@crashtestrc4446]

Wow . I haven't watched it fully but I know it's gonna be nice

[@bryanwachter]

You don’t have a horizontal stabilizer. You made essentially a flying wing with no ailerons or elevator. Very cool that’s you’re trying to make something cool and seems like you had a lot of fun doing it.

[@ledocteur7701]

horizontal stabilisation is provided by the center of mass being far below the center of lift, an airplane style horizontal stabilizer might help tho.

[@bryanwachter]

@@ledocteur7701 that’s not really stabilization, that would be balance. Stabilization is active, using air flow to keep something stable. I think your plane could fly if it had stabilizers on it.

[@johanhoff958]

Yeah, the fact is, you made the job really hard for yourself by not just replacing the airfoils of a fixed wing aircraft, but also chucking the stabilizing features including dihedral and empennage. You also induced a counterproductive moment with your propeller position. Nevertheless, you made it fly...bravo!

[@Zonker66]

Just love seeing the failures... and him not quitting. No one that hides failure can really science all that well. You can learn to walk without falling if you're held up and protected... but it takes longer and you learn less. I love seeing someone earn their success. Love the "back to the drawing board" mentality. Much respect.

[@TheKRU251]

I love your content. That was a great idea. These magnus effect 'aircraft' are never easy. Excellent work!!!!

[@a.sfennec3682]

Great work as always, as someone who is interested in aerospace engineering I found this really fascinating

[@hashy4940]

Wow you actually managed to make an rc plane like this :D

[@volofly2011]

Nice job James! Keep pushing the edge. I love your creativity, ingenuity and persistence, that's an excellent formula for success. Love your channel and I recommend to all of my younger engineering friends and colleagues as a good example of how to get things done. Once again, well done!

[@Project-Air]

That’s great! Glad you like my videos, cheers

[@thepvzgardenwarfare]

That one was incredible, i love it so much

[@PurnamadaPurnamidam]

Hey Man, felt a real pleasure seeing u succeed, keep this going on.

[@timh8903]

Great to see that thing finally flying - looks great. You're excitement says it all!

[@piconano]

One of the most unusual craft I've seen in a very long time. Good job.

[@Al_Ares]

Man that's awesome! I would recommend making the tubes slightly dihedral to make it more horizontally stable and a fixed vertical stabilizer so it'll move in a much more straight direction. Cheerios!

[@ashsmitty2244]

Of all the aerodynamic principles out there, the Magnus effect spins me out the most. 😉

[@TheBigBigBlues]

Well done, what a great feeling when a project finally works.

[@ericdelmar2618]

I felt your elation and was very happy for you. Nice work!

[@aphinion]

Great engineering mindset! Just keep going ;) This is an absolutely amazing project. I find that effect still totally fascinating!

[@billsheppard9368]

Seems like a bit of the 'pendulum fallacy' may still be in play. Perhaps a few degrees of 'dihedral' in the axles would help stability in the roll axis.

[@anthonyb5279]

Its supper cool that you made the correct analysis of the flaws and good corrections that worked! proper application of the scientific method!

[@fauzimukhtar8892]

thank you very much for doing this. feels great to see it fly on that last attempt

[@Andrew_V-ju2kz]

AWESOME

[@voidwyrm6149]

it might be more stable if u use 2 pairs of "wings" (1 in the front, 1 in the back)

[@RobotSquadTech]

ya actually that would help

[@TheHandyAndy]

Thank you so much for showing your whole process. This is a great show of design mind set that failure is not a bad things. I see to many young people give up when they fail thinking they have lost. Failing and failing fast is key to learning new skills you will in time have a massive win. So to those in school or those learning a new skill, if your not failing your not learning anything new. Keep up your great work.

[@TheRCPilotsLog]

Your tenacity is inspiring! :)

[@jocax188723]

The funny flying T got the thumbs up from me. But it is maybe worth referencing previous Magnus Effect flying craft.

[@henntendo]

looks fairly strange that

[@pierre-rose7783]

Awesome, glad to see it fly at the end !

[@manoloespinosa9760]

Excelente trabajo, felicidades, nunca había visto algo igual.

[@josephreber525]

Well Done 😎👍👍

[@sean21868]

ah yes flying T post

[@stbhcorporation7611]

lol

[@jessemichaels2818]

I'm very impressed. The world needs more people like you. Great work!

[@mickmuzzmkmz1628]

Great job on the build, and the video!👍👌 Looking forward to the next installment!!

[@pakpanda687]

Amazing i am from indonesia

[@loddude5706]

Welcome aboard!

[@creativitybooth8115]

Amazing

[@samuelgriffin8884]

Good for you kiddo!! Youre on to something. Thats how greatness is born bro!!

[@stephantranquille6681]

Never heard of the magnus effect but since you killed it, well done and thank you!

[@Xiphactinus]

0:40 you're telling me you're Kevin de Bruyne's long lost RC loving brother?

[@roboman2444]

Does the speed of the rotors change the lift characteristics? If so, you could have a small "tail rotor" that you vary the speed of as an elevator.

[@tomasmackeon8261]

yes indeed it does, faster cylinder rotation makes more lift

[@master-gbig1140]

I am so glad you didn't give up because that was crazy- wild. That was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. And now that you've proven that it can be done. Somebody has to take it to the next level. Great job kid-o, and Thanks for hanging in there.

[@nikhilgante313]

Great job showing off your engineering design process!

[@charlie_lee_rhee8866]

I wonder if there is a more efficent fuselage /body design. I've seen petersripol swap the wings for the magnus rotors on a normal plane design, and i've also seen a video of a drone with four magnus effect rotors on a drone instead of propelers. I wonder if there's a middle ground, wich has both controlability and stability.

[@rcbif101]

My most recent design is stable and has landing gear for takeoff and landing.

[@tylerhusky4065]

Hey man that is pretty freaking cool, I give you a 10/10 for finding a common scientific physics phenomenon that is relatable to almost everyone in all corners of the globe, and exploiting said phenomenon for aviation purposes never before seen!

[@chiragsingla.]

Btw, it was used in aviation, and it was not successful, because of the drag, he also had to face it in the video and rebuild his aircraft

[@S-I-T]

Brilliant looking craft. Amazing to see it fly.

[@andresmarrero8666]

Keep developing this concept. It has a lot of potential and is a nice aesthetic change from the standard airplanes.

[@nutmeg8363]

The "stem" seems to be one of the main breaking points. Could the design be adapted to fit carbon fibre rods? As far as I understand it should get lighter and more durable

[@nutmeg8363]

@@cap5856 it doesn't look like that in the video. There is the announcment picture where it has the right texture but in the end he said to PRINT it with more infill

[@nutmeg8363]

@@cap5856 yeah ok, the last rod is carbon fibre, but the one before that definitely wasn't

[@haydo8373]

@@cap5856 Thank you captain obvious for your redundant commentary

[@Project-Air]

@@nutmeg8363 To confirm, all of the fuselage and rotor axle tubes used in the build were carbon fibre. Some were thicker than others.

[@haydo8373]

@@cap5856 Your comment was redundant because Nutmeg had already acknowledged carbon fibre had been used in the frame. When he originally suggested the use of carbon fibre he was unaware that it had been tested. Assuming he knows what the meaning of 'moot' is, he would also be able to deduce that his suggestion had already been tested and wasn't useful. Your comment was superfluous (synonymous with redundant) if we assume Nutmeg is capable of the most rudimentary level of critical thought/reasoning.

[@j.a.g.a138]

wow

[@jonrambin1572]

I admire your persistence. What a result!

[@christiansantos7164]

I felt your happiness! You are truly living, bro. Thank you for inspiring us!!!!

[@lukesworld2864]

I like this! Nice catch on the thrust point being too low. Have you tried having the prop be a 'pusher' orientation? I'm curious if that would give smoother air over the rollers to help their effectiveness, or if the thrust from the prop actually makes them work better due to the air it throws over them.

[@Indian_villager88]

Noob here so pardon me if my question is dumb. Any thoughts on spinning the two drums separately and varying their relative speeds to help manage yaw/pitch? Like I mentioned my understanding of all this is limited so I'm not sure which axis this would impact more.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

Roll/bank/turn, or yaw - I think. Pitch would be spinning both faster/slower to vary the reaction against the fuselage.

[@njfish89]

good at removing fluff and flying! this looks insane and bloody cool. good job sir

[@cclfrank24]

Brilliant job, man. That was a wild ride.

[@danat211]

I doubt you will see this comment, but why not use four rotors for stability? If that works better you could even use two motors (L and R) for roll control

[@Midnight9909]

Я тоже как ребенок радовался за автора, когда ему удалось сделать это ! 👍

[@Golgafrinchamdent]

Wow well done! Glad your persistence was rewarded... that's got to feel good.

[@mountaindewdude76]

That's really good work, James! Really well done!!!

[@lwebius2111]

With this smal Diameter you need high Rpm. Usw KFC bucket this works great

[@cicADA001]

good day to random person scrolling down coments :)

[@Because-Linux]

Hello from 2 years in the future.

[@NotOrg7]

Ily

[@samuzamu]

You too!

[@doranjaffas7351]

I started watching with some skepticism but found myself fascinated. Very well done and I subscribed.

[@nali19751975]

Amazing work flying this thing..cool video

[@nanor7447]

22 seconds ago

[@_edmund]

seventh

[@jtdrexel]

I’m just happy for, watching your excitement over your successful flight! Haha. Good stuff.

[@finecutpost]

So glad you persevered and had success.

[@kerbalsomething2673]

Fortnite gliders be like:

[@technicaldavelazer9151]

First comment

[@christianscott6140]

Absolutely amazing 👏 we'll done!!! I'm looking forward to seeing more !!

[@50ShadesOfBeige]

For a side project this was bloody amazing!

[@jalexandus]

first

[@TheSuperduke08]

Good job mate! You have to do more with this concept!

[@thespalek1]

The shere, authentic joy at the end and 'keep watching it!!' 😂 just made my day

[@NickBDesigns]

Wow, amazing you found a good equilibrium on the craft

[@PeterKNoone]

Congrats! That's really quite a contraption. Nice work getting it to fly.

[@Project-Air]

Thanks!

[@eCitizen1]

Awesome effort. It was fun to watch fly.

[@migalito1955]

Very good. You had success that was elusive for the others that had tried the concept.

[@kranti3826]

This was amazing 😍. Something different and not like typical drones, rc planes.

[@muirjs]

That was awesome. The joy when it finally worked!!! Absolutely heartlifting. Well bloody done you legend.

[@Project-Air]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

That's great! Brilliant work!

[@Sadiquecat]

Great stuff :D This concept is a blast !

[@NicholasRehm]

How about a magnus effect monocopter? Don’t think I’ve seen that done, and your project history is pointing you right in that direction

[@NicholasRehm]

Actually, rocket powered too :)

[@saurangadas]

That was awesome man. Loved it. I was thinking of this concept for some time. Was not sure if magnus effect would create such lift. Feels good that it really works. One suggestion, the device tends to rotate upwards along the horizontal axis of the cylinders. So fitting the propeller above the cylinders might help in creating an opposite moment to keep it stable. Great job, keep it up. 👍👍👍

[@SrEngr]

you don't need a circular core for the Magnus effect, think about a steamboat paddle. You can make a thin slat, like Venetian blind slat, work as a Magnus airfoil that displaces air reasonably well. You might make an aero-spike-like variant by cutting your cylinders into four sections along their axis, then reversing each section so it is concave when viewed from the outside, and gluing or taping them together.

[@flymac]

This is brilliant, congratulations!

This is genius ! Congratulation for that flight ! :)

[@GypsysMoth]

A fantastic experience of a genius at work, I'm so proud and patient to see your future unfold for the better. I'll be watching! Thanks

[@moroniafrifa614]

Incredible work James!👌

[@patgarner]

Incredible! Well done!

[@brei.z]

Sooooo Good! was (almost) as happy as you when it worked :) Another great video mate

[@chrisbarnes8887]

Thats pretty cool to see it fly. You should for sure continue working on this project to improve on it. My one thought would be maybe using a little larger battery thinking the extra weight at the bottom will help keep it from pitching up as much.

[@ocevicheband502]

Fabulous!!! Great effort!!!

[@robertcarveth8722]

About thirty years ago I saw the wind blow a thrown away polystyrene milk shake container off the ground and my observation was that it was actually flying rather than being blown. I made a mental note that I must look more into the phenomenon later on . You have answered all my questions of 30 years ago.

[@sentencj4x4]

Great concept congratulations on a great job!