RC VTOL - Build

[@adrianchupp]

Firmware Engineer here, I totally get the whole "writing code for 4 days but not getting anywhere." Keep it up friend.

[@Ed.R]

Glad I'm not the only one, always blamed it on my dyslexia.

[@mazzoofilms1142]

Firmware Engineer here, I totally don't get the whole "writing code for 4 days but not getting anywhere." Contact me for help, what precisely are you trying to accomplish in your Arduino?

[@mustafashaikh571]

@@mazzoofilms1142 hey I want the file for tilt mechanism and kk2 program can you help, Please.

[@Project-Air]

I've been looking forward to this!

[@ARepublicIfYouCanKeepIt]

Looking great, Tom! And, yes, the bit about code makes perfect sense. Hence, the reason it's so satisfying to *crrate* something physical! Looking forward to next week's video. As always, thanks ever so much for sharing.

[@luchogusta]

As a software engineer, totally understand the writing code for 4 days without getting anywhere. It is a real problem we face every day when communicating our work to other people. There is a lot of effort, thinking and frustration that goes behind those few lines of text.

[@Joelmelanie]

Briljant Tom! love the way you print the ribs and use them in your wing, just a perfect build!

[@boredgrass]

Dr. Tom Stanton, my heartfelt congratulations! :-) I wish you all the best for your journey!

[@labengineering3572]

Tom, I appreciate how much you go in depth and explain everyrhing! Keep the good work up my dude.

[@jgplanes5183]

Very cool. Can’t wait to see it flying! I especially liked the way you ran the control rod through the carbon fiber tail spar.

[@redbearrc6706]

Cool project!

[@JacobEllinger]

I am looking forward to hearing about your programming troubles. it's the most exciting part for me.

[@jacobgad1]

Thanks so much Tom can't tell you enough how inspirational these videos are!

[@Joelmelanie]

absolutely true;)

[@RCTommy]

I can’t wait to (hopefully) see it fly next week. Super cool project, I will definitely build one this winter, cheers! 😁👍

[@route66flyer29]

A fantastic looking plane, here's hoping it flys as good as it looks. *Dance the Skies*

[@lawrencewillard6370]

This is one of few channels that I keep. Thank you for the fun of your vids.

[@SS-lp8fu]

Your videos are therapy for restless mind.

[@grahammcnally4799]

Beautiful work, Tom. Your parents must be so proud of you. Truly inspired.

[@sUASNews]

So so so clever, every video a winner. Well done Tom.

[@mavamaarten]

Hi Tom, I've been enjoying your videos for a long time now. You're a big inspiration and you're the reason I've just bought my first 3D printer and I'm absolutely having a blast with this new hobby. Thanks for doing what you do!

[@MrRedwires]

I think I could say the same for making such a plane vs. writing the code, just the other way around! I'm pretty well versed in AVR C++, but have no idea how to work with RC components - yet you make it look so effortless and elegant. That you're just making this RC VTOL is amazing enough, but that you're also working your way through code? Just stunning

[@albinhurve5521]

Awesome! That 3D-printed fuselage looks so sleek!

[@typxxilps]

Great idea to improve an older project to such a new level.

[@Dagnatic]

I'm a Control Systems engineer. I write software day in day out for all sorts of machine's. I 100% know what you mean about the effort involved. Often we get people, Engineers, Fitters, Electricians, and the like telling us to "Just make it work". Software is a tad bit more complex than that, as you've now discovered. it's a good learning to have gotten..

[@gth042]

The lost art of flowcharting might help with both the code and the presentation. Thank you for your videos!

[@michaellau5645]

Tom, excellent video and project. You are brilliant! Best of luck!!

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic work, Tom! And that's a great improvement to the arming wing! 😃

[@senorjp21]

You could save some weight and rotational inertia by skipping the insulation on your big motor wires. In Canada old houses have "knob and tube" wiring where bare conductors pass through wall studs and wooden framing. You could route bare conductors through small holes in your wing bulkheads and keep them well apart. It's a pretty small weight savings...

[@micultimy91]

Man, I just love your build quality. You are a truly innovative person and I'm very pleased when you are posting new videos on your channel. Greetings from Romania!

[@stephenprescott4441]

Thanks Tom. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to the first flight

[@euromodeller]

Hey Tom another great video. In past projects I have done I have stripped off all the paper on the inside of the foam board for easier use.

[@stcredzero]

For yaw control, see the XC-142 tilt wing. I once worked with the son of an engineer who was on that project on a scale model. In vertical mode the XC-142used ailerons. (Tilt wing)

[@marcus_w0]

You make it seem so simple to do such things - i tried myself two years ago and failed horrible. looking forward to the software part. thumbs up!

[@MrShmazoo]

Wow! Really awesome build!

[@matthewarchibald5118]

I was wondering where the v3 was. well worth the wait!

[@TheDutchSoupPissingCompany]

Congrats with your degree Tom

[@LeonvandenBeukel]

Awesome Tom!

[@thewaxman4]

The eternal suffering of the coder, no one appreciates how much work it is and thinks you just sit on your PC playing games all day.

[@ColtonCampbell]

Awesome Tom! Can't wait to see the flight 👌

[@jackass123455]

if you wanted yaw control you could plit you par in two and support appropriately with bearings and actuate them from 2 servos in the center

[@chrismckay5005]

Spent 4 days writing code and haven't really gotten anywhere? Yeah that's pretty much how it goes. You may be more programming minded than you think.

[@thoriso1000]

Great video once again Tom

[@MorzenMebs]

For yaw while hovering you could pitch the motors back and forth and use thrust vectoring

[@Dust599]

you tease!!! i guess ill have to wait to see it fly!

[@aidanwansbrough7495]

That looks awesome!

[@RpattoYT]

This new project would make for an excellent test platform for iterating on the channel wing. I'd still like to see you develop that concept further even if seeming futile, as I think it may return some interesting results that may improve the overall VTOL tilt-wing project. Personally, I'm particularly interested in seeing a ducted fan design, with a channel wing built into one half.

[@andreaswolfesberger6140]

Great Tom, and i really want to see it fly.

[@Dangson121]

For yaw you could run two smaller tubes inside the main spar running from the center and then clamp the motors to the end of each small tube. Then just run two servos.

[@nan00klabs]

About the yaw while hovering; what if you use 2 coaxial motors spinning on opposite directions on each wing tip? That way you may control the speed of each pair in a way to use it's inertia to yaw while keeping the same trust.

[@RcAviation]

That looks great Tom Thanks for your great work in the hobby :)

[@rodsnyder6020]

Hey Tom. You might be able to rotate around the vertical axis by running one motor slower or faster than the other for a short time and have rotors that run in different directions. The CH47 Chinook and the Ka 50 Hokum do it this way I think. Good luck with this one.

[@Kevin.OBrien44]

Looks great 👍

[@birendrakumar-gl5gq]

Please make video on mounting the motors

[@MikeNugget]

You can also save even more weight by making light transparent cockpit from some thin plastic sheet in vacuum form.

[@sigee32]

Cant wait to see this thing fly :) .

[@kartingbeast93]

For version 3 you should design some kind of a differential in the main fuselage to allow for independent control the propeller angles, but without the need to have a swivel point at each wingtip

[@OH8STN]

New sub. OUTSTANDING video. Looking forward to the next one. Thanks for sharing.

[@louissikkema5399]

Don‘t you have problems with these long battery cables and the flight controller? We are making a comparable project and the controller is disturbed by the battery cable s magnetic field. Do you have any tips for us?

[@lucywucyyy]

you could add small rudders under the propellers to add yaw control

[@PaulLockwood]

That looks like it is going to be amazing. Out of interest was the thicker wires you put in there a bit over kill? I'm also guessing if you get servo issues in the wing then that's now a big repair job. Massive weight saving, amazing when you revisit something how you can drastically change things,

[@zolatanaffa87]

the model is very nice, congratulations for weight reduction! to keep the rotation of the two motors independent, I was thinking of a system made up of two half-rings inserted on a central axis, but perhaps it would be a useless complication. To bring the masses closer to the center of gravity, it might be a good idea to bring the ESCs to the center of the wing, as long as the motor cables do not give power loss problems.

[@12DGJB21]

If this initial design is successful then an interesting addon feature may be to change out the standard rudder for a very small/light vertically oriented reversible/speed controlled fan mounted in a hole on a fixed rudder to control yaw. Very much like the on the tail of a helicopter. It would add a bit more weight and adjustments would be needed to the center of gravity. It might work...

[@fraserwhite73]

Check out rcexplorer, David has put a titl mechanism on his tri which is what I thin you are talking about.

[@lolcec81]

Комментарий в поддержку канала и ролика, а также труда мастера Тома.

[@f3arbhy]

Atlast .. Waiting for this for a long time..

[@stuuser0]

Excellent work Tom, I really look forward to seeing it fly and the weight looks good. I have been dreaming of being able to build a VTOL for a long time. I would love to be able to get hold of your plans if you are successful and build one myself :-) I have access to various thicknesses of EPP foam sheets and I can imagine using EPP instead of Depron would give you even more weight savings, plus extra durability. Keep up the excellent work, I look forward to seeing the next video.

take the paper off the inside of the airfoil, it'll bend better without wrinkling

[@ramimehyar481]

Hello Tom, I like your Projects, and I sometimes suggest things to see what you think, but looks like you don't have much time to read through all comments. If you want to maintain Yaw control in hover, you might try a motor mounted upwards in the CG inside the fuselage with a decent fly wheel attached to it. make sure that the motor can turn in both directions and can change direction relatively quickly. The anti torque caused by the spinning wheel will cause the airplane to hopefully YAW. would like to know what you think, and maybe see you try it.

[@GregorShapiro]

Link to your dissertation? Mass saving suggestions: Holes or struts inside the airfoil profile pieces. Thinner foam for the wing covers...

[@ThomasGrillo]

You mentioned you'd taken out the ability for the engines to independently rotate for yaw control, for weight savings. I wonder if you could restore yaw control by adding tiperons, which in VTOL mode would provide yaw control, and in forward flight mode, would provide roll axis control. Thanks for the video.

[@evilcanofdrpepper]

You should do an experiment with that and the direction that those motors spin at on the end of the wings. I have heard that many planes have some of the most severe issues with turbulence being the swirls that roll off of the tips of the wing. This is why some small planes have wing tips that curve upward. I would be interested in seeing how these effect the wind flow if you were able to set up some sort of home made wind tunnel with a fan. You might be able to get a more laminar flow by stacking some tubes or like placing a row of cardboard pieces upward vertically every 2 inches then doing the same thing again just stacked up flat. I mean Ideally the best would be if you cut slots down the cardboard pieces that interlocked to hold them in a matrix/grid pattern with regular square holes then just using some sticks of incense for the smoke. When you set it up, at least have the box fan lined up against the floor and wall so you have 2 confined walls though if you could create a 3rd partial wall or even a roof I think you could have a fairly professional.

[@Nilguiri]

Very nice. I'm looking forward to the next video. Subscribed.

[@nathanl1774]

You should be able to get yaw control by slightly changing the motor speed on either of the motors like quadcopters do

[@ettumama]

I'm loving this. I wonder if you aren't making the wings heavier/stronger than they really need to be. I understand the motor spar but I wonder if the foam board on the wings couldn't be replaced with cloth or clear tape.

[@ruftime]

Nice Tom! I always end up wacking a freshly built plane trying Not to wack it before maiden:-)

[@PalEllingsen]

Keep up the great work! Inspiring videos.

[@yongfpv6239]

nice work

[@ΚΩΣΤΑΣΜΑΝΙΑΚΗΣ]

very nice progect my frent Tom

[@destinylegend8098]

Thanks for the great video and hard work!!!!!

[@nicholasdowns3502]

I hope you have the propellers spinning in opposite directions, otherwise to may get a slight spin when hovering.

[@lappy65]

Could you arrange for the ailerons to droop vertically (flaperons) when in vtol mode with the tips of the flaperons in the propwash then differentially steer the flaperons for yaw control during hover/vtol mode? Or you could have the whole wing rotate and just use the ailerons for yaw control.

[@archismanmajumdar215]

Since the motors are locked to each other he could reprogram (maybe) the flight control units (in case they are) for differential torque on each motor for yaw control (yes it would raise one side over the other but still...food for thought)

[@chrisleech1565]

Have you watched any of Experimental Airlines stuff on YT? You might find some as yet not-realized methods of working with the foamcore. One might gently nick with a razor and peel off an inch or so of paper on the inside of the leading edge.

[@feher_boti]

Love your videos!!

[@nerys71]

Couple things. Code. I can't code into a wet paper bag not to speak of out of one. but I know why it can't convey effort. its all in your mind and there is no real world "output" that is visible to a third party observer who does not know what is involved. IE the struggle is in your mind which the camera can not see and the output of that struggle does not exist unless you know what to look for. IE to an observer the plane just "does what its supposed to do" so does not appear "special" so there is no obvious link to the non obvious thought effort that went into achieving the end result. :-) I can totally see how programmers of non visual code get little thanks for their efforts. The plane. that fuse is a freaking work of art. the integration of carbon, foam, plastic, and electronics its truly beautiful. when I saw you assemble that empennage I just smiled as all the different arts and techs went together so cleanly and smoothly. Give yourself a ton of credit for that. it was really beautiful and the final model SHOWS! Love it. I hope you release the files for this as I would really love to print one! I wonder. can you get away with just 3 ribs on each wing and save a smidge more mass? the foam itself is more than rigid enough IF it holds its shape along its long axis (maybe a bit of scoring to help it?) with all the mass savings maybe a a pull pull single 6 or 7 gram servo and set of vanes under the props to give you some solid yaw control while in hover? they probably would not have to be that large to give some usable control authority. I can't wait to see this gorgeous bird fly!

[@yonisalamon9514]

Can someone make a list of materials needed to make this project

[@erich9111]

Why not put the ailerons on the spar under/behind the motors so they can input some yaw in vertical mode and keep control authority during low speed forward flight?

[@kendalllladnek9779]

Keep it up! about the code thing, I'd probably go look up hackathon videos where there's one person coding a game from scratch over 48 hours or similar.

[@akshayd211]

Can you share your list of the RC electronics components, please? Love your videos.

[@Th3Build3r]

Thanks for another great video :)

[@neail5466]

Hi Tom, i have been working on BUDGET airframe development for everyone and implementing Al tubes its the weight i was concerned about as you do i would recommend you to hole at 90 digree s in those spurs that will effectively reduce the weight you may also harden the tail section using plywood T sections .. and for the wing shape you may try tapered straight one...it will decrease the drag effectively and also the terminal vortex...another advice you may consider using ducted fans to minimize end line terbulance and it will be more efficient...it will also help to make the tilting mechanism easy and will leave future prospects for directional thrust for more stability. Let me know how do you feel about......😊

[@xabibilboful]

5:50 why in some prints a perimeter with the shape of the print is printed around it?

[@87mits]

Hi Tom, have you ever seen a flyingwing take off vertically and transitioning into horizontal flight? There is a Dutch company that builds an UAV that does that autonomously. Pretty cool, thought you might want to have a look.

[@DeliciousDeBlair]

Congratulations on the excellent weight savings! My condolences on struggling through code!

[@AeroCraftAviation]

Nice. Good build Tom. But I think you probably could’ve saved even more weight because you don’t need such thick ribs, nor do you need such thick foam. Since all the foam does is make the wing surface you could just as easily have used like 1mm hot-wire cut insulation foam or something. Also you don’t have to put tape over the whole wing. That’s just adding strength where you don’t need it. Just put tape on the leading edge where it has to bend. Also you don’t need such a thick spar or tail boom because, well...ya just don’t. It’s overkill. I think maybe you could’ve saved 50 grams or so by doing these things. Still a really good build though! Always a fan of your work! :)

[@nerys71]

he has very few ribs and NO spars at all (the carbon rod is a half spar since it ROTATES its not actually connected to the wing itself!! the foam "IS" literally the wing and its structural. its holding up to and resisting all the forces. almost no forces are being applied to the spar since its not attached to the wing. so the foam has to be rigid enough to both keep the wing airfoil shape AND resist flight forces and motor forces. if he used weaker or thinner foam he would probably have to add "more structure" to the wing to compensate. its a pretty good compromise. I do think he could eliminate 2 ribs from each side and it would be fine. not 100% sure on that thought. so those ribs are basically just their to "shape" the wing and integrate the foam skin into the shape of the structure and hold things together. they are very light and hollow.

[@AeroCraftAviation]

That’s true. The foam does provide wing structure. But in terns of vertical bending forces and lateral wobbling forces the spar is going to be taking that load. I know it’s not attatched to the wing, but it’s nonetheless going to stop the wing from bending by virtue of being inserted in the ribs with very high tolerances. Really the only force to which the foam must hold up, is a twisting or warping force on the wing. But he doesn’t have any ailerons, and the motors can’t swivel in opposing directions, so that’s going to be very minimal if not nonexistent during the vast majority of flight. That’s why it seems logical to me that the foam doesn’t need to be as strong. Of course it’s nice to have it strong, but since he was talking about trying to save weight, I thought I’d mention it cause it seemed to me like that was a place where he could’ve saved weight. Then again as an indoor free flight guy I do tend to go a bit crazy when it comes to saving weight. 😅

[@samwickham4236]

Brilliant! Cant wait to see it fly! (without yaw though?! ;-) )

[@MrEdwardhartmann]

I've read that professional programmers produce about 10 lines of code (comments don't count) a day for embedded systems. So, if you have 40 lines or more of code working after 4 days, then your doing great. Of course, professional programmers have a lot of overhead to take care of ( revision control, QC, documentation, weekly status reports, etc) that eat up some of their development time.

[@mjetdevelopment]

Great work.. dont you think the warm ESCs could possibly melt or deform the foam?

[@sl66ggehrubt]

Have you thought about 3d printing that fuselage with minimal strength... Then wrapping it in carbon fiber and vacuum it tight? Would be insanely strong.

[@uhadonejob]

Nice plane. You should put ardupilot in it. It has vtol plan transition model handling.

[@sanderruijters7883]

Are Kline-Fogleman airfoils an interesting video subject? They seem easy to build and quite unique to me (as a non aerospace engineer). Keep up the great work, love your videos!

[@barrymarshall7782]

Haven't been through the whole of the comments, but have you looked into openaero vtol. It's an open source vtol flight controller based on the kk2 board. www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1972686-OpenAeroVTOL-with-transitional-mixers-(perfect-for-VTOLs)

[@ukulelefatman]

Great idea to have the entire spar rotate. I was wondering....if you slightly reduce speed on one motor, would the slight difference in torque allow for yaw control ?