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Permalink Reply by jaron on February 8, 2010 at 12:58am

Beside DIY Drones join RC related forums and ask specific questions (RCGroups).

Find the basic parameters that are defined by your mission like weight, flight endurance, area of operations etc.

Copy and customize. Get a feeling for what's possible and have a look at what others have done (e.g. UAV Flying Wing)

Read readable books about the subject like those from Martin Simons.

Use free tools for the (iterating) design process.
Calculate your power system: Drive Calculator
Draw the plan: Proge CAD 2008 Smart
Maybe visualize your drawing in 3D: GoogleSketchUp
Calculate the center of gravity: WinLaengs4

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Permalink Reply by Zane the brain on February 8, 2010 at 6:42pm

wow jaron, you built that UAV!? thats pretty nice. i think to design my first plane im going to simply modify someone else's design to fit what i want (may i copy yours?). also, i have one question about the cad software. it asks for my address and zip code and junk. why does it need all that? can i get the software without giving them that information?

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Permalink Reply by Tim McMahan on February 9, 2010 at 6:32am

I couldn't agree more with "copy and customize". Head over to RC groups, I'm a huge fan of "foamies- scratchbuilt". If you find a plane that seems like it has the flight characteristics and payload you're looking for, you can always customize the heck out of it if you pay attention to what you're doing. I loosely based my twin boom on a tractor plane from there. I used the general dimensions of the wing and H-stab, but mashed up just about everything else. I wound up with a plane that doesn't even resemble the original, but I learned alot and it flies great. Study, study, study the general aerodynamics of the plane, then you'll know what NOT to change.

Tim

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Permalink Reply by jaron on February 9, 2010 at 6:38pm

Feel free to copy my designs.

All you need is a valid email address and the folks from ProgeCAD will send you a registration number.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Presley on February 9, 2010 at 11:46am

I'm no expert, but the info on Airfield Models looks quite interesting and useful.

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Permalink Reply by Zane the brain on February 9, 2010 at 6:29pm

i just got a weird idea! what if you bought two easy stars, chopped off the pointed wingtips, glued the two planes together at the wings, put them on the same frequency, and fly it. would this plan work?

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Permalink Reply by Tim McMahan on February 9, 2010 at 7:09pm

I'd wager that it WOULD fly. No need for the same frequency though, just us y-cables. If you look into some German R&D from WWII, thats the basis of some of their planes. The second cockpit wasn't needed, so you could fill it with m ore fuel or ammo. I would suggest connecting the tails as well though. You could always test the theory with those 5 dollar foam gliders. :)

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ModeratorPermalink Reply by Sgt Ric on February 9, 2010 at 8:37pm

This has been done... read the threads about EZ mods at rcgroups.

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Permalink Reply by Zane the brain on February 11, 2010 at 4:49pm

ok i think ill test it out with two paper airplanes, then, if it works, ill try the full size way.

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Permalink Reply by Zane the brain on February 11, 2010 at 7:55pm

it works!

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Permalink Reply by blaine jeffreys on June 24, 2011 at 10:45am

Put down the xbox controller and read up on the subject. Lots on the internet. Put some skin in the game.

 

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Permalink Reply by Alain Rivard on June 27, 2011 at 6:00pm

Ok what work on a paper plain won’t work on one large enough to carry the pay load you need. See the fluid dynamic is different on a smaller plane then a bigger one so it dos not mean it will work, if you are planning on a scratches built your up to a humongous load of work before it even flay, I highly recommend you to bay something that is proven relayable And way cheaper to build , first find out how many grams your pay load will be and then go to hobby shop and bay something that will carry it easily and you should be set, however if you realy in to building something from scratches bay a good book and study well cause ( wing cord, the type of profil,the geometry, the wing load, the empennage dimension and it’ position ) should not be taken lightly because the will affect the comportment of the plain and if it fly’s or not, so think about it , and if your still gone a go that way I can help you with all of that , this is waht I m good at and can help you do all the mats, but I still think your bather off baying a already proven plane

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