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Prototype #1!

A project log for Miniature Physical Airplane Simulation

Recreating aircraft motion at 1/400th scale!

chris-gervangChris Gervang 09/09/2019 at 05:370 Comments

The prototype I built is based on the CAD Concept #2. I tweaked the design a bit to make it work, but that's fine since the whole idea is to get something to work! 

The most difficult part of this was finding and attaching strings to the airplane's center of gravity. I didn't end up with perfect CoG, so the plane pitched up all the time without an extra string to pull it down (see the 2nd red connector on the tail pole? That's to correct the CoG!)

This mistake gave me idea though.. I might be able to purposefully hang off the CoG in 2 directions and remove two strings for free. That would simplify the motor controls a bit, but might add complexity to getting everything calibrated.

I noticed the plane wobbles a lot when it's bumped unless all the strings are tight. 

I also noticed the strings fight each other when they are pulled tightly because they are all doing two roles. All can influence altitude plus one other control. I think one improvement I'll try it to make is to hang the plane from one string on top for altitude, and then try to place all the other stings in an optimal spot for whatever they are controlling. 

I have some other videos too that I can upload. Hope you enjoyed a first look at how this might come together!

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