Introduction: How Does a RC Airplane Work ?

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About: Everything starts with your First Creation : D

A few months back I have published an instructables showing How to make an Homemade RC airplane which was highly appreciated by the people. Well as I have said previously in my instructables it doesn't matter if you are a beginner, pro or an intermediate in RC hobby you just should know some basic concepts which will help you to fly your first RC plane and in today's instructables we will be doing that.

All airplanes take a concept of physics which is know as Bernoulli principle which tries to explain lift as a consequence of the curved upper surface of an airfoil.

Supplies

  1. RC airplane model or paper plane
  2. Enthusiasm for flying

Step 1: Basic Terminologies

  • Before we begin there are some basic terminologies which you should know before flying your first RC model.
  • In your RC airplane and all other planes you will find control surfaces which helps the plane to maintain the overall balance in air and in changing the direction, precisely the movement of your plane in air.
  • The first are ailerons which you will find on each wing The ailerons are used to bank the aircraft; to cause one wing tip to move up and the other wing tip to move down.
  • the second Elevator its a primary flight control surface that controls movement about the lateral axis of an aircraft.
  • the third Rudder its a primary flight control surface which controls rotation about the vertical axis of an aircraft.

Step 2: The Four Forces

  • The Science behind an Aircraft looks complex but its way simple than it looks.
  • when a airplane is in air its experiences four force all around the fuselage these forces are categories into -
  1. Thrust - The force that pushes an airplane forward. An airplane’s thrust is a mechanical force generated by its engine or propeller. In a paper airplane, the thrust is generated by someone’s arm throwing it.
  2. Lift - The force that pushes an airplane up. An airplane has specially designed wings called airfoils that move the air on the top of the wing faster than the air below the wing, creating higher pressure under the wing. Energy flows from higher to lower energy levels; the difference in pressures above and below the wing causes the upward force called lift.
  3. Gravity - The force that pulls an airplane down. Gravity is the force that pulls everything toward the center of the earth. The more massive an object is, the greater the force of gravity. Airplanes that are lighter will need less thrust and lift to go up and stay in the air. Adding weight at the rear of a plane will move the center of gravity.
  4. Drag - The force that pushes against an object .Airplanes are designed long and skinny, with a pointed nose so that they can move through the air with reduced resistance, or drag. If an airplane had a wider surface it would have to push more air out of the way, requiring more energy, to move forward.

Step 3: Know Your Electronics

  • When it comes to Electronics you should choose them wisely because they will decided the performance of your airplane.
  • First we have the brushless motor Now you will be thinking why brushless why not brushed motor it is because there are no brushes rubbing against anything, no energy is lost due to friction. That means brushless motors are more energy-efficient than brushed drills and can run on batteries for up to 50 percent longer. these motors combined with the propellers decide the over all thrust of your RC plane. choosing the right motor is necessary so there are many motors in the market but i would recommend sunnysky as they provide a huge amount of thrust.
  • Now for controlling the thrust of your plane we need ESC means electronic speed control which an electronic circuit that controls and regulates the speed of an electric motor.
  • Servo motors job is to convert electrical signals in to physical movement, the end result being an action of one thing or another on your aircraft.

  • Lithium polymer (lipo) batteries are a wonder of the modern age and have revolutionized the hobby of flying RC planes basically it means the more lipo batteries you have the more flight time you will have. again I would recommend Spektrum batteries as they are the best quality batteries.

Step 4: Summarizing

After all we can say that there are some basic rules for flying and for making the RC airplanes, the science behind flying is beautiful and it has always fascinated me and I'm enjoying this hobby very much I hope you also have enjoyed this instructables and I wish you best for your first flight.

Happy flying : D