Help selecting an RC airplane for instrumentation research

[josephsomeone]

Gentlemen,

I am new to the RC airplane world but am jumping right in. I need suggestions for an RC airplane which can take a beating and carry at least a 10 lb payload. I also require sufficient space to fit an IMU and several single board computers.

I am a little concerned that balsa wood construction will not survive the many crash landings that I am sure will take place as I try to develop an automatic landing and takeoff capability and other autopilot functions ( although I am sure there may be off the shelf solutions for this, it is the area that I find the most interesting )

Are there any giant electric planes that have a different construction that may be more crash tolerant?

[Dogzilla]

Unfortunately if you crash you will break most planes. Let alone something big enough to carry 10lb of weight.

There are certainly stronger planes that will survive rougher landings and the sort but not many planes survive a proper crash. Bigger gas planes are usually built quite strong anyway because of the weight of the motor/fuel etc... You could convert one to electric and save a bit of space/weight maybe.

I would look at the large scale aerial photography guys. Some are strapping huge great video cameras onto these things with full pan/tilt setups which surely weight alot. They also go for quite easy to fly stable craft which is most suitable for an autopilot type setup.

[StrangeGager]

Check out www.spadtothebone.com for some alternatives to balsa. Gutter pipe and coroplast is VERY durable and weigh less than you might imagine. I built the SpadStick about 5 years ago and it weighed in at 5.25 lbs dry.

[mexico]

Maybe something like a big Telemaster?

[blucor basher]

+1 for the Telemaster.

[GrrrAmps]

Agreed, sounds like you want a telemaster.

You're flying an IMU? The ones we fly on our spacecraft go for about $2 mil, hate to crash that! You can do the same thing with 3 gyros for a few less $ though.

[josephsomeone]

I will be flying an $80 000 IMU, still a good enough insentive to try to avoid a crash.

[DaveKan]

You should be looking to make a plane out of Kevlar and some fiberglass.
That will take some rough landings.

Dave :)

[dirtybird]

I would think your best bet is the Telemaster. Build in crash protection for your IMU and if you crash the aircraft beyond repair go get another one. You woud be surprised how easy it is to repair most any balsa crashed airplane. If you need to, hire a modeller to do it for you.