Lifting body update
I now have the balsa I need to make the second lifting body.
Im now waiting until i have time, that could be when my exams finish (4th june)...
Soon to be made!
Michael
Im now waiting until i have time, that could be when my exams finish (4th june)...
Soon to be made!
Michael
Dihedral for lifting body
Well I was messing around today with my lifting body (now called Alaminus) , just trying things out. I tried things like different fin angles and CG
Then for some strange reason I though of dihedral and how I have notice many lifting body (ish) Nasa aircraft (1*) have had a flat top but with a V shaped lower section.
I then my mind must have put 2 and 2 together and thought maybe dihedral could stabilize aircraft with just the lower surface at an angle. I never looked into how dihedral works, I just knew it stabilizes aircraft...
No point wondering, time for testing!
And in the usual bodging spirit I grabbed paper and tape and added a temporary new section to Alaminus and threw it...
I can safely say it works, its now too stable!
Before the extension, Aluminus would slowly rock back to horizontal after a bank.
With the extension, I cant roll it without going inverted! Its like its on rails. I threw it at a bank of 45 degrees and within 10cm it was horizontal.
But I now it has a nasty stall, nose up one wing down spin. (death stall)
Test success and £0 spent.
As always, If you have any questions just ask.
Until next time, Michael
Notes-
1* this flat top V bottom is very vissible on Lockheed's Have Blue (link).
Then for some strange reason I though of dihedral and how I have notice many lifting body (ish) Nasa aircraft (1*) have had a flat top but with a V shaped lower section.
I then my mind must have put 2 and 2 together and thought maybe dihedral could stabilize aircraft with just the lower surface at an angle. I never looked into how dihedral works, I just knew it stabilizes aircraft...
No point wondering, time for testing!
And in the usual bodging spirit I grabbed paper and tape and added a temporary new section to Alaminus and threw it...
I can safely say it works, its now too stable!
Before the extension, Aluminus would slowly rock back to horizontal after a bank.
With the extension, I cant roll it without going inverted! Its like its on rails. I threw it at a bank of 45 degrees and within 10cm it was horizontal.
But I now it has a nasty stall, nose up one wing down spin. (death stall)
Test success and £0 spent.
As always, If you have any questions just ask.
Until next time, Michael
Notes-
1* this flat top V bottom is very vissible on Lockheed's Have Blue (link).
Guess whats next....
As Rolf Harris said, "can you tell what it is yet?"
(no prizes :P)
More will be soon! (week or two)
Michael
(no prizes :P)
More will be soon! (week or two)
Michael
100% free and easy to use CFD
Making a aircraft design is one thing, knowing how aerodynamic it is and how to improve this is another.
Ever since I started to make aircraft designs I would like to one day make into proper RC Models, I have wanted to put them in a wind tunnel and improve them. But I don't have one and making a accurate one isn't exactly easy- or cheap.
I then found out about Computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
BUT CFD didn't come cheap; and when I did find some open source CFD there was no clear instructions on how to use it or even install it.
Then I found a lifeline. Autocad (autodesk) have a piece of Software known as Project Falcon.
From the moment I saw the words CFD and Free i though, whats the catch? Hard to use? Hard to install? Only available for a free trial?
None of the above applies.
You download, install, find a .obj (or export one from your choice of CAD software) and just use it.
The simulation runs smooth and can simulate airflow up to 1000 m/s.
And if here are some screens: The first is the sub in my avatar, with a head wind of 5m/s, the second is my A-46 Strike master at 680 m/s (mach 2)
Project Falcon Link
And as always, if you have any questions feel to ask!
Michael
Ever since I started to make aircraft designs I would like to one day make into proper RC Models, I have wanted to put them in a wind tunnel and improve them. But I don't have one and making a accurate one isn't exactly easy- or cheap.
I then found out about Computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
BUT CFD didn't come cheap; and when I did find some open source CFD there was no clear instructions on how to use it or even install it.
Then I found a lifeline. Autocad (autodesk) have a piece of Software known as Project Falcon.
From the moment I saw the words CFD and Free i though, whats the catch? Hard to use? Hard to install? Only available for a free trial?
None of the above applies.
You download, install, find a .obj (or export one from your choice of CAD software) and just use it.
The simulation runs smooth and can simulate airflow up to 1000 m/s.
And if here are some screens: The first is the sub in my avatar, with a head wind of 5m/s, the second is my A-46 Strike master at 680 m/s (mach 2)
Project Falcon Link
And as always, if you have any questions feel to ask!
Michael
Animation Preview
I have now completed a small animated preview featuring clips from four of my main animations.
All models feature in the video were made by me.
Enjoy!
Michael
All models feature in the video were made by me.
| Amination Preview (0 min 39 sec) |
Enjoy!
Michael
A few renders of some of my aircraft designs
Well I love to CAD, have done for 3 years. Although it was only a year ago i developed my own technique and started to make nice scale models.
Then about a mounth ago I found out how to render these models.
And I think now is the time a few came to light....
Any comments are accepted.
Album can be found here
Michael
Then about a mounth ago I found out how to render these models.
And I think now is the time a few came to light....
Any comments are accepted.
Album can be found here
Michael
Lifting Body now has fins.
Well I decided add the fins, purely because they look nice and it was bugging me I didn't know if the flight performance would improve or unimprove.
The result: The fins ironed out all the strange flight characteristics at the extreme ends of its tested speed range.
It now mushes more than stalls, and dosn't flat spin at higher speeds.
Im still planing a balsa/ tissue one, when I have time...
The result: The fins ironed out all the strange flight characteristics at the extreme ends of its tested speed range.
It now mushes more than stalls, and dosn't flat spin at higher speeds.
Im still planing a balsa/ tissue one, when I have time...
Lifting Body, Success!
After an hour searching the internet for anything on how to design a lifting body and finding nothing, I decided to bite the bullet and attempt to design one.
So of to Google Sketchup it was for some CAD time!
Skip forward 2 days of on off work, and I have come up with a method to design lifting bodies. But would it fly?
Im not made of money so I cant afford to make something nice out of foam, balsa ect, so I decided to try my new found skills in paper modeling.
So, about 4 weeks since I started the CAD I have a lifting body on my lap.
But does it fly?
First throw: It pitched down and rolled violently to the left. That was a nice surprise, i didn't expect it to fly better that a brick
Second throw: Added a tiny bit of the well know ballast, Blue Tack, to the back right. It flew in a nice straight shallow line but continued to roll left.
Third throw: Added a small trim tab to the right. It now fly's nice and level in a gentle slope, although the drag from the trim tab does cause some yaw.
Throughout these flights something had been bugging me, I now realise as I type this blog. Its missing its 2 vertical stabilisers!! Well since it flys fine I think I can safely say it doesn't need them.
So of to Google Sketchup it was for some CAD time!
Skip forward 2 days of on off work, and I have come up with a method to design lifting bodies. But would it fly?
Im not made of money so I cant afford to make something nice out of foam, balsa ect, so I decided to try my new found skills in paper modeling.
So, about 4 weeks since I started the CAD I have a lifting body on my lap.
But does it fly?
First throw: It pitched down and rolled violently to the left. That was a nice surprise, i didn't expect it to fly better that a brick
Second throw: Added a tiny bit of the well know ballast, Blue Tack, to the back right. It flew in a nice straight shallow line but continued to roll left.
Third throw: Added a small trim tab to the right. It now fly's nice and level in a gentle slope, although the drag from the trim tab does cause some yaw.
Throughout these flights something had been bugging me, I now realise as I type this blog. Its missing its 2 vertical stabilisers!! Well since it flys fine I think I can safely say it doesn't need them
.
