Hi, all. I was thinking of building a Lancer for RC, but keep the rubber power so stick time is not limited by those batteries' nasty habit of discharging. I've never seen it done, and was wondering if it's a bad idea, or if it's not, the best way to go about it.

The Rx and battery could go in the top of the cabin, and the servos could go in the sides of the fuse with the arms coming out of the top, they probably would not interfere with the rubber there. Or maybe the rubber could be lowered and the servos put laying down in the top.

i can be done, but battery tech is pretty cheap. with Electric power you can build the airframe lighter, an dget longer flight times.

rubber powered can be done, its just never been done cuz its a step backwards.

i say go for it.

With rubber power, your flight times will be shorter and you'll spend a lot of time winding.
I'm pretty sure you'll get more stick time with electric.

I'm aware of the flight time constraint, but the endless supply of flights (provided you have replacement rubber), I think, balances it out. The main reason I want rubber is that my RC fund has suffered serious budget cuts, and this can be done for under $40.
As for winding, I could make a two pronged thing to put on a collet adapter instead of a prop, and wind the band most of the way with a motor.

There were some discussions on rubber powered R/C in the Free Flight forum. Here's one:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ighlight=radio

My impression is that the best bang for the buck would be a glider, instead of a rubber powered model. You can get a glider in the air very quickly with bungee or towline, and the glider doesn't have to carry the weight of the rubber or motor.

I think you could make a very successful R/C rubber airplane for outdoor flying. If you build an old time rubber airplane like the Gollywock that has a high fast climb and a folding propeller then you could launch the plane and when the propeller folds you have a nice R/C glider that can stay up for a couple of minutes or much longer if thermals are present.

Maybe next time. Remember, dirt cheap.

Hey, is it possible to use rubber longer than the fuse if the propeller is kept from coming out?

i dont know. your getting in to the free flight stuff . check there forum out for contsruction and practical tips.
this does sound cool, i must admit.

Will do. Thanks for the help, I'll be ordering parts tomorrow. Do you want pics?

yes please! i want to see how this turns out.

Alright!
Dang-parts order has been delayed till next week.

Originally Posted by RPM314

Hey, is it possible to use rubber longer than the fuse if the propeller is kept from coming out?

The rubber motor is always longer than the fuse, usually several times the fuse length.


Mike

That's before stretching, right?
So, since the Lancer has ~18" of space in the fuse for rubber, then 3-4 feet of rubber?

Yes, the length is w/o stretching it at all, I would say double the length of the fuse..

Then I should probably go up to a 7" prop instead of the stock 6".