hey guys,

ive started work on a rc microlight
its going to be a weight shift microlight based on a pegasus quik 912

i wasnt too sure where to put this thread but its going to be a scale nitro aircraft so hopefully this is the right place!

i still need to do a few bits on the trike and then ill start on the wing after,
ive decided on a 'sticks n cloth' wing as i call it,
the tubes will be made of cabon rod and the sail will be made of ripstop material,

i wanted to do this thread so people can see how its been/being built and give their advice and experience to try and make it better.
im hoping to get more people interested in rc weightshifts as they can be very relaxing and fun to fly and there isnt very many around at all unfortunatley.
ive been trying to find a nitro robbee skyflex but havent had any luck ,
they dont look very realistic anyway so i thought id build my own.

the trike frame is made of alloy square bar- it isnt as heavy as you might imagine and theres alot of ways that it can be made lighter if needed,
if this proves to be still too heavy ill probably make it again out of wood.

it has a o.s 25LA engine, hitec HS65MG sevos for wing control and smaller hitec servos for the nose wheel and throttle control.

some of the parts like the forks for the nose wheel are just 'mock up' bits to see how theyll work, itll be test flown and then made properly incase it needs mods.
i dont want to spend too much time making it look nice and then it not fly or even worse crash cus thatd be a waste of time!

this is what im hoping it will look like when its finished!

heres a few pics from the very start of the build,
the bracket i made to hold the two frame pieces together and the undercarriage on has been redesigned,
its now two plates as the std bracket didnt hold the two frame pieces as well as id hoped.

some more recent pics

heres a few vids of rc microlights,
if mine flys half as well as these two ill be very happy!!

the 3rd and 4th one doesnt fly so good though- maybe a COG problem?
still looks and sounds nice though!

Rogallo (2 min 18 sec)

ulm romain (3 min 56 sec)

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs24kPdxvx4

Model trike, 1st test flight (0 min 44 sec)

Does anyone know what forum this would belong in?
I dont think many people are interested here-
thats not a bad thing- just want it 2 be in the right place, cheers, mark

Hi kneeboy,

I'm beginning to get interested in these little gems.....just to break away from the regular rc airplane crowd and be a little different. I have a Windbag rc ultralight I'll be testing in a few days. Just waiting for the pusher prop I ordered to come in now. I'll post some pictures of it in a day or two.

My windbag. I'll find out after the tropical storms blow thru how well this flies. Should be fun.

Thats a nice design!
Be interesting to see the maiden video.

Ur right that rc microlights are rare....
I couldnt even decide where to post this thread cus there just didnt seem to be a right place!

Its a shame cus they are beautiful aircraft, abit different and can be made to fly very well.
Ive made a pilot for mine now, the suit, head n helmet was taken off a taiyo rc bike rider and i threw the plastic body away and made a foam body with joints made of cable ties,
Its very light and the suit looks like a flying suit
That matches the trike aswell (which was abit of luck! Lol)

I'll try to get some video if not at least some still pics. The guys in the videos you posted are having fun!

keep it on here it has to do with scale aviation.Looking good so far, keep us updated with progress. Good to see something fresh instead of the same thing again and again. Good luck with the flying. That is always the exciting bit after an own design scratch build. cheers

Thanks mintie!
Its good to see others are interested in these rc microlights,
My plan is to get mine to fly then adjust and tweek it to get it flying well and then draw up some plans- including colour pictures of each step so others can make one, hopefully theyll catch on!

Ive found another vid of a rc weightshift microlight that looks realistic and flies nice,
Ill post it when i get 5 mins.

Also ive done quite alot more on mine,
Ive done some weight saving on a few of the parts,
Finished the front wheel assembly and fitted the servo to steer it.

Ive also started on the wing now and the hang bracket to attach the trike to it.
Ill get the engine run up the weekend aswell (hopefully!)
It seems to be coming together nicely!
Ill post pics within the next few days,

Have u done ur maiden yet mr spud pilot? (sorry i dont know ur real name! Lol)

Regards, mark

that is so cool!

The windbag did awful on first few attempted flights. It would get up to speed
then lift off, go way nose high and then roll over and splat. Acted like it was extremely tail heavy which compromised it's steering ability.
At this point we decide to try and fly it backward. replace pusher prop with a standard pull type and reversed the side the windbag lifts from. This made it look more like a traditional tail dragger. This change proved to be worthy as it did, in fact, lift off the ground and actually flew! The steering was effective but the elevator seemed to have hardly any effect. It flew around with the prop end pitched up and tail dragging low. It needed full throttle 100% time it was in the air. Just a second or two of throttle lapse brought it down a foot or two quite quickly! We flew it several times but never did land it correctly because it was such a bear to control. Several instances we were out of control. Landings occured as light crashes on the runway. Each time repairable because the craft is so light weight. If I ever learn how...I'll post it on Youtube. It won't take .ava files!!

Sorry to hear that!
At least u got it up in the air though
Are you going to modify it to get it flyin properly?

Hope we get 2 see a video... Not sure of the problem tho?
Ive tried to get my main servos, tank and reciever battery directly underneath the hang point for better mass centralisation,
I made the engine as far towards this point as realisticly possible aswell for the reason stated above and as far upwards as possible (while still keeping it looking scale)
To stop it pitching as much under power.

How the trike hangs during flight isnt super important anyway-
its the wings angle of attack and the hangpoint (c of g) of the trike that matters.
Real weightshift microlights fly slightly nose up cus of the engine weight.

I had the engine running today :-)
Ill try and get some video and post it on you tube,
It looked so cool sat ticking over on my bench at work lol

Hopefully be covering the wing tomorrow night (fingers crossed)

Mark

Heres a few more pics,

im just doing finishing touches at the moment.. im going to test it and then add details (side skirts, spats, 3 blade prop etc) when/if it flys nicely,

im gonna start covering the wing abit later

i finished the hang bracket yesterday- its got bearings in the main block so the wing moves nice and smoothly,
ive had to order a pusher prop as flipping the prop doesnt change it from a puller to a pusher as id originally thought lol

i found another video on you tube, this one flies beautifully aswell!
each one i see flying gives me new hope! lol

DELTAPLANO A MOTORE RC AUTOCOSTRUITO MICROLIGHT TRIKE DELTA by Antonio Di Giacomo (3 min 46 sec)