Tag: diy

Regulatory hurdles in my model rocketry hobby

Santino G.

To regulars of this blog, long elaborations of radio-controlled (RC) plane failures ring a familiar tone. While much of my free time is indeed spent in such endeavors, there is an additional hobby of mine that I have barely discussed and yet has successfully consumed most (if not all) of my leftover leisure: model rocketry. This isn’t by accident, of course. There is very little to write about due to regulations preventing my procurement of a launch site, something that’s sort of necessary to have. Here, I collate some of the frustrating processes I have undergone in hopes that someone … Continue reading Regulatory hurdles in my model rocketry hobby

Conquering flight: The flight of Claudius (Part 10)

Santino G.

The temperatures have continued their gentle decline as planet Earth’s geographic north pole has strayed farther and farther from the sun. Nevertheless, the warmth provided by sweaters and experimental aircraft kept all of us comfortable that morning. Indeed, with the confidence I felt in the upcoming flight, I might have mistaken the season as spring. Embarking soon after sunrise, we arrived in step with the large morning attendance and immediately started to unload the newest iteration of the 3-channel RC plane. With its new weight-reducing features, Claudius was the lightest aircraft I had ever built. Some notable improvements were the … Continue reading Conquering flight: The flight of Claudius (Part 10)

Conquering flight: Claudius (Part 9)

Santino G.

One problem has pervaded all of my previous RC planes: weight. While I have been trying to minimize this one parameter in every plane since Augustus, it was only after I flew my third RC plane, Caligula, that I understood a more aggressive approach was necessary. This blog describes the construction of my fourth 3-channel RC plane, Claudius. Beginning with the fuselage, I maintained the same design used on the previous two; that is, foam board cut and folded so as to feature a square cross-section. It was, however, slightly shorter than Caligula’s. (This wasn’t an intentional decision; I simply … Continue reading Conquering flight: Claudius (Part 9)

The state of the RC hobby

Santino G.

Over the past four months, I have been designing, building, and flying radio-controlled (RC) planes. While many of my blogs regarding this topic focus on the construction and testing of these model aircraft, this blog summarizes the progress I have made and future plans I have. Essentially, this will reflect on the state of my RC hobby. Augustus… Named after the first emperor of Rome, this plane was flawed by the following: Being my first 3-channel model aircraft, mistakes are likely to abound, but the lessons were directly proportional with these. As for Augustus’ flight, this photo says it all. … Continue reading The state of the RC hobby

Conquering flight: The flight of Caligula (Part 8)

Santino G.

Although the construction phase of Caligula ended in late August, its flight was grounded for multiple weekends by bad weather and packed schedules, thereby pushing its launch all the way into the middle of September. With both the atmosphere and our timetables aligning on a cool Sunday morning, we set out to the field in hopes to witness the successful flight of my third RC plane, Caligula. When we arrived at our local RC club’s runway, we were immediately greeted by the corn’s fall colors as well as by a couple of seasoned hobbyists who were eager to look over … Continue reading Conquering flight: The flight of Caligula (Part 8)

Conquering flight: Caligula (Part 7)

Santino G.

Poor safety protocols caused the demise of Tiberius. Nothing else. Therefore, when building its successor, I didn’t deviate very far from the original design: It still had the Aeroscout motor, streamlined rudder, and ample surface allocated to the flaps. This blog briefly describes the construction process I followed when building my third 3-channel RC plane, Caligula. If more detail about the build is desired, my previous blog elaborates on the process for Tiberius. Starting with the fuselage, I cut foam board into the shape of a square prism and reinforced the inside with packaging tape. To extend its length, I … Continue reading Conquering flight: Caligula (Part 7)

Conquering flight: Tiberius (Part 5)

Santino G.

Building and testing Augustus taught me many hard lessons, including the importance of the center of gravity’s position, the proper design of a rudder, the consequence of excessive weight, and to name a few. Implementing what I had learned, I set upon constructing another 3-channel RC plane, Tiberius. Lighter, longer and sleeker, its future was promising. This short blog describes the construction process and design decisions I made. For the fuselage, I wanted to avoid the squished square design Augustus had, so while defining each side, I cut lines down the foam board that constitutes the fuselage but made both … Continue reading Conquering flight: Tiberius (Part 5)