Radio Controlled Airplane

Technologies Used: FlySky FS-i6, Radio Control, Radio Control Circuitry, CAD

Project Summary:

For my first project that combines aerospace engineering with ECE, I decided to start to build a simple radio controlled airplane.

With no knowledge about aircraft design, I did some research to find some designs to go off of. I found a design that interested me, and the video sparking me to start this project is here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzZ4Oqk_J1Y&t=362s. I decided to build my airplane out of foam board and use the designs for the outer shell of the airplane given by the video. With this resource, I shopped online for RC parts and foam board to build the plane and got to work.

To build the airplane as accurate as possible, I visited Georgia Tech's Invention Studio to use the CNC router to cut the foam board. For that, I had to CAD each part to give to the CNC. The foamboard I bought was slightly too small than the dimensions given in the video, so I had to scale everything down by a factor of 7/8.

Below is one of the parts I created in OnShape to use in the CNC:

With these parts, I kept following the video to properly attach them. The attachment of the parts to form the outer shell of the airplane is still in progress.

I also bought RC equipment, including a FlySky FS-i6 for a radio transmitter and receiver, landing gear and rods, a motor, 4 servos, an ESC, and a battery. I've experimented with the FlySky to control servos, and it works right now. Once the airplane shell is built, I will design the radio control circuitry on the aircraft, taking into account center of gravity and other constraints.

I aim to have this project completed by July 2022. However, after the first iteration of the airplane, I plan to further increase its capabilities.

Future

I plan to add a microcontroller to the circuitry to be able to add functionality to the airplane. I hope to be able to add enhanced flight capabilities including assisted takeoff and landing or assisted stability. This project is something I plan on continuing working on until the end of college until the airplane is fairly advanced.