| The "Fleance"
- an R/C catapult launched glider! |
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by Ondrej (Andy) Mitas
(Sep13, 2003) |
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(from William Shakespeare's "Macbeth")
I chose the name “Fleance”
based on a minor character, the son of Banquo, in The tragedy
of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
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| The RFFS-100 system
consists of a tiny receiver, electronic speed control (ESC),
and magnetic actuator “servos.” This little system
has created many new opportunities for very small R/C aircraft,
and I decided to explore the possibility of a small R/C glider. |
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With a 135 mAh lithium-polymer battery, the RFFS-100 system
only weighs about 7 grams. This seemed light enough to be carried
by a solid sheet-wood glider that could be launched by catapult
(a few inches of Tan II rubber on a stick). I settled on a wingspan
of about 12” and chose to work from a 150% enlargement
of a Whitewings glider named “The Gull.” The main
thing that appealed to me about this design was its elegant
shape. These gliders have very long tail moments and huge stabilizer
areas, both of which I slightly reduced.
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Hook
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Construction
I kept construction very simple. The fuselage
was made from a stick of medium 1/8 x 3/16 balsa. The
hook at the front (where the catapult rubber goes) was
reinforced with a strip of bamboo split from a 1/8 skewer.
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