RCadvisor's Model Airplane Design Made Easy: The Simple Guide to Designing R/C Model Aircraft or Build Your Own Radio Control Flying Model Plane - Softcover

Reyes, Carlos

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0982261322 ISBN 13: 9780982261323

Publisher: RCadvisor.com, 2009

Synopsis

Build and fly your very own model airplane design. Using clear explanations, you will learn about important design trade-offs and how to choose among them. The latest research and techniques are discussed using easy to understand language. You will discover:

• The special challenges faced by the smaller models and how to overcome them.
• How to choose the right material for each part of the airplane.
• Easy rules for selecting the right power system, gas or electric.
• When it makes sense to use one of the innovative KFm airfoils.
• Pros and cons of canard and multi-wing configurations.
• A step-by-step design process that includes goal setting and flight testing.
• In-depth discussions of important topics like airfoils and wing design.
• The sources of air drag and how to minimize their impact.

ADVANCE PRAISE

"This book is a joy to read! The writing style and wit add dimension in a way that is rarely found in today's reference materials. If someone has considered designing their own airplane and been put off because of complicated formulas, vocabulary and reference style that would bore even an engineer, this will convince them to go ahead and try it. Written with real people in mind and not engineers - and I mean that in a good way. This is a book that will reside along the other favorites on my bookshelf. Carlos really managed to produce a book that will last a long time and become one of the standards for modelers."

- Greg Gimlick, Electrics columnist, Model Aviation magazine

"RCAdvisor's Model Airplane Design Made Easy is the ultimate model airplane design book for both beginning and experienced modelers."

- Richard Kline, Inventor, KFm airfoils

"RCadvisor's Model Airplane Design Made Easy is a real contribution to the world's literature on the subject. It provides an excellent bridge between full scale aviation and aeromodeling, showing the relationship between the two, for better understanding of the differences and similarities which should be applied for good model performance.

While thorough in detail, the book is also easily readable so that the information is simple to understand. It is a very good combination of theory and practical application. Nicely illustrated, the book is also full of common sense explanations and references to other sources of information."

- John Worth, former President and Executive Director of the AMA

"Carlos Reyes personably leads the reader through some basic aerodynamics, materials considerations, electric power system planning and a practical application of theory as it is applied to a finished flying model. The background history of various types of aircraft shows the development of aviation and how it relates to the models that we build and fly today, as well as how models have influenced general aviation. It is always exciting to find some 'new to me' concepts and theories, and there were several in this well-written narrative."

- Ken Myers, Editor, Ampeer electric flight newsletter

"No matter how long you've been aeromodelling, or what your interests are in our great hobby, the greatest thrill of all is standing behind a unique model that you've designed and built yourself, from a blank sheet of paper - or even a blank CAD file - and preparing to make that first take off.

So sit yourself down in a comfy chair, read RCadvisor's Model Airplane Design Made Easy and set off on aeromodelling's greatest adventure.

Let Carlos Reyes - an aeromodeller of long standing and great talent - take you through the mysteries of how to arrive at the point that every lover of model aircraft should experience."

- Dereck Woodward, aeromodeller, designer and magazine writer for the past fifty years

About this title

About the Authors

Carlos Reyes founded Rcaavisor.com in 2007. He's had a life-long love affair with aviation, building and flying model airplanes since childhood. He holds a Private Pilot-Glider license and is the Vice President of his local model airplane club.

Carlos Reyes founded Rcadvisor.com in 2007. He's had a life-long love affair with aviation, building and flying model airplanes since childhood. He holds a Private Pilot-Glider license and is the Vice President of his local model airplane club.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1. Fluid Dynamics Boot Camp

1.1. Introduction

A flight instructor named Al Santilli used to live near me, here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He died in 2007 at the age of 91. Why am I telling you about him? He was the 243rd private pilot licensed in the United States. His flight instructor was Orville Wright, the co-inventor of the first successful powered airplane.

The history of manned flight is barely a hundred years old. Aerodynamics is a fairly new science. There is much that we understand, but there are also many mysteries waiting to be solved. I have a shelf full of aerodynamics books which I'm constantly consulting. Several of these books contain over 1,000 pages. The purpose of this chapter is not to try and summarize everything that I've learned about this important subject. Instead, I want to give you a flavor of the aerodynamic challenges faced by flying model airplanes. Along the way I'll share some rules of thumb that I've found useful and you might want to apply to your own designs.

The concepts explained in this chapter are critical to understanding how airfoils, propellers, and wings work. It is impossible to make rational design decisions without at least a basic understanding of the aerodynamics involved. Model airplanes face unique aerodynamic challenges because of their small sizes and slow speeds, making this basic knowledge doubly important.

Edition details

• Publisher: RCadvisor.com
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0982261322
• ISBN 13: 9780982261323
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 206
• Illustrator: Crespin Tammy