VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

BELAGAVI-590 018

A Mini Project Report

On

“RADIO CONTROLLED AIRCRAFT”

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Carried out by

CHETHAN.M.R (1CK19ME005)
DARSHAN.N (1CK19ME007)
MANOJ.N (1CK19ME015)
PUNITH KUMAR.M.V (1CK19ME022)

Under the Guidance of

Prof. GOWTHAM M.J. M.Tech (Ph.D)

Assistant Professor
Dept.of Mechanical Enginnering,CBIT

C BYRE GOWDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Thoradevandahalli @ post, Srinivasapur Road, Kolar (T) &(D)-563101
2021-2022
 VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
BELAGAVI - 590 018

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

C BYREGOWDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Kolar – Srinivasapur Road, Kolar-563101

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Mini Project work entitled “RADIO CONTROLLED AIRCRAFT”,
is a bonafide work carried out by CHETHAN.M.R (1CK19ME005),DARSHAN.N(1CK19ME007),
MANOJ.N(1CK19ME015),PUNITH KUMAR(1CK19ME022) for the partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering prescribed
byVisvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi during the year 2021-2022.

Signature of Guide Signature of project Signature of HOD

Mr.Gowtham.M.J coordinator Dr. Aprameyan S
Asst. Professor Mr.Chowdareddy C Professor & HOD
Asst.Professor
Dept. of Mech. Engg. Dept. of Mech. Engg. Dept. of Mech. Engg
 ABSTRACT

A radio controlled plane (RC Plane) is a small flying machine i.e. controlled by an operator on
the ground using a hand held transmitter. The plane is controlled using a transmitter
communicating with a receiver sending signals to servos onboard the plane. The aerodynamics
governing these aircrafts is the same as those governing large aircrafts. The aircraft considered in
this study was designed to have optimum lift and drag characteristics. This was achieved by
choosing the optimum values of fuselage length, wingspan, elevator, rudder dimensions and the
all up weight determined by a series of iterative analysis. In addition, the optimum angle of attack
such that a stall condition doesn’t occur was also determined. The modelling was done using
commercial software CATIA V5R18. The analysis for determining the parameters of the plane
was done using XFLR-5.The lifting line theory method was used in XFLR-5. This was also
confirmed by the method of computational fluid dynamics using commercial software ANSYS
(FLUENT) 15.

i
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The completion of any work is a showcase of constant dedication and cooperation of many people
who lent their hands which went seen or unseen.

We grateful to our Institution and Management, C. BYREGOWDA INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY with its ideals and inspirations for having providedus with the facilities, which
has made this project a success.

We would like to thank our beloved Principal Dr. SREERAMA REDDY G M, CBIT
for his kind disposition for completing this undertaking successfully.

We express our heart full gratitude to Dr. APRAMEYAN S, Professor and HOD, Department
of Mechanical Engineering, CBIT, for giving us guidance, valuable advice and support.

We extend our gratitude to our guide Mr. Gowtham.M.J, Assistant Professor, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, CBIT for his valuable advice, support and constructive suggestions.

We also thank to all our professors and the entire department of Mechanical Engineering for their
co-operation and suggestions.

The report would be incomplete if I do not thank my parents and friends for their continuous
encouragement and moral support.

ii
 CONTENTS
1 Abstract i

2 Acknowledgement ii

iii,iv
3 List of Figures
CHAPTER NO CHAPTERNAME PAGE NO

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 05

Chapter 2 COMPONENTS OF A RC AIRCRAFT 06

2.1 ELECTRONICS USED ON BOARD 07

THE PLANE
2..1.1 MOTOR 07

2.2 ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROLLERS 08

2.3 BATTERIES 08
2.4 TRANSMITTOR AND RECIEVER 09

Chapter 3 DETAILS OF DESIGN 10

3.1 WING 10

3.2 FUSELAGE 12
3.3 ELEVATOR 12
3.4 TAIL SIZING 12
13
3.5 AILERONS
3.6 MOTOR MOUNT AND LANDING 13
GEAR.

Chapter 4 WORKING PRINCIPLE 14

4.1 MANUFACTURING OF THE PLANE 14

4.2 WING 15
iii
 4.3 FUSELAGE 16
16
4.4 ELEVATORS RUDDER AND AILERONS
16
4.5 LANDING GEAR AND MOTOR MOUNT
17
4.6 CONCEPT OF STABILITY AND TAIL
SIZING
4.7 FLIGHT TEST AND PERFORMANC 18

Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS 19

REFERENCES 20

iv
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CHAPTER:1
INTERODUCTION

The main aim of this project was to design, analyze and build an RC plane. This involves
understanding the various aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the plane, choosing the
right motors, controllers for its operations and hence making it fly. Hence this project involved
optimization of various parameters for an enhanced flight. In order to achieve the stated
objective, extensive literature review was done in determining the various parameters for building
of the plane. Based on all the literature review and available knowledge, it was decided to
systematically design, analyze and build an RC plane. In addition it was decided to develop such
a plane, to maximize the aspect ratio, minimize the wing loading and optimize the weight Basic
terms like lift coefficient, tip, root chord, taper ratio etc help understand the aerodynamics of
flight while movement of air over the airfoil help understand the behavior of flight in air. Keeping
these considerations in mind the design and optimization were done. The aim of this paper is
therefore to explain the systematic methodology followed for designing, analyzing and building
the RC plane including details of optimization. The following are the major steps in this process:
-
 Selecting various design targets
 Selecting the type of geometry
 Optimization of parameters to obtain the best performance
 Determining the stress points, critical points on the
 wing and fuselage (for example - neutral point on the wing)
 Designing the fuselage, wing, elevator etc (using the appropriate airfoil)
 Analyzing the structure for its parameters

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CHAPTER 2

COMPONENTS OF A RC AIRCRAFT

•Brushless Motors
•ESC
•Reciever
•Transmitter
•Servos
•Li-po battery
•Propellers
•Foamboard / CORO Sheet
•Landing gear

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2.1. ELECTRONICS USED ONBOARD THE PLANE

2.1.1 MOTOR

The motor used was 110g in weight and worked on an 11V battery. A motor mount was made of
sheet metal (galvanized) and holes were driven to fasten the motor onto it. It was bolted so as to
prevent it movement and withstand the thrust produced by the motor. The battery was in turn
connected to the ESC which was connected further to servos. The propeller was11‟‟/7‟‟ in
dimension (made of carbon fiber) and was mounted onto the motor using a domed nut provided.
The thrust required were calculated and the motor was chosen accordingly.

 


 Figure 2.1.1 MOTOR


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2.2 ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROLLERS (ESC)

The ESC‟s are used to control the speed or thrust produced by the motor. It has 3 ends 2 of which
are connected via Deans‟ plug to the battery and the other end to the receiver. The other 3 ends of
the ESC are connected to the motor by soldering it using connectors of 2mm. This was then run
to maximum throttle and the effect was noted.

Figure 2.2 ESC

2.3 BATTERIES

The battery used has a rated voltage of 11V and 2200mah current. This was chosen depending on
the time the plane could be airborne given the thrust produced by the motor which was the major
current drawing factor apart from servos. It was found that the flight could last for 4-5 minutes
with the use of 2200mah Lithium polymer batteries and was hence chosen.

Figure 2.3 BATTERIES

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2.4 TRANSMITTOR AND RECIEVER

To control the movement of elevators for takeoff and landing and also the throttle of the motor a
2.4 GHz transmitter and 6 channel receiver was used. In particular, 1channel was used for the
ailerons, 1 for the rudder, 1 for the elevators and other for the motor. Two other channels were
left free.

Figure 2.4 FS-Ia6B.

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CHAPTER 3

DETAILS OF DESIGN

3.1 WING

Initially the parameters were chosen using the basic formulae of aspect ratio, taper ratio and then
analyzed and validated using ANSYS15. The aspect ratio was chosen to be in the range of 6-6.5,
the wing loading .46 - .55g/cm2, surface area of the wing 1250 - 1350cm2 and weight of the wing
to be 500g.The all up weight, lift and drag forces, lift and drag coefficients etc were optimized on
the basis of these design parameters. The aim was to maximize lift. The free stream velocity of
operation was chosen to be 1500cm/s. Based on this the stall speed was also determined. Since it
was chosen to make it an aerobatic plane a symmetric airfoil had to be chosen. Also, in the region
of the ailerons and wingtip a symmetric airfoil would help increase the range of angles of attack
to avoid spin and stall. Thus, relatively a large range of angles can be used without boundary
layer separation

Figure 3.1 SIDE LAYER WING

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3.1.1 CONFIGURATION OF THE RC PLANE

Figure shows the basic configuration of the RC plane and the various proportions of parameters
which have to be used in order to ensure a balanced flight.

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3.2 FUSELAGE

Next the fuselage design and related parameters were to be determined. Extensive literature
review and analyzing of various designs were done. The elevator and rudder dimensions were
determined subsequently and the plane was modeled with the exact values in CATIA to
determine the Centre of gravity i.e., at which the entire mass is assumed to be concentrated. The
concept used in determining the fuselage, elevator and rudder dimensions are as shown in figure
1 i.e., conventions to be followed for a balanced plane. Also, the stall angle was obtained from
the graph of CL versus alpha and was found to be at 150 and hence the safe angle of operation
was taken to be 100 - 120. The following were the additional parameters considered.
 Horizontal Stab: 20% - 25% of the wing area
 Elevator: 20% - 25% of the horizontal stab chord
 Vertical Stab: 7% -12% of the wing area
 Rudder: 30% - 50% of the vertical stab chord
 Fuse Length: 70% of wing span (measured from
 nose/thrust washer to rudder hinge line).

From this analysis the following dimensions were obtained. The length of the fuselage was
optimized to be 65cm. The breadth of the fuselage was 7cm. From front till 40 cm along the
length of the fuselage, the cross section is rectangular and then it converges to a trapezoidal cross
section. The wing was mounted at 21cm from the tip of the motor mount. The battery was placed
at the centre of gravity which was required for stability and balancing of forces of the plane. At
the aft part of the fuselage the elevator and rudder were attached

3.3 ELEVATOR

The total length of the elevator was 25cm and width 4.5. The V shaped portions were found to be
14cm on both side and the last side of the trapezium to be 9. 3cm.It was mounted in such a way
that its Centre coincided with fuselage Centre line.

3.4 TAIL SIZING

For tail sizing the concept of longitudinal stability was used. From this the dimensions were
obtained. The moving part of the rudder was found to be 12cm in length and 4cm in width. 0.5cm
was cut in order to allow its movement by the servo mechanism. The hinged part was of length
15cm and width varying from 7 cm at the bottom to 2 cm at the top. The attaching part was joined
at a distance of 3cm from the base.

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3.5 AILERONS

The ailerons were 6cm in width and 23cm in length. They were attached to the wing as per
conventions. i.e., at a distance of 8cm from the tip of the wing.

3.6 MOTOR MOUNT AND LANDING GEAR

The motor mount dimensions were 11 cm x 7cm i.e., same as the fuselage and 1cm on each side
was bent in a near perpendicular manner so as to act as a mount on the fuselage. The landing gear
was 11cm wide and 25cm long with the bent part bent at an angle of 1200. The rear landing gear
was made of 2 perpendicular strips of length 4cm and width 7cm. Figure 12 below shows the
complete plane model in CATIA with the above parameters. This was then analyzed to obtain the
coordinates of Centre of gravity of the resulting plane configuration. After determining the
various forces acting on the plane, the Plane was modeled to full scale parameters and then the
prototype was built.

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CHAPTER 4

WORKING PRINCIPLE

RC Planes consists of various components which can be broadly categorized in to mechanical

system and Electronic System. The Mechanical system mainly contains the Fuselage, wings,
Empennage and Control Surfaces. Fuselage is considered as the main part of the airplane. It is the
main body section of the airplane. Basically, it is long hollow structure which holds all the parts
of the airplane together. Wings are the most important part of the airplane. The wings are airfoils
attached to each side of the fuselage and are the main lifting surfaces that support the airplane in
flight. The whole assembly of the tail including horizontal stabilizer and vertical stabilizer is
known as empennage. Control Surfaces are mainly used to control and maneuver the aircraft. RC
plane mainly contains three control surfaces i.e., Ailerons, Rudder and Elevator. Ailerons are the
moving surfaces usually placed near the tips of the wings. The function of the aileron is simple,
by moving it in upwards or downwards direction, it controls the roll motion of the plane.
Horizontal stabilizer contains one movable part which helps in pitch moment known as elevator.
Rudder is movable part of the vertical stabilizer and it helps to control the yaw motion of the
aircraft. The electronic system consists of Motors and propellers which provide thrust to the
aircraft, ESC which converts DC Power coming from the Battery to AC Power going to the
motor, Battery, Receiver and Transmitter and Servo motors which are used to actuate the motion
of control surfaces

4.1 MANUFACTURING OF THE PLANE

After finalizing upon the parameters, the process of building the prototype was started. These
were the procedures adapted in building of various parts of the Model.




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Figure 4.1 MANUFACTURING OF THE PLANE

4.2 WING

Since the lift force was 137kN, a material which could withstand that force and was light weight
had to be a chosen. Hence high density thermocol (of density 0.03g/cm3) was a considered a
good option. Initially the wing was cut to 90cm using the technique of hot wire cutting and then
sanded using high-grade and low-grade sandpaper to perfection to obtain the final shape. A spar
made of metal was inserted (as shown in the final model at the end) in order to withstand impact
forces.

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4.3 FUSELAGE

The fuselage was primarily made of Corox a material like plastic. It was 4mm in thickness. The
bonding was achieved using high strength glue. In order to provide additional stiffness or strength
at stress point's thin strips of galvanized metal sheets about 1mm in thickness were cut and placed
at stress points. These were the points where the landing gear was connected and the point that
would be held during launch. A section (horizontal) was cut out to fix the wing in place

4.4 ELEVATORS RUDDER AND AILERONS

The elevators, rudder and ailerons were made of the same 5mm thick Corox, since it had high
toughness and could be rigid throughout the flight.

4.5 LANDING GEAR AND MOTOR MOUNT

The front and rear landing gear were made of aluminum strips since they were proven to be light
weight and sturdy to withstand the impact forces during landing. They were first bent at 1200 to a
length of 25cm as specified earlier. A motor mount was made of sheet metal (galvanized) and
holes were driven to screw in the landing gear as well as motor mount onto the fuselage using
nuts and bolts. It was bolted so as to prevent its movement and withstand the thrust produced by
the motor basically to ensure that it didn't detach from the fuselage at any point in time.

Figure 4.4 LANDING GEAR

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Figure 4.4.1 MOTOR MOUNT

4.6 CONCEPT OF STABILITY AND TAIL SIZING

Longitudinal static stability is the stability of an aircraft in the longitudinal, or pitching, plane
under steady-flight conditions. If an aircraft is longitudinally stable, a small increase in angle of
attack will cause the pitching moment on the aircraft to change so that the angle of attack
decreases and vice versa. The nature of stability may be examined by considering the increment
in pitching moment with change in angle of attack at the trim condition. The moment equilibrium
condition is called trim, which is of general interest for considering the longitudinal stability of
the aircraft. In principle trim limits could determine the permissible forward and rearward shift of
the center of gravity. Usually, it is only the forward Cg limit which is determined by the available
control, the aft limit is usually dictated by stability. A mathematical analysis of the longitudinal
static stability of a complete aircraft yields the position of center of gravity at which stability is
neutral This position is called the neutral point. The larger the area of the horizontal stabilizer,
and the greater the moment arm of the horizontal stabilizer about the aerodynamic center, the
further aft is the neutral point. The static center of gravity margin (e.g., margin) or static margin is
the distance between the center of gravity and the neutral point. It is usually quoted as a
percentage of the Mean Aerodynamic Chord. The center of gravity must lie ahead of the neutral
point for positive stability/ If the center of gravity is behind the neutral point, the aircraft is
longitudinally unstable. This concept is used to find the neutral point and also the tail sizing.

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4.7 FLIGHT TEST AND PERFORMANCE

Extensive flight testing was done in different conditions which included different
tail wind velocities. It was found that the plane didn't have major problems for
designed flight duration of about 4-5 minutes. Also crash test was performed and it
was seen that the motor mount detached as per requirement and the motor and
propeller were saved. The wing due to a metal spar being used didn't suffer damage
as more of the impact was observed by the spar. The corox material used for the
fuselage was also saved due to its impact strength. The symmetric airfoil provided
good maneuverability and not a very high lift (provided good lift upto stall
condition and no stall occurred. The overall lift wasn't very high) as expected. The
electronics combinations of motor, ESC, Servos also proved to be the right
combination.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS

An attempt has been made to systematically design, analyze, build and fly a prototype RC plane.
This project provided the team an insight into basics of aircraft design, engineering, building and
testing albeit on a small scale. The team also could learn aircraft technology fundamentals and
use design and analysis tools. The project also provided an opportunity for multi-disciplinary
team to work together and understand the interactions. The teams also have been able to
document the lessons learnt to be further used in the upcoming aerospace projects by the same
team

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REFERENCES

[1] Ferber, Aaron, et al, “The Flying Fox”, AUVSI Journal Paper 2011 California
State University

[2] Ryan B. George et al, ‟A differentially driven flapping wing

mechanism for force analysis and trajectory optimization‟, International journal of
micro air vehicles - Vol 4, March 2012.

[3] Luca Petricca, Per Ohlckers, and Christopher Grinde, "Micro- and Nano-Air
Vehicles: State of the Art‟ , Review Article - International Journal of Aerospace
Engineering. Volume 214549, 2011

[4] Joyvel Osorio Joyplanes community

[5] Analysis tool for airfoils, wings and planes operating at low Reynolds Numbers

[6] Romney Bukolt, "Marcs Sparks",1975,

[7] D J Perry, J J Azar, Aircraft Structures, McGraw hill, 1982

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