Yeah. it's a fun concept. I think the really tricky bit will be getting the proper rotation and twist in the wing movement so that the wings can move forward and then downward, that creates more lift, produces less drag, and provides forward thrust.
BTW, have you considered the possibility of using one of your flappers as a tail or fluke to propel a fish or boat? It wouldn't require air, so it could work while submerged.
@Zyvx You will see it, but the idea your dragon gave me is better. We use "legs" with an activated hinge (like I used for the Landing gear for my two flappers), set at a higher power and angle than normal to catapult the flapper into the air all at once. No need to wait to built up speed anymore.
Nice, and I thought I was gonna surprise you with a four wing butterfly! Interesting way of using the LG to start the Dragon moving. I think you gave me an idea.
Woah Nellie! Overlord opens up whole new dimensions of possibilities. Fixed my wing problem in seconds. Now I can go find all my planes that don't quite fly right and fix them-not to mention adjusting parts such as engines to better match the actual specs for whatever plane I try to model.
Thanks again everybody!
@Zyvx
It's a cool idea. I took your wings and combined it with a glider design I have and it can fly on autopilot at 155 mph while only dropping about 2 feet per minute. I'm hoping to offset those 2 feet.
Mine can't take off, though. At least not yet.
EDIT: Okay, I got it flying on autopilot at 200 mph without losing altitude.
It's neat, but for the life of me I can't understand why you put guns on it. A parachutist with a handgun probably outclasses this in an aerial battle.
There is nothing special about horizontal stabilizers. They are just wings with different control surfaces (pitch) and settings (trim=on) and fuel (default=none) than a primary wing (roll, trim=off, default fuel=full).
It's nice but I do think it needs countermeasures and a secondary weapon. Once you fire the two cleavers, you're defenseless. But those are just minor additions to a good design.
I don't know if it will work, but you could try bracing the wings with small struts of fuselage that connect to each other and to the body of the car. Tee might stiffen the wings enough to keep them in place.
@moellrich97
Not even close. 4 times around the world is only around 100,000 miles, so your airplane is getting less than 4 miles to the gallon. It's a gas guzzler.
I got a small aircraft, the size of a microcar, that get 80 mpg, that can fly around the world about 100 times on the same amount of fuel. It doesn't fly at Mach 260, though, so it would take three or four days to do it, and without a bathroom.
Okay the problem seems to be to be specific to this build. I put together a simple jet and it didn't have the problem. In fact it was about 5 mph faster thanks to the sled.
@moellrich97
Yeah, I know how controls get sketchy at high speed. I got a few hypersonic aircraft designs in the works, and one big problem is that I usually have to reduce the ailerons as much as possible to keep the planes from being over sensitive when rolling.
I've got an kinda warped X-wing configuration with big fuselage ridges (for extra vertical stabilization) that is fairly stable at high speeds, but there's a big difference between flying at Mach 5 and Mach 50!
This one is harder to fly that the original. It goes into a slight bank to the right just after take off. Normally that wouldn't be big deal, but at 2000+mph it is hard to correct without overdoing it the other way.
Also it is more prone to the shakes at low altitude. Basically that a case of going to fast for it's own good at that air density. I can't get it to climb high enough fast enough before it starts vibrating.
Do you want a link to the 15,000 gallon lightweight mini fuel tank? You could sneak a half dozen or so in the fuselage (easy) and have over 100,000 gallons of fuel for something like 100 pounds of weight.
Yeah. it's a fun concept. I think the really tricky bit will be getting the proper rotation and twist in the wing movement so that the wings can move forward and then downward, that creates more lift, produces less drag, and provides forward thrust.
BTW, have you considered the possibility of using one of your flappers as a tail or fluke to propel a fish or boat? It wouldn't require air, so it could work while submerged.
@Zyvx You will see it, but the idea your dragon gave me is better. We use "legs" with an activated hinge (like I used for the Landing gear for my two flappers), set at a higher power and angle than normal to catapult the flapper into the air all at once. No need to wait to built up speed anymore.
I got a working prototype, too.
Nice, and I thought I was gonna surprise you with a four wing butterfly! Interesting way of using the LG to start the Dragon moving. I think you gave me an idea.
Thanks, glade you like it. I got another design on two in the works.
BTW, if I sent you a wing could you set up a piston on it? Whenever I try to use free spinning floppy rotators they just go limp.
Woah Nellie! Overlord opens up whole new dimensions of possibilities. Fixed my wing problem in seconds. Now I can go find all my planes that don't quite fly right and fix them-not to mention adjusting parts such as engines to better match the actual specs for whatever plane I try to model.
Thanks again everybody!
If you don't use a mod yet, I could just post a wing with built in flaps that you could resize.
I'm impressed.
@Zyvx Yeah, it actually started as a (bat) plane, thanks.
Thanks. I'll have to install Overload and see about reducing the deflection angle.
How? I know how to resize the control surfaces but not how to reduce the angle that they pitch.
@Zyvx
It's a cool idea. I took your wings and combined it with a glider design I have and it can fly on autopilot at 155 mph while only dropping about 2 feet per minute. I'm hoping to offset those 2 feet.
Mine can't take off, though. At least not yet.
EDIT: Okay, I got it flying on autopilot at 200 mph without losing altitude.
It's neat, but for the life of me I can't understand why you put guns on it. A parachutist with a handgun probably outclasses this in an aerial battle.
Good first upload.
I like it. It's certainly better than my first plane, and even better than some of my more recent ones.
Does the "Home" button work? That would be a great.
Would a seaplane that takes off and lands on water qualify?
Nice, but I think it's RAT ( Rocket Assisted Takeoff), not JAT.
Not bad, I got it up to 1564 mph.
I'm sorry. I've got a version with only 10 parts, but I was going to submit that for a different challenge.
It's a nice plane.
Maybe a pintle mount for an MG; a removable roof
How about you make a Vicker's Wave?
I like, but I think it would be better if the VTOL didn't turn the wings with the props.
There is nothing special about horizontal stabilizers. They are just wings with different control surfaces (pitch) and settings (trim=on) and fuel (default=none) than a primary wing (roll, trim=off, default fuel=full).
It's still a nice plane, though.
Nice Foxtbat. Looks right, handles well. It even outperforms the real thing.
Okay, so a Blade T1000 prop is 500HP, 80cm blades, 1.4 thickness and 3 blades. Gotcha.
Can you adjust the dihedral of a wing or is that a new thing?
Also, with prop engines could you adjust the power and blades back then?
nice plane
It's nice but I do think it needs countermeasures and a secondary weapon. Once you fire the two cleavers, you're defenseless. But those are just minor additions to a good design.
neat!
It's a nice little strike plane.
"Only fuselage parts, except for wings."
No engines or cockpit?
It's a nice airplane
BTW, did you go to WPI?
LoL! Maybe it needs a parachute?
I don't know if it will work, but you could try bracing the wings with small struts of fuselage that connect to each other and to the body of the car. Tee might stiffen the wings enough to keep them in place.
Cool. I even got some altitude and was nearly able to land on the helipad of a destroyer.
Is the problem just with this plane or with any plane? My first suggestion would be to back up you builds and then reinstall SP.
@moellrich97
Not even close. 4 times around the world is only around 100,000 miles, so your airplane is getting less than 4 miles to the gallon. It's a gas guzzler.
I got a small aircraft, the size of a microcar, that get 80 mpg, that can fly around the world about 100 times on the same amount of fuel. It doesn't fly at Mach 260, though, so it would take three or four days to do it, and without a bathroom.
Thank you! You did all the work.
The problem is (thankfully) specific to this build or the ultra low drag. When I built a simple test jet the sled didn't reduce the speed at all.
Okay the problem seems to be to be specific to this build. I put together a simple jet and it didn't have the problem. In fact it was about 5 mph faster thanks to the sled.
@moellrich97 So it could get you anywhere you wanted to go on the planet in under 4 minutes.
Oh, if you use just a detacher an one wheel it will hit 1150 mph at the first island. So it seems to be some sort of artifact of the sled.
Sure, here's the link: http://www.simpleplanes.com/a/961T65/Yellow-Jacket-Launcher-Test
@moellrich97
Yeah, I know how controls get sketchy at high speed. I got a few hypersonic aircraft designs in the works, and one big problem is that I usually have to reduce the ailerons as much as possible to keep the planes from being over sensitive when rolling.
I've got an kinda warped X-wing configuration with big fuselage ridges (for extra vertical stabilization) that is fairly stable at high speeds, but there's a big difference between flying at Mach 5 and Mach 50!
Here is the mini fuel tank that I've been using: https://www.simpleplanes.com/a/3uDHGF/mini-fuel-tank15-695gal-14lbs
Please give an upvote for the guy who made it (it wasn't me),
Brilliant! I had to take it apart to figure out how you did it. Brilliant!
This one is harder to fly that the original. It goes into a slight bank to the right just after take off. Normally that wouldn't be big deal, but at 2000+mph it is hard to correct without overdoing it the other way.
Also it is more prone to the shakes at low altitude. Basically that a case of going to fast for it's own good at that air density. I can't get it to climb high enough fast enough before it starts vibrating.
I think the older version flies better.
Do you want a link to the 15,000 gallon lightweight mini fuel tank? You could sneak a half dozen or so in the fuselage (easy) and have over 100,000 gallons of fuel for something like 100 pounds of weight.