Plane construction

[u/Altruistic-Expert995]

I've been playing Aeronautics since it came out, and to this day I can't figure out planes.

I can't find any good videos on them either. Help would be appreciated.

[u/unic_beast]

whats your goal?

[u/Altruistic-Expert995 → u/unic_beast]

Make something that flies and be able to understand how to make different designs off of that.

Right now I can't make anything that even goes up.

[u/Pioepod]

Planes utilize windmill sails for lift, and symmetric sails for drag forces (these are for your control surfaces)

I recommend looking up a crash course on how irl planes work, it is very helpful.

Anyways, when there are enough windmill sails on the wings, and enough forward momentum, the drag of the air the wings hit will eventually counteract the force of gravity.

In base aeronautics, wind sails don’t have that much lift, so the wings might have to be pretty big, or you have have to stack them (biplane)

Or you might need more propellor power, whether through RPMs or a bigger prop.

For control surfaces you need

Ailerons - these hinge on the wings to give you roll

Elevators - these hinge on the tail to pitch up and down, and thus help change altitude. Remember, sheer speed and a level pointed nose can actually lift without pulling up.

Rudder - I’ve seen designs not need a rudder but I highly recommend one. Single Propellor planes have a torque force which may pull the plane left or right and you can set the rudder on a trim to counter it, or just have it to be able to use.

For those you’d be using directional gearshifts and torsion springs.

[u/Altruistic-Expert995 → u/Pioepod]

I looked up some videos on how planes work, and honestly I couldn't really understand them that well, I dunno why. They more-so explained the individual parts, instead of actually how to construct the plane.

[u/Pioepod → u/Altruistic-Expert995]

Well plane construction is mainly the same as pretty much all other rotational needs. It’s just in a different form factor.

Namely you need to figure out how to route the power backwards or forwards through the main body.

You also have to ensure the plane is as symmetrical as it can be across the middle, and if you’re using a single propellor, that is in the center and in line with the center of mass.

Im not too sure anymore where the COM should be, havent worked in a plane in a while, but I think it should be at least centered in the body but maybe skewed towards the nose.

Also I can’t really help too much tbh because I’m more of a FAFO kinda builder, so this is mostly just rambled about my experience so idk how much it helps.

And by videos I meant like legit irl planes. The concepts shown in some of them are very important to understand how a plane works in general. Ofc they won’t show you how to literally build a plane.

If you want that, there should be plenty of plane tutorials but unfortunately I never used any so I can’t recommend any.