Building A Plane For My GCSE

[Joseph Morton]

Hello everyone

My name is Joseph and for my school GCSE project i am building a model airplane i need all the tips possible i have never build one from scratch before

Thanks Joseph

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Hi Joseph welcome to the forum. You'll find a friendly bunch in here. Ask away about your model, sounds an interesting thing to do for your GCSE.

 

Don't worry about asking what you think are silly questions. What will happen is that your question will help plenty of other people here too.

[John Payne]

Hi Joseph, an important question is how long do you have to build your project? Good luck with it whatever it is.

[Codename-John]

make up an ARTF, say it was scratch built and your garenteed an A when they see the quality lol

[David Gilder]

I think we need to know more 1st !!

 

How long is available for the build?

What sort of costing is available?

Has Joseph any experience of aeromodelling at all?

Does it have to be an "own design" or can it be built from a plan / kit?

 

Lets not jump in to swiftly and confuse the lad!!

 

Joseph. Over to you... The more information you can give will result in better advice from the start!!

 

Dave

[Solid Snake]

Hi Joseph, I was tempted to produce a Depron English Electric Lightning kit for my GCSE Product Design coursework a few months ago, ended up deciding against it because I wasn't sure if you could laser cut 3mm Depron. I wish you the best of luck and hope you get a good grade for it This forum is very helpful and will be a great source of information

[birdy]

Hi Joseph,

In my opinion (quite literally finishing my GCSE DT coursework today) what you want is to make something that is as simple as possible - remember you have to CAD this, justify every single little feature and most importantly, no finger joints - I have alot of freinds who have spent hours and hours trying to get them right. Also, don't worry how well it will fly - as long as it gets off the ground for a photo then it is ok. You might also want to look into getting your own materials since it is unlikely your dt department will have any good balsa (assuming you are using that).

 

Good luck,

 

Birdy

[Andy Green]

I'd suggest a 2 channel glider,

 

Somethng like the Orange Box is a good place to start.

 

Browse the plans using the link on the right.

 

Andy

Edited By Andy Green on 07/04/2011 23:05:25

[Lazygit]

A 2 channel glider is a reasonable choice, but as you mentioned building from scratch, you could mean just that. In which case have a look here for a step by step and what other people have produced. Also see the home page for lots of examples and techniques. They may be rubber powered, but there is nothing trivial about them. There are many other sites with information, but you won't have time to look at all of them, and get your project finished.

[Joseph Morton]

I have one school term which is 10 weeks long and i can get most of the supplies through the school, i am not sure about the servos and other electrics for the plane other wise i am sure i can get everything i need.

I don know about the kit or plan at the moment but i will email my teacher and ask, i have very little experience in building a model

Not sure about the costing yet will check with the teacher. i dont know this due to me being on a school exchange for a term

Joseph

[Vecchio Austriaco]

Joseph,

 

I am sure you will find some support here at the forum - if it comes to something like a small servo I am sure one or the other of us will find one in his or her collection which he doesn't need any more. We just need to know what you are going to build. VA

[Joseph Morton]

Hello everyone again thanks for the help what would you think of a model that is a low wing of the easy star or something foam?

I was thinking of making an electric to make it an easier build and to try and make the best quality plane and aerofoil of the wings.

Would you say this would be the best idea?

 

Joseph

[Joseph Morton]

I have a whole year i think at least 2 terms

 

Joseph

[birdy]

But you have to do the paperwork in that time as well? Also consider for when you are making this how easy it will be to CAD - and how much time it will take to cad. Using 2D Design my project took around 10 hours to CAD (although it was quite complex).

[andy watson]

The most important thing about this is to make sure you hit the marking criteria clearly. It is probably (albeit stupidly) easier to get a grade A making a CD case (ie a box) than a plane.

 

Think hard about it- making a CD case during lessons, and a plane after school might be the best route. Often this depends on the bravery/inspiration of your DT teacher.

[Joseph Morton]

My design teahcer thinks that its a great idea.

Most days we have clincs after school and or after activities sometimes even after dinner.

I am still on the desion on doing a plane and since my dad builds them to he can help me build my prototype.

if i deside against the plane i could do an ipod dock for example lots of people want to do this but i want to be orignal and do something not many people have even thought of doing for GCSE.

[Joseph Morton]

all help will be useful

[Erfolg]

Joseph

 

I think the first thing you need to list and identify is

 

a) What is expected from a GCSE viewpoint, what have you to do, is it design, use of materials, recording what and why you did things etc.

b) The marking scheme, what marks do you get for each element.

c) think how can I demonstrate that I have achieved the individual and specific requirements.

 

 

Just as important in some respects, what do you want from the exercise. This is important to keep enthusiasm going.

 

I personally would then decide what you intended doing, when you are going to do it, where your resources are (that includes us) and by when things need to have happened/been done/recorded.

 

I personally would get a lever arch file, a set of dividers, pocket folders, paper. Then write my plan and programme, including what is going to be achieved and delivered for each programme element. Recognising it will not remain unamended, but will still need to be aligned to the GCSE goals. Throw nothing away, start a second file if necessary, an appendix where sub pieces of work can be kept, keeping the main story clear and simple. The appendix carries the detail, for those who want it.

 

Luck is not required, but we all will wish you good luck

 

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Go for it Joseph and drean your dream mate. I'm sure Andy is right when he says the CD case is a safer bet for the GCSE and will enable you to tick all the boxes in the marking scheme easier. But let's be honest - its boring right?

 

So a plane it is. But we do need to be realistic. Two terms sounds a long time but it will go in a flash! And don't forget you do have other subjects to do coursework for as well. So we need to be a bit clever about what you pick to design and bulid.

 

Bearing all this in mind, if you have a laser cutter at school, or access to one through a CLC or the like, then a Depron profile indoor jobby something like this....

 

would be good and not too difficult to design and make as a basic model. Obviously don't copy this one exactly - but something along these lines. You can see lots of other models like this at somewhere like electricwingman. In fact if you look round this site you will find that you can buy most of the bits and pieces (motors, controllers and micro servos etc.) that you will need to buy for your design. As an added bonus the guys at electricwingman are real enthusiasts and very friendly - I'm sure if you dropped them an email they'd give you some free advice - and that is all good research for your project!

 

Of course electricwingman is just the start - there are lots of other places you can look at too for ideas - but hey this is your project not mine! So I'll let you find them yourself

 

Hope this gives you a few ideas and bit of a start! If you need more help as you go along just ask us.

 

BEB

 

PS Final bit of advice for now - Birdy is right, keep it simple!

[Plummet]

Joseph,

 

I have a book, "Aircraft Workshop: Learn to make models that fly" by Kelvin Shacklock, ISBN 1-85486-216-2 that may be of interest to you.

 

It takes you in stages from making simple chuck gliders through to scale miracles.

 

You could see if your library could find a copy for you.

 

Plummet

[Big Bandit]

Joseph,

 

Totally agree with Plummet, great book, full of ideas and step by step guidance and as your Dad builds them as well, should make it a lot easier for you. If you get stuck there's always help on here.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris.

[andy watson]

Didn't mean to be a damper on enthusiasm- but you have to be pragmatic sometimes and get the grade that reflects ability.

 

I applaud any teacher that allows students to fully extend themselves and do something inspirational- often despite the exam boards and school policies.

 

I got permission today to do a full class rat dissection- something unheard of for probably 20 years (wrongly) due to 'elf and safety! At least the kids will go home that day with something to talk to their parents about!!

[Joseph Morton]

Hi guys long time since i have been on the forum i have had a huge amount of school work, i was wondering what you guys think. Should i build a balsa plane or a foam plane what would be the easiest to make and give me the best results.

 

Joseph

 

[Alan Randall]

Hi Joseph,

Depron would probably be the cheaper option. If you know where to look, like an underfloor heating company, you can buy large sheets for around £4. Price depends on thickness. Our local outlet does 2,3 and 6mm thick sheets. This means its not too expensive to experiment. You can cut it with a sharp knife and colour it with accrylic/ water based paints and water based felt tips. If you want to bulid an electric powered model then Giant Cod Here would be a reasonable starting point for motors, speed controllers, batteries and cheap servos.

Here are two models that I have built and flown successfully made from 6mm sheet. One, the Vought Cutlas is from a plan and the other, the Vulcan, is a communal design that I and my friends cooked up.The Cutlas was built from approximately half a sheet of 6mm depron.

 

Alan

 

Edited By Alan Randall on 14/11/2011 16:27:50

Edited By Alan Randall on 14/11/2011 16:28:25

Edited By Alan Randall on 14/11/2011 16:29:08

Edited By Alan Randall on 14/11/2011 16:30:48

[Plummet]

Joseph,

 

I do not have direct experience of marking O or A level projects, but I do have experience of undergraduate engineering ones.

 

In order to get good marks it is necessary to communicate just what work you have actually done. Whatever you build, keep a logbook of the work as you do, and wherever possible take photographs. If you make mistakes then do not be shy - document them to show what you have learned from them. Make the examiner see just how much thought and effort you have put into your project.

 

In my experience, a competently executed piece of work well documented is worth a lot more than an undocumented result that looks professionally finished. As an examiner, I would find it very hard to believe that the latter was in fact, all their own work. I would always expect documentation to prove to me that it was.

 

Of course, the way your course is structured may make the comments above irrelevant, but they may help you to see a little of how an examiner might think.

 

I must remind you about the book I recommended above. It would take you through aeromodelling problems one stage at a time. If I, as an examiner, was shown how you had progressed from the very cheap and simple to something more complicated, in stages, learning about the principles involved at each stage, I would be very impressed, even though the end result may not have been an all singing and dancing aerobatic model.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Plummet