ROGALLO WING RC PLANE

AEROMODELLING CLUB

PROJECT MEMBERS
Tushar Sikroria (Aerospace Engg.) Nikhil Sunil Upadhyaye (Civil Engg.) Amit Kumar Gond (Aerospace Engg.) Mayank Kumar Sharma (Civil Engg.)

INTRODUCTION
Rogallo-wing is a delta-shaped wing which gives large lift to the fuselage. The plane requires a very short runway. This wing is made of any suitable fabric like parachute cloth, miler sheet or even plastic. In this project parachute cloth has been used. The cloth is supported by four rods and the sag given to the cloth gives lift.

WING STRUCTURE
Negligible porosity parachute cloth has been used for this project. For the four support rods, balsa wood was used. Each rod was made by joining three layers of balsa wood using bond-tite. Three rods were 34 in length and one rod was 37 in length. Thickness was 1 cm. Initially 70 X 40 cloth was cut out.

CHALLENGES
The material used for the rods should be light but strong so that the cloth is well supported. Aluminium rods or plastic pipes can be used but they get bent easily. Balsa wood is suitable. Balsa ply-wood is even better as one layer is sufficient. The drawback of rods used is that these provide slight drag due to flat corners. The round rods reduce drag. Even wood can do so if the edges are made smooth and slightly curved by sand paper.

WING CONSTRUCTION
The cloth was spread on the floor. One rod was fixed at the centre of the cloth, parallel to the breadth using bond-tite. Two rods were fixed on either side of the middle rod at an angle of 60 degrees. So we get a common point and three other points of rods. The cloth was cut from the end point of the middle rod to those of the other to rods. Extra cloth was also cut along the side of the rods giving a delta shape.

 Each of the two rods was bent inwards by 2-3 degrees to provide sag. Care should be taken that both rods are bent by exactly same angle. The tri-point of the three rods was held in position by fixing a triangular piece of balsa plywood. The fourth rod was fixed perpendicular to the middle rod at a position such that the two ends reach the side rods. This was about 13.5 from the tri-point. This rod was stuck at the two ends and at the middle. Thus, the rogallo wing is ready.

DIFFICULTIES
While fixing the rods initially to the cloth with bond-tite, the cloth along with the rods got stuck so firmly to the floor that it was almost impossible to remove from the floor. The cloth should first be placed on a thermacol sheet covered by 5-6 sheets of paper. The sticking of paper will not create problem. Sag(for providing lift) should be given carefully and equally on both sides for ensuring equilibrium during flight.

PYLON
Pylon(connecting medium between wing and fuselage) was made by using two layers of balsa ply-wood, each about 15 X 4 inches. At the top, the pylon is cut to give an inclination of about 20 degrees(for providing the angle of attack to the wing). A groove is made at the inclined edge (perp. to it) according to the width and thickness of the fourth rod. Wing is fixed such that the fourth rod is fixed in the groove and supported by triangular plywood. The base of pylon is fixed to a rectangular sheet of balsa ply-wood of suitable size. Wing is ready to be attached to fuselage.

FUSELAGE
We have used a small fuselage for our wing. The fuselage has no special requirement. Just the usual rudders and elevators are needed along with horizontal and vertical stabilizers. We have repaired an old small broken fuselage for our project, about 35 in length. The fuselage was open at its front end for adjusting servos and fuel tank.

ENGINE
0.15 cu.in. engine is used(small for available mounts). For attaching with mount, one arm was fixed with usual screws and bolts while the other side was fixed using strong wires from MME lab. A wooden frame suitable for the mount was made from ply-wood. Holes were drilled at the required places and the frame was fixed at the front of the fuselage. The mount along with the engine was fixed using nuts and bolts and the propeller was attached. Fuel tank was fixed near the mount using fibre tape.

RC PARTS
Three servos were attached using fibre tape. Rudder servo was fixed near the vertical stabilizer, elevator servo at the end of the open part of the fuselage and the engine servo near the mount, at the side of fuselage. Engine servo was fixed firmly using ductape. The receiver and the battery were fixed at the backward part of fuselage. One wheel was attached to the engine using bolts and a pair of wheels was fixed under the rudder servo using bond-tite.

FIXING
The servos were connected using thin aluminium pushrods of a length such that the rods do not bend while the servos rotate. Rudder servo was connected both with the rudder and the wheel. A wire was attached to the receiver and the other end was let free(antennae). The wing was attached above the fuel tank using thick rubber string and balancing was checked. In our case a faulty servo was needed in front.

FUEL
The fuel used is methanol and castor oil in 3:1. The two were mixed in this ratio in a bottle and the fuel was supplied to the fuel tank through the two thin rods using rubber pipes. This process was done usin fuel supply pump. One opening(thin rod) was connected to the engine using rubber pipe and the other was connected to another rubber pipe and let free as there was no silencer. With silencer, this opening is connected to it for release of waste material. The plane is ready for flight.

SCOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT

A longer fuselage and a greater power engine is better so that all the servos can be fit inside the fuselage. A better mechanism for attaching the wing can be used. Another servo can be used for the side wards deflection of wing for sharp turns.