Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Building the Dart Fuselage
Fold the poster board in half lengthwise at the 14-inch mark on the longest side. Flatten the poster board back out. Attach a piece of string to a pencil with tape. Hold one end of the string at the top center point and swing an arc on the poster board from the bottom center point in both directions to the edges of the poster board.
Mark cord lengths from the bottom center in both directions of 6 inches. Draw a line from where the 6-inch cords intersect the arc to where the arc end on both sides of the paper. This length is 9 inches on both sides.
Mark two points, 9 inches in both directions, from the top center point to the left and right. Draw a line from each of these points down to where the arc intersects the left and right side of the poster board.
Beginning at the top right 9-inch point, cut down to where the line meets the arc on the right. Continue cutting along the cords on the arc from right to left. On the far left, finish cutting to the left 9-inch mark at the top of the poster board. The result is a roughly fan shaped piece of poster board.
Fold the poster board in the center so the center line is down creating the fuselage. Fold both 6-inch lines down forming the beginning of the wings. Fold the 9-inch lines down on both sides revealing the triangular shape of the dart wings. .
Flip the poster board on its back so the fuselage points up and the wings lay flat. Push the 9-inch folds down until they meet the fuselage center line. Bend the excess paper up along the line. Trim the extra paper along the bottom line of the fuselage to fit evenly. Use 2-inch tape to secure all the folds. Turn the dart over and tape the top wings together.
Cut off the end of the dart perpendicular to the wings, 2 inches from the front, where the electric motor will be mounted.
Make the elevons by cutting two trapezoidal pieces shaped to fit the V-shape of the wing, 6 inches on the wing's trailing edge by two inches deep. Reattach each elevon back to the edge of the wing using 2-inch tape on both sides. These two elevons act as control surfaces each with one degree of movement, up or down.
Mounting the Electronics, Battery, Electric Motor and Control Parts
Glue the 1-inch square piece of balsa wood to the front of the dart. Add tape on the back side to reinforce it to the wings and fuselage. Attach the mount included with the motor to the balsa wood piece. Add the motor to the mount when the first parts are dry and securely attached. Attach the propeller.
Tape and glue the 8-AM Esc for speed control to the fuselage 1 inch in back of the brushless motor mount. Do not wire yet.
Tape and glue the DX5 receiver on the fuselage just past the midpoint of the length of the airplane. Tape antenna wire along top of fuselage where it meets the wing. Do not wire yet.
Attach the DUB919 micro horns to each elevon 1 inch from the side of the fuselage. Make sure the horn is mounted right at the edge of the hinge for each elevon.
Mount each servo on its side, horn up, 4 inches directly in back of the elevon horns using glue and tape on both wings. Do not inhibit the movement of the horn on the servo. Cut the wire in two pieces long enough to connect each servo with its elevon horn. Add the wires between each servo and its elevon horn. Both horns should be vertical to the wing and elevon surfaces.
Tape the LiPo battery pack to fuselage at the dart's balance point.
Wire the motor to the 8-AM Esc, LiPo battery and receiver as shown in the motor instructions. Wire the receiver to elevons using instructions given with the receiver.
Testing the Dart
Turn on the transmitter and receiver. Switch the receiver to elevon mode. Test the elevons to ensure they move in the right directions, given the input from the transmitter.
Add small amounts of weight in the form of taped paperclips to the fuselage until the right balance is obtained.
Launch the dart by testing controls first. Start electric motor. Throw it gently into the wind.