That whole build is perfection. The functional yet slick look of the plane, the color scheme, the wing build, the involved tech, the crank, the simple fun of flying it, the ingenuity and dedication you've poured into all of this. If this where a kit, I'd be all over it.
It’s just amazing, I could see people in a future society making these and using them for communication or transport, the clean energy and easy production is such a necessity for creative ideas in developing countries.
But thoroughly useless like all of Tom’s projects. If he turned his mind to solving task that actually need solving, I’m might find it easier to accept him as a fellow human. However, with that hair colour and his current penchant for making less than pointless objects, Ginger Tom can S a F.
I am a mechanical engineer and I am always blown away by your videos. Not only your creativity and raw engineering skills which go without saying, but also the extreme level of "clean" all your builds and components have is just so statisfying to watch!
I also love his channel. There are many brilliant makers here. Another amazing one is Shane from @StuffMadeHere - a ton of engineering, programming and crazy ideas. Wonderful fun with electronics can be found @greatscottlab And if you are interested in various forms of generators, batteries and amazing humour, Robert Murray-Smith from @ThinkingandTinkering can be your guy 😊
In order to get the prop blades to fold in flight you will need to enable the ESC brake. That way when you bring the throttle to zero the motor will not freewheel, but will physically stop and the blades will fold.
@@Alluvian567 if you do it right before by having a volt meter or low-voltage trigger on-board, it can do it right before. It only needs to brake for maybe a second, then the props will come in, and as long as it isn't turning too sharply or nosediving at low speeds, the force of the incoming air will hold them back with very little added drag.
Tbh this sort of thing is pretty ideal for kids wanting to fly an RC plane. The flight time isn't very long, but that imo is a good thing, gives the kids less of a chance to crash the plane. And the short re-charge time means they can go again and again until they're all tuckered out.
I don't know about other people, but having both the hand crank generator and the foam plane toy would definitely cut my computer game time in half during childhood. Back then, I lived in the province with lots of plains and farm lands. Would have a blast chasing that thing for miles.
amazing engineer . 80 year old in November 2024 and still fascinated by technology .. Your videos and projects are always a huge inspiration to the upcoming aero modelers . your presentations are so professionally done that you make it seem easy . excellent
You might need to go to your ESC settings and turn on the brake. That way when you cut the power the motor will stop spinning and give the prop a split second to fold back.
@@spudjames5038 motor stopped because ESC measured voltage below minimal cutoff value set in parameters, even old typical 20A ESCs have its settings accessible via throttle movement on startup and counting beeps of the engine, very nice to lower down cutoff value after switching to Li-Ion instead of Li-Po battery chemistry. Also could be desirable in this scenario when we want to drain capacitors as much as possible. Also ESC brake is done by shorting motor coil terminals through mosfets on high side or low side, it does not consume power from battery or capacitor source. Just like when you touch the two wires coming out from DC motor and try to spin it by hand, you will feel braking force.
Use a diode and a separate supercap to power the RC controls, this way they will retain power longer than the motor and allow you to set the ESC cutoff voltage lower and get more flight time.
@TomStantonEngineering : if you can power the R/C electronics independently of the ESC using a Schottky diode and a DC-DC converter, you can keep the electronics alive longer. Unlike batteries, there is no problem with discharging a capacitor to zero volts, so anything from a Joule Thief boost converter all the way up will work for the controls. You set the boost converter to put out > 5VDC and feed power to the RC RX through Schottky diodes from the DC-DC converter and the capacitor pack.
I use a 1S lipo for radio and servos - runs to 3.3 volts on all my AM yacht and 2.4gHz Flysky gear. Suspect the ESC sets the limit and may be resettable.
I am so happy you are able to build these projects and share them with us. Nearly all of the concepts you present are the first I've heard of them, but they are so very fascinating and enjoyable to me, even as someone who does not consider themselves to be a hobbyist of this sort of thing.
Out of all the unique planes you've built, I feel this one is the most... well made. That isn't to say the others seem shoddy or anything, but with this one, if someone only saw the finished product and the flying, it would be easy to assume it was a store-bought product. The way the prop folds and the wings easily detach, the simplicity of the charging system with no batteries or grid power required, this would be a great toy to bring on camping trips or something.
This video is a shameless clickbait. Tom Stanton has no respect for his viewers and them are so smart that they forget what they were sold in the thumbnails. Probably no dignity either to mind it if they noticed.
@suprememasteroftheuniverse he literally does that all the time though. Yeah, 6 capacitors arranged to look like a radial engine would have been cute, but it would have suffered catastrophic failure from the one thing he specifically designed the real plane to be able to survive.
@@suprememasteroftheuniverse"Clickbait" implies the title and thumbnail promise something not shown in the video. Sure, the exact thumbnail doesn't show up in the video, but you didn't click on this to see the thumbnail, because you already did. You clicked on it because you wanted to see a "Super Capacitor Plane", which _was_ shown in the video.
When you are 3d printing with small surface area on the first layer, add a brim, and then cut it off or deburr it. OrcaSlicer actually has an Auto'Brim setting that figures it out for you
It sometimes figures it out and sometimes not, it's mostly good for detecting curling, not detachment due to the object being tall and skinny, so it's a good idea to manually force a brim. Then you can also turn off the stupid pointless skirt.
You are one of these incredible RUclips crafts people who know electronics, understand mechanic principles and casually use a 3D printer like nbd. There's seemingly a few of you. But you are the only one I know who isn't braggy or low key condescending about it. You just seem to love what you do and share it. No narcissism, no _I'm-mr.-Meeseeks-look-at-mee_ needed.
As a child, I went to an aircraft modeling club, and there we made gliders with a rubber engine. And we also made foldable propeller blades. At the same time, we had a special stopper, which, after relaxing the rubber motor, stopped the propeller blades in a certain “safe” position, after which they folded with a small rubber band along the fuselage.
On most electronic speed controllers (ESC) like what he used in this project there is a setting called "brake". As soon as the ESC senses a rotation, when zero rotation is commanded, it applies a small reverse current to cause the motor to stop spinning. I have used it on many glider airplanes with folding props. Occasionally, like you mentioned, you'd have to blip the throttle to get the prop stopped in the ideal position.
@@Carrera0to60 In the case described by the author of the video, the option with electronic engine stop is not correct. The charge of super capacitors is very small, and when they are discharged there is no way to do this correctly. But you can try to make an electromechanical stopper. It is necessary that it be turned on all the time while the engine is running, and when turned off, it blocks rotation. I would try to make something similar from a small relay or solenoid. It will, of course, consume some energy, but it might be worth a try. In the case of a rubber motor, the rubber band with stored energy pulled the propeller axis more strongly towards itself. When it had completely used up the energy reserve, at this point, the rod no longer pulled so much, and under the action of the spring it moved forward, where it touched the adjusting bolt.
... Only Jesus Christ blood can cleanse us of are sins come to Jesus Christ today Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void. The Holy Spirit can lead you guide and confort you through it all Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
You...made a rubber band plane without the rubber band 😂 I love it! You know, back in the day we used to have competitive rubber band plane free flight groups. It was more like.. Going mostly against your own time to see who can get the longest flights and such. It was super fun. People had fast winders that used a little motor to spin the prop up and would get these insane 10 minute flights. No radio, just a static design with flaps you'd set in place. It was amazing!
That's an awesome interesting piece of kit you've built. If you take one suggestion, for powered gliders, there is an option built into the ESC to control the engine, so that when power is not applied, it actively prevents the propeller from spinning, as the windmilling of it will take away quite some gliding performance as it's eating up a lot of your kinetic energy by means of creating drag. Once again, great design.
2:54 good god this sounds *exactly* like the handcrank for powering the lighthouse all the way back in Myst. The memories, man. Good to know they had the sound design on point.
You could use the "Brim" selection in yout slicer program to bild a wider base around your model and have better stability -adhesion to the bed. Thanks for your video
You can add a raft to your print in the slicer to increase the surface area on the build plate. I usually do it for tricky prints with multiple contact points with the plate and it makes a huge difference.
... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
I truly appreciate the amount of work you put into your builds. It's nice to see things well built and not just hot glue. Although that obviously has it's place as well.
Boosting such low voltages is quite inefficient, and the last 5 volts anyways contain only 10% of the total energy of the full 16V. (The crux is that the lower the supply voltage, the more current you need to draw for a given power requirement.) So, this isn't worthwhile.
@@FlyGamingChannelIt don’t think it would work, unfortunately, as a joule thief’s boosted charge immediately collapses in the face of any significant loading.
This is so clearly presented... Battery vs supercap with the green and red text, the consideration of volts dropping and need of control while gliding the rest of the way...
From an engineering perspective, though, I do wonder whether the plane really pushed even 100W during operation. As an example, running those supercaps at the same power density (per gram) as the lithium battery, they'd run from full charge to zero in about 12 seconds. Also, checking the charging, seemed like it took about 90s to charge the capacitors to half voltage - that's a quarter of their full energy capacity, so the crank power output was (0.125Wh * 6 / 4) / 90s ~ 7.5W over the duration, which is well below the charge rate of even one lithium battery. Not saying a supercap plane isn't awesome, but it does help illustrate why lithium batteries are in such high demand - they really have great power/energy characteristics.
@@henryptungI also don't know how he balances the caps during charge, to me it looked like he charged up to half the max voltage to be relatively safer and didn't bother with balancing but maybe I missed something
I love the videos, they're creative, minimalist and delivers what is promised. Your explanation are brilliantly easy to understand and enjoyable. Keep up the good work!
I would have loved this as a kid. Have it all slide into a nice case, and you got yourself a cool science toy. Add some sort of controller that works with your phone as the brains, you got yourself an awesome entry level RC. I have no idea what I am talking about, but I know I would have loved it as a kid.
This is a very fine effort. The generator is ideal for use outdoors, will never run out and is more fun than a battery. It's also fascinating how little energy a plane needs to keep flying. I really hope we see more use of larger aircraft for things like courier delivery etc as performance and safety get better.
I wonder if you can co-op the windmilling of the propeller for something useful, like pumping a little extra power back into the caps to extend control time during your descent.
Maybe add a boost converter and keep a constant 7 V output (or higher) to get extra flight time. Although... even at >90% efficiency, the small amount of wasted power may be enough to discourage using a converter all together and not be worth it. Probably a good experiment to try out on another video! :)
Tom's calculation is that the energy in the caps is about the same as a coin cell. I'd assume you only would add seconds of run time with a boost converter. Not to mention it needs to be light and high current.
You could add a small 3.7v lithium battery to power the controller and find a way to power the motor with the capacitors.. maybe if the controller has a usb port for power, u could solder the battery to that? But then check if it can isolate the capacitors from the usb lines (which it should)
Super Capacitors have fascinated me ever since I bought my first solar powered watch, which uses a tiny Super Capacitor to store the sun's energy overnight. On the other end of the spectrum are some Formula One cars which store braking energy in Super Capacitors for a burst of speed when called for. Very nice to have found them again, here,
Add a rubber band to the propeller to stop the windmilling when power is shut off. Doesn't need to be very strong, it just takes a tiny bit of force to fold the prop back against the nose.
Very cool! I suggest a 3-phase generator: with a 6-diode full bridge rectifier, you get far less jitter on the output, which increases efficiency by making your filter caps work less. About every generator that makes DC uses 3-phase.
That's great, but for cost savings and the fact that smooth current for charging isn't needed, single phase is fine. Furthermore while 3 phase uses 6 diodes, a bridge rectifyer uses 4 diodes but one can reduce the part count to two diodes and use half the turns of copper coils if they make a Delon Full Wave Voltage Doubler with two diodes and his supercapacitors. Maybe with the money saved, one could splurge and get six 2.9v zener diodes as a rudimentary capacitor balancer to prevent over charging unballanced capacitors.
You can use a DC booster to discharge the capacitors more. I've seen small microcircuits in flashlights that allow you to drain regular batteries to almost zero. Efficiency will decrease, charging time will increase, but this will allow you to stay in flight longer on same capacitors.
Honestly, that's a hilarious thought. I wonder how long it would take for an airliner filled with pedal cranking passengers to be able to launch the plane into the air by hand power alone. it would probably make it easier to fall asleep on the plane afterwards lol.
You can set your ESC to active break which will reduce the drag quite effectively. I think the concept is brilliant and I wonder if it could be applied to indoor planes while maintaining the typical flight time of about five minutes (only 2s required, however weight is relevant).
It really shows how good Li-ion is... with a basic charge regulator you can safely charge Li-ion easily from your generator... Even a basic linear regulating LM317 set to 4.2V (or 8.4V) would be OK.
@@dimitar4y Realistically it's only about 10 minutes of cranking to fill up a battery. If the battery holds 10 watt hours and the crank is capable of producing 50 watts.
Cool project. You might find some significant performance gains by fairing your wing roots with the fuselage. With the way they currently stand off a fair ways you likely have added two more wing tips and the vortices and inefficiencies they bring.
You set a good example for people getting into this kind of hobby, I hate seeing videos of messy projects with extra long cables flying everywhere, no care or thought put into how it looks or any smart decisions in the design. Your projects are always clean and professional
Probably the coolest thing I've seen on RUclips ever. If you had a foot pump style generator it would be easier. I would love to build something like this.
You need to add a motor brake to the ESC so the prop doesn't spin and fold. I made a super-capacitor RC car. The RC car Sucked but had some incredible power launches. I enjoy all your projects, Tom. You never disappoint. Always makes me want to build something after watching your videos. I was thinking you could MAKE A SUPER CAPICITOR ROCKET. Use an EDF or top-mounted propeller and fins that control the trajectory. See how high you can go with it. Of course, it's not rocket-powered but still gets to points A and B. lol
You should add a boost converter to get the most out of the capacitors. It might lower the efficiency by %10-%20 but it might result in a longer flight time.
The wide usable voltage range from 18 to 6.5 or 5 volts negates the benefit of a boost converter. You might end up getting less in the end, definitely not worth it.
@@celeron55 The thing is that capacitors are totally fine with being discharged all the way down to 0V. So discharging from 18V to only 6V means you still have 33% of your energy left in the caps. If a boost converter has better than 66% efficiency (and weighs a negligible amount) it would improve run-time. Anther option could be to use more caps in series and go all the way up to 48V or so (maybe with a step-down converter to ~18V if your components can’t handle 48V directly). That way the 6V cut-off means you only lose 12%.
You can definitely increase the gear ratio on your crank! Weighting the crank handle should help as well to give you some inertia, that way you don’t have to use as much effort to crank and can therefore make the ratio even higher. Just be sure not to break the crank lol
11:24 I wonder if you could use this propeller's windmilling because of air drag, as a back-feed-generator, to help with longer control of servos at the end of flight
Inviting someone to power something by hand-cranked generator is an excellent way of getting them to realize real damn quick why we don't use them to power anything.
In theory, with a folding propeller, if you could apply some kind of braking mechanism to the back of the motor, it would cause the propeller to stop spinning and fold back against the fuselage. Another idea would be to have a spring loaded nose cone that the power of the motor spinning would lead to the spring being compressed, but under a certain RPM, the spring would overcome the centrifugal forces, and drive the propeller back into its resting position, thereby reducing its total drag. At the same time, at least in theory, the nose cone would also help reduce drag just a tiny bit. Admittedly, this part would greatly increase the complexity of the machine, and could fail to operate [by breaking, unscrewing, or wobbling excessively] if not super well thought out, and it would also change the balance of the plane's center of mass, seeing as it would be added to the front of the plane, so, in response, one might want to extend the tail boom a little to make up for the addition of the weight on the front. It is something that happens sort of, on existing variable pitch propellers, although by a somewhat different method. Where they fold back radially, instead of axially, one can fold back modern propellers so that they produce very much less drag if an engine stalls in flight. I could envision several different ways of making such a propeller 'return' device, and, while none of them are pleasingly simple, several of them come across to me as reliable enough to work repeatedly, even out of printed plastic, perhaps upwards of ten times before failure. Making them from bonded carbon fiber, however, could make them nearly indestructible.
Using the motor as a generator to recharge the capacitor could get extended flight time if you initially go really high and then want to do a bit more low flying at the end - whilst your ideas would optimally extend gliding I believe having throttle control on landing could be more useful and fun in most cases. A switch between braking and regeneration would be even better although it may be heavy to implement both.
Honestly that crank assembly plus that first plane would make a GREAT learning toy. Like seriously if it was sold in a kit so you didn't have to solder anything just assembly it would be so cool.
Hi Tom. I have an idea for a project: how about you use a microwave dish pointed at the plane (and maybe even have some automated tracking stuff to keep it pointed there) and see if you can transmit enough power wirelessly to keep the plane in the air by having a circuit on the plane that converts the received microwave energy back into a voltage to power the plane's flight systems.
The plane you built really seems close to a finalized toy product. The folding propeller is great, and would be a boon for parents who otherwise have to deal with kids upset that their plane prop breaks on the first landing. I had the AirHogz air pressure powered plane as a kid, and this really feels like the next version of that, a spiritual successor if you will. This time, super caps instead of air powered, haha.
all your videos are great but this one is the best I think. one of the coolest plane builds I've seen on youtube with the basically 1:1 cranking to flying time. I'd really love to see a video where you refine the concept even further.
Not really, wouldnt be worth it. From energy conservation perspective, you could collect some energy to assist with landing. Some commer ial planes have such. Some modern planes have a fall to distance ration of 70:1. There you could collect energy troughout the day using currents, and use it at night.
@Tom Staton, I love your projects and please keep doing it! I just want to make a small "big" remark: Having that gap between the LH and RH wing brings the lift there to zero and induced drag goes bezerk, so you loose all the advantage of that wingspan/aspect ratio. So this means you have a higher power required, just close it and add some racked winglets ! you will increase flight endurance without touching the propulsion system .. the weight penalty will be nothing with yoiur construction method! Have Fun!
hi you are doing an incredible job with these supercapacitors. but I have a question can you recharge the supercapacitors wirelessly (while it is moving) using a tesla coil ?
Use a second cap bank and charge during flight and really fast charge, cap bank to plane. Just enough resistance to keep everything from destroying itself and it won’t take long to get back in the air. If you then use a leg power device to make current u could charge up in just a few seconds.You could use the electric bike to do that?
I'm in love with this project, brings back nostalgia from those times where I used to study Robotics, also, Tom, I find surprising that I haven't seen a video about you experimenting with Ionic Thrust, any reason in particular? I have faith if you make a video about it it's gonna be top tier delightful content! Cheers and greetings from Argentina!
@@jo21e6 I'm sure fluid mechanics is involved, I don't think Ionic Thrust can be powerful on it's own, I think it can be used in conjunction with other concepts, still... I'm talking from my deep ignorance on the subject, that's why I suggest Tom to educate us on the matter :)
Super caps will overtake most batteries. Truly, cheers for people like you!! The reason for comment however is, good sir…can you say “aluminum” 56.5722 divided by Pi in one video?For a US linguistic bastard as myself. I don’t give a pint about the usage of said metal I just never get tired of hearing you say it. To me you say it right. US English is a bit of a mental episode. Cheers good bro, all in the name of fun & exploration.
You need to be teaching in schools. This is just what we need to inspire the next generation of engineers we so desperately need. I know if I could have done something like this at school, I wouldn't have wanted to go home.
6:37 I would recommend printing the original model with a brim instead. Brims require a bit of cleanup but allow you to print without having to worry about the surface area on the build plate being low.
Really nice simple project. Can the propellers retract with springs when the motor function is over? Or can the motor controller have an electric break when under powered? It would save a lot of unnecessary drag. It is a pity that all energy saved under 5-6v is not used. So you have only 66% of the capacity used. But still carry the weight around. Also maybe the motor and controls can last longer if you put a small variable inverter that can convert from a lower input voltage.
To get that propeller to fold back and stop spinning, there should be a brake setting you can turn on with the ESC. It is a common feature of ESCs. You typically program it with the throttle stick on your remote control. Reference about brake setting: ruclips.net/video/qYHJgg_vvSQ/видео.html Love the videos.
thats right, but in fact that this only works with power.. the esc is turning off.. better would be an oring or rubber like on the F5J class to fold the propeller
@@CNCrafts_Matze No. the ESC is reaching LVC (low voltage cutoff) where it cuts or reduces power to the motor. The onboard BEC continues to ouyput 5 volts to the receiver, and the brake should continue to work.
You can set up your motor's ESC to have a brake function. It will help with stopping the windmilling of the propeller and help it to fold when you stop applying throttle.
@ 8:16 cap pack reads over 7 volts but caps are in series to stay below the hard deck of 3v to avoid failure, what am I missing here? Just before that you mentioned the caps were charged to 8v and say it’s just under half their max voltage?
You could possibly eek more thrust time out by checking that the ESC is not configured to limit the output to protect the battery pack. You can also configure the ESC to set prop brake on so that it folds and stops, to reduce drag.
If you have trouble with adhesion to the print bed during 3D printing (usually with prints that have a low area of contact with the bed, but even more so the taller they get) it could help printing with a raft or brim.
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That whole build is perfection. The functional yet slick look of the plane, the color scheme, the wing build, the involved tech, the crank, the simple fun of flying it, the ingenuity and dedication you've poured into all of this. If this where a kit, I'd be all over it.
Same, would be an awesome kit to play with!
totally impressive. thinking where we were 35 years ago
Can we buy the stl files for this build ?
Yes, this is so cool❤
Only thing that comes to my mind in a way of improving it is a way to ride a bike to the field and use the bike somehow to crank the generator!
It’s beautiful.
I love the camaraderie amongst Engineering RUclips!
Thanks for all you do Destin!
No
It’s just amazing, I could see people in a future society making these and using them for communication or transport, the clean energy and easy production is such a necessity for creative ideas in developing countries.
Absolutely
But thoroughly useless like all of Tom’s projects. If he turned his mind to solving task that actually need solving, I’m might find it easier to accept him as a fellow human. However, with that hair colour and his current penchant for making less than pointless objects, Ginger Tom can S a F.
I am a mechanical engineer and I am always blown away by your videos. Not only your creativity and raw engineering skills which go without saying, but also the extreme level of "clean" all your builds and components have is just so statisfying to watch!
I believe Tom is also an engineer.
He is an aerospace engineer
I also love his channel. There are many brilliant makers here. Another amazing one is Shane from @StuffMadeHere - a ton of engineering, programming and crazy ideas.
Wonderful fun with electronics can be found @greatscottlab
And if you are interested in various forms of generators, batteries and amazing humour, Robert Murray-Smith from @ThinkingandTinkering can be your guy 😊
Right? I was amazed how clean the capacitor bank looked!
agree!!
In order to get the prop blades to fold in flight you will need to enable the ESC brake. That way when you bring the throttle to zero the motor will not freewheel, but will physically stop and the blades will fold.
Would be cool if it could do this automatic. Meaning that if you do this just a bit before the motor would die it would extend your glide time.
Doesn't ESC braking require a holding charge though? When out of power to run the motor, the braking may not work either.
I guess you only need to brake shortly as after the props fold they won't spin out again
Yes, but once the motor stops and props fold in, it wouldn't take much. Almost all plane ESCs have this feature built-in. @@Alluvian567
@@Alluvian567 if you do it right before by having a volt meter or low-voltage trigger on-board, it can do it right before. It only needs to brake for maybe a second, then the props will come in, and as long as it isn't turning too sharply or nosediving at low speeds, the force of the incoming air will hold them back with very little added drag.
1 to 1 crank to flight time blew my mind! Love Tom's work! ❤
My hand gets sore pretty quickly if I have too much crank time 🌈
Makes me think it'd be sweet to make it a treadle charger instead of hand crank and make a second battery pack. UNLIMITED POWAAAAHHHH!
That’s surprisingly very efficient.
Tbh this sort of thing is pretty ideal for kids wanting to fly an RC plane. The flight time isn't very long, but that imo is a good thing, gives the kids less of a chance to crash the plane. And the short re-charge time means they can go again and again until they're all tuckered out.
It's also safer then handing a bunch of kids a lithium polymer battery.
I used to have an old super capacitor plane, air hog thing. it was amazing.
I havent seen one in years though.
Yeah its good with the short charge time cus kids these days have got the attention span of a flea 😂
i think it forces the kids to crash the plane multiple times to recharge the thing.
@@Darkknight512 they use nicad batteries for kids stuff. a lot more stable then lithium for less energy density, and dont pop like copasitors.
I don't know about other people, but having both the hand crank generator and the foam plane toy would definitely cut my computer game time in half during childhood.
Back then, I lived in the province with lots of plains and farm lands. Would have a blast chasing that thing for miles.
Yes i just have rubber ones or slingshot type planes
amazing engineer . 80 year old in November 2024 and still fascinated by technology .. Your videos and projects are always a huge inspiration to the upcoming aero modelers . your presentations are so professionally done that you make it seem easy . excellent
You might need to go to your ESC settings and turn on the brake. That way when you cut the power the motor will stop spinning and give the prop a split second to fold back.
Why didn't he just use a brim or raft to get better build plate adhesion and integrate the batter and wire connectors into the design to save weight?
The brake requires power. Motor stopped from no power
@@spudjames5038 motor stopped because ESC measured voltage below minimal cutoff value set in parameters, even old typical 20A ESCs have its settings accessible via throttle movement on startup and counting beeps of the engine, very nice to lower down cutoff value after switching to Li-Ion instead of Li-Po battery chemistry. Also could be desirable in this scenario when we want to drain capacitors as much as possible. Also ESC brake is done by shorting motor coil terminals through mosfets on high side or low side, it does not consume power from battery or capacitor source. Just like when you touch the two wires coming out from DC motor and try to spin it by hand, you will feel braking force.
He needs to make this where the wings fold in, and the V tail into an X tail, so he can rocket it up to altitude and then glide back down..
Use a diode and a separate supercap to power the RC controls, this way they will retain power longer than the motor and allow you to set the ESC cutoff voltage lower and get more flight time.
@TomStantonEngineering : if you can power the R/C electronics independently of the ESC using a Schottky diode and a DC-DC converter, you can keep the electronics alive longer. Unlike batteries, there is no problem with discharging a capacitor to zero volts, so anything from a Joule Thief boost converter all the way up will work for the controls. You set the boost converter to put out > 5VDC and feed power to the RC RX through Schottky diodes from the DC-DC converter and the capacitor pack.
I use a 1S lipo for radio and servos - runs to 3.3 volts on all my AM yacht and 2.4gHz Flysky gear. Suspect the ESC sets the limit and may be resettable.
Why schottky diodes? What do they do?
@@AgentFire0 No threshold ! So no 0.6V loss.
Thumbs up all the above. But why not put a super cap across the car battery and charge the plane thru a resistor in about 2 seconds?
I am so happy you are able to build these projects and share them with us. Nearly all of the concepts you present are the first I've heard of them, but they are so very fascinating and enjoyable to me, even as someone who does not consider themselves to be a hobbyist of this sort of thing.
Out of all the unique planes you've built, I feel this one is the most... well made. That isn't to say the others seem shoddy or anything, but with this one, if someone only saw the finished product and the flying, it would be easy to assume it was a store-bought product. The way the prop folds and the wings easily detach, the simplicity of the charging system with no batteries or grid power required, this would be a great toy to bring on camping trips or something.
This video is a shameless clickbait. Tom Stanton has no respect for his viewers and them are so smart that they forget what they were sold in the thumbnails. Probably no dignity either to mind it if they noticed.
@suprememasteroftheuniverse he literally does that all the time though. Yeah, 6 capacitors arranged to look like a radial engine would have been cute, but it would have suffered catastrophic failure from the one thing he specifically designed the real plane to be able to survive.
@@suprememasteroftheuniverse"Clickbait" implies the title and thumbnail promise something not shown in the video. Sure, the exact thumbnail doesn't show up in the video, but you didn't click on this to see the thumbnail, because you already did. You clicked on it because you wanted to see a "Super Capacitor Plane", which _was_ shown in the video.
And it working very well on the first try
When you are 3d printing with small surface area on the first layer, add a brim, and then cut it off or deburr it. OrcaSlicer actually has an Auto'Brim setting that figures it out for you
It sometimes figures it out and sometimes not, it's mostly good for detecting curling, not detachment due to the object being tall and skinny, so it's a good idea to manually force a brim. Then you can also turn off the stupid pointless skirt.
You are one of these incredible RUclips crafts people who know electronics, understand mechanic principles and casually use a 3D printer like nbd. There's seemingly a few of you. But you are the only one I know who isn't braggy or low key condescending about it. You just seem to love what you do and share it. No narcissism, no _I'm-mr.-Meeseeks-look-at-mee_ needed.
As a child, I went to an aircraft modeling club, and there we made gliders with a rubber engine. And we also made foldable propeller blades. At the same time, we had a special stopper, which, after relaxing the rubber motor, stopped the propeller blades in a certain “safe” position, after which they folded with a small rubber band along the fuselage.
Stop the Prop by Pulling Up into a momentary Stall, Prope should back and stay there.
@@HoundDogMech Именно так.
On most electronic speed controllers (ESC) like what he used in this project there is a setting called "brake". As soon as the ESC senses a rotation, when zero rotation is commanded, it applies a small reverse current to cause the motor to stop spinning. I have used it on many glider airplanes with folding props. Occasionally, like you mentioned, you'd have to blip the throttle to get the prop stopped in the ideal position.
@@Carrera0to60 In the case described by the author of the video, the option with electronic engine stop is not correct. The charge of super capacitors is very small, and when they are discharged there is no way to do this correctly.
But you can try to make an electromechanical stopper. It is necessary that it be turned on all the time while the engine is running, and when turned off, it blocks rotation. I would try to make something similar from a small relay or solenoid. It will, of course, consume some energy, but it might be worth a try.
In the case of a rubber motor, the rubber band with stored energy pulled the propeller axis more strongly towards itself. When it had completely used up the energy reserve, at this point, the rod no longer pulled so much, and under the action of the spring it moved forward, where it touched the adjusting bolt.
...
Only Jesus Christ blood can cleanse us of are sins come to Jesus Christ today
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void.
The Holy Spirit can lead you guide and confort you through it all
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
You...made a rubber band plane without the rubber band 😂 I love it! You know, back in the day we used to have competitive rubber band plane free flight groups. It was more like..
Going mostly against your own time to see who can get the longest flights and such. It was super fun. People had fast winders that used a little motor to spin the prop up and would get these insane 10 minute flights. No radio, just a static design with flaps you'd set in place. It was amazing!
Those competitions still very much exist, flight durations are over 40 minutes now
?@@Kington99😲
wow!
That's an awesome interesting piece of kit you've built.
If you take one suggestion, for powered gliders, there is an option built into the ESC to control the engine, so that when power is not applied, it actively prevents the propeller from spinning, as the windmilling of it will take away quite some gliding performance as it's eating up a lot of your kinetic energy by means of creating drag.
Once again, great design.
12:00 - really impressive results, far better than expected. And i like the design of that plane which looked really professional.
Theres a Full Bridge Rectifier... Give it an hour and Tom's summoning circuit will bring Mehdi!
FOOL BRIDGE RECTIFIER
@@tyty_5869😂😂😂
Tom will have to do some Mehditation for that hehehe
He just showed up
Before Tom even said it, I had Mehdi's voice in my head 😂
2:54 good god this sounds *exactly* like the handcrank for powering the lighthouse all the way back in Myst. The memories, man. Good to know they had the sound design on point.
You could use the "Brim" selection in yout slicer program to bild a wider base around your model and have better stability -adhesion to the bed. Thanks for your video
You can add a raft to your print in the slicer to increase the surface area on the build plate. I usually do it for tricky prints with multiple contact points with the plate and it makes a huge difference.
...
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
This was just great to watch, all your growth and development, skills and dedication. Thank you all our YT Teachers
I truly appreciate the amount of work you put into your builds. It's nice to see things well built and not just hot glue. Although that obviously has it's place as well.
Very neat! Maybe you could squeeze the last couple volts (
I was thinking the same. Something like a joule thief would be easy to implement.
A SEPIC converter would be nice here. These days they can get an efficiency of around 85-90%.
Using some schottky diodes also helps.
Boosting such low voltages is quite inefficient, and the last 5 volts anyways contain only 10% of the total energy of the full 16V.
(The crux is that the lower the supply voltage, the more current you need to draw for a given power requirement.)
So, this isn't worthwhile.
@@FlyGamingChannelIt don’t think it would work, unfortunately, as a joule thief’s boosted charge immediately collapses in the face of any significant loading.
Maybe even regenerative propeller movement.
Any reason why you didn't just print with a brim instead of a larger nose? @13:44
You gotta set the brake up on the ESC if you want the prop to fold up in flight.
This is so clearly presented... Battery vs supercap with the green and red text, the consideration of volts dropping and need of control while gliding the rest of the way...
From an engineering perspective, though, I do wonder whether the plane really pushed even 100W during operation. As an example, running those supercaps at the same power density (per gram) as the lithium battery, they'd run from full charge to zero in about 12 seconds. Also, checking the charging, seemed like it took about 90s to charge the capacitors to half voltage - that's a quarter of their full energy capacity, so the crank power output was (0.125Wh * 6 / 4) / 90s ~ 7.5W over the duration, which is well below the charge rate of even one lithium battery.
Not saying a supercap plane isn't awesome, but it does help illustrate why lithium batteries are in such high demand - they really have great power/energy characteristics.
@@henryptungI also don't know how he balances the caps during charge, to me it looked like he charged up to half the max voltage to be relatively safer and didn't bother with balancing but maybe I missed something
I love the videos, they're creative, minimalist and delivers what is promised. Your explanation are brilliantly easy to understand and enjoyable. Keep up the good work!
I would have loved this as a kid. Have it all slide into a nice case, and you got yourself a cool science toy. Add some sort of controller that works with your phone as the brains, you got yourself an awesome entry level RC. I have no idea what I am talking about, but I know I would have loved it as a kid.
This is a very fine effort. The generator is ideal for use outdoors, will never run out and is more fun than a battery.
It's also fascinating how little energy a plane needs to keep flying. I really hope we see more use of larger aircraft for things like courier delivery etc as performance and safety get better.
11:50 what if you add a mid-flight recharger with a generator and a prop?, so when the prop spins Recharge the capacitors so maybe more flight time
No need the motor attached will be the generator
I wonder if you can co-op the windmilling of the propeller for something useful, like pumping a little extra power back into the caps to extend control time during your descent.
Maybe add a boost converter and keep a constant 7 V output (or higher) to get extra flight time. Although... even at >90% efficiency, the small amount of wasted power may be enough to discourage using a converter all together and not be worth it. Probably a good experiment to try out on another video! :)
Don't forget the added weight
@@crackedemerald4930 yup, this is true
Tom's calculation is that the energy in the caps is about the same as a coin cell. I'd assume you only would add seconds of run time with a boost converter. Not to mention it needs to be light and high current.
And you'd lose control authority very quickly after engine failure.
@@merseyviking Oh yea, that'd be the real nail in the coffin.
You could add a small 3.7v lithium battery to power the controller and find a way to power the motor with the capacitors.. maybe if the controller has a usb port for power, u could solder the battery to that? But then check if it can isolate the capacitors from the usb lines (which it should)
Super Capacitors have fascinated me ever since I bought my first solar powered watch, which uses a tiny Super Capacitor to store the sun's energy overnight. On the other end of the spectrum are some Formula One cars which store braking energy in Super Capacitors for a burst of speed when called for. Very nice to have found them again, here,
This is fantastic dude - great work! Your videos always make me wanna get more into RC planes
I love both of your videos, glad to see you here BPS
You won’t
Hi joe
It would be a cool idea for you to make a air launched rocket that launches off of a plane
Add a rubber band to the propeller to stop the windmilling when power is shut off. Doesn't need to be very strong, it just takes a tiny bit of force to fold the prop back against the nose.
wow, that might be a great idea.
Very cool! I suggest a 3-phase generator: with a 6-diode full bridge rectifier, you get far less jitter on the output, which increases efficiency by making your filter caps work less. About every generator that makes DC uses 3-phase.
That's great, but for cost savings and the fact that smooth current for charging isn't needed, single phase is fine.
Furthermore while 3 phase uses 6 diodes, a bridge rectifyer uses 4 diodes but one can reduce the part count to two diodes and use half the turns of copper coils if they make a Delon Full Wave Voltage Doubler with two diodes and his supercapacitors. Maybe with the money saved, one could splurge and get six 2.9v zener diodes as a rudimentary capacitor balancer to prevent over charging unballanced capacitors.
You don't need filter caps when all you're worrying about is charging up capacitors lol
You don't need particularly clean DC when charging caps.
You can use a DC booster to discharge the capacitors more. I've seen small microcircuits in flashlights that allow you to drain regular batteries to almost zero. Efficiency will decrease, charging time will increase, but this will allow you to stay in flight longer on same capacitors.
Very cool! I would have never left the park if I had this as a kid. Makes me want to break out my R/C planes and cars and have some fun. Thank you!
Ryan Air is going to love you! We now get to pedal in our seats before takeoff 😂 Great video, as always bro!
Honestly, that's a hilarious thought. I wonder how long it would take for an airliner filled with pedal cranking passengers to be able to launch the plane into the air by hand power alone. it would probably make it easier to fall asleep on the plane afterwards lol.
LOVE your content! Love these aviation and unconventional powered flight videos! Keep it up!
I love the level of dedication to developing one specific topic and workshopping it for several iterations. Well done!
You can set your ESC to active break which will reduce the drag quite effectively. I think the concept is brilliant and I wonder if it could be applied to indoor planes while maintaining the typical flight time of about five minutes (only 2s required, however weight is relevant).
It really shows how good Li-ion is... with a basic charge regulator you can safely charge Li-ion easily from your generator... Even a basic linear regulating LM317 set to 4.2V (or 8.4V) would be OK.
that's hours of cranking one battery. You overstimate human's "im tired" at just 5watt production after 10 mins.
he should repurpose one of his bikes as a generator lol@@dimitar4y
@@ilovehumongoushonkers he can but thousands of people already did it on youtube and it's not worth it
@@dimitar4y Realistically it's only about 10 minutes of cranking to fill up a battery. If the battery holds 10 watt hours and the crank is capable of producing 50 watts.
@@DKFX1 where's the losses, bud.
The super cap once heat shrinked was such a nice job. Great project!
Cool project. You might find some significant performance gains by fairing your wing roots with the fuselage. With the way they currently stand off a fair ways you likely have added two more wing tips and the vortices and inefficiencies they bring.
You set a good example for people getting into this kind of hobby, I hate seeing videos of messy projects with extra long cables flying everywhere, no care or thought put into how it looks or any smart decisions in the design. Your projects are always clean and professional
Probably the coolest thing I've seen on RUclips ever. If you had a foot pump style generator it would be easier. I would love to build something like this.
I love watching his videos, he just makes me want to get smarter. He amazes me with his thought process.
ok, then do it, you have books you have questions, go read and ask.
@@osmacar5331I know you're trying to encourage, but this came off as smarmy and condescending
When you print things with small contact areas, you can use brims to give it more bed adhesion strength
You need to add a motor brake to the ESC so the prop doesn't spin and fold. I made a super-capacitor RC car. The RC car Sucked but had some incredible power launches. I enjoy all your projects, Tom. You never disappoint. Always makes me want to build something after watching your videos. I was thinking you could MAKE A SUPER CAPICITOR ROCKET. Use an EDF or top-mounted propeller and fins that control the trajectory. See how high you can go with it. Of course, it's not rocket-powered but still gets to points A and B. lol
You should add a boost converter to get the most out of the capacitors. It might lower the efficiency by %10-%20 but it might result in a longer flight time.
Is that what it is called?
@@Maxim.Teleguz boost or step-up converter, yes.
The wide usable voltage range from 18 to 6.5 or 5 volts negates the benefit of a boost converter. You might end up getting less in the end, definitely not worth it.
@@celeron55 The thing is that capacitors are totally fine with being discharged all the way down to 0V. So discharging from 18V to only 6V means you still have 33% of your energy left in the caps. If a boost converter has better than 66% efficiency (and weighs a negligible amount) it would improve run-time. Anther option could be to use more caps in series and go all the way up to 48V or so (maybe with a step-down converter to ~18V if your components can’t handle 48V directly). That way the 6V cut-off means you only lose 12%.
I like this idea, squeeze all energy from these caps. But there are some voices against it. Maybe a Joule thief to save on weight?
man, you get to prototype your own ideas and make a living out of it, you inspire me a lot.
7:30 i never get tired of hearing those BEEPS. Music to my FPV ears 😂
You can definitely increase the gear ratio on your crank! Weighting the crank handle should help as well to give you some inertia, that way you don’t have to use as much effort to crank and can therefore make the ratio even higher. Just be sure not to break the crank lol
11:24 I wonder if you could use this propeller's windmilling because of air drag, as a back-feed-generator, to help with longer control of servos at the end of flight
That 3d print looks like a finished on shelf product. nice job pursa . And I was going to suggest a brip for your 3D print to hold it to the base more
Inviting someone to power something by hand-cranked generator is an excellent way of getting them to realize real damn quick why we don't use them to power anything.
In theory, with a folding propeller, if you could apply some kind of braking mechanism to the back of the motor, it would cause the propeller to stop spinning and fold back against the fuselage.
Another idea would be to have a spring loaded nose cone that the power of the motor spinning would lead to the spring being compressed, but under a certain RPM, the spring would overcome the centrifugal forces, and drive the propeller back into its resting position, thereby reducing its total drag.
At the same time, at least in theory, the nose cone would also help reduce drag just a tiny bit.
Admittedly, this part would greatly increase the complexity of the machine, and could fail to operate [by breaking, unscrewing, or wobbling excessively] if not super well thought out, and it would also change the balance of the plane's center of mass, seeing as it would be added to the front of the plane, so, in response, one might want to extend the tail boom a little to make up for the addition of the weight on the front.
It is something that happens sort of, on existing variable pitch propellers, although by a somewhat different method.
Where they fold back radially, instead of axially, one can fold back modern propellers so that they produce very much less drag if an engine stalls in flight.
I could envision several different ways of making such a propeller 'return' device, and, while none of them are pleasingly simple, several of them come across to me as reliable enough to work repeatedly, even out of printed plastic, perhaps upwards of ten times before failure.
Making them from bonded carbon fiber, however, could make them nearly indestructible.
you should be able to program the ESC to apply a brake when you stop the motor .
Using the motor as a generator to recharge the capacitor could get extended flight time if you initially go really high and then want to do a bit more low flying at the end - whilst your ideas would optimally extend gliding I believe having throttle control on landing could be more useful and fun in most cases. A switch between braking and regeneration would be even better although it may be heavy to implement both.
Honestly that crank assembly plus that first plane would make a GREAT learning toy. Like seriously if it was sold in a kit so you didn't have to solder anything just assembly it would be so cool.
Hi Tom. I have an idea for a project: how about you use a microwave dish pointed at the plane (and maybe even have some automated tracking stuff to keep it pointed there) and see if you can transmit enough power wirelessly to keep the plane in the air by having a circuit on the plane that converts the received microwave energy back into a voltage to power the plane's flight systems.
Might start a fire on the plane though
@@FilmLadd Oh good point. He'll want some nice fire-retardant coating. :)
@FilmLadd not only a plane, but fly-by birds. From the other hand: fly plane endlessly and munch some fried chic... ehm, pigeon ;)
It could work, but it's also a great way to get the UK equivalent of the FCC *very* angry.
The plane you built really seems close to a finalized toy product. The folding propeller is great, and would be a boon for parents who otherwise have to deal with kids upset that their plane prop breaks on the first landing. I had the AirHogz air pressure powered plane as a kid, and this really feels like the next version of that, a spiritual successor if you will. This time, super caps instead of air powered, haha.
I'm 73, retired engineer, i like All your programs , thanks you , keep it up please?
all your videos are great but this one is the best I think. one of the coolest plane builds I've seen on youtube with the basically 1:1 cranking to flying time. I'd really love to see a video where you refine the concept even further.
Yea, he absolutely nailed it on this one.
Watching your work with these experiments, it must have been such a shock that it went so well first try! Well done!
9:06 Is the power consumption not higher with wings and the moving elements attached to the Servos?
The servos use more energy if it is trying to move a big object so the energy consumption is higher 🤓☝
Would it be possible to take the energy produced by the Rotor turning after shutoff to increase steering control time?
Not really, wouldnt be worth it. From energy conservation perspective, you could collect some energy to assist with landing. Some commer ial planes have such.
Some modern planes have a fall to distance ration of 70:1. There you could collect energy troughout the day using currents, and use it at night.
This is too cool, I would TOTALLY buy a kit like this.
@Tom Staton, I love your projects and please keep doing it! I just want to make a small "big" remark: Having that gap between the LH and RH wing brings the lift there to zero and induced drag goes bezerk, so you loose all the advantage of that wingspan/aspect ratio. So this means you have a higher power required, just close it and add some racked winglets ! you will increase flight endurance without touching the propulsion system .. the weight penalty will be nothing with yoiur construction method! Have Fun!
That windmill effect of the prop during guide may actually be helping sustain the voltages in the system.
hi you are doing an incredible job with these supercapacitors. but I have a question can you recharge the supercapacitors wirelessly (while it is moving) using a tesla coil ?
Use a second cap bank and charge during flight and really fast charge, cap bank to plane. Just enough resistance to keep everything from destroying itself and it won’t take long to get back in the air. If you then use a leg power device to make current u could charge up in just a few seconds.You could use the electric bike to do that?
I'm in love with this project, brings back nostalgia from those times where I used to study Robotics, also, Tom, I find surprising that I haven't seen a video about you experimenting with Ionic Thrust, any reason in particular? I have faith if you make a video about it it's gonna be top tier delightful content! Cheers and greetings from Argentina!
How do you increase the thrust by factor 100? There are experiments but far too weak
@@jo21e6 I'm sure fluid mechanics is involved, I don't think Ionic Thrust can be powerful on it's own, I think it can be used in conjunction with other concepts, still... I'm talking from my deep ignorance on the subject, that's why I suggest Tom to educate us on the matter :)
@@marcovalentinoalvarado3290 what's the purpose of using it combined with other technologies? That would be much heavier
1:54 FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER!!!
Super caps will overtake most batteries. Truly, cheers for people like you!! The reason for comment however is, good sir…can you say “aluminum” 56.5722 divided by Pi in one video?For a US linguistic bastard as myself. I don’t give a pint about the usage of said metal I just never get tired of hearing you say it. To me you say it right. US English is a bit of a mental episode. Cheers good bro, all in the name of fun & exploration.
05:14 "i swear thats not a bomb"
You need to be teaching in schools. This is just what we need to inspire the next generation of engineers we so desperately need. I know if I could have done something like this at school, I wouldn't have wanted to go home.
Don't think they could learn from RUclips video?
6:37 I would recommend printing the original model with a brim instead. Brims require a bit of cleanup but allow you to print without having to worry about the surface area on the build plate being low.
Next stop: Putting solar cells on the wings, lofting the plane above the clouds, and watching it fly forever!
❤yaa
This could be an absolutely invaluable tool as a soldier or a hunter. Gives you portable eagle eyes with a few minutes of cranking.
%1000 appreciate that you have big brain power, and a good eye for craftsmanship and design.
It always make my day when tom uploads!
What happened with the plane on the thumbnail? Was it just a mock-up, a future version or something else? I would love to know!
There isn't even a motor in the thumbnail. It's just a thing he printed so he could stick the capacitors in the nose for the clickbait.
@@CYDeviant Lol I wonder if it is worth it since the original is cool enoug
To see a 1 to 1 ratio on the flight charge times bro is actually really amazing great work dude ! Love the idea and execution
Man you're really getting professional with the 3D printing. Nice work.
7:35 sounds like the white robot in WALLE
Really nice simple project.
Can the propellers retract with springs when the motor function is over?
Or can the motor controller have an electric break when under powered?
It would save a lot of unnecessary drag.
It is a pity that all energy saved under 5-6v is not used. So you have only 66% of the capacity used. But still carry the weight around.
Also maybe the motor and controls can last longer if you put a small variable inverter that can convert from a lower input voltage.
Been wanting to make one for years, glad to see you are on the case.
Careful man... You hit 88mph with a capacitor like that and poof
😂😂😂😂😂😂 bro thats not a flux capacitor
That is amazing especially since some RC planes I've seen charge for like 20 mins to use for 5 mins so 2 mins to charge and use is just brilliant.
To get that propeller to fold back and stop spinning, there should be a brake setting you can turn on with the ESC. It is a common feature of ESCs. You typically program it with the throttle stick on your remote control. Reference about brake setting: ruclips.net/video/qYHJgg_vvSQ/видео.html
Love the videos.
thats right, but in fact that this only works with power.. the esc is turning off.. better would be an oring or rubber like on the F5J class to fold the propeller
@@CNCrafts_Matze No. the ESC is reaching LVC (low voltage cutoff) where it cuts or reduces power to the motor. The onboard BEC continues to ouyput 5 volts to the receiver, and the brake should continue to work.
No way you made the capacitors resemble a radial engine!
Why we watch this channel
Why we watch this channel
You can set up your motor's ESC to have a brake function. It will help with stopping the windmilling of the propeller and help it to fold when you stop applying throttle.
Not a fan of the clickbaity thumbnail, however i did really enjoy this video
Bro how tf are you top comment?
Needed to get people to click, at least there is content
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@ 8:16 cap pack reads over 7 volts but caps are in series to stay below the hard deck of 3v to avoid failure, what am I missing here? Just before that you mentioned the caps were charged to 8v and say it’s just under half their max voltage?
You could possibly eek more thrust time out by checking that the ESC is not configured to limit the output to protect the battery pack. You can also configure the ESC to set prop brake on so that it folds and stops, to reduce drag.
If you have trouble with adhesion to the print bed during 3D printing (usually with prints that have a low area of contact with the bed, but even more so the taller they get) it could help printing with a raft or brim.