Active stabilization mod for Rc Benchy

thingiverse

Wanting to make my Boat more and more individualistic, adding different things to it, unfortunately had some negative consequence, She became very top heavy.... I experimented with varying keel designs to try and make her more stable in the water, with mixed results. Not happy with the results, and worrying she was going to "Go Over" I decided on a drastic solution, Active stabilization! Warning!! This is a work in progress, but my initial testing today had amazing results. This is not a mod for the faint of heart, and requires various parts, and a decent knowledge of rc systems and flight control systems. But for those with a passion for tinkering, this is a great mod. It also includes my battery relocation mod as part of the design, this drops your battery position aprox 20 mm from the standard position. Some of the things you will need to complete this are: Printing the included parts, 2 x Mini servos (must be decent quality digital servos), A flight control board capable of running software like Inav or similar. 3mm Id (aprox 4mm Od) brass tubing, 3mm stainless rod M 2.5 hex nuts, 2.5 mm grub screws, 500 size Heli flybar paddles (Update: Alternatively you can print one of the larger fins I designed for more roll authority) 450 size Heli ball links and rods ( you may be able to make your own 'Z' bend rods instead) Related cables to hook up the flight control board etc. This mod is mainly used for roll stabilization. However it is also programmed to stabilize pitch as well. Basically the boat thinks its a plane, and with some custom mixes, works great to keep this girl in check. The rudder is mixed with the "Ailerons" (fins), so tries to bank itself into the turns when steering is applied. The rudder is also stabilized to make the boat track strait. Currently there is no navigation implemented in my boat, However, with the flight control board, and the addition of GPS, I see no real problems getting it to have autonomous control. But I don't see me doing that, as I like controlling her myself. Today's testing had very favorable results, activating the fins resulted in an instantaneous stabilization, no more scary roll movements, and the boat tracked quite strait. More fine tuning of the PIDs I think are required, but overall, just what I was after. This is currently a work in progress, and still has my custom lead weighted keel in place. But my plan is too hopefully be able to re-install the ballast back internally in the hull, remove the keel, and get the Benchys clean lines back. In saying that, the keel made a big difference on its own. Note: If anyone wants the keel design, let me know, and ill post the file. I have not made a video yet, but once I get round to It, and have some time for more testing, I will post the results. If anyone is game enough to try this out, I would love to see your results! And If I can help anyone out with there own attempt, I will do my best to help. Happy Boating! Update: 8/15/2018 Added new files... Larger fin design to give more authority. After some testing I found the model could use some more authority from the fins, so modeled a similar fin to the 500 heli fin (aprox 20% larger area) there are two versions of the fin, one with a hole for two 3mm grub screws, and the other with a hole to accept the 500 size fin metal insert. If you dont already have 500 heli paddles to take the inserts from, you may just need to use the grub screws into plastic design. https://youtu.be/eMyrJikdgqU https://youtu.be/FybfVNf5E2w https://youtu.be/DPCv6GxZV0g Update: 3/4/2019 New keel design to make the Rc Benchy more stable in the water. If anybody wants to make the keel, let me know and ill hunt out the design file. Needs to be "grafted on". The keel is full of lead, removed from inside the hull. Testing to come!