"Towel" Plane Parts, Servo/Motor Mounts & Drop Mechanism

thingiverse

This is a set of parts to use when building the MAKE Magazine "Towel" RC plane, by Breck Baldwin. There are two servo mounts for the elevons, control arms for the elevons, a motor mount, a taller servo mount for a drop mechanism and a couple guide parts for the drop mechanism. There are also two hooks that can be printed out to hang your plane and radio transmitter to keep the plane out of harms way. I have added the solidworks files for all of the parts of the plane. Instructions 1 - Read the article from MAKE - http://makezine.com/projects/make-30/the-towel-rc-stunt-plane/ 2 - Download & Print out all of the parts 3 - Find a small screw (I use a #2-56 x 1/2" long screw) that will fit into the counter-bored hole in the motor mount to clamp the motor. Adjust the motor mount bore to suit your motor mounting diameter. I used a tapered reamer to get the fit just right before clamping with the screw. 4 - Assemble the plane using the printed parts - the slots in the parts are for using tie wraps to secure the parts to the deck. Refer to the attached picture for component placement. 5 - The drop mechanism is something I developed as an addition. I have it plugged into the 5th channel on my radio, normally used for landing gear, so the switch on my remote makes dropping the payload easy. The rubber bands are attached at the edges of the wings, with a taped on reinforcement (I used a short piece of wire with the ends bent into circles). Make a hole through the wing that is the same size of the hole in the drop mechanism guide. The free end of the rubber band has a small metal loop that goes up through a hole in the plane wing, and is what accepts the end of the drop rod. See the video in the download section to see it in action. 6 - Practice dropping the payloads. I like to use soft foam rockets or little parachute men, as they are light and soft. If it does not release fully, open up the diameter of the hole through the wing. Also, note the position of the foam rocket in the picture - I positioned it so the free end of the rubber band is perpendicular to the bottom of the wing surface. It is less likely to get stuck if it is positioned this way. 7 - Bombs Away!! 8 - Print out the hooks, mount to the wall, and hang your plane out of the way and show it off!