...Pictures, Videos, and more...
This is a sneak peak at my $5 "Staples Stingray" free-flight, bungee-launched glider I have very recently finished designing, modifying, and testing! The design is a modified version of the FliteTest Nutball RC airplane, which is a modified version of the original Nutball by GoldGuy.
By Gabriel Staples
Written: 15 July 2013
Updated: 19 July 2013 (added more videos)
(for links to more videos, go to the bottom of the post)
- Building the FliteTest Nutball Swappable
- Getting into Scratch Building - 20+ Planes with One Motor and One Power Pod!
- Hat Cam
- This is What My Nutball (RC version) Can Do! - see my high-powered RC version of this plane on a very windy day
I have been spending quite some time now (about 3 months), figuring out how to build a SIMPLE, INEXPENSIVE free-flight glider for the Boy Scout troop I work with, and this is what I came up with! I really think this plane does the trick, and it's tons of fun to launch, fly, and even chase and try to catch!Here's a description of it that I wrote in my "Getting into Scratch Building...." article above. Click the link at the top of this post to read that article as well:
"I have even prototyped and tested, for my local Boy Scout troop working on the Aviation merit badge, a $5 free-flight glider based on the NutBall, which is capable of being bungee-launched (via a home-made $25~$35 launcher) to altitudes up to 250 feet, and flying several hundred yards distance in a single flight! My wife named it the Stingray (see photo of a stingray below), since the glider resembles a stingray flying backwards. I would like to post the plans and video of the Stingray glider and bungee launcher when I get the chance, so other Boy Scout troops and do-it-yourselfers can make one too....
I have also designed and tested what I call a "training fin" for the NutBall, which can easily be velcroed onto the top of the plane in order to make it self-right (roll level automatically) whenever it is banked. This is really useful for a beginner as well. (More to come on this; I need to write a post on it still too)."
Here are some sneak-peak photos of my new Stingray Free-flight glider below.
