A Few Tips & Tricks: Arduinos, PCB Tricopter Frames, Home-made Acid Etchant for Copper

By: Gabriel Staples
Written: 28 May 2013
Updated: 30 Oct. 2013
-added link to LadyAda's Arduino Uno FAQ
-added link to Arduino Nano V3.0 on Ebay

Other Articles You May Be Interested in Reading:

• Getting into Scratch Building - 20+ Planes with ONE Motor & ONE Power Pod!
• Beginner RC Airplane Setup
• Thunder AC680/AC6 Charger & Computer Data-Logging Software
• Parallel Charging Your LiPo Batteries

So, this month I've been dabbling into a few new RC airplane areas that I have previously not looked into.  You may wonder how these topics in the title relate to RC airplanes?  Well, for me, everything does :), so let's briefly discuss:

Arduino & Microcontrollers:

What is Arduino?  Well, Arduino is a small interface board which connects to your computer via a USB cable, and consists of an Atmel microcontroller chip, or "brain," which can do a variety of functions and processing, as well as circuitry to enable you to connect to it via a USB cable, in addition to a voltage regulator and input and output ports.  Basically, it is a development or experiment board which allows you to plug in sensors and circuitry and do anything you can imaging via your own personal ingenuity and programming skills---yet it is inexpensive and simple enough that anyone can get started.  It is especially designed for the non-programmer.  Here is Arduino's description of themselves.  A few things that make Arduino unique are its price, ease of use and programming, and the fact that it is open-source.  Open-source means that its parts, pieces, construction, and coding are all available to the public, and that its software is FREE.  This is the counterpart to "proprietary," which means that something is owned by a company and its internal workings are generally guarded and kept secret in order to prevent others from duplicating it.

You might not know it, but the microcontroller, or MCU, which is the heart of the Arduino, is a very common-place item in today's electronics.  Modern RC radio transmitters use them, for example, as well as ESCs (Electronic Speed Controllers) and "smart" battery chargers such as the Thunder AC680.
 Many UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) use microcontroller-based autopilots!  Now, with Arduino,

Beginner RC Helicopter & Quadrocopter

By Gabriel Staples
Written: 13 Jan 2013
Last updated: 3 Dec 2016
Update History (newest on top):
-3 Dec. 2016, updated dead link to micro heli (now linked to "v911" search results on eBay), and updated links to some other small parts too
-6 Oct. 2013, added links to micro quadrocopters

Related Articles:

• Beginner RC Airplane Setup
• Thunder AC680/AC6 Charger & Computer Data-Logging Software
• Parallel Charging Your LiPo Batteries

For those of you who have tried a 3-Channel micro helicopter or two (ex: virtually any helicopter that you might see at a mall), you are probably ready to try something a little bit better.  Well, don't go out quite yet and spend hundreds on a 6-Channel fully acrobatic collective pitch heli.  Rather, get a nice single-rotor 4-Channel beginner micro heli that can take some abuse while still teaching you more skills.  Once you master a micro 4-Channel heli, then take the step up to a several hundred dollar 6-Channel helicopter, and start flying slowly and carefully as it will be much more difficult still than the 4-channel heli.

So, which one to buy?  Well, I have the HobbyKing FP100 ($29 + shipping) (also see the "v911" eBay links below) (shown to the right), and I love it! It flies very well, gives you those extra skills you need while providing more challenge and capability, and yet is still so light that it is durable and can take quite a few crashes without breaking.  And if you break it? --you can buy spare parts!

How is this different from a 3-Channel Helicopter? 
A 3-Channel helicopter has a left stick which controls throttle, and a right stick which controls pitch and yaw.  There is no roll control, and pitch is extremely limited, since it is done simply via a tiny horizontal propeller near the tail which spins to create lift and slightly raise or lower the tail, thereby providing forward or aft movement.  A 3-Channel heli, therefore, is very limited in control authority, and can rarely go faster than a walking speed.  Another serious limitation is that they usually use infrared transmitters, which have a very short range, and are affected by sunlight.  Therefore, they are usually only indoor helicopters due to their ultra limited control (inability to counter even the slightest wind gusts), and infrared antennas which are susceptible to interference from the sun.  (Note: infrared transmitters are usually identifiable by a small, usually red, plastic cover near their top, instead of an antenna).

So, what is the extra channel on a 4-Channel helicopter?  
A 4-Channel helicopter, on the other hand, is highly maneuverable in comparison

Mastering the Landing Approach, by Dave Scott

Model Aviation magazine recently posted this article online, and I wanted to share it with the rest of you, so here is the link.  It is a good article, and many of you may find it useful in helping your landings and approaches.  The author doesn't come at the topic of landing from a completely beginner perspective, however, as it seems more tailored to helping someone improve their basic landing skills rather than develop for the first time any landing skills.  It is by a man named Dave Scott, of RCFlightSchool.com.

Here is just one of the many diagrams from this article:

http://www.modelaviation.com/landingapproach

Inspirational

Written:  22 March 2013
Updated: 14 July 2013.
Note: most recent additions are at the top of this article.

I suppose I watch my fair share of videos that I find amazing or inspiring.  I am going to begin to save some of them.  I will save them at this post, so check back from time to time.

• Raffaello D'Andrea - The Astounding Athletic Power of Quadcopters (added 14 July 2013) - this has got to be one of the most impressive and fascinating things I've ever seen! Click the link above to watch the video.

• 
  
• FPV (First-Person View) to Space and Back (<--main link here)

• David, of RCExplorer.se, is always abounding in fascinating activities and work.  A remarkable

Getting into Scratch Building - 20+ Planes with ONE Motor & ONE Power Pod!

Getting into Scratch Building - 20+ Planes with ONE Motor & ONE Power Pod!

By:  Gabriel Staples
Written: 1 March 2013
Last Updated: 21 Feb. 2015
-added "Reinforcement" section below - 20 Feb. 2015
-added the entire "Which Foam to Buy" section, incl notes on Dollar Tree foamboard & depron - 8 Feb. 2015
-added a link to my new free-flight Stingray glider I mention below - 16 July 2013

If you have any questions or comments while reading this, or any other article, please post it in the comments section below the article.  Thanks!

Related Articles:

• The Power of Arduino - learn to control the physical world around you, including your RC vehicles, using computer programming
• Recommended Soldering Kit & Tutorials (for Arduino, Electronics, & Radio Control)
• This is What My NutBall Can Do!
• Buying Parts for the FliteTest NutBall Swappable - All at Once
• Building the FliteTest NutBall Swappable
• Beginner RC Airplane Setup
• Parallel Charging your LiPo Batteries
• Setting up the Computer Data-Logging Software for Your Thunder AC680 (or AC6) Charger

So, over a year ago now I discovered the Flite Test NutBall and Delta Wing (both wings, separated from the power pod, are shown in the picture above and to the right).  These planes are unique in that FliteTest came up with the ingenious idea to use a single motor, speed controller, and receiver combination in order to power multiple airplanes!  This is a fantastic solution, as it allows someone to get into this hobby VERY economically, and all of the planes are built using Dollar Tree foamboard (ADAMS Readi-board), shish kabob (bamboo) skewers, hot glue, popsicle sticks, and packing tape!

As of today, I have built and flown both the NutBall and the Delta Wing, and love them both.  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 to the right), 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 (for a sneak peak of the glider, see my new post here).  As for the FliteTest airplanes I've built, the NutBall is especially a blast to fly for an advanced pilot, yet can be gentle