A time ago, I got curious about the possibility to print something like a paper plane...
Therefore I tried to print one with as less material as possible, but still flying just great!
This is what I found working quite fine so far!
It consists of a one layer print regarding main part of its wings, plus a big enough body for good flight properties.
You should be able to fly indoor (till now I didn't managed to break something, even if you could push down things accidentally I guess) as well as outdoor. I was flying outside on windy weather as well. Actually it worked better then expected.
Print instructions
Update 28.05.2020
- In appreciation of upcoming CREW DEMO-2 from NASA and SpaceX, I added the "X" logo to the plane.
Have a good and save flight Bob Behnken & Doug Hurley!
- Use about 40% infill for this print
- .scad file will have the "X" logo enabled by default for now.
- Note: You might want to disable "Elephant foot compensation" in slicer settings. In my case it makes tail wing connection working pretty bad.
Update 20.05.2020:
- Created customizable 3D model with OpenSCAD
- Provide rounded head front as suggested by thingiverse user SaddamCZ for smoother landings ;-) - Thanks for your comment!
Note: use 30 - 40% infill for this model to keep center of gravity below main wing.
- Reworked tail wing connection to stay in place more reliable.
- See yellow pictures for new model.
Notes:
- Important:
- Please be very careful when removing the model from the printer plate.
If symmetry is broken, it will not really fly... The main wings are the critical part here I would say.
- Take care to use symmetrical infill to keep balance point of the plain at center of the main wings.
- I would recommend to print the "...Original.stl" model first.
The other model is kind of a test to get the main wing connection to body more robust. Actually it is still a problem... and flight properties are different with this design.
- Please see the picture for details about how to connect the tail wing exactly.
- You can use the small elements at tail wing to trim left/right and up/down steering.
- Dimension in mm: 180 x 178 x 20
- Print time was about 50 minutes.
What can be improved:
- Main week points are the connections from wings to the body. They break over time. It seams some PLAs are more resistant than others. My "red" flyer is doing a pretty good job so far. Many other color broke much faster over time.
- Create a modular system of the plane. It would be interesting to support separate head, main wing and tail wing parts, magically hold together...
- Give the plane a face update. Just for fun it would be nice to put a parametric smiley on the head for example.
- Guess there are many parametric funny things possible here... ;-)
Have fun and happy printing ^^
SeppoTheFish
