Radio Controlled Plane Control System - Assignment Example

Radio Controlled Plane Control System A Radio Controlled (RC) plane is a remote controlled flying machine customized for use by a ground operator by the use of hand held radio transmission system. The receiver in the RC plane has a continuous communication with the transmitter. Upon reception, the signal gets transmission to the servomechanism in the aircraft, which actuates control surface motion based on joystick position on the transmitter (Lennon, 1996). The motion of the respective control surface then dictates the plane orientation. To become a good RC pilot one should grasp the proper understanding of RC airplane control and their operation principles as illustrated. The enumeration of controls needed for RC aircraft differs from one plane to the other on the mode of the size. The complex RC plane consists of at least six controls despite the simple one having only one control. On average, the common RC plane has three or four main controls. The controllable function of this plane is has a common term as a channel. For instance, a four-channel plane will consist of four functions. The RC controls are not different from those in standard commercial aircrafts since the basic model control applies the same aerodynamics of flight. The primary control comprises of elevators, ailerons, rudder and the throttle. The rudder, ailerons and elevator have reference as control surfaces (Lennon, 1996). Diagram showing location of main RC plane controls Retrieved from: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=labelled+image+of+RC+plane+&ei=UTF-8&fr=chr-greentree_ff&ilc=12&type=501549 Elevators They are hinged section at the rear of the plane horizontal stabilizer. They are of use in controlling the planes pitch attitude. When the elevators assume upwards deflection, the RC plane nose pitches upwards during the nose points downwards in response to downwards deflections of the elevators. This deflection of elevators and their resultant control effects dictate the amount of force from the tail plane. There is also some direct influence on the plane airspeed by elevators in addition to diving and climbing. The elevators should also be of use together with the ailerons and rudder to effect turning of the aircraft. To effect elevator movements, the ground operator pushes the left stick forward or backwards for either the respective downwards or upwards pitching (Randolph, 1991). Ailerons This RC aircraft control surface is exceptional in some planes. Most of three channel RC airplane utilizes rudder instead of ailerons. In its application, it controls the plane roll alongside the airplane longitudinal axis. They are in the trailing edge of the wing location and operate in pairs, in the opposite direction. Downward motion of one aileron corresponds to upward movement of the other both to effect the lift generation over the wings (Randolph, 1991). For instance, when an aileron moves downwards it results to lift increment on its side wind as the other aileron moves upwards to disrupt airflow hence low lift on the wing. This results to the roll on low lift side. Application of elevators at the same time with ailerons results to the airplane to have a banked turn. This is a product of ailerons causing the plane to roll as the upward elevator makes it pitch in the same direction. Acrobatic maneuvers in rolling motions manifestation of aileron uses. Moving the right stick involve the right wing aileron’s rise at the same moments, it effects the lowering of the left wing aileron. Rudder Hinged at the fin section of the vertical stabilizer, the rudder has its use in directional control by change of airplane yaw. Right side motion of the rudder causes aircraft right turn and vice versa. Application of the rudder makes the nose turn but cannot affect the roll as the ailerons. It is very useful on the ground to make the RC plane have a straight tracking during the landing and take offs in case of steerable nose or tail wheel absentia. When the left stick has motion to the right makes the rudder assume right motion. It moves to the left when the left stick the left motion (Randolph, 1991). Throttle It is of use in engine speed control thus controlling the turning speed of the propeller. The glow plug or petrol-operated RC airplane has a single servo carburetor operation, which has a direct connection to the carb Venturi to open and close with response to the throttle stick motion on the transmitter. In the electric RC plane, the throttle is in the form of motor power. This motor speed has logical operation by electronic speed control system, which responds to the transmitter stick movement. While in the air motor or throttle speed control has some positive impact on the rate of climb as different airspeeds have variance in lift production. To increase the engine speed or motor, one has to push the left transmitter stick while the decrease in thrust is an initiative of pulling the stick backwards thus decreasing the engine or motor speed and the corresponding thrust. Other RC plane controls include flaps operated by a rotating dial or a toggle switch on the transmitter to generate additional lift and assist in landing. Retractable landing gear on larger RC planes probably five and six channel radio controlled planes, which are servo operated by just a flick of a single switch on the transmitter. Some RC aircrafts have control surfaces mixing by use of computerized radio to merge some controls efficiently. Ailerons and elevators can have a combination to create elevons while merging flaps with aileron results to flaperons. Spoiler on and other channel mixing options are available (Schleicher, 2005). Proportional RC aircraft control system (Radio control system) Radio control system enables the response of the control service to the corresponding transmitter stick movement. Maximum channel movement in this case amounts to maximum transmitter stick displacement. This radio system consists of a transmitter, which is the controller and modulates the movements into the radio signals. The signal is then sent to the awaiting receiver in the plane. The receiver is the planes electronic drive. It captures the radio waves signal from the transmitter and relays it to the target servos (Army, 1991). The servos are gear motors that are in proportional control of the control surface movement through a horn attachment. Through a push rod, the rotation of a horn translates into a linear motion. Both the transmitter and the receiver have batteries for operation. References Lennon, A 1996, Basics of R/C Model Aircraft Design: Practical Techniques for Building Better Models, Air Age Inc. Wilton. Randolph, R 1991, R-C Airplane Building Techniques, Air Age Pub, Wilton Schleicher, R 2005, How to Build and Fly Electric Model Aircraft, Voyageur Press, Minneapolis. United States. Dept. of the Army 1991, Operator's Manual for Army RC-12H Aircraft, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C . Read More