Lancair Aircraft Model

I hate to stay inactive and I love to have projects on my hands... So here is a short preview of my on-going project. A radio-controlled electric powered Lancair. A Lancair is a true real world two seater aircraft that may be purchased and built by amateur aircraft builders as a kit...
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As far as I am concerned, I elected for a 1/10th scale of the real bird. It better fits my student-budget... Contrary to usual, I bought the box as an "almost ready to fly" kit and this for several reasons. I do lack time right now with Quals coming soon and secondly here in the United States I do not have all the tools I would require to start the project from scratch. And I do not want to start sanding balsa and plywood inside my rather small university room. Still, there is quite a bit of work to be done before calling it done.

. Nice box that came through UPS late last week...

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As said before, there is still some work to do and once the box is open we have a fair view of what remains to be done. Well...bind all those elements together....which should not be too long. I still need to buy a radio transmitter though...

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The different parts as they come out of the box.

Nice fiber-glass fuselage. Both strong and lightweight...

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Technically, a four-channel transmitter should suffice since the four usual suspects are present in this model : aileron, throttle, elevator and rudder controls. However, I am planning to add some flaps to this model by decoupling the two servos required for the ailerons. By doing so, I will have to use five channels and four servos. The two aileron channels will be mixed so that the actuators will control both aileron and flaps at the same time. When the airplane is in cruise configuration, the ailerons are streamlined in the trailing edge of the wing and act as usual ailerons. During approach, the ailerons will both drop slightly down and increase the curvature of the wing while still performing the functions of ailerons to control roll. This is called the flaperon mode which incidentally may be observed on Airbus A330 and A340 during landings.

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The wing root and fairing may be observed in this picture. The holes drilled into the wing-box allow for the control cables to go through.

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Finally below is a picture of what the project should look like in just a few weeks. Stay tuned for the factory roll-out scheduled for early November. Entry into revenue service is scheduled a couple of days latter on November 10th with Mile High Airlines - The World Most Experienced Airline.

What my Lancair should hopefully look like in a matter of weeks.

"Mile High Airlines is particularly proud to be the launch customer for this new two-seater aircraft that will soon become the flagship of our airline, flying to our most prestigious destinations while introducing new levels of comfort never ever seen before. With our unique two-seat abreast configuration and our completly revamped inflight entertainement, we will introduce a paradigm shift in air transportation and revolutionize the travel experience"

"Celebrations for the maiden flight will start early November. In the meantime, Mile High Airlines is pleased to provide its fans a quick preview of our new advertisement campaign with these songs"

Mile High Airlines - The World Most Experienced Airline
Get Up In The Air
You Can't Beat The Experience
We Fly The World Wants To Fly
Just Say Hello To Pan Am

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