How I built a Plane Powered by AIR

[maxonheadrick]

I unironically re watch your air engine series frequently. Every time there's a new video on one i watch it twice in a row and then in a couple days maybe again. Always a childhood dream of mine, no other entertainer has gotten me to re watch videos on YouTube.
So longer vids with deeper breakdowns are super appreciated :D

[qihengng]

Man saw reaction channels taking off and decided to react to his own contact lol

[meatcreap]

I loved this format! Please do more like this in future!

[owengrossman]

The adverse roll that you described isn’t strictly speaking due to having a vee tail. It’s due to having the control surfaces above the the roll axis. If you rake the tips of the vee downward then the roll will coincide with the yaw. The same holds true for a conventional rudder.

[tomw]

About the bottles - if you are going to revisit gluing/sleeving two of them together, what if you used a balloon on the inside to prevent leaks? Similar to how a bike tube holds the pressure but the tire stops it's expansion, the balloon holds the air (no leak) and the bottles simply stop the balloon from exploding?

I imagine the issue then would be shift to making a seal that doesn't rip the balloon - but it would be interesting to see if allows you to shave some weight! You'd also get a really good visual of how much pressure is left in the bottle as you fly as the balloon deflates.

Awesome project! keep it up!

[PlaneAwesome]

The bit about the propsaver not working as a result of the prop being used as a flywheel - didn't realize it would cause issues, but you explained it really well. Thanks for the deep dive!

[mq]

The larger sizes of disposable CO2 canisters are more efficient in terms of energy/weight if you ever want to go that route. I also suspect you could also save some weight by switching to a smaller battery, maybe even a non-rechargable battery (two lithium coin cells). Don't need a lot of power for just the servos.

[Alexandros]

Excellent video, and I absolutely loved going more in-depth into the topic. Please make more of them, and continue working on the air powered aircraft - it's probably my favourite YouTube series. Experimenting with multi-engined versions, air tanks in the wings, pusher props might be cool ideas for the future.

[swaggington]

These additional videos are great Tom! Thanks for taking the time!

[dondakin]

Thank you Tom, I really enjoyed the director's cut it answered all my questions.

[AlecThilenius]

The Bonanza is a common piston plane, it too has a v-tail and wobbles around in flight just like that. Pilots refer to it as the "Bonanza Boogie". I had that exact thought when watching your original video lol. Your engineering is really fantastic man, I hope you're super proud of what you built!

[Acamperfull]

Great explanations and so much fun to see, but I think the difference between a CO2 cartridge and the compressed air bottres is smaller because when the motor stops there stil is at least two liter left inside the bottles and the motor does need some pressure to do any work so it is more than that, compared to the very small volume of the CO2 cartridge so very little gas is left unused. Also the CO2 being a liquid compressed should have a more constant pressure output as the bottles with air and the smaller volume create less drag in an airplane.
However an engine that runs on compressed air tanks that you can simply pump up yourself so much cooler than an engine that runs on disposable CO2 cartridges.

[AerialWaviator]

This a great directors cut, engineering insights production. Really enjoy seeing this.

For the wing leading edge, you might consider using foam cut with a hotwire to make a very thin sheet, or using thing depron. @JuliusPerdana is a RC depron plane crafter. He has many good techniques and videos. eg: "How to bend depron - polyfoam using tape and heat gun", or rolling over a pipe to curve to shape.
You could also experiment by increasing rib spacing; particularly behind the spar tube.
Another possibility is tacking a strip of paper to the film (with dabs of heat) which could replace the balsa. You'll likely need to apply a heat activated spray adhesive like 3M Super 77 to get the paper to adhere to the ribs. This would allow you to apply the film in the same manor while reducing weight. Hopefully this gives you some alternative ideas.

[hunbun]

it’s been awesome to see this project progress through the years and all your innovations👍

[terraincognitaband]

I like these "honest" comments, like how it took ages to drill those holes and stuff. In Normal Youtube-Formats everything can look so easy and fast. But reality is often way more stressful. It brings you back to how things actually work.

[johnnymaynard]

Awesome stuff Tim. Thanks for taking us on your adventure !

[kenkingsflyingmachines]

For what it's worth, this is the most interesting thing I've seen all weekend. I also went back and rewatched some of your old ones.
I discovered that I have an Air Hogs I bought new. One set of wings and tail are still unused. It still holds pressure and runs, so I'm going to fly it when the wind stops howling. Thanks for the brilliant content.

[Peterchen]

Hey Tim!

Judging by the noise output of your engine, have you thought about a 3 cylinder design for high, medium and low pressure expansion. This had been done on steam engines.

Thank you, love the content!

[bjornlofving]

Thanks for sharing your ideas! I wonder which Raynolds number you are calculating lift curves for. In fact I think you should calculate for R=50000 because of low speed and short cord. Then Naca 4412 is not good, see airfoil Tools. A lot drag which increases sink. I would go for Göttingen 269 instead. Compare and see for ncrit=5 and 9!

[dgkimpton]

I definitely loved the extra technical insights, wouldn't object to having the extra detail directly in the main video to be honest.