Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft!

[Robbie TPC]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

Maybe I should just fly it within sight then on private land. One of the reasons for the cameras in the cockpit is so I can see where it's going and what it's doing. If it was to take a nose dive towards the ground, I should be able to spot this on camera?

Your talking about a FPV (First Person View) camera system, it’s not easy to fly with this system because you see everything in 2D, that makes it very hard to estimate a distance between a object (or the ground) and your model. It’s also very expensive.
The cheapest and easiest way to put a camera in your model is this camera, FlyCamOne

I got this camera in my rc car (General Lee). Just press record and fly away, if your done you can upload the footage via your USB port

 

[Prop-Builder]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

Wow, that's great! I was actually thinking live video feed so I can see what's goiung on as I'm flying it, as well as recording cameras (maybe mounted inside the pod on top of the craft. There's a nice little hole section at the front of the pod that would be ideal as a camera lens.

Interesting idea with the rockets! I still have about 12 mini rocket engines in their original wrapping that's been sitting in a drawer for about 10 years. Maybe I could stick these into a foam Lindberg attacker for a laugh! :lol

 

[Nwerke]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

As Robbie says, live feed is going to be EXPENSIVE. Can we ask - just how much do you envisage spending on this? If you have a few thousand pounds to blow, you'll probably manage something.

Live feed gear is also going to add weight. Repeat after me: weight is my enemy, weight is my enemy, weight is my enemy...

BTW here are some rules from the RC aircraft photography association:

http://rcvehicles.about.com/gi/dyna...ts=1&st=32&zu=http://rcapa.net/guidelines.htm

And here's the forum for large (6 foot and up) electric models:

http://www.rcgroups.com/giant-electric-planes-477/

 

[Prop-Builder]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

As Robbie says, live feed is going to be EXPENSIVE. Can we ask - just how much do you envisage spending on this? If you have a few thousand pounds to blow, you'll probably manage something.

Live feed gear is also going to add weight. Repeat after me: weight is my enemy, weight is my enemy, weight is my enemy...

I wouldn't mind spending a few thousand if that is what it takes. Has anyone done a Tie-Fighter do you know? I did buy a small model kit of this with the intention on scaling it up to a few foot to fly. I thought about adding clear plastic fins onto this to make it easy to adapt, then flying it in the dark.

There're so many sci-fi flying models I want to do, but the Alien Attacker is by far the most important to me as I love that ship the most. :cool

 

[Nwerke]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

For TIEs, there's this:

http://www.collectorsgalleryonline....oduct_Code=CTIEFIGHTERMODEL&Category_Code=SWM

And this:

http://www.amazon.com/Vaders-Fighter-Deluxe-Vehicle-Flying/dp/B001QKGLQK

Unfortunately, it's about the least amenable design to adapt to aeromodelling imaginable. With a standard TIE, what would be your lifting surface? There isn't one.

Back to the Attacker - there's no question that if you are serious about building a 12-foot power model, radio-controlled, constructed in a moulded material, then you are looking at a few thousand (adding up the costs of motors, fan units, batteries (if you do go electric), radio control gear, insurance, membership of your local flying club, licenses, whatever special approvals are required for a large, heavy model, etc). That's a few thou right there, then add on the cost of the video gear and displays.

Forget about the ambitious stuff for now - right now you should focus on finding out whether this shape can be made to fly at all. F'rinstance, have you thought about how to get it off the ground? I think you'll need to build a takeoff dolly and a skid arrangement, unless you want to include retractable landing gear.

 

[Prop-Builder]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

Interesting items! It amazes me just what's out there. To get a Tie-fighter to fly, I thought about adding clear plastic fins inbetween the wing panels and the pod. Maybe some on the outside of the wing panels too if neccessary. The good thing about flying it in low light conditions (starry night) to make it look like it's flying through space is that the sun won't reflect off the clear plastic in any way whatsoever.

 

[Nwerke]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

Sure, that's neat, but, you will crash immediately. There's a good reason not to fly your models at night!

Some kind of wing arrangement would be a must...or you could fly it on its side, ha ha!

Did you see how the model rocket works? The TIE part is basically the fin section of a normal rocket which sticks up from the cockpit. That's so that the thing has some stability - the centre of gravity needs to be way further forwards than it could be just on a TIE alone.

 

[GKvfx]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

........I thought about adding clear plastic fins onto this to make it easy to adapt, then flying it in the dark......

:unsure Umm, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're flying in the dark already.

I'll say that you have some cojones for even contemplating this project. I don't think it ever occurred to anyone, even the filmmakers, to try and fly one of these things. About the closest they got was sling shotting one of these things for the crash scene. and that was much more than an arc. Given enough thrust, anything will move. Sustained, controlled flight is another thing altogether :confused.

My advice - forget all the gadgets. Forget the ducted fan engines. Forget the camera navigation systems. You need to determine if the shape will even generate lift. Get some soft foam - the kind used to insulate houses - and carve a basic shape 3' wide. Refine the airfoil shape of the main body to act as a wing and the tail to act as a rudder. Experiment with weights in the nose to get balance. If you can get it to glide, likely, you will be able to build a powered one. But if you cannot overcome the basic laws of aerodynamics, the game is over. You will still get an 'A' for effort, though.

Good luck. I really want to see footage of this thing on YouTube some day.

Gene

 

[Prop-Builder]

Re: Independence Day - ID4 Alien Attacker 12ft Flying Spacecraft - Real Deal!

:unsure Umm, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're flying in the dark already.

I'll say that you have some cojones for even contemplating this project. I don't think it ever occurred to anyone, even the filmmakers, to try and fly one of these things. About the closest they got was sling shotting one of these things for the crash scene. and that was much more than an arc. Given enough thrust, anything will move. Sustained, controlled flight is another thing altogether :confused.

My advice - forget all the gadgets. Forget the ducted fan engines. Forget the camera navigation systems. You need to determine if the shape will even generate lift. Get some soft foam - the kind used to insulate houses - and carve a basic shape 3' wide. Refine the airfoil shape of the main body to act as a wing and the tail to act as a rudder. Experiment with weights in the nose to get balance. If you can get it to glide, likely, you will be able to build a powered one. But if you cannot overcome the basic laws of aerodynamics, the game is over. You will still get an 'A' for effort, though.

Good luck. I really want to see footage of this thing on YouTube some day.

Gene

Thanks for your response. Yeah, my plan right now is to get a basic shape of a 2 - 3 footer and see if I can get that to glide, then go from there. I don't really care about the cost, I've wanted to do this for 10 years now. I didn't get far before because I was always frist trying to find an exotic new propulsion system as I think this model deserves that and would look so much better levitating anyway.

I have played around a bit with magnets and ion technology. I have a thread started on making a simple ion powered balsa craft (five minute job). The craft is basically a single triangular cell about 1ft wide with a wire and tin-foil skirt attached, then hooked up to a power supply. It lifts off the ground immediately and the movements are kinda like a bug flying - suddens stops and direction change in mid air. The major drawback with this technology is that the propulsion is never powerful enough to lift the craft's power supply. Maybe if it was a mini nuclear unit it'll have enough juice and still be light!