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How can I make any aircraft more stable?

1,668 LITVYAK013INDUSTRIES  2.7 years ago

Or also make a stabilizer that really works. I not only want to make airplanes, but also any type of aircraft, these days I have been working on a small helicopter, but I can't keep it in the air in a stable way, no matter how many gyroscopes I put in, I can't keep it flying anymore I tried to alter the properties of some parts but as soon as it gets up off the ground it starts spinning uncontrollably and ends up crashing, please help. (sorry for my English, it is not my native language)

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    @Diver I see, so there can be exceptions to the "Mass in front of Lift", which can be made by unconventional engine mount positioning. The more I know, I guess.
    ¯_(ツ)_/¯

    2.7 years ago
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    6,453 Diver

    @Darkhound Brain explosion but yeah. However, Its not necessarily true. I have an in progress prototype that won't fly unless the CoL is in front of the CoM by about .4 SP units. Possibly it may be due to the way the engines are mounted, but so far during testing, it's actually quiet maneuverable and stable.

    2.7 years ago
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    @LITVYAK013INDUSTRIES You're welcome, no problem!

    +1 2.7 years ago
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    @Darkhound
    The explanation is magnificent, it helped me to have a better understanding, really thank you very much.

    +1 2.7 years ago
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    @LITVYAK013INDUSTRIES

    Expanding on @Diver 's explanation, an aircraft mostly works on the "Mass in front of Lift" principle. To make an aircraft fly properly, the combined lift of all wings on the plane must be behind the combined mass of the aircraft.

    This is a necessity for stable flight, ignoring this would make an unflyable prototype.

    The distance between the combined mass and combined lift varies for each aircraft, but this changes the stability of the plane you're working on. The further behind the combined mass the combine lift is, the more stable the aircraft is, and vice versa.

    At the designer menu, there is a button that has a fulcrum with a lever arm that holds three circles. That is to toggle the view of your physics variables, with the red sphere representing the central location of the combined mass, and the blue sphere represents the center of combined lift.

    By the way, the central location of the combined thrust of the aircraft's engines (represented by the yellow sphere) isn't really important, UNLESS you're making a helicopter or a VTOL plane like a Harrier.

    So with that, try to experiment with the distances of the Center of Mass and Center of Distance on your plane. You can move the wings further back, or add dead weight to the nose of your aircraft.

    And another important thing. Check where the CoM of your plane is while it holds no fuel, and keep in mind that the CoM should stay where it is if you add fuel so that the stability of the aircraft doesn't change no matter how much fuel you have left in flight.

    Hope this helps!

    +1 2.7 years ago
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    6,453 Diver

    @LITVYAK013INDUSTRIES no problem

    2.7 years ago
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    @Diver Thank you, I'll keep it in mind

    2.7 years ago
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    6,453 Diver

    @LITVYAK013INDUSTRIES Well, on airplanes, it depends. But its not really neccessary on airplanes. Stability wise for planes, the mechanics work differently

    +1 2.7 years ago
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    @Diver Is it functional on airplanes too?

    2.7 years ago
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    6,453 Diver

    I recommend for your heli to use xml to make the weight of all parts = 0 and only have weight on the part directly below the main rotor.

    +1 2.7 years ago