My entry for the Red Bull Air Race competition is something a little unconventional. An R/C flying bicycle. A bit of an ambitious first build, but I think it could work.

The Inspiration

Is it a good sign that my project was inspired by a book of stupid inventions?

My inspiration for the project. (The World's Worst Inventions, by Jack Watkins)

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many people believed that human-powered flight was a good option to contend for the first powered flight. In the end, of course, the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first powered flight, with a piston-engine. The race to have the first controlled human-powered flight continued up until 1961, which shows just how difficult that method of powered flight actually was to achieve.

I saw this information in the book and thought, "what if the Red Bull Air Race took place in the early 20th century and was a race to see who could achieve human-powered flight first? And so it began.

The Design

My idea was just to make a bicycle from "marshmallow sticks" (essentially bigger BBQ sticks) and other materials and then to stick airplane parts on, similar to how the man in the picture above seems to have done.

The Build

The Bicycle

I started by building the bicycle. I used the marshmallow sticks for the frame and plastic lids from big yogourt pots for the wheels. At first, I made the frame only be one layer of sticks thick. Later, I decided to make it more robust by having two halves to the frame, on either side of the wheels. I stuck pins through the frame and wheels to make the axles. I made the mistake on the back end of the bike of gluing the pin (axle) right next to the wheel, which made it turn very slowly.

I had some issues with keeping the wheels straight, which was another reason I made two halves to the frame. I also used some smaller bottle lids as spacers. I made a seat out of foam and pedals from foam, a bottle-cap, and wire.

And so, the bicycle was finished!

The Plane

I made the wings from foam board. I think my knife was a bit dull, which make the edges of the wing rough. I supported the wings with skewers. I wanted the wings to have a slight under-camber, but in the end I just made them flat, which will probably mean that I will need to fly at a fairly high angle of attack. Next, I started sorting through my electronics (Flite Test Power Pack B, with a 650 MaH battery), and deciding where to put the motor. I had originally intended the motor to be in a pusher configuration, but I realized it would be easier to use a pulling configuration with the propeller I had. I decided to have the wing at the very front, and to use it to support the motor. I had to add some extra supports to the wings for strength and to stop them wobbling.

Then I made the tail out of foamboard, and stuck it to the wings with sticks. Again, I had to add extra supports to make sure it didn't wobble uncontrollably. All these struts everywhere actually benefited its early-1900s look, I think. Somehow, I had a measurement issue with the tail or tail booms, and it ended up longer on one side than the other, or the tail booms ended up further to one side than the other. Now, the tail is in the right place, but the tail booms are still a little bit off. 

I then glued on the tail fin and trimmed the skewers. I was then ready to move on to electronics, control surfaces, and, of course, the rider. I put the electronics in the places where they would go, but did not stick them in place. The next thing I did was to make the rider, but I think I will put that in a separate section below this one. Anyway, I glued and taped down the electronics, and made the control surfaces and linkages.

The plane before I stuck the electronics and control surfaces on properly. In the top-left corner, you can see the rider awaiting his machine's completion and his face to be drawn on.

The Rider

Harold Spiffington (the name of the rider) began life as a simple pile of pipe cleaners. I made these into his basic skeleton. 

I then filled this in with newspaper, cardboard, and masking tape. My mother helped me to make the skeleton better and more three-dimensional.

We then made him some clothes that suited the era using old bits of fabric, tape, and hot glue. I gave him a hat which for some reason was in my house. It was just his size! I made him hair and a spiffing moustache with frayed bits of string. Then, my brother drew him a face.

I then glued him to the plane, and my brother made a red bull for each wing. At this point, it is ready to fly!

I had to tape him down to stop him from swaying like a drunken sailor in flight.

Right now, I know as little as you do about how well it will fly. Continue reading below to find out what happens next.

The Flight

It didn't go exactly as I hoped – but hey, the Wright brothers' first flight was only 12 seconds! I learned a lot from this test. I have decided to put it all in a table below:

I also learned that I should carry scissors or a knife and water in my field kit.

I think I should definitely continue to try and make this work, as the plane is not really damaged at all. Look out for a sequel. [UPDATE: Part II is here!]