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What issues were identifiedThe issues identified in the other group’s review of our Believer were as follows: Splitting in the interior FWD of the fuselageRemoved wooden motor mounts from assemblyModify pitot tube, Soldering of ESC D-sub wires to the left side wingMissing one screw base Why the reviewing group flagged them?The splitting in the interior forward section of the fuselage was due to the group not applying enough glue to the structure and not applying enough pressure to ensure the two sides of the fuselage were glued together. The other items flagged were due to the flight not getting to those steps in the build yet. Whether the issue is cosmetic, structural, alignment-related, or proceduralThe splitting identified was more of a cosmetic and a slight structural issue. The missing screw base would be considered a structural issue. The other steps that have yet to be completed would be considered structural and procedural.
Specific steps required to fix or mitigate the issueTo fix the splitting in the forward section on the interior of the fuselage, we added more glue and pressure to ensure the splitting was corrected. We are still trying to find a screw base. Tools or materials neededThe materials needed is E6000 glue. Whether disassembly is requiredDisassembly was not required.
Why correction is not possibleCorrection was possible for the splitting; we are still trying to locate or replace the missing screw base. How the risk will be minimized moving forwardTo minimize risk in the event we can not locate or replace the screw base, we aligned the remaining three screw bases in a criss-cross pattern to ensure more structural efficiency.
Fix the splitting in the forward part of the interior of the fuselage. Used the E600 glue and applied pressure to ensure the two halves of the fuselage were properly glued together. Added velcro to the interior base of the fuselage for the flight controller and cube. Measure a piece of Velcro to match the size of the flight controller, and place it in the interior base of the fuselage. No glue was needed due to the Velcro having an adhesive side. Glued the GPS on the AFT of the fuselage. Cut a small square in the top of the fuselage to allow the GPS wire to feed through to the flight controller. After the hole was cut, using the E600 Glue, glued the GPS on the top of the fuselage. Held in place until the glue was set to ensure proper bonding. Attached a piece of carbon fiber tube to the pitot tube. Had a piece of a carbon fiber tube measured to the size of our Believer, cut it, and then attached the pitot tube to it. In order to do this successfully, pliers were used to gently stretch the pitot tube. After both tubes were connected, heat shrink was applied to protect and join the pieces together.Next, the tube was fed through a small pre-manufactured hole at the front of the fuselage. Then, using the E600 glue, placed glue around the tube in the front and back to ensure minimal movement and accurate airspeed readings. During our lab time, we unsoldered the right wing ESC D-Sub due to insufficient build standards. We forgot to add heat shrink to our wires, so we needed to correct that before the believer could be cleared for ground testing. Once the D-Sub was unsoldered, we put on the shrink wrap for each wire, and spliced the power wire for the servo and the ESC, and started to rewire the D-Sub connector using the team designated wiring diagram. Important Things to keep in mind when wiring ESC’s and servos to a 5 pin Female D-sub for wingsShare power, so it’s important to solder a lap joint and have an extending lead to Pin #4 (Per Wiring diagram)As shown in pictures below, the small wire power was shared and heat shrink was applied, but the servo ground and power pins were flipped. So, we went in, respliced, soldered, and heat shrinked them protected and to keep the pins consistent across the aircraft. Note: This only occurred on the right-wing D-sub connectionHeat shrink goes on prior to soldering to the fixed D-sub pinsRan into this problem a couple time with forgetting to add heat shrink and then having to restart. This process was very simple but time consuming!Soldering TechniquesNote: Use these techniques for future sections!Tin stripped wiresAdd small amount of solder to fill hole of pin connection in D-SubSlide heat shrinks to insulated part of wireApply heat to both pin and wire, then push wire in for a great connectionSolder all connectionsNote: 12-gauge wire will take longer to heat of than a 30-gauge, so be patient!Slide heat shrinks over soldered pin connectionsUse heat gun to properly seed and set the heat shrink around connections. This is mainly used to prevent a short if junk was able to get!Important Things to keep in mind when wiring ESC’s and servos to a 5 pin Male D-sub for FuselageShare power, so it’s important to solder a lap joint and have an extending lead to Pin #4 (Per Wiring diagram)As shown in pictures below, the small wire power was shared and heat shrink was applied, but the servo ground and power pins were flipped. So, we went in, respliced, soldered, and heat shrinked them protected and to keep the pins consistent across the aircraft. Heat shrink goes on prior to soldering to the fixed D-sub pinsRan into this problem a couple time with forgetting to add heat shrink and then having to restart. This process was very simple but time consuming!Soldering TechniquesNote: Use these techniques for future sections!Tin stripped wiresAdd small amount of solder to fill hole of pin connection in D-SubSlide heat shrinks to insulated part of wireApply heat to both pin and wire, then push wire in for a great connectionSolder all connectionsNote: 12-gauge wire will take longer to heat of than a 30-gauge, so be patient!Slide heat shrinks over soldered pin connectionsUse heat gun to properly seed and set the heat shrink around connections. This is mainly used to prevent a short if junk was able to get!Label wire leads (if multiple)In this case with having 4 or more leads coming into one board, it is incredibly helpful to label what the purpose of the wires are! Especially since these connections are for the main fuselage and just have a connection to the D-sub and not the actual component!For example, in the pictures below you will see the soldered wires labeled things like Aileron and ESC. Later the side of the fuselage designation would be added to these labels (ex. ‘L’ for Left and ‘R’ for Right), just for further clarity!Soldering the main power connection for the CubeBlue and the WingsNote: Same soldering techniques apply to this section!Require (x2) 5V regulators and power leads from Male D-Sub connectorsMatch and solder all positive (+) leads together and negative (-) leads together. Should be soldering 4 wires on eachBe sure to heat shrink!The purpose of this is to have all the power coming from the XT90 power plug, which is attached to the battery.Soldering the XT-90 Plug onto the Main power leadsNote: Same soldering techniques apply to this section!These are the main power leads that were just soldered in the previous sectionSolder an XT90 plug and be sure to add Heat shrink prior to soldering them together!Attaching Ruddervator Servos to Main Fuselage Screw in servo with provided silver screwsBe sure to label and keep track of which servo is which when plugging it into the board!Screw on the circular provided white arm and attach the black slot plate to it with the fitting black screws providedAttaching the Control bar from Servo to Ruddervator control surfacePicture not provided but the main control bars need to be screwed in, so they still have some threads exposed. This allows for additional movement from the servo to control surface.Ensure the servo-controlled tail arms are facing the correct way!Ours were backwards and we flipped them but one ended up splitting. It should be fine but definitely wanted to document it just in case!IMPORTANT: Be sure to attach control arms per the way displayed in the picture below! This ensures the most control and least strain on parts!Aileron ServosAs described in the pictures below Servo ArmServo didn’t come with one straight arm for control, so take the 4 arm and cut three off.Important not to crack the last arm because this will lead to a failure in the field! So take your time!Drill out the top hole to a larger diameter because the machine screws for the control arms are too large for the original manufactured hole diameter.Screw on arm to servo and repeat 2 times!Mounting servoGlued in box displays proper screw dimensions for the cross brace and the cover plateBe sure to use the ones suggested and screw the down until it’s flat as to not disrupt flight path!Mounting Control armIMPORTANT: Be sure to attach control arms per the way displayed in the picture below! This ensures the most control and least strain on parts!Wing Motor Mount and AssemblyMotor assemblyFront of motor line of silver shaft plate with machined holes.Use (x4) gray machine screws (NOT TAPERED) and secure shaft to motor.Flip motor and use (x4) Tapered machine screws to securely mount motor mount bracketMotor MountingUse (x4) machine screws and firmly secure motor to preglued, and installed, wooden wing motor mount. Tip: Screw each one in a little prior to screwing them completely down to ensure enough room for the screwdriver behind the motor when installingRemote ID wiring connectionNote: Same soldering techniques apply to this section!CubeBlue Wiring Connections(Ensure to follow the Believer wiring diagram attached below to make sure that all the pins and connections are plugged in correctly.)Misc. AssemblyBlack battery strapsPull them through underneath the clear cross plate This creates a firm connection with the battery to the fuselage.Gluing on aileron supportsApply glue to the backside of the metalGently press in the thin black piece of metal on the aileron control surfaceWipe off access glue and apply tape to maintain a positive pressure on the strut. Motor wiring bay cover plate. Apply glue to the points of contact of the white plate and the wingPress lightly enough together that some glue does squeeze outWipe away access and tape down so there is positive back pressure on the plateIf needed add clamps for additional strength and proper adhesion is reachedTaping Control SurfacesTips when tappingDo short runs of tap and don’t try to do it with one piece!More overlap is better than none! This ensures the strength and integrity of the tape as it’s going to be in contact with the ground upon landingStart pressing down and working the wrinkles out towards the edges of the wing!You don’t want to have wrinkles in the tape because this affects the aerodynamicsTape joints of control surfaces utilizing the edge of ruler to press the tape strips in the crack for good adhesion. Doing it this way also benefits the strength of the flap joints without compromising the dexterity of the joint when it is controlled with the servo.
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Lab 03 - Build Believer
15 points
Nathan Tyler Rose
Last edited 8 minutes ago by Kenzie Michelle Florkiewicz.
Lab Overview
In lab 1, students swapped aircraft and conducted a peer review of another group’s Believer build. Each group identified defects, concerns, workmanship issues, and positive build practices on one other aircraft and documented their findings.
In this lab, students will return to their own aircraft and use the feedback provided by another group to critically assess their current build status. The goal is to identify deficiencies, understand root causes, and develop a clear corrective plan before continuing further assembly.
Feedback Review
Carefully review the written feedback provided by the other group.
Discuss the comments as a team to ensure everyone understands:
You are expected to take the feedback seriously. Even if you disagree with a comment, you must be able to justify why it is not an issue based on the build instructions, measurements, or aircraft configuration.
For every issue listed, develop a clear corrective plan, including:
If an issue cannot be fully corrected, the group must explain:
The build
Continue the physical build of your Believer and document all work in detail.
Your documentation should clearly reflect
Figure 1. Fixed the splitting in the fuselage
Figure 2. Velcro added, wires fed through fuselage, and GPS in place
Figure 3. Holding GPS in place to glue
Believer_Wiring_Diagram_111425.drawio.pdf
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