Rubber Band Powered Aeroplane

The first picture is really the last of this step but I put it first for easy identification of parts.

Start with the main fuselage beam, its purpose is to hold the elastic and be a bridge between the propeller and wings, as well as to the tail. It is very simple when cut from balsa, just a long rectangle strong enough to not snap when the elastic you will be using is put around it longitudinally. It can be any size, depending on how big you want your completed aeroplane to be. The fuselage beam on this one is 185mm x 1.6mm x 7mm.

Next is the basic construction of the drive system. Start this with the three new parts in the third picture, a small piece of wood (on my model about 6 x 8mm), wire/pin/straightened paperclip and a tube for it to fit into. Bend one end of the wire into a small hook just big enough to hold the elastic you will use later. To support this wire shaft, first glue the small rectangular piece of wood under the fuselage beam at the front end of it. Then glue the section of small tube under the block of wood. Slide the wire part into it to check that it can turn easily. Use picture 4 for reference to the placement of these parts.

After the above construction is complete, bend a rectangular piece of aluminium can into a tall "U" shape and glue it over the parts you just added. This will provide more strength.

For the tailhook assembly, I bent another piece of aluminium from a RedBull can in half and glued it around the aft end of the fuselage beam. You can do it like this or if you prefer, you can bend a piece of wire into a hook shape and glue it on underneath the fuselage in the same place.

To make the wing support, cut another piece of wood to 3 quarters the length of the main beam as shown in the second last picture. Divide this piece as shown in half, and then the one half in half again. Cut the 2 places you just marked and glue them in shape as shown in the last picture. Add small triangular pieces of wood at the two joins. Then glue this onto the fuselage beam about halfway along it. See the first picture for reference.

After I made the first test flight, I discovered that extra support at the base of the wing supports need reinforcing. Glue small rectangular pieces of wood on both sides of both joins to stop the wings from breaking off in-flight.

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