RC Paper Future Racer

I love video games like F-ZERO and WIPEOUT. Also, I have always wanted to drive Skywalker's land speeder! The closest RC vehicle I could find to defy gravity like the Blue Falcon was the tiny Whoover. I made a Whoover and it crashed. The Whoover's top canopy came off with the drone attached and continued to drive around 2 inches off the ground without need of much throttle control. In addition, the wrecked Whoover demonstrated many of the driving characteristics of landspeeders and futuristic racers from video games and movies. I took the canopy and used it to design a paper frame to turn a micro drone into a futuristic racer. In this Instructable, you can take a micro drone like a Cheerson CX-10, or its many variants, and upgrade it to drive across any terrain a few inches off the ground like a landspeeder racing across the vast deserts of Tatooine.

Parts

1. Micro drone and it's receiver. I use a Sky Drone FX Mini.

2. Propeller bumper.

3. Letter size copy paper.

4. Scotch tape.

Tools

1. Scissors

2. Ruler

3. Pencil

Note:

Any mini drone with the same setup as the Cheerson CX-10 will work. The drone I use has the same motor placement and dimension as the CX-10. Here's a link to the drone I use: https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Drones-Mini-Pocket-Dron...

Measure and cut a rectangle 4.5" inches wide and 5" inches long out of the copy paper.

Fold the rectangle from the last step in half longways. Along the fold on either end measure and mark a 1" inch line. Center half the drone, with bumper attached, at the end of line. Trace around the bumper. Before you cut out the trace made on the paper, check that it looks similar to the second photo. Cut out traced area and unfold the paper.

Fold the paper in half. Take both bottom edges and fold them to where the cutout of the bumper makes a triangle. Unfold bottom edges. Fold the side with the most paper to the closest edge of the bumper cutout. Unfold side and mark where the folds intersect. Align the straight edge at an approximated 45 degree angle with the mark and trace a line. Cut along the line. When the frame is complete the cut made will form the front bumper and air intakes.

Unfold paper. The top of the frame is where the paper is cut at two approximate 45 degree angles. At the bottom of the frame measure half an inch along the left most fold. Trace a line. Do the same to the right most fold. Cut both traced lines. Fold both the right and left sides up 90 degrees this will create the sides of the frame. Fold both ends made by the cuts in at a 90 degree angle this will create a thruster in the back of the frame to help concentrate the air made by the rear props. Fold front of the frame up approximately 45 degrees this will create the front bumper and air intakes. The frame should look like the third photo.

Align the front of the drone with the front of the frame within the bumper cutout. Tape each side of the bumper to the frame. Note: the front of the drone is the side that angles down and moves the drone forward when the pitch stick on the transmitter is pushed forward.

At the front of the frame fold approximately a quarter of the fender down and tape it to weigh down the front. Having the frame weigh slightly heavier in the front will provide better performance. Flip the vehicle over and fold the rear of the frame up. Angle the fold in the rear at 45 degrees to create a fin. Your RC Paper Future Racer is complete!

In order to get the best performance out of the Paper Future Racer you will need to trim the vehicle. On the transmitter, to the Racer, there should be four buttons that sets the trim of the the Pitch, Yaw and Roll. Set the Pitch trim so that the Racer moves forwards when the throttle is engaged. Once the Vehicle is trimmed you are ready to race.

• Forward motion: Push throttle/yaw stick forward to half its full range. Note: Pushing the throttle/yaw stick above half the Racer will hover and rise in place. You can move the Racer forward and back at this altitude by slowly pushing the pitch/roll stick forward or back.
• Sweeping turn: Push the throttle/yaw and pitch/roll sticks slowly in the direction you wish to turn.
• Air brake turn: Push the throttle/yaw sticks, either right or left, while pushing the pitch/roll sticks up and in the same direction at a 45 degree angle you wish to turn.
• Brake: Slowly push the pitch/roll stick back until the vehicle slows down or stops.
• Reverse: Push the pitch/roll stick back until the vehicle reverses.

Once you have a working racer, you can trace and scan the frame to your favorite photo editing software. I used Inkscape to design my Racer's livery.