hey guys the monsoon has started to arrive in mumbai i love rainy season as sometimes due to excessive water we get a school holiday so more work on planes but also you cannot fly. as i have started this thread lets discuss can plane's be flown in the rain. i know it can be as pramod bhaiya has done that. but how and what can be the maximum risk. some might be loss of plane, electronics doomed and lipo bursts but can it be made a waterproof plane. without much cost increase may be a thousand max. also can gyros can be used for stability

the monsoons seems to have finally arrived here (in its glorious and rainy form) and it surely does quite considerably affect the flying (just polite for no more flying  )

for the last couple of weeks we have gone to the field waited for the rain to stop and resume flying and that regime has worked out pretty well so far. but now as the rains shall become more frequent and everlasting (considering the monsoon pattern has not been severely affected by global warming   ) i thought it might be a good idea to learn from experienced pilots and new ideas on how you could fly ELECTRIC aircraft in the rain. (please note fuel powered aircraft are not at all discouraged to be discussed here its just their monsoon proofness in the power system which makes them less susceptible to waterproofing needs in the power department )

now i know it can be done as i myself flew my skyfun in the rain - actually it started to rain in flight and i had to land it in the rain and also here is another great example in the video posted in ashish bhaiya's thread  http://www.rcindia.org/rc-events/rc-aero-meet-jun-2012-at-karjat-organized-by-mr-bhaskaran-pan-card-flyers/.

in both cases i mean the skyfun (mine) and the easystar (above thread) there is one thing i could notice out to be common, that the motor (and in my case esc too) were the only ones exposed to rain and rest of the components were inside the canopy of the aircraft. after my flight my motor had no issues at all. (note in my case servos were exposed too and they are fine except for the ripped gears  )

as i understand the motor should be fine, in the rain, since the force driving it is due to the current carrying coils in the magnetic field due to the magnets and the rain should only affect the motor physically (rust, etc.) and as the rest of the electronics are inside the canopy they are somewhat water proofed. i am no expert but there are many electronics engineers on this forum who could elaborate on the effects of rain water on the following

1 - Motor
2 - ESC
3 - Rx (as i understand the range may be compromised due to humidity in 2.4Ghz systems (please correct me if i am wrong here))
4 - Batteries (Li-po mostly due to their widespread usage)
5 - Servos
6 - flight control boards (for quads)

also if it were to cause a short in the circuit (not motor windings as i guess the copper wires are insulated) the water must contain conduction ions isn't it. that would depend on the acidity of the rain and most likely the pollution levels in the area right ?

and after we know what the rain can do to the aircraft i would love to know from all of us and the experienced ones how we could conquer them.

i guess in aircraft's with a full fuse only motor safety would have to be tended to if at all there is a need. but profile foamies, heli and multirotors would have to follow a different regimen altogether to achieve water proofing (again if necessary).

i shall personally try them out on my 2m easyfly glider which has an exposed motor in the front so i invite all to kindly psot their ideas and queries and correct me wherever i went wrong in the above explanations.

on behalf of the MIRCFDCAC (Monsoon Induced Radio Controlled Flight Disaster Control and Awareness Community) i shall be deeply grateful to your help which shall help countless MIRCFD victims in their future operations  

Subbu  

   

My friend,  

If Indra dev gets angry , then a sweet kiss of blue bolt, especially in an open area can make you fly at even at a higher levels conciousness .  You may loose attachement to all earthly things. A situation may develop in which water will  not be able to make you wet, air will not be able to sway you away, neither a sword will be able to pierce you nor fire will be able to burn you.

It can turn into a MIMDBC (Monsoon Induced Macro Disaster Beyond Control) for a precious life.

So, avoid flying in rain under all circumstances.    Safety of self and others alongwith the responsible acts should be the priority.  

now that is one angle i did not look at it from      

MIMDBC (Monsoon Induced Macro Disaster Beyond Control)  

jokes apart will surely not fly in such thunderstorm weather and prioritize life but a light drizzle i guess should be fine 

i would still love to know the effect of rain on the above mentioned electronics

Subbu

Efect of rain on Electronics, i feel depends on your luck.

1. Motor- winding wires may be insulated by enamel but the lead wires are soldered to winding wires, And are mostly exposed. So winding wires will burn. Or, presence of water might stall the motor due to friction. Water might enter the bering( not too sure on mechanical part)

2. Esc - components soldered may not have any water proofing  and might short. Or motor might have already shorted. so, esc will turn into toast.

3. Rx: range will reduce due to multi path fading , signal can reflect from rain drops( an expert can confirm this )

4. Batery:  again if leads are exposed then shorting will burn it.
Other wise its safe . Material is tightly packed hence difficult for water to enter.

5. Servo and quad board: same here, circuit burns due to short.


How to avoid being a victim, just find a way wherein water cant enter any of the case ( esc or servo etc) for motor on the electronics part smear something so that water does not come in contact with solder or wires.

Just my few cents.

we had the same situation.... flying my glow .40classic ( was teaching a guy) so was quite high and in the overcast condition...!

all of the sudden there is heavy down pour..... and heavy can be the drops of 1/2 inch and damn heavy..
we cant see the model and the we are getting wet and also the transmitter...

as it was glow we did not care to bother about the electronics in the plane but the Tx in the hand was worth to take care of...

tried as much as possible to keep the Tx dry.. and suddenly winds start .. due t o heavy rain  and wind the plane starting stalling every now and then... and there was always a risk that the engine will go off...!

what i do....! Put the plane in  spin  get it down.. and one circuit  and land... after landing we leave the plane as it is on the  ground and run to cover inside the car.....  5 mins later  the rain subsides and wego  to  check the plane..all intact  no waste damage what so   ever..not to the plane/engine /Tx.....

all  good that ends good...!

Quote from: AEROVISHWA on June 30, 2012, 10:54:55 AM

all  good that ends good...!

+1

the motor and esc may survive, but water will affect the Tx and Rx. if they short, Bye-Bye model.
Solution
Get it touch with a person called HELLYFLYER on this forum.
He sells some lovely Nylon and carbon fibre kites. Get hold of and airplane or any other kite and enjoy your outing on a rainy/ overcast day.
Great fun when there is wind.
However never fly when there is thunder or lightning.
You can also enjoy control line flying as long as it is not too windy and there is no lightning.
regards
Avijit

if there are any small ponds nearby- try RC boats
regards
Avijit

And if there are ponds and winds, try an RC sail boat ... those seem to be much more fun than just powered RC boats