Projects Derek's new project: The Snow Skidder

[Derek]

When I was building this, last week, there was plenty of snow on the ground. Then it rained all last weekend and now, no more snow. Ugh!

So, now I am waiting for the snow to come back so that I can take this new project out for a run.

Snow Skidder - YouTube

 

[Gerald]

Merry Christmas Derek, very cool project. I was thinking of doing something like that a couple of weeks ago when we had snow on the ground, but it rained and warmed up now no snow!
I think I will have to build one any way, just in case, it is good to be prepared,I have scrap board around too!

 

[EyeStation]

Nice Derek. I like your EDF version over the exposed blades his was throwing. I am interested to see how the foam board holds up.
Is the gyro something you added to the plans? I like the idea, but want to see it in action.
I want to try and make one of these but may go the pink foam rather than the foamboard.
I wonder if Tony still has those EDF's laying around? Hmmm.

 

[Derek]

Merry Christmas Derek, very cool project. I was thinking of doing something like that a couple of weeks ago when we had snow on the ground, but it rained and warmed up now no snow!
I think I will have to build one any way, just in case, it is good to be prepared,I have scrap board around too!

Thanks Gerald! Yeah, the snow came on the same weekend that my daughter was born. 7-8" of snow and it was awesome to drive on. Then it rained all weekend and now I have no snow. Now it's a waiting game to see when the snow will return. I hope you do build one of these skidders. it should be great fun!!!

Nice Derek. I like your EDF version over the exposed blades his was throwing. I am interested to see how the foam board holds up.
Is the gyro something you added to the plans? I like the idea, but want to see it in action.
I want to try and make one of these but may go the pink foam rather than the foamboard.
I wonder if Tony still has those EDF's laying around? Hmmm.

Thanks Eyestation! I think I'll like the EDF on this thing. It's my first EDF experience, lol. I'm not really worried about the foamboard because I covered every bit of the foamboard with packing tape during assembly. The packing tape will help make it waterproof, add some durability, as well as lower the resistance of friction on the bottom of the skids. As far as the gyro, it's the same gyro that came off my crashed Blade SR helicopter. I never could get it to fly well. It crashed and I kept a few parts. I just had the gyro around and thought it would be cool to add it to my Snow Skidder. I have the rudder controls plugged into my aileron port and the gyro connected in there, too. I'm looking forward to getting more snow that I can try this thing out. My wife is even anxious to give it a try. It should be pretty amusing!

 

[wolfman76]

great job derek i can't wait to see this thing in action myself now i have to get my hovercraft finished but the down side of when it is finished is i no longer have any lypo's to power it but i shall finish it anyways and atleast get a video of it finsihed... come on snow!!!!! lol

 

[Derek]

Thanks Kyle! Yeah, I don't have enough lipos for all my planes and projects either. I'll have to work some overtime so that I can order some more. That will also mean that I need to invest in either another charger or a better charger.

Anyway...I'm hoping for a bit of snow so that I can get this skidder out and running. Should be some fun! Tony even suggested that I run the on-board gyro in rate mode. i'll be testing that.

 

[corsair_pilot]

Man I like it!!
It's an awesome little build!!
Can't wait to see it in action, and hear that little EDF get up and whirring!!
It was worth the wait!!

 

[Lee]

Looks cool Derek. Can put in a lake and drive it?

 

[Derek]

Thanks Lee! I don't know how well the Snow Skidder would float. I'm sure it would definitely float. It's foamboard that is sealed really well with packing tape but is there enough buoyancy? I don't know. I do have another project in mind that I will work on in the next few months that will be a ground runner but will also be able to run on water. It's not a hovercraft. We'll just have to wait and see. I have to order some parts for it.

 

[Lee]

That will easily float.
My one concern would be the authority of the rudder at slow speed (in snow).
I would think IMO that having the rudder closer to the EDFs output will help in that respect. And maybe having multiple smaller rudder fins.
I look forward to seeing the outcome.
Good luck.

 

[Derek]

It's funny you mention that, Lee! I have been thinking about adding two more rudder fins. I've also been toying around with the idea of removing the rudder fins, all together and mounting the EDF in such a way that the EDF would turn from side to side....thrust vectoring. We'll just have to wait and see when I get some snow so that I can try this out and then we'll see where we go from there.

 

[Tony]

If you do the thrust vectoring idea, make sure to mount the EDF all the way to the rear for the most authority. But, in doing this, you are going to have to counter it by placing your battery all the way at the nose. Yup, CoG matters on these too lol.

 

[Derek]

Yeah...I've got too many thoughts running through my head....it never ends, lol.

 

[Tony]

One thing to note, if you have an issue with this thing turning in the snow, make it a flat bottom.

 

[Derek]

A flat bottom, eh? That was a thought that crossed my mind after I had the frame all done. I'm not sure if I regret not doing a flat bottom yet. Will just have to wait for snow testing. I can see a possibility of turning difficulties but we'll see what happens. Adding a flat bottom will be very simple to do if it is required.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions guys!

 

[cml001]

That thing looks like fun... Make it work! Get video!

 

[Lee]

One thing to note, if you have an issue with this thing turning in the snow, make it a flat bottom.

Or make the pontoons curved rather than boxed, so you have no edges to grip. U---U This will give some directional stability, but it won't trip up while cornering.

 

[Derek]

Thanks for that, Lee! I'll keep that in mind.

 

[pvolcko]

I'd keep something akin to skids to bite into the snow. It may not be the best for slow speed maneuverability, but to get any kind of speed out of it with some control I'd think you'd need them. What you may find, though, is that you can go with something more subtle than the pontoons you have on there.

Will be interesting to see what you come up with in testing!

 

[EyeStation]

I would kinda think the clearance is needed under the main plank to keep the front edge from catching and digging in. All I can think with a flat bottom is knifing into the snow and creating more of a snow shovel than a skidder.
Also wonder what keeps this from flipping over when the air gets under the front end. Makes me think about getting out a 2 cell from a touring car to toss on the front.