Inside the Dareplane

How does it work?

Here is a crude drawing of the inside of the Dareplane.  Power to the plane is supplied via a cable.  The cable is connected to the side of the plane as shown below.  The plane flies in circles around this connection point.  The cable is very flexible, and allows the plane to loop, dive, etc.  The outer sleeve of the cable is hollow and stays stationary, while a small steel cord spins freely within it.  The inner cable is driven by a central motor - located in the center of the planes flying circle. The inner cable turns a propeller via a series of gears (see diagram).  The propeller drive system is indicated with the B's.

The rear flaps are operated via the combination of inner cable and outer sleeve (labeled A's, below). To raise the rear flaps, the inner cable is slid foreword (toward the plane).  The outer sleeve is grasped by a metal clip.  This clip is attached to a pivot within the plane.  When the inner cable shifts forewords, the cable sleeve shifts backwards.  This pulls the pivot and pushes a rod (within the plane) back toward the tail.  This action, in-turn, pushes the rear flap up - making the airplane climb.  The opposite action makes the plane dive.

Well, that's how it is done.  A few people have wrote asking how this was done.  Hope that helps!