Custom made MUAV landing gear

Team RIC has successfully designed and manufactured a custom 3D-printed landing gear system for MUAV-class drones. The landing gear was developed using Onshape CAD, with structural validation performed through finite element analysis (FEA) in ANSYS Student Edition.

The design was simulated to withstand a static load of 12.5 N per landing leg, representing landing and ground-handling stresses. The FEA results confirmed that the geometry and material distribution remained within acceptable stress limits under the applied load case, with no critical failure points observed.

Following simulation validation, a single prototype leg was fabricated to verify dimensional accuracy and physical fitment on the MUAV airframe. The prototype demonstrated correct tolerances and mounting alignment, eliminating the need for post-design revisions. Full-set production was subsequently carried out using a Bambu Lab A1 fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer.

A key design feature is the color-coded landing legs, implemented to provide an immediate ground-based orientation reference for the remote pilot. This visual cue enables rapid determination of aircraft heading during line-of-sight operations. Additionally, the system provides a passive physical redundancy in scenarios where the onboard FPV camera system (planned for future integration) becomes unavailable. Commercially available landing gear solutions were evaluated and found to be structurally suboptimal for MUAV operations. Their narrow cross-sections limit impact tolerance during non-ideal landings, while their elevated geometry increases the drone’s center of mass, reducing roll stability during aggressive takeoff and landing profiles. To mitigate these limitations, the custom design incorporates a wider stance and increased footprint area, improving load distribution and ground stability. The reduced leg height lowers the effective center of mass while still maintaining adequate underside clearance for onboard components and airflow requirements.

The completed landing gear system has undergone field testing under operational conditions, where it demonstrated sufficient structural integrity, impact resistance, and stability, validating the design approach.

Design and analysis work done by Prabal.P.S.Rawat, RAC president.
In video, skillfull remote drone operator is Sangam Kumar.
Happy flying! - Team RIC

Induction of the Bambu Lab A1 AMS lite combo printer : A cutting edge tool joins the roster!

We are happy to annouce the club receiving a brand new Bambu Lab A1 AMS lite combo printer. This is among the best consumer grade 3D printers available in the market. We are grateful to our benefactors - RJIT and BSF. Their support is immensly valued to our club's work. We will soon begin to print our own custom designed parts soon. The time and cost savings will be immense thanks to the precurement of this 3D printer.

Happy flying! - Team RIC

To the sky: The flight of the P-01 High Performance MUAV!

Project P-01 was tested today with resounding success. This much is the first of its kind with unparalleled performance for the cost. The test flight was snappy and all control tests were successful. This platform will be used to test experimental components and products in the future, along with enabling the young budding students to learn remote drone piloting.

Happy flying! - Team RIC

Arming test - High performance MUAV's first breath.

Today project P-01 High performance MUAV has been sucesfuly armed. All systems work and respond well in this test. The test bench has been improvised - this shows the resourcefulness of the club members. This is the first stepping stone towards the first testflight of the project.

Happy flying! - Team RIC

Completion of component integration.

All the components have been integrated. This is the only drone of its type anywhere on the internet. No other MUAV exists with a similar configuration. Arming test and first test flight soon.

Happy flying! - Team RIC

Nifty workarounds and more assembly

Hello everyone.

It has been more than a fortnight ever since our last blog update. And a lot of things happened between then. Most of our team's 2nd year end sem exams have just gotten over and they are off to enjoy their semester breaks back home with their families and loved ones.

The members who remained didn't close shop and kept burning the midnight oil to make sure P-01 (yes that's what we are calling our first project) stays on track.

After our last blog update we encountered our first engineering challenge - Our modern FC, the iflight blitz ATF435 stack, was not compatible with the legacy F450 clone frame. The difference of making parts made more than a decade apart from each other presented us with a unique opportunity to make a solution to call our own. We worked on designing our very own custom adapter plate to make the FC fit the frame securely and neatly. This adapter was designed by one of our member - Prabal Pratap Singh Rawat.

With this our very first project includes a part that isn't off the shelf. We chose to stay committed to the quality of our work and design a custom part of our very own. You may not find such a product anywhere in India at least.

See you all in our next build session.

Happy flying!

Body and Propulsion sub-system assembly kicks off

Today we started our first team build for P-1. This build session saw the assembly of body and propulsion sub-systems. All R.I.C members came together to assist in assembling the frame, mounting motors, and fabricating a custom shcok absorbing landing gear solution.

We will begain the next build session anytime soon. Most of our members have ongoing end sem exams and practicals. Electronics sub-system and communication sub-system are remaining to make our first project flight ready.

Huge thanks to the team members in bringing along their own tools to fast track the process.

Here's today's highlights :)

Stay tuned for updates.

Happy flying !

- Team R.I.C