RC Sled Racer Project! (FREE PLANS)

Introduction

Want to go fast on snow? Have some spare power packs lying around? Well, that's how I got started with this project. It was chucking it down with snow outside and I decided that I would build something especially for the occasion. Watch the video to see what happened. 

I remember seeing RC snow sleds when I was first getting into the hobby back in about 2008 or 2009. RCTestFlight's videos of him tearing it up in the powder always struck a chord with me. Back then, I had no clue about brushless motors or speed controllers so, sadly, never built one. 

(Image above sourced from RCTestFlight's video) 

Despite their simplicity, it took until recently to get round to building my own RC snow sled. Seeing as though now I've got a good dozen complex builds under my belt, I felt confident in taking this build to the next level. This is the (non flying) RC Sled Racer.

Free Plans

Included is a tiled version and a full version.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WMdiHbooMxuhYuBQsF1xuB8x7wqd5Zk_?usp=sharing

It should be noted that these plans are rather basic. They are intended for some interpretation and improvision. Really they are a framework for you to modify to your hearts desires. If you need any help with them, leave me a comment below and I will do my best to help. For now, here is a quick sketch of the RC Sled Racer for your reference. 

As you can see, the sponsors have been redesigned to give more 'buoyancy' in thick snow. In this build, all of the techniques used are standard Flite Test methods. 

Spec and Electronics

Here are the same electronics that I used in the sled build. 

Motor - https://hobbyking.com/en_us/dys-mr2205-2750kv-250-size-quad-motor-cw.html
ESC - https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-plush-10amp-9gram-speed-controller.html
Battery - https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-1500mah-3s-25c-lipo-pack.html
Reciever - https://hobbyking.com/en_us/orangerx-r615x-dsm2-dsmx-compatible-6ch-2-4ghz-receiver-w-cppm.html

Having said this, you could use a powerpack from Flite Test instead. 

My build was made from FT Waterproof foam board which did an excellent job of repelling the snow. I recommend the same product for your version of the Sled Racer. 

The Experience

The sled is a blast to zip about your garden or a field. It really excels on flat and even ground where it can get up to speed. Although I haven't tested it on this surface yet, I imagine it would be fantastic on a frozen lake. Notice the older design of 'skis' rather than 'sponsons' which did not cope well with the thicker, patchy snow.

The design is inspired by race boats and speed boats like my Bluebird K7 model. The sponsons especially are designed for speed to lift the hull out of the snow as much as possible going fast. Unfortunately, the snow in the location that the model was tested was extremely bumpy in places which was a little frustrating, but we still had fun. 

Although this build isn't capable of flight, I've found that sleds could offer a good way into the RC hobby for new pilots. They can familiarise you with the controller and the electronic components in equal measures. In addition to this, to make a simple sled can take as little as an hour or two. If you were wanting to build something capable of flying as well as providing some exciting sledding action, a good go-between might be an FT snowball.

Conclusion

I really hope you enjoyed this article, the video and (if you build one) the RC Race Sled itself. Please do let me know if you have a go at working with the plans, or are just inspired to make one of your own. For those of you who live in warmer climates, I'm currently working on a little project to produce plans for a 'Mighty-Mini Vampire' based on my larger deHaviland Vampire aircraft. So watch out for that!