12/26/2025 - Research + CAD

Research phase

• I first saw the plane made by MIT that was completely propelled by ion thrusters.LINK
• The plane was only able to sustain flight for 10 seconds.
• The type of ionic truster they used was extremely similar to MARK 1/2 of the ionic truster made by Plasma Channel. Link
• Later, plasma channel made a mark 3 using convergence to increase the trust. LINK
• His one single section was able to output 3.1 m/s
• His module weighed around 700 grams(estimate)

Goals

-A truster that can produce >3.1 m/s
-A thruster that weighs > 500 grams
-A sustained flight of < 30 seconds

CAD
I made a few designs with different angles and distances of the cathode and anode(specified on what I did on my website)
HERE IS ONE OF THOSE DESIGNS

4/29/2026 12:15 AM - Making the models

Hey Yall! I worked on 3d printing and making the CAD models I designed last time and testing them with high voltage.

This is the layout of all the models I made.

The system I used to power the models was a ZVZ circuit with a flyback transformer to produce about 15 kv

4/29/2026 12:16 AM - Plane designe

Hey y'all again, I'm not really good with being consistent, so I'm cram posting these logs ;)

I designed the plane to be a blended wing plane to increase efficiency while reducing weight. The whole model weighed only 15 grams, but I designed it so it needed nose weight that was the same as my goal weight for the ion thruster model (5-7 grams), and the rest of the electronics would sit on the supporting frame, which was exactly at the center of mass.

4/29/2026 12:17 AM - I made the plane

https://sites.google.com/view/aum-maker/home/ion-thruster
LOOK AT THIS. This is my site where I documented all of this meticulously. It has everything on it, from start to finish, and a little more than what I have here.

I made the plane, I used basa wood to make it, and I used plastic wrap to keep it light. I also redesigned the module to be made from wood and some 3d printed parts and minimized the electronic components.