quorneng
Master member
This all started from a 4ch Wing Dragon.
It flew well enough but obviously it could be improved by a brushless/LiPo conversion and eventually with a significant reduction in weight resulting from new wing and tailplane built up from 3mm Depron and a complete redesign of the servo layout.
The result gave a most un-Wing Dragon like performance along with quite a substantial cruise duration.
This set me thinking - just how long would be possible?
I decided to keep to basic Wing Dragon layout & dimensions (40" span) but with everything as light as possible to allow for the maximum possible battery weight.
After a long period of testing and development this is the final version.
It has 3 micro 3.7g servos in a 'bank & yank' (no rudder) layout and a 1800kV Blue Wonder out runner driving a 7x6 prop. Made almost entirely from 3mm Depron it weighs just 7oz ready to go less the battery.
The battery itself is a 5000mAh 2s job weighing in at 7.4oz and fills the entire nose section.
A ground run showed the motor could run for close to 30 minutes at full power (9.5A) and at this power level it was capable of modest (roll & loop) aerobatics. The real question however was just how little power could it fly with.
This morning I launched at 9:56am and landed at 12:01pm, a flight duration of 2hours 5minutes. From a flat site with the motor running continuously, in still misty conditions with absolutely no 'lift'.
Not the most exciting form of flying and it leaves you with a stiff neck but it does show what can be done with a humble foam pusher!
It flew well enough but obviously it could be improved by a brushless/LiPo conversion and eventually with a significant reduction in weight resulting from new wing and tailplane built up from 3mm Depron and a complete redesign of the servo layout.
The result gave a most un-Wing Dragon like performance along with quite a substantial cruise duration.
This set me thinking - just how long would be possible?
I decided to keep to basic Wing Dragon layout & dimensions (40" span) but with everything as light as possible to allow for the maximum possible battery weight.
After a long period of testing and development this is the final version.
It has 3 micro 3.7g servos in a 'bank & yank' (no rudder) layout and a 1800kV Blue Wonder out runner driving a 7x6 prop. Made almost entirely from 3mm Depron it weighs just 7oz ready to go less the battery.
The battery itself is a 5000mAh 2s job weighing in at 7.4oz and fills the entire nose section.
A ground run showed the motor could run for close to 30 minutes at full power (9.5A) and at this power level it was capable of modest (roll & loop) aerobatics. The real question however was just how little power could it fly with.
This morning I launched at 9:56am and landed at 12:01pm, a flight duration of 2hours 5minutes. From a flat site with the motor running continuously, in still misty conditions with absolutely no 'lift'.
Not the most exciting form of flying and it leaves you with a stiff neck but it does show what can be done with a humble foam pusher!