Adding (Ailerons) to FT-SPARROW build

Tingler

Member
Hello.. I'm new today to this forum. I'm wanting to add ailerons to an FT-Sparrow build. It has the A-Pack motor, batt, esc, Ect.... that comes with it when ordered.
Upon the instructions/Vid build, there are no options showing the ability to add ailerons. I know it wouldn't be difficult to add them but wonder why it isn't mentioned as an option or what advantage one would have in USING or NOT USING them. I know the Flitetest youtube trailer shows all the guys plans on there as having them so would think that there must be an advantage in having them since they are all experienced fliers...

Any comments or advice would be welcomed.
 

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mrjdstewart

Legendary member
i think most people set this up with thrust differential and never worry. my sparrow had a very short life so i don't want to speak to much about it's abilities but from what i did fly, it seemed just about perfect for what it is. mine died mainly due to my inability to get the motors to time to match each other.

you could easily just get some small, 5g or less, servos and rig them up under the wing. cut cover wires with tape, put in some control horns and wire, and bam, you got ailerons. you will have to change your programing, but that's no big. just make sure to pay very close attention to your v-tail settings. easy to get backwards, don't ask how i know... :rolleyes:

good luck,

me :cool:
 

Paracodespoder

Elite member
i think most people set this up with thrust differential and never worry. my sparrow had a very short life so i don't want to speak to much about it's abilities but from what i did fly, it seemed just about perfect for what it is. mine died mainly due to my inability to get the motors to time to match each other.

you could easily just get some small, 5g or less, servos and rig them up under the wing. cut cover wires with tape, put in some control horns and wire, and bam, you got ailerons. you will have to change your programing, but that's no big. just make sure to pay very close attention to your v-tail settings. easy to get backwards, don't ask how i know... :rolleyes:

good luck,

me :cool:
I think he means the original sparrow, not the twin sparrow. Just look and see how big they are in the vid, eyeball them to approximately the right size, and add a servo. It probably wasn’t talked about in the video because they decided that it just didn’t need ailerons, let us know how it goes though.
 

Tingler

Member
Cool, thanks for the input. I guess I'll just leave it as intended and run the V-Tail as a standalone.
I can always go back and add the ailerons later if I want.
I guess I was just wondering if there would be an advantage to having ailerons as opposed to not.
 

NeroRavencoat1999

New member
I just built and flew this little bird with ailerons, and running off of a single H pack pusher on a 450mah 3s and she flies great.
 

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duckduckgoose

Well-known member
Just added ailerons to mine today, and tested my gyro for the first time (ailerons only) and was blown away with how stable it kept the plane. Even flying in crosswinds, it kept it from banking hard and swooping downwind.
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duckduckgoose

Well-known member
I think you are better off with a twin motor setup and differenical thrust :).
This build has been an unfolding experiment (fly, crash repair, improve ect), so I've just been using what I started with, but yeah it probably would do the same thing (I've never dealt with DT before). This was pretty simple though and I have learnt so much from it.
 

quorneng

Master member
Not an FT Sparrow but this uses ailerons, a V tail but it is set up with elevator only action.
In other words it is flown "bank and yank" which it does very well!
Picture5.JPG

In this case a V tail was used as it gives better tail plane protection in a long grass belly landing and is stronger than a T tail.
 

Casey

Member
I like to think of the Sparrow as a great test bed. It's so easy on strap-on wings to try different things. Make a new wing with ailerons and fly both wings depending on your mood. Experiment with different size and placement of ailerons. Even you can play around with elevon mixing. There are no wrong answers, only unasked questions!