Bloody Wonder MkIII - Build

[SP0NZ]

Bloody Wonder MkIII

3 View and Isometric View of 3D CAD model


3D Assembly Exploded View


PLANS
Full-Size: Bloody Wonder MkIII Rev B Full-Size
Tiled: Bloody Wonder MkIII Rev B Tiled

BACKGROUND
The FT Bloody Wonder was the first plane I really learned to fly RC on. It was not my first plane, but it was the first plane I had success with. For that reason it will always be special to me. I can't think of a better way to honor that than by trying to make an already great design even better. This is my first build thread/design, but it will not be my last.

OBJECTIVE
I set out to improve upon the FT Bloody Wonder V1/V2 designed by Josh Bixler. The goals I set for this were as follows:

• Maintain the look and flight characteristics of the original FT Bloody Wonder
• New single piece curved fuselage similar to the Bloody Micks FunBat
• Tabbed construction for easier alignment and positioning of wing and tail at assembly
• Multiple tail configurations to have variations of the look of the airplane

SPECS

WINGSPAN 28 IN​

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[td]LENGTH[/td]​

[td]24 IN[/td]​

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[td]WING AREA[/td]​

[td]225 SQ IN[/td]​

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[td]WEIGHT (Combat)[/td]​

[td]355 grams (w/o battery)[/td]​

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[td]WING LOADING[/td]​

[td]TBD[/td]​

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[td]CONTROL SURFACES:[/td]​

[td]AILERON, ELEVATOR[/td]​

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ELECTRONICS

CHANNELS:	3
SERVOS:	2 X hekTronix HXT900

Combat "Beef" Setup​

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[td]PROPELLER:[/td]​

[td]8X6 APC[/td]​

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[td]MOTOR:[/td]​

[td]NTM PropDrive 2826 1200kv[/td]​

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[td]ESC:[/td]​

[td]Turnigy Plush 25amp[/td]​

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[td]BATTERY:[/td]​

[td]1000-2200 mah 3S[/td]​

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Basic Setup​

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[td]PROPELLER:[/td]​

[td]9x4.7 Slow Fly[/td]​

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[tr]​

[td]MOTOR:[/td]​

[td]hekTronix 24gram 1300kv[/td]​

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[tr]​

[td]ESC:[/td]​

[td]Turnigy Plush 12amp[/td]​

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[td]BATTERY:[/td]​

[td]500-1300 mah 3S[/td]​

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BUILD LOG
Build of the "standard" Bloody Wonder MkIII

Plans printed, poster board templates are made, and transferring plans to foam board.


Plans transferred to foam board and starting to cut. The curves in the fuselage and doublers make this one a little trickier to cut out, but it's not difficult. Take your time with it and it will look really nice.


All parts are cut out and I'm ready to start the build.


Building the Fuselage

The fuselage uses a couple of newer FT build techniques. First, from the FT Mustang/FT Storch for the "C" fold in the front for the dowels/skewers. Second, from the Snowball are the tabs that protrude from the top of the fuselage after the "B" folds. The folds are pretty easy to make, but if you can't figure these out from the photos, going back and watching the FT build videos mentioned, should help.


When scratch building, you will need to add some relief toward the inside of the tabs to allow for clearance for the "B" folds. I'm considering adding the relief to the plans. If you build one, I'd love your feedback on this.


Apply hot glue around the score cuts and glue the "C" fold into place.




Next apply hot glue and complete the "B" folds for the sides. Note: The tabs will protrude through the top plate of the fuselage. Use the edge of your build table to make sure the sides stay perpendicular to the top plate when gluing.


Next apply glue to the inside face of the doubler and glue it onto the inside face of the fuselage. Repeat this process for both of the fuselage doublers.


Your finished fuselage should look like this.




I decided to start putting some colored packing tape on this one prior to final assembly. It's a little easier to tape the individual pieces than to tape the whole plane after it's all glued together.

I waited to crease and glue the NACA duct into place until after I put the colored packing tape on.


Horizontal Stabilizer

The Horizontal Stabilizer builds very similar to the original Flite Test Bloody Wonder. For a cleaner look, leave the paper on the top surface when you create the cavities for the fuselage tabs. If you are building the optional B2 Horizontal Stabilizer, you just need to make the two additional cut outs for the Vertical Stabilizers.


Wing Construction

The MkIII wing builds the same as the Flite Test Bloody Wonder V2. The tabs/slots for the spar are slightly different, but the process to build the wing is the same. Watch the FT Bloody Wonder Scratch Build video if you need help with that.

Wing completed, taped and ready for final assembly.


NOTE: I do not bevel the trailing edge of the top of the wing as suggested in the BW V1 build video above. When the BW V2 was released FT mentioned in the review video that it wasn't necessary and didn't change the flight characteristics. It can make the wing look a little nicer, but isn't worth the extra time in my opinion.

Attaching the Wing and Horizontal Stabilizer

Before you get ready to join the wing to the fuselage, pinch/squeeze the top of the four (4) locating tabs together to make a little bit of a taper. This will aid in getting everything to go together nicely.



And here it is after final assembly.


Installing Servos & Completing the Build
Follow the instructions for the FT Bloody Wonder to complete your build of the MkIII.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES
Here is a look at one of the many alternate tail configurations.



Here is a comparison of the Bloody Wonder MkIII and my upcoming Bloody Baron that some of you may have heard about or seen on recent episodes/podcasts. The BW MkIII and Bloody Baron share the same fuselage. They both make awesome combat ships.





MAIDEN FLIGHT VIDEO (VERTICAL TAILS)

 

[eagle4]

how does the inbord tail fins affect flight? have you done that for performance reasons rather than asthetic look?

 

[SP0NZ]

how does the inbord tail fins affect flight? have you done that for performance reasons rather than asthetic look?

Great questions, thanks!

To be honest, that was one of the first things I changed with the stock Bloody Wonders I started flying last year. The tails were always the first things to go on these belly landers, even when I was able to pull off a good landing. At first, I took the tails off the delta and put them on at an angle, just like the delta. They fly great!

I have not noticed any negative flight characteristics with the smaller fins. Positive flight characteristics include less yawing of the plane when flying cross-wind, and even more ballistic roll rates.

Here is one of the early prototypes with larger tails installed in a V configuration.

 

[SP0NZ]

Added the maiden video. My first time posting a video on YouTube. I hope it works. Video quality and audio are not the greatest, I had my son record video with my phone.

 

[SP0NZ]

Plans added.

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

Nice thread. I'll keep watching a it progresses.

 

[SP0NZ]

Made some progress on the build and added some photos.

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

Thanks for the update SPONZ.

 

[NateO]

I cut out my plans last night, hope to start the build tonight! Any advantages to the tape? Wouldn't it add a lot of weight?

 

[jayz 84]

Great mods the SPONZ. It gives it a much better look and i really like the vstab relocation

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

Nate, the tape only adds a small amount of weight and it makes a much smoother surface for the air to flow over. You probably won't feel a difference in the way it flies, but it makes it look pretty nice.

 

[SP0NZ]

I cut out my plans last night, hope to start the build tonight! Any advantages to the tape? Wouldn't it add a lot of weight?

Awesome. Please let me know if you have any questions during the build. Any feedback you have would be helpful too.

As for the tape, it does add a little weight, but not as much as you'd think. I mostly add it for color and durability. Tape helps keep the paper from absorbing moisture and delaminating.

 

[vontugboat]

I have spent tonight printing and taping my pieces of paper together; wife being on a business trip lets me do things like build more I will be building it with the V-stabs closer to the centerline vice out on the tips of the H-stab. Really nice work!

 

[SP0NZ]

I have spent tonight printing and taping my pieces of paper together; wife being on a business trip lets me do things like build more I will be building it with the V-stabs closer to the centerline vice out on the tips of the H-stab. Really nice work!

Thanks vontugboat! Post some pics and let me know how the build goes. If you have any questions please ask.

 

[SP0NZ]

Added more detail to the build instructions. Any feedback on what's there (or not there that should be) so far, would be appreciated. I would love some more feedback from the community on this before I make the article for this project. Thanks!

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

Do a build video!

 

[JohnRambozo]

Dan,

That looks like a really fun and versatile plane to fly. Great design. Thanks for sharing. And your video looks nice. It has the typical phone video jitters at times, but there's nothing you can do about that. Very cool plane. The Baron looks cool too. Who doesn't love the legend of the Red Baron?

 

[SP0NZ]

Dan,

That looks like a really fun and versatile plane to fly. Great design. Thanks for sharing. And your video looks nice. It has the typical phone video jitters at times, but there's nothing you can do about that. Very cool plane. The Baron looks cool too. Who doesn't love the legend of the Red Baron?

Thanks for the comments JohnRambozo! The FT Bloody Wonder mods evolved over the past year. Eventually, it transformed into a whole new design, the Bloody Baron. I talked to Bixler and got his permission to post the plans for my Bloody Wonder mods. Since Flite Test wants to release the Bloody Baron on the store, and shoot the review/build videos with my son and I, I figured I would get it's predecessor out there for people to try first. That way if any members have any suggestions or improvements (at least for the fuselage) I can incorporate those into both designs.

I hope people build it and try it out. I really do think that it's easier to build. The tab-and-slot construction for the fuselage, wing and horizontal stabilizer take all the work out of getting everything aligned properly when your hot gluing it together.

I've been following your Hughes H-1 build too. It looks awesome!

 

[SP0NZ]

Updated the electronics section with Basic & Combat setups.
Updated the Build instructions.

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

To add to the praise that this design has already received, it is also tough as nails. In our combat session a few weeks ago some MkIII's took direct midair hits and kept flying!