First Scratch Build - - Mikey's FPV v3.? (FT Style)

CavalierX

Junior Member
Just completed my first scratch build -- I had ordered some Speed Build Kits from Lazertoyz along with power packs but those took over a month to ship and I am still waiting for half the order- Anyway.

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I started a Mikey's FPV v3.5 (if you will) and it was an interesting learning experience. I wanted a good Trainer that could grow with me and my FPV journey- the FT crew made this look like a good option. I have a ground station in the works with a Harbor Freight case and 7" monitor. I have a 5.8 boscam TX Rx set up and a nice little 808 #16 D Lens camera ready to go. I was just itching to get something new in the air. My other plane is an Apprentice Trainer, I love to fly it- it is so clean and sails so well, but I felt like I have done that and I am looking for the next step.

The completed plane looks GREAT for a scratch build foam board deal- I wanted to have a more completed look then just a starch white block in the sky. I also wanted something that would last for the long haul, survive a crash or three- and still fly well. I used Black Dollar Tree FB- for a slicker look, but of course all your mistakes, dings and miss cuts show up more. Over all before I have maidened the plane it looks good and feels tough.

The first mistake putting things together was the Scale error- my printer shorted the plans by about 5% - I decided (after already cutting one sheet) to just go with it. In the end everything looks right and too scale.

I MAY have gone a little overboard trying to toughen up the plane. I made the Battery Box (lower section) longer than either the plans for Josh did in their build. Its about 5 inches longer. I also double walled the side instead of the bottom. The result of the double walls creates a sort of A and B style framing and this seems very sturdy. I also reinforced the bottom with extreme packing tape and a few popsicle sticks on the forward strut for landings.

I went with the same basic electronics set-up that J.B. used in the FT Build- Turnigy Park450 1050kv, Plush 25amp ESC, and HXT900s. I am a little worried that the ESC maybe too small for the motor on the 10" Prop, but it sounds GREAT fired up. I have not noticed any heat or other anomalies after running the engines for about 5 minutes. I guess we will see if this is a good set-up or not. I went with a Nano-tech 3s 25-50c 3300mah battery thinking that the plane can handle it and the price was right ($22 each); of course the batteries plugs were different than anything else I had and that meant I had to make a few more orders for parts.

Setting up the electronics was honestly the most difficult part of the build. None of the HobbyKing parts came with bullet connectors or plugs, so I had to solder up the ESC, Motor, and Batteries and I didn't just want to splice the wires together I wanted some bullet connectors and the stupid bullet connectors are not easy to find. to make a few orders from HK to get what I needed. In the end between Radio Shack, Ace Hardware, HK and the local hobby shop I get what I needed.

I decided to use an Orange RX3SM since the air frame is larger and gyros would be nice for windy days to help keep the plane from getting pushed around too much. The Rx bound up fine and I was able to put it square flat and right in the middle of the plane. This should work really well. We will see.

Having finished the build - fired off the electronics and motor all that is left is the Maiden. The only question I had was - what should the finished weight of this plane be? A rough weigh-in is showing this at about 2 pounds or just under a kilo with all the electronics and ready to go- and that seems heavy to me. The motor seems to have plenty of power- and this was supposed to be the same set-up they used for the FT build but I am concerned that mine is over weight. It is balancing out correctly and all things equal should fly.

Anyone else have this build? What is your loaded weight? What Power Plant set-up are you running.

Thanks-- I will post again after the maiden.
 

OrcaSea

Member
Looks awesome! It will be interesting to see how it turns out :)

With that unusual design I think it would look awesome with WWI camo and Maltese crosses and maybe a gun turret up front like a lot of those big WWI bombers had ;)
 
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Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Looks good!
Friendly tip, she doesn't like being either nose heavy or tail heavy. My nose heavy one had 0 control response. It made for an awesome free flight though!
 

CavalierX

Junior Member
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It flies... too much wind for a good test and too many people in the park. I will have to take it out again soon with a more thorough review. On to the next builds: a Tek Sumo, a weird Experimental Pentagon shaped tube 64mm EDF Jet build with an FT Delta wing, and I think a Bloody Wonder. Its so much more relaxing flying little Foamies that were easier builds, than it is $300 worth of fragile foam air frames and electronics.