FT-22... On Steroids

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
So any plans on the elevon hinges yet @BATTLEAXE ? I pulled some plastic hinges off an old balsa model I had lying around and am super pleased with the results on a scrap piece of foam! It gives no binding and ZERO slop - which was a big issue with the previous f-22... I’m going to half bevel both sides of the foam with the iron and then make little skits for the hinges to slide into and then lock it in with some gorilla glue. This should give me much much more reliable throw. Speaking of more throw, the bigger the better, right?! I was planning on enlarging the control surfaces, but then the thought crossed my mind that I could just set up the tail as ailerons, and then use a servo to change the pitch of my motor. From what I saw on the viggen vid, their thrust vectoring was pretty crazy!
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
So any plans on the elevon hinges yet @BATTLEAXE ? I pulled some plastic hinges off an old balsa model I had lying around and am super pleased with the results on a scrap piece of foam! It gives no binding and ZERO slop - which was a big issue with the previous f-22... I’m going to half bevel both sides of the foam with the iron and then make little skits for the hinges to slide into and then lock it in with some gorilla glue. This should give me much much more reliable throw. Speaking of more throw, the bigger the better, right?! I was planning on enlarging the control surfaces, but then the thought crossed my mind that I could just set up the tail as ailerons, and then use a servo to change the pitch of my motor. From what I saw on the viggen vid, their thrust vectoring was pretty crazy!
I do have plans for them. I don't have any hinges left to do the entire job so I will be extending the paper a 1/2" onto the back of the wing and using tape to line both the bottom and top of the hinge. I think I will be using the iron as well for beveling, and maybe a section of skewer running front to back on the underside dug into the foam next to the control horn to give it rigidity. Can you post a pic of your elevons as they are now?

As far as using gorilla glue on the hinge tabs i wouldn't because it will expand into the hinge and lock it up or deform the foam. If you score the tabs with a knife like you would a servo and HG it in place you should be fine. I do like how it has zero resistance though
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor

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The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
I do have plans for them. I don't have any hinges left to do the entire job so I will be extending the paper a 1/2" onto the back of the wing and using tape to line both the bottom and top of the hinge. I think I will be using the iron as well for beveling, and maybe a section of skewer running front to back on the underside dug into the foam next to the control horn to give it rigidity. Can you post a pic of your elevons as they are now?

As far as using gorilla glue on the hinge tabs i wouldn't because it will expand into the hinge and lock it up or deform the foam. If you score the tabs with a knife like you would a servo and HG it in place you should be fine. I do like how it has zero resistance though
Ok, I’ll use hot glue then.
 

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BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Ok, I’ll use hot glue then.
Those hinges work awesome don't they. Looks like your FT-22 gets a lot of flight time huh. Guess what I did, or didn't do for that matter. I got the wing and elevons cut out and Ironed the edges that needed it. I came around to ironing out the elevons and I realized I didn't leave that 1/2" of paper for the hinge I was talking about, so I just used the tape on both sides. Still works fine but we will see how it stands up in time. Once I ironed out the elevons I found the rounded edges made the elevons rigid enough that I decided not to use the BBQ skewers along the length.

All in all I am happy with it so far, not that there is much there yet but it looks good. Speaking of what's looking good you gotta check out my P-40 thread...
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
Those hinges work awesome don't they. Looks like your FT-22 gets a lot of flight time huh. Guess what I did, or didn't do for that matter. I got the wing and elevons cut out and Ironed the edges that needed it. I came around to ironing out the elevons and I realized I didn't leave that 1/2" of paper for the hinge I was talking about, so I just used the tape on both sides. Still works fine but we will see how it stands up in time. Once I ironed out the elevons I found the rounded edges made the elevons rigid enough that I decided not to use the BBQ skewers along the length.

All in all I am happy with it so far, not that there is much there yet but it looks good. Speaking of what's looking good you gotta check out my P-40 thread...
Can you send a pic of the tail section? I’m gonna do the iron Ed edges on mine this time. I’ll go check out your p-40!
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Wing is done...
20190920_213616.jpg

The KFM2 worked out great, had to cut up the template to get the shapes to match but I could always print out a new one later. I did the ironing as separate pieces just because I didn't know how they would turn out and it would suck if they didn't and were already glued to the main wing. I really like the LE over top of the inlets, nice touch if I do say so myself...
20190920_213628.jpg

This is the profile at the tip. Everything lined up nice, took minimal sanding to get all the edges even. I might use packing tape wrapped around the LE to seal it off and streamline things. @Hai-Lee was right about not using the spar, between ironing the edges and using spray adhesive to put these layers together it turned out pretty strong. should be able to handle the weight and G's in flight. I have a feeling about this one, good vibes.
 

Tonero311

Well-known member
Wing is done... View attachment 143114
The KFM2 worked out great, had to cut up the template to get the shapes to match but I could always print out a new one later. I did the ironing as separate pieces just because I didn't know how they would turn out and it would suck if they didn't and were already glued to the main wing. I really like the LE over top of the inlets, nice touch if I do say so myself...
View attachment 143115
This is the profile at the tip. Everything lined up nice, took minimal sanding to get all the edges even. I might use packing tape wrapped around the LE to seal it off and streamline things. @Hai-Lee was right about not using the spar, between ironing the edges and using spray adhesive to put these layers together it turned out pretty strong. should be able to handle the weight and G's in flight. I have a feeling about this one, good vibes.

That KFM wing looks really good there. Looking forward to see how it changes the characteristics.
I ended up putting 3 carbon fibre spars in mine and packing taped the whole thing. It's like a tank. Took a full on nose dive straight into the ground and only slightly wrinkled the nose. Flies brilliantly and doesn't mind the extra weight. Motor I have just doesn't have enough power for my liking though. Waiting on bigger motor at the moment.
Are you planning on rudders? What motor setup are you going to be using?
 

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BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
That KFM wing looks really good there. Looking forward to see how it changes the characteristics.
I ended up putting 3 carbon fibre spars in mine and packing taped the whole thing. It's like a tank. Took a full on nose dive straight into the ground and only slightly wrinkled the nose. Flies brilliantly and doesn't mind the extra weight. Motor I have just doesn't have enough power for my liking though. Waiting on bigger motor at the moment.
Are you planning on rudders? What motor setup are you going to be using?
Here we go! Get excited! Welcome to the thread. Nice 22. I like how you did your rudder set up with the one servo. What does the rudder do for the flight characteristics of the plane?

I tend to not use a lot of rudder in the past but I am learning to utilize it more, doing some more acro as of late, the standard loops and rolls are behind me and getting into more combos and trying to smooth out the maneuvers. I might do the double layer FB if I do the rudder thing and just use one side for the rudder surface itself, haven't decided.

Where on the airframe did you mount your receiver? I am looking at how I will run the servo wires up past the prop, I was thinking of cutting score cuts along the center of the side cheeks to bury the wires in, glue tabs and cover in tape.

Here is what I got so far:
20190921_102103.jpg

Can you post more pics of your set up of the electronics? Would be very helpful...
20190921_102043.jpg

I need to watch the build vid again to figure out how much up reflex is needed for neutral on the elevons...
20190921_102152.jpg

Streamlined the edges of the inlets as well. I have a picture of the 3 view up on the wall over the bench to reference from. I hope this flies well because I already want to build a more scale V2

The motor set up is a standard C pack, 9x6 Master Airscrew prop, 5g servos, 2200mah 3s, and a Lemon 6 channel. I like how you said the airframe doesn't mind the weight because I am adding some, taking a little away but you know.

My next stage, after i figure out the elevon angles, is to work on how to design the nose and fuse, Yea if you could post a bunch of pics of all this stuff would be helpful.

Thanks for reading
 

Tonero311

Well-known member
Here's the old thread with more photos for you to check out. https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/modded-ft-22-raptor.59502/#post-492000
Never got testing the rudders. Was too unhappy with the performance of the motor so shelved it in the hangar until I find a suitable motor. Have a 2218 emax on a 9x6 APC prop in it at the mo, but not had time to test as been distracted with a 150% pietenpol for quite a while now. Be starting a thread on that one soon. The servo wire I threaded out the bottom of the side plates, then used my coloured packing tape to secure it down. Worked not too badly and the larger one is definitely more stable than the mini too.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Here's the old thread with more photos for you to check out. https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/modded-ft-22-raptor.59502/#post-492000
Never got testing the rudders. Was too unhappy with the performance of the motor so shelved it in the hangar until I find a suitable motor. Have a 2218 emax on a 9x6 APC prop in it at the mo, but not had time to test as been distracted with a 150% pietenpol for quite a while now. Be starting a thread on that one soon. The servo wire I threaded out the bottom of the side plates, then used my coloured packing tape to secure it down. Worked not too badly and the larger one is definitely more stable than the mini too.
The 2218 wasn't powerful enough? Or was it just the brand or model of the motor you didn't like? The C pack I am using threw around the Explorer and Bronco I built rather well so I have full confidence it will rock this plane. I will check out your thread now, thanks
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Watched the build vid and The Bix doesn't have any settings for the up reflex of the elevons. I might use a thickness or two of the FB to set the reflex. If i remember correctly on the Mini Arrow it was just a little above flat or even with the bottom panel of the wing. the control surfaces were a lot smaller so one foam thickness might be enough
 

Tonero311

Well-known member
No haven't tried the 2218 yet. Expecting that to work without a problem. Just had it lying there so shoe horned it in(fit perfectly really) in place of the turnigy 2830 900kv I had that replaced a cf2822 motor. You can see the results of that on a few YouTube videos I put up. They are really poor quality though may give you an idea. May want to turn the sound down. Little bit of course language.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
From the video when you launched it and banked left it looked like it got some good speed, flying low for a maiden though. Couldn't you get it to climb?
 

Tonero311

Well-known member
The wind blowing towards me it climbed well, but coming back with the wind it lost height. I think the low kv motor and 9x6 prop meant it couldn't get enough bite in the wind. The wind was a bit stronger than I ideally would have like on a maiden, but ah well. I actually like a bit of wind now. Makes things a little more interesting.