FT Bushwacker build! My third FT plane!

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
Hi FliteTest community!

I am very excited to announce that I am building the FT bushwacker! Ever since I started listening to the RCAfterhours podcast and listening to them talk about Highwing STOL airplanes, I've wanted one. When I saw the Bushwacker I knew it was the one I was building. Very cheap compared to the $229 E-flite timber.

I am not going to be building it exactly how FliteTest says to, I am going be doing some upgrades/mods to make it better and more durable. Such as, navigation/landing LED lights, steerable tail wheel, and better landing gear.

I will probably be asking a lot of questions. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

My first question is, what are some good LED lights to get? Links would be nice. I searched a little bit on eBay but I have no idea what to look for.

Last night I started taping the tiled planes together and attaching them the the foam board.

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OliverW

Legendary member
Hi FliteTest community!

I am very excited to announce that I am building the FT bushwacker! Ever since I started listening to the RCAfterhours podcast and listening to them talk about Highwing STOL airplanes, I've wanted one. When I saw the Bushwacker I knew it was the one I was building. Very cheap compared to the $229 E-flite timber.

I am not going to be building it exactly how FliteTest says to, I am going be doing some upgrades/mods to make it better and more durable. Such as, navigation/landing LED lights, steerable tail wheel, and better landing gear.

I will probably be asking a lot of questions. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

My first question is, what are some good LED lights to get? Links would be nice. I searched a little bit on eBay but I have no idea what to look for.

Last night I started taping the tiled planes together and attaching them the the foam board.

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My bushwacker flew for 30 seconds. It was floaty and also a bit tail heavy. The motor could handle a bigger prop then what I had on it, and it still burned up. It pancaked out in taller grass. I tried one other attempt but it gained about 10 feet then snapped and dove
 

Kbat11700

Member
Mine was tail heavy as well. Havny had a successful flight yet. But I plan on ordering a bigger motor soon to try and help balance it.

But I agree, it's a super cool airplane that will be amazing if I can ever get it airborne, haha.
 

RCCola

New member
My Bushwacker was a ton of fun - got a lot of flights out of it. I ended up dinging the wing a little too hard after a while. So I tossed the wing, plan to build another one some day. The fuselage is still in good shape. I like the idea of the steerable tail wheel. Unsure of how well that would survive in any of the grass I fly from. The forward landing gear did take a beating too. Might consider beefing that up a little. I didn't find the wheel skirt out of foam was enough to keep it straightened out for long. Depends on the runway I suppose. But, lots of fun. Rigged up my flap servo to release a parachute guy for my son to chase around.
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
My bushwacker flew for 30 seconds. It was floaty and also a bit tail heavy. The motor could handle a bigger prop then what I had on it, and it still burned up. It pancaked out in taller grass. I tried one other attempt but it gained about 10 feet then snapped and dove

Are you saying I shouldn't build it?
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
My Bushwacker was a ton of fun - got a lot of flights out of it. I ended up dinging the wing a little too hard after a while. So I tossed the wing, plan to build another one some day. The fuselage is still in good shape. I like the idea of the steerable tail wheel. Unsure of how well that would survive in any of the grass I fly from. The forward landing gear did take a beating too. Might consider beefing that up a little. I didn't find the wheel skirt out of foam was enough to keep it straightened out for long. Depends on the runway I suppose. But, lots of fun. Rigged up my flap servo to release a parachute guy for my son to chase around.

Thats great! I'm glad it work out for you!
 

Kbat11700

Member
Pretty much any led light set you can make work... works. I'm assuming you want something you can operate from a switch on your transmitter? If that's the case, get something that can plug into your receiver. Then you can assign a switch on you transmitter to that channel. you can also wire up your own light system to a separate battery pack and put a switch in the circuit to turn it on/off. Or even just have it turn of/off when you plug it in.

There are many ways to do it, If you have the extra channels on your receiver, I recommend the first option I mentioned for simplicity/ease of use.

And yes, the set you linked from Hobbyking should work great as far as I can tell.
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
Pretty much any led light set you can make work... works. I'm assuming you want something you can operate from a switch on your transmitter? If that's the case, get something that can plug into your receiver. Then you can assign a switch on you transmitter to that channel. you can also wire up your own light system to a separate battery pack and put a switch in the circuit to turn it on/off. Or even just have it turn of/off when you plug it in.

There are many ways to do it, If you have the extra channels on your receiver, I recommend the first option I mentioned for simplicity/ease of use.

And yes, the set you linked from Hobbyking should work great as far as I can tell.

Thanks for the info! The one I gave links to plug in to a receiver, I think.

So if I get one that plugs in to a receiver, I don't need to get a separate switch?

Yes, I definitely want to turn them on/off from my transmitter.
 
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Kbat11700

Member
Thanks for the info! The one I gave links to plug in to a receiver, I think.

So if I get one that plugs in to a receiver, I don't need to get a separate switch?

Yes, I definitely want to turn them on/off from my transmitter.

Assuming you have a transmitter with extra channels and a switch that either controls one of those channels, or can be assigned to that channel, yes. What transmitter do you have?
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
Ok, I just want to verify be for I order from hobbyking that I DON'T need to get a separate switch to turn the lights on/off if I get a set that plugs directly into the receiver?

I want to make sure before I order.
 

Kbat11700

Member
Ok, I just want to verify be for I order from hobbyking that I DON'T need to get a separate switch to turn the lights on/off if I get a set that plugs directly into the receiver?

I want to make sure before I order.

Yes, you should be able to assign a switch to that channel between on and off. Might take some experimenting with your transmitter.

Worst case scenario, you buy a switch from RadioShack and solder it in.
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
Yes, you should be able to assign a switch to that channel between on and off. Might take some experimenting with your transmitter.

Worst case scenario, you buy a switch from RadioShack and solder it in.

Ok! I'll probably be ordering from HobbyKing tonight or tomorrow morning. Thanks!