Pieliker96
Elite member
I had scrapped this airframe long ago after gutting it for my DHC-4, but it was always bugging me that I never really finished the project - adding the EDF and giving it a cool paint scheme. With last year's combat wing retired and its electronics looking for a new home, I realized I had the perfect set of hardware for a high-performance take on the 1080:
Six metal-gear servos, twin 2836s for ~6kg total thrust, twin 3000 4s, and a 70mm fan. TWR should be well above 2 even without the fan.
A day's work on the hotel room floor yielded this pile of parts. I appreciate the speed build kits even more now.
Weight and structure will be the main concern. I'll be pushing a lot faster and heavier than a stock 540. I've got offcuts of pultruded carbon tubes from other projects that should give a stout spar, and I'll try to keep weight down by taking off paper wherever possible - the FT Edge fuselage is very overbuilt.
Another concern I have is the battery placement for CG. As I recall there isn't space over the wing for the batteries, so I had to cut into the wings and compromise the structure to fit them. I'm expecting the new setup to land the batts right on top of the spar area, so I'll have to figure out big-time ballasting or mounting below the wing if landing gear placement allows. I could also put one battery ahead of and one behind the spar, but that feels really goofy and would screw with the principal MOI axes, which I'd have to think about for a good bit to figure out if I care or not.
Goal is to start assembly tomorrow and maiden by the end of FF25.
Six metal-gear servos, twin 2836s for ~6kg total thrust, twin 3000 4s, and a 70mm fan. TWR should be well above 2 even without the fan.
A day's work on the hotel room floor yielded this pile of parts. I appreciate the speed build kits even more now.
Weight and structure will be the main concern. I'll be pushing a lot faster and heavier than a stock 540. I've got offcuts of pultruded carbon tubes from other projects that should give a stout spar, and I'll try to keep weight down by taking off paper wherever possible - the FT Edge fuselage is very overbuilt.
Another concern I have is the battery placement for CG. As I recall there isn't space over the wing for the batteries, so I had to cut into the wings and compromise the structure to fit them. I'm expecting the new setup to land the batts right on top of the spar area, so I'll have to figure out big-time ballasting or mounting below the wing if landing gear placement allows. I could also put one battery ahead of and one behind the spar, but that feels really goofy and would screw with the principal MOI axes, which I'd have to think about for a good bit to figure out if I care or not.
Goal is to start assembly tomorrow and maiden by the end of FF25.
