FT Edge

FT Edge 1.0

D Cooper

New member
Hi,
I made some modifications to the FT Edge. I wanted very durable landing gear for landing in the rough and was worried the wire in foam idea may not last. I made some small plates of plywood and glued to underside of the fuselage. Then drilled through and glued thick bbq skewers (small dowel) to make rubber band holders. I then copied the gear from the FT3D. It is sort of an exo skeleton but hasn't failed some rough landings so far lol.
I also put in a more beefy motor - Hobbyking Aerodrive 3536 1200kv and 3S driving a 12" prop. I then found that the foamboard internal firewall behind the cowl failed badly and the motor unmounted during a high g manouvre. I cut out the remains of the firewall and fitted a plywood firewall instead. Also reinforced the foam/ply motor mount with paddle pop sticks. This, of course has messed badly with CG and is now nose heavy. I'm still working on that but the plane flies brilliantly just the same. Just not as tight at full elevator and rudder deflections. I now have a speedy plane with good vertical climb and tough landing gear. Use a 3S 2200 mAH 35C battery and get 5 mins hard core and 7 mins casual fly.

FT Edge Scratch Build.jpg New Firewall.jpg Landing Gear.jpg
 
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D Cooper

New member
Hi guys. I started to watch your forum not so long i think 2 years ago but when i saw the build plans for the EDGE 540 i had to try to build it. Huge thank you for these plans. I admire your effort a lot.
During the building i changed a bit the fixation of the canopy and reinforced the fixation of the wings because it looks from my point of view a bit weak. Below are several pictures of "my" construction. :)
I haven't flown it yet because of a bit fear of the possible crash and not so much friendly weather but i hope my maiden start will be succesfull.
Only one questin i have. What is the recommended deflection angle of the ailerons, rudder and elevator for not so much advanced pilot like me. The deflection in the building video looks to my skill a lot. Thank you for your tips.
You have done a beautiful build. It is a delightful stable plane to fly but mine is slightly nose heavy which makes it more docile in many ways. What motor and prop did you use? Did you stick with the 1300 size battery? I have my ailerons at 60 percent rates and 40 percent expo. Likewise with the elevator for first few flights but the rudder i had about 80 percent rates as it isnt so sensitive. Having said all that, it is still highly responsive so small movements are essential
 

The Engineer

New member
You have done a beautiful build. It is a delightful stable plane to fly but mine is slightly nose heavy which makes it more docile in many ways. What motor and prop did you use? Did you stick with the 1300 size battery? I have my ailerons at 60 percent rates and 40 percent expo. Likewise with the elevator for first few flights but the rudder i had about 80 percent rates as it isnt so sensitive. Having said all that, it is still highly responsive so small movements are essential

Very useful to have the rates info. I have mine ready to maiden but am concerned to tame it down for the first flights. Would like to know where your C of G actually was for the first flights. I'm guessing that the design C of G is pretty far back to get the 3D performance and that is not what I need for the first attempts.
 

D Cooper

New member
Very useful to have the rates info. I have mine ready to maiden but am concerned to tame it down for the first flights. Would like to know where your C of G actually was for the first flights. I'm guessing that the design C of G is pretty far back to get the 3D performance and that is not what I need for the first attempts.
Hi Engineer,
My CG is quite forward about 40mm behind the leading edge or on the first airfoil fold. The plans say about 83mm so yes i would imagine that would be tending past normal cg to give more tail authority. Mine is excessively nose heavy but easy to fly (bit like an arrow) but needs a lot of up elevator trim. It tolerates wind quite well as such. I just cant bring myself to adding more dead weight to the plane and tail to balance it better for sharper 3d flips lol. Anyway. You will enjoy yours as the model flies beautifully. Which motor prop and battery did you select?
 

D Cooper

New member
Very useful to have the rates info. I have mine ready to maiden but am concerned to tame it down for the first flights. Would like to know where your C of G actually was for the first flights. I'm guessing that the design C of G is pretty far back to get the 3D performance and that is not what I need for the first attempts.
I meant to add that a tail wheel is essential on this model as the foam rudder gets shabby very quickly with landings. I find both horiz and vert stabs delaminate the paper after a short while and need attention after most flying days as do the servos for them as they can come unglued and loose
 

The Engineer

New member
Hi Engineer,
My CG is quite forward about 40mm behind the leading edge or on the first airfoil fold. The plans say about 83mm so yes i would imagine that would be tending past normal cg to give more tail authority. Mine is excessively nose heavy but easy to fly (bit like an arrow) but needs a lot of up elevator trim. It tolerates wind quite well as such. I just cant bring myself to adding more dead weight to the plane and tail to balance it better for sharper 3d flips lol. Anyway. You will enjoy yours as the model flies beautifully. Which motor prop and battery did you select?
Oh that is interesting and again very useful input. I did a quick graphical calculation to work out where 25% of the Mean Aerodynamic Chord would suggest the C of G should be (see .jpg attached) and the answer was 54mm behind the leading edge. So although I don't know where the Neutral Point actually is (and hence the intended design stability margin); 83mm does seem like a long way back for first flights - for me anyway. I think based on your input I should be safe to target around 54mm.

The motor is a Turnigy D2830-11, 1000kv unit spinning a 10x4.5 prop. This is the same combination that proved successful on the FT Storch. I will experiment a bit with this in due course. Hopefully I'll get into the air with this soon...proof of the pudding etc.

FT Edge MAC and CofG Location.jpg
 

The Engineer

New member
I meant to add that a tail wheel is essential on this model as the foam rudder gets shabby very quickly with landings. I find both horiz and vert stabs delaminate the paper after a short while and need attention after most flying days as do the servos for them as they can come unglued and loose

Thanks I'll keep on eye on the that. I do hot glue the leading edges as recommended but your right some maintenence is required to keep these models in the air. My Storch is the oldest of my FT fleet and is looking a bit battered now but has hundreds of flight on the clock over many many months if not years. For a model that cost little to build in time and/or money that is quite something and a credit to the FT team.
 

D Cooper

New member
Thanks I'll keep on eye on the that. I do hot glue the leading edges as recommended but your right some maintenence is required to keep these models in the air. My Storch is the oldest of my FT fleet and is looking a bit battered now but has hundreds of flight on the clock over many many months if not years. For a model that cost little to build in time and/or money that is quite something and a credit to the FT team.
Hey I couldnt agree more. Flite test must be the single biggest influence in my taking up the hobby. Im 56 yrs old and finally doing what i have always dreamed about but couldnt due to family commitments and the hobby being so expensive until recently. FT have made it economical to fly.
If the quality of your storch is anything like your Edge im not surprised it has lasted so well but yes the foam is so durable especially if you crash. Ive had many lol!
My favourite "go to" plane has been the ft3d. I did the same mods on it as the edge and i flew and crashed that plane for 18 months till retiring it in favour of the edge. I note the Edge, being a bigger plane, seems easier to control and floats more so crashes can be averted more easily with a quick recovery input of the controls. Im sure you will be delighted with it. I find that aerobatics has helped my flying skills immensely and its more fun doing them with a 3d plane. Dont need to do them super low like the pros.
Im very impressed with your technical knowledge with the cg. I think yours sounds ideal for your maiden as it is close to mine which is dead easy to fly.
 

D Cooper

New member
Thanks I'll keep on eye on the that. I do hot glue the leading edges as recommended but your right some maintenence is required to keep these models in the air. My Storch is the oldest of my FT fleet and is looking a bit battered now but has hundreds of flight on the clock over many many months if not years. For a model that cost little to build in time and/or money that is quite something and a credit to the FT team.
One more tip on flying. Because the plane's wing has no dihedral and has symmetrical airfoil, it wont stay level (will sink) when you let go of the controls when properly trimmed. It is a bit 'brick' like due to the need for the wing to tilt slightly upward to get lift but gives the advantage of inverted flight feeling and behaving the same as normal. No doubt you know more so i wont go on lol But def different to flying non aerobatic
 

usaserres

Active member
FT Edge on floats!

Thought I'd try the FT Edge on water. So I added floats.

See photos below.

I just followed Josh's float build and adapted it to the FT Edge. Great balance.
 

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tomatwalden

New member
Hi all, Just in the middle of building my FT Edge (from the speed build kit). Have to say, I'm so impressed with this design! I thought I'd share a little idea I had on making the canopy look a bit bling ... using kitchen (tin) foil :) I'm pretty pleased with the look! I created a card template from the empty kit foam board, using it to strengthen the foil before gluing it on.
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JClaude

Member
Hi guys,

Question about adjusting of the ailerons on the wing of the Edge 540.
Should it aligned with the axis of the wing profile, or must it be adjusted in alignment with the extrados of the wing profile?

Regards,

JClaude
 

Ihichi Bolls

Well-known member
For you guys having paper delamination issues take some gorilla wood glue and coat all exposed edges of foan and overlap a few mm onto the paper.

The paper soaks it in a bit and grabs nicely. A very light sandi g to knock tge brush strokes down and by the time its primed you never see it.
 

gadgetmann

New member
Greetings all.
Been soaking up a lot of videos and other stuff that has led to a full wish list based on this design. Before I pull the trigger on buying it, I had a couple questions:
(1) Has anyone ever installed a carbon fiber spar in the wing? One maiden video I saw had a wing failure. According to the audio I heard them say it was repaired with a spar added. I have a 39 inch spar left over from a Bixler 2 and there is this site:
https://goodwinds.com/carbon-fiberglass/carbon/pultruded-tubes.html
This would obviously deviate from how the wings are joined in the build video, but I am considering doing certain steps with some type of slower (2 hour set) adhesive.

(2) I was considering the e-flite landing gear set. The build video makes all the bends seem easy but I have tried to construct stuff with those kind of wire bends and the radius of the bends always messes things up when I have to match a specific shape.
It looks thin enough that there might be some way to mount it to the current landing gear attachment point.

Thanks in advance for your feedback
(Be gentle, but if I am making a mistake with these ideas, please warn me.)
 

Ryder

Member
I had a great experience with the Bushwacker, so I took the leap to build the Edge. With a 10/4.5 prop, can I legally run a 4s 1500 battery and not overtax the FT 35 amp speed control?
 

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mach1 rc

Master member
I had a great experience with the Bushwacker, so I took the leap to build the Edge. With a 10/4.5 prop, can I legally run a 4s 1500 battery and not overtax the FT 35 amp speed control?
Yes you should be fine. Looks great btw😀
 

Maikaras13

New member
hi from me
is it okay to build this plane with 6mm depron ? does any one may have the stls or any file for laser cutting this by my own ? if not i will use my hands haha !
thanks in advance !
 

Jonny Gum

Elite member
hi from me
is it okay to build this plane with 6mm depron ? does any one may have the stls or any file for laser cutting this by my own ? if not i will use my hands haha !
thanks in advance !
Foam board is about 4.5mm thick, so that may cause some perfect fit issues if you use 6mm depron, but I say go for it and let us know what happens!
 

yalçın

New member
selamlar
forma yeni katıldım ve güzel bir form bilgiler için ayrıca teşekkürler
bu çizimler için hangi programı kullanıyorsunuz
teşekkürler
 
Hi guys! I've built a few of your previous models (from scratch) - and I purchased the build kit for this one.
Everything went well all the way thru to the formers on top of the tail but when I tried to bend the turtle deck, it really didn't turn out very nice. Is there any way to "unglue" after the glue has cooled off? I am going to proceed with building the wing and hopefully someone has any tips.

Thanks, everyone!