FT Flyer (and all swappables) all up weights

slarti42uk

Junior Member
Hi,

I'm having trouble finding info on the all up weight of the FT flyer, and it got me to thinking that it would be really helpful if this was a detail on the article for each plane. I'm in the UK and have used the heavier foam board they sell here, along with some probably very OTT pushrods (1.5mm wire) and some 3d printed wheels (to balance it out). All up, with a 800mha 3S battery, it's coming in at an chunky 400g (14oz) :eek: It flies, but it's fast, and not at all floaty, like in the videos.

In putting this beefy build on a diet, I could do with knowing the target weight that a good FT Flyer should be. I realize that this probably depends on many factors including prop -> motor -> esc choice, but even just knowing the weights of the ones built in the videos would help people know if they are way off.

Cheers
 

MarkWoody

Junior Member
Hi ,i am also from the uk (North Wales) my FT Flyer also came out on the chunky side at just under 400gr , 24gr blue wonder motor ,3s etc ,I built it from 5mm foamboard from "the range" i am going to rebuild mine using the 6mm XPS that is sold on uk ebay as under floor insulation , my FT22 came out too heavy to sustain flight ! at over 800gr :( , it is also on the rebuild list if the FT Flyer comes out ok :)
the other idea i thought of was to just make the FT Flyer with bigger wings to reduce the wing loading and get that floaty
hovering type plane i have seen in the videos .
 

slarti42uk

Junior Member
Yes, I've also decided to rebuild in Depron, considering some of the positive FT comments lately from Peter in the shows. I really want to build some of the other planes (particularly the storch) but I didn't want to end up with a load of un-flyable monsters.

I thought about increasing wing size too, but I'm quite new to RC and wasn't sure how to begin working out how much bigger, and not just cancelling out the extra lift with the additional weight of the extra material etc.

I'd love to see FT do an episode on building one of the series in Depron, for the non US viewers. Might go and put that over in the show suggestions.
 

Kenbow

Senior Member
The Dollar tree foam on the FT Flyer only lasts me a few flights before the moist air sets in warping the little bugger to non flight worthy status. I have some foam board similar to what you guys use and will give it a try with extra wing area, i have to do something different, the moist air is driving me crazy!
 

slarti42uk

Junior Member
Thanks for the link, I never even thought to look on the store for that info. So is your 220g the AUW less the battery? So motor and the lot? Can you point to any resources for helping to calculate wing loading, or is it just trial an improvement for this type of design?

Cheers
 

saintofinternet

New member
i am using 5 mm depron foam locally sources with a 1000 mah battery and the AUW is coming to 460gms.

i wonder how can it come to 267 gms for you all.... :-(