FT Simple Scout Table Takeoff

[BATTLEAXE]

You can get some really strong neodymium magnets at some craft stores, or from Amazon. I ordered a set of these to make the munitions on my Freewing 64mm A-10 easily removable. I put a pair each in the pylon and in the munition, matched so the two magnets would hold each other when the munition was put into place. The one caveat is to make sure they're oriented correctly, so they don't repel each other. At ten bucks for 216 of them, I figure I have enough for a lot of projects.

3mm magnet cube set

That's an awesome deal. I think I paid around $8 for half a dozen at Michael's store a couple month ago. Had them on another model that I salvaged from. First time I used them on a FB model tho, went well so far, flight testing will tell the story. The deal you got is amazing compared to what I paid. I gotta shop online more... just hate waiting lol

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Ok got her done. She may not be pretty and she wouldn't stay pretty anyway. Gonna fly her till she won't fly anymore. Being that it is a fixed firewall and not a power pod I think it won't take to long. But it is a build experience that i can learn from. Even while doing this Scout i have seen so many good ideas from the forum that i almost want to build another already and I haven't even maidened this one yet. Actually come to think of it, I may fly all my planes just to not only push myself but to also salvage some electronics and build more planes... maybe move into the master series type of planes. Check it out:

Looks pretty standard and should fly the same way. Given it is a larger motor pack then what was intended I was worried about it being extremely nose heavy, so being able to move the battery back closer to CG or just to have the room to was important. One thing i noticed a lot of others do is mount the servos for the tail feathers externally under the tail so I did the same for tail weight to compensate, plus the rear turtle deck was extended to the tail as well.

Here is where the thrust angles were cut into the doublers to make a fixed mount for the firewall. Hopefully this will take care of any torque roll on take off or throttle up in flight. Gorilla glue also solidifies the firewall to the fuse, we will see how long this lasts in crashes lol


The front hatch was easier to build then I thought. Magnets hold it down and the battery sits in just like it would in a regular pod. I built a impact bumper between the motor and the battery just in case the Velcro lets loose and bullets the battery forward. The underside has a hatch for the ESC and Battery connections for easy removal and the Rx has its own cubby as well.

And she balances perfectly as well... to my surprise.

Now just to maiden and see what happens. Vids of that will follow. Thx for reading

 

[buzzbomb]

Ok got her done. She may not be pretty and she wouldn't stay pretty anyway. Gonna fly her till she won't fly anymore. Being that it is a fixed firewall and not a power pod I think it won't take to long. But it is a build experience that i can learn from. Even while doing this Scout i have seen so many good ideas from the forum that i almost want to build another already and I haven't even maidened this one yet. Actually come to think of it, I may fly all my planes just to not only push myself but to also salvage some electronics and build more planes... maybe move into the master series type of planes. Check it out:
View attachment 138833
Looks pretty standard and should fly the same way. Given it is a larger motor pack then what was intended I was worried about it being extremely nose heavy, so being able to move the battery back closer to CG or just to have the room to was important. One thing i noticed a lot of others do is mount the servos for the tail feathers externally under the tail so I did the same for tail weight to compensate, plus the rear turtle deck was extended to the tail as well.
View attachment 138835 View attachment 138836 View attachment 138840
Here is where the thrust angles were cut into the doublers to make a fixed mount for the firewall. Hopefully this will take care of any torque roll on take off or throttle up in flight. Gorilla glue also solidifies the firewall to the fuse, we will see how long this lasts in crashes lol
View attachment 138837
View attachment 138838 View attachment 138839
The front hatch was easier to build then I thought. Magnets hold it down and the battery sits in just like it would in a regular pod. I built a impact bumper between the motor and the battery just in case the Velcro lets loose and bullets the battery forward. The underside has a hatch for the ESC and Battery connections for easy removal and the Rx has its own cubby as well.
View attachment 138851
And she balances perfectly as well... to my surprise.

Now just to maiden and see what happens. Vids of that will follow. Thx for reading

Looks really good! You decided not to cap the wings, afterall? It seemed like a good idea to me. I love your internal cubbies and the hatches. I wish you luck with the maiden!

 

[Hoomi]

Looks great! Looking forward to the report and/or video of the maiden!

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Looks really good! You decided not to cap the wings, afterall? It seemed like a good idea to me. I love your internal cubbies and the hatches. I wish you luck with the maiden!

It is so easy to change the battery this way, flip it over, unplug, back to right side up, open hatch, remove battery. No skewers, no pulling pods, ESC stays in the plane, no fishing throttle wires in or out, no unplugging from the Rx. And all the components are safe from each other.

I have some time today to play around, I'll more then likely cap off the wing tips. I thought of it then i played with it a bit, and got to eager to continue with the rest of the plane. I'll post a vid when I get it out. Thx for reading

 

[Hoomi]

Here's a view of the camera I'm using for the in-flight videos. Mounting is just Velcro. These little keychain cameras are lightweight, low-profile, and inexpensive (under about $30 on Amazon), and take surprisingly good video for the price.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Here's a view of the camera I'm using for the in-flight videos. Mounting is just Velcro. These little keychain cameras are lightweight, low-profile, and inexpensive (under about $30 on Amazon), and take surprisingly good video for the price.
View attachment 138896

You know I never thought I would get into the camera thing but I was looking at it from a strictly FPV view. But just the kind of video profile you get from right on the plane looks so awesome that I'm lookin at our old GoPro here and the wifey is shakin her head knowing that I tend to crash a lot, not so much as of late, getting better. I was also looking at the FT store and there is a little camera/video/transmitter unit for like $35. Have you seen it... https://store.flitetest.com/fx-fx80...ra-video-transmitter-fxt-fx805-dipole/p796681. I wonder what it would take to set that up? Or use your little handy system? Does it record and store it's own video then you import to your laptop via micro USB? That's what it looks like.

 

[Hoomi]

Yep, it's strictly a camera - no wifi or FPV type transmission. I put it on the plane, start it recording, and then fly. When I get home, I pull the micro SD card out, and transfer the files to my computer.

The drawbacks of these cameras are that the control buttons are not as easy as a GoPro, and it records in 2 minute segments. It keeps recording, it just divides the video into shorter files. On the plus side, they're cheap, it weighs 17.9 grams with the SD card installed and Velcro on the bottom, and measures 1/2" tall by 1.25" wide (compared to a GoPro Hero 3, weighing 76.5 grams without case or mounting, measuring 1.75" tall by 2.25" wide, without case, and costing a couple of hundred dollars). I had two of these on my eFlite Cherokee when it crashed, and neither sustained any damage. One was thrown free of the plane and took me a couple of minutes to find, but it was no worse for wear (unlike the Cherokee). They'll do motion activated, but I've never played with that function. I'd rather just set it to record, and not have to worry if it's going to keep going or not.

Keychain Camera

 

[BATTLEAXE]

I like the way you do it, super simple and cheap. Thx for the link and I'll look into it, and you get 2 for $29. Can't go wrong there

 

[Hoomi]

It's only one for $29, but still way cheaper than the GoPro, if it falls off the plane in flight, or gets damaged in a crash.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

It's only one for $29, but still way cheaper than the GoPro, if it falls off the plane in flight, or gets damaged in a crash.

I might have read the (2) beside the price as quantity lol. Still an awesome alternative to the GoPro. Thx for the heads up

 

[MCNC]

I really like this design, since I have to rebuild power pods with each outing, I am hesitant. Do you think your pod design could be 1/2 permanent but with skewers in the front half to make it more repairable for those of us that crash alot where the prop transfers the damage to the pod? I really like the battery location sonce I have destroyed one being as exposed as it is.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

I really like this design, since I have to rebuild power pods with each outing, I am hesitant. Do you think your pod design could be 1/2 permanent but with skewers in the front half to make it more repairable for those of us that crash alot where the prop transfers the damage to the pod? I really like the battery location sonce I have destroyed one being as exposed as it is.

Are you using a 2200 3s or something smaller?
I'm sure that you could do the same but instead of gluing in the extended pod completely front to back, you could do the split pod thing where the front half the pod is removable for repairs or replacement, and the back 2"s are fixed into the notch cut out of the leading edge of the wing... which come to think of it, I should have done that to begin with myself lol. Thing is if you have a removable pod AND a removable top hatch, that's a lot of removables in the front and the whole structure becomes weaker without solid support. That's why I did the fixed firewall to keep things more rigid up front. If you plan to extend the battery compartment back to the spar like mine and have the pod removable, you may have to keep the top plate of the fuse in the nose in tact and not build a top hatch. Try it out and let me know how it works for you, now I'm curious.

Thx for reading