FTFC20: Build-ruary by Mayan (Build Skill: 4, Pilot SKill: 3 Novice)

mayan

Legendary member
I just realized that I haven’t posted any build pictures of the FT22 so a little in delay but here they are.
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mayan

Legendary member
Finished painting the Charlie and DGA all that is left for me to wrap up the challenge on my behalf is to paint the FT22 the last plane that I have finished building. I’ll also be cutting out parts for the FT Legacy so might just might get that build pushed in as well paint free.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
FT-Build-Ruary: FT Racer Build by @mayan

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Build Rating: View attachment 160260
Fly Rating: View attachment 160275


Plans: https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?resources/ft-racer.57/

I choose to build this model because ever since I joined the Flite Test family the awesome paint job that the FT team did on theirs made me jealous, regardless the model looked like a fast slick bird that I felt that I must have in my fleet and now I do :).

The build is very straight forward, and comes together quite nice without any complications in the process. This build like the Hawk Hurricane also uses quite a bit of poster board, which like mentioned in the past is something that requires some practice to get prefect. Having said that this is one of the builds which I was the most pleased of. I am a bit disappointed with the paint job though and feel like it's missing something but can't put my finger on what, and too lazy and bummed out about it to actually try figure it out. I built it stock, but when I do build it again there is one thing I would do different and that is put the tail servos in the fuselage. The reason is because this model was hard to balance and seemed tail heavy thus moving the tail servos closer to the CG would help balance the plane. I didn't make the wings removable because I was aiming for speed and on the FT video they explained that this is the reason why unlike the Spitfire this model doesn't have removable wings. I still might try the removable wing mod because it would make it easier for me to store aside the model instead of having it sit on my computer table in the work room.


This model tracks like an arrow and will do anything you tell it to do, but it does require speed to achieve that and stay stable. The plane is slippery, fast and manoeuvrable but unlike the Hawk Hurricane doesn't seem to wing stall as easy which I think is is related to the poster board pieces that are glued to the wing tips on this model. The model can only slow down so much before it will stall on you so just beware of that. This is definitely a fun bird to fly and is highly recommended to those looking for speed. In terms of aerobatics completely capable of everything but not 3D manoeuvres. The wide fuselage of the bird also to put in a big battery like a 4S to achieve even more speed. Most of my flying was done on a low rates 70% deflection and 30% expo and was enough to get the plane to do what I wanted. This is not a plane that I would recommend new pilots to try and fly because it does require experience with fast flying including fast landing. This is a plane that I would recommend one to try after he/she flew at least 5 different types of models successfully.

To sum up my experience this model can be fun for those who can handle the speed and have a big enough area to fly in because the plane does need a place to rip the sky exactly like in the Planes movie taking part in the "Wings around the Globe" air race :). This plane has won a place in my fleet, but next time will be built and painted a bit different :).
It needs a black canopy, that's what is missing, to break up the green a bit. Nice flight, happy you like it. As soon as i get this Rx in the mail mine will be going up on 4s
 

mayan

Legendary member
It needs a black canopy, that's what is missing, to break up the green a bit. Nice flight, happy you like it. As soon as i get this Rx in the mail mine will be going up on 4s
I was shocked by the vertical climb, loop, dive, and leveled out fast pass kept watching it over and over and over. It flies great, and you know it. Mine will go 4S too soon, ever since I got my 1300mah 4S batteries they go into every bird that can take them, today the Goblin got them.
 

mayan

Legendary member
Quick update about my maiden status.
So far I have attempted to maiden 8 planes 6 of which were succesful and 2 that weren't the two that weren't were the FT22 and LongEZ. Generally both seemed to be underpowered and lose altitude pretty much after launch. I think it's because of worng prop, motor spining direction issue but I am still to trouble shoot that. I have those attempts on video so will try to edit them and upload as a seperate post for you to see and give me your feedback. More later, now let's go review those planes who's maiden was successful :).
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
Quick update about my maiden status.
So far I have attempted to maiden 8 planes 6 of which were succesful and 2 that weren't the two that weren't were the FT22 and LongEZ. Generally both seemed to be underpowered and lose altitude pretty much after launch. I think it's because of worng prop, motor spining direction issue but I am still to trouble shoot that. I have those attempts on video so will try to edit them and upload as a seperate post for you to see and give me your feedback. More later, now let's go review those planes who's maiden was successful :).
Did you have the numbers on the prop facing the nose of the plane? That’s the issue I had with my first ft-22, and once I fixed it on the 9x4.5 and b power pack it had unlimited vertical...
 

FishHawk

Well-known member
FT-Build-Ruary: FT STEM Charlie Build by @mayan

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Build Rating: View attachment 160475
Fly Rating: View attachment 160476

Plans: https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?resources/ft-charlie-plans.35/

I choose to build this model because ever since I met Flite Test this model applied to me. It's not the only jet like looking model that FT has but it's one of the prettiest that they have that is until they release the new master series jets. It's also not the first time that I have built this model but never before was I able to get it to fly, so I was also eager to succeed this time around :).

In terms of build process, most of the build is pretty straight forward but since part of the build does require practice I rated the building of the model moderate. The part which I found that needs more practice forming is the nose section, and canopy hatch. These are not complicated to build but are hard to get to look prefect if your like me and have a perfectionism issue. I've built this model 2-3 time before so this time around the nose and canopy came out better and were easier to make too. I would highly recommend using painter tape to help hold the pieces together like they do in the master series videos, this will help hold things in place without moving while everything dries up. It will also help get this to fit more tightly together. There is a bit of aftermath that I done in the past considering I've given my hand at this model before that I should have put into this build but I didn't just because I was stupid, more about that later in the post. Also I highly recommend you check out this group build thread "ABC STEM Trifecta Group Build" which is dedicated to all these FT STEM prop n' slot type models, check it out to get more feedback from other members before you build your own, a lot of useful information there.


This was this first time I actually managed to get this model to fly, and that is just because in previous times that I have tried I didn't have enough power so make sure the plane wants to jump out of your hand when you throttle up before tossing it into the air. Flying this model is fairly simple it's a 3 channels bank and yank model. It's glide slope is great, it will flies smoothly at all speeds and is very stable making it a great model to fly for pilots of all levels. It is slim and small which makes it super easy to store even in a small closest as well as easy to transport to the field. I balanced it with a 3S 1300mah battery because I wanted a bit more power but could have easily balanced it with smaller batteries down to a 3S 800mah or even bigger batteries up to I assume a 3S 2200mah or an equivalent 4S battery of the same weight. I had a lot of fun flying this model until I attempted something which I can't even explain and crashed. The nose section broke exactly like in previous times I tried to fly this model and now looks like this and needs repairs.

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Even though I didn't land the plane I think it is fairly simple just keep the plane leveled with a bit of up elevator, throttle off and let it glide pitching the nose up until you reach the ground.

To sum up my experience with this model. Very fun simple to fly plane, does take some time to build and has a weak point in the nose. Considering that the nose of the model is part of the fuselage makes it annoying if you crash and break it because it can't just be replaced without serious surgery. I would highly recommend using some sort of foam up spray in the nose to give it more durability something that I should have done with this build considering my past experience. I've always wanted a jet in my fleet and this is a easy to fly one that just looks absolutely stunning, so at least until the F-18 @Splinter189 is working on is released this is my go to jet plane :).
Some one needs to create a replaceable nose section for these.