FTFC20-Build-Ruary Challenge by Vimana89(Build Skill 2.5, Pilot Skill 3)

Vimana89

Legendary member
Build Log 2/6/2020 Part 2: Plank Plane
After the unsuccessful maiden of the plan plane, I spent between five and fifteen minutes or so chopping it down, remounting the motor, and rearranging the electronics for a sloppy plank plane. The transition was easy, and for the first maiden of the new configuration, I simply taped a messy bundle of electronics down by the front. After testing the plane successfully, I cleaned up the electronics arrangement a bit and added aesthetics/color scheme with a couple FT decals and the rest of the Duck Mirror I had stashed away.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Alright, so my second build is complete, though not in the form I originally intended...but hey, a plank plane is as new to me as a canard plane, so it is a good learning experience, and although building and flying that type of plane wasn't necessarily something that would have been on my agenda for a while, I did end up having fun with it. I'll fill in all the details for its entry when I get a chance. Tomorrow I'll be ordering my Vector kit and more parts. Sometimes I notice the FT kits probably have to be printed fresh and hold up the process a bit, so I have some backup options if the order starts taking towards the end of the month to get here.

My four wing plane rebuild will probably be a bit more intensive than these last two, especially if I want to end up making real improvements. The Vector should be a no brainer, great plane all around, and no design work on my part. Also, expect a bonus entry(or backup entry if the Vector kit doesn't come on time) towards the end of the month of me rebuilding my tandem wing "trainer" into a sportier tandem without cambered wings. Some sort of 4ch delta is also a high possibility.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Ordering stuff today, including a new action cam, which is a must since my cheap one crapped out. I flew the plank plane a bit more, and busted a prop with it. Maybe if I were to get CG and trim absolutely perfect it,d be better, but although it was kinda fun at first, I'm not really enjoying this plane. It's basically a twitchy brick that's stable in forward flight at mid throttle, and squirrely at everything else. I'll upload the canard maiden and crash, and may or may not get footage of the plank plane when my new camera comes(I will probably just repurpose the electronics for more builds!). While I await the Vector kit, my next two builds are a new and improved, sportier tandem plane that doesn't have wing rock, and the four wing plane V2. I won't maiden them until my new camera is here if I get them done before.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
If all else fails with tandem designs, I can go back to my original straight, flat plate wing version, but before that, I want to try it with the '39 Special wings.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Not sure if I'm going to start anything tonight(other than some design planning and brainstorming), but the new version of the Tandem will be a 5th build(technically, though I may complete it earlier), as I still definitely plan to do the Vector and four wing plane. There is also a good chance of a 6th plane using the motor off the canard disaster/twitchy plank plane. Busy month, but perfect to try lots of different planes including a variety of 4ch birds.

For the tandem, I will not be trying the '39 wings, even though they look cool. They are not as economical for spacing and wing loading compromises as straight wings, and my tandem stick plane with flat, straight wings flew good, so "don't fix what ain't broke" comes to mind, I just want basically as classier 4ch version of that with a box fuselage.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
So I've updated a lot of information and changed my order of entries, and taken the four wing plane off the roster, as I don't plan to do that one this month. I still have to process and upload flight footage for the canard/plank plane(s) and the forward swept wing plane, but other than that, my entries are mostly up to date and filled out with information. I may end up doing another plane or two before the moth is out(probably one rather than two if any). I'm itching to do a more sophisticated swept wing build, and a new tailless delta and 4ch Arrowhead are in the near future as well, so those are all on the table, with the most likely being a swept wing plane with a three step/ KFM-ish air foil .

The only reason I didn't focus on any really advanced or sophisticated builds and tried a lot of simple stuff/spammed a lot of prototypes for this challenge is because I'm at a turning point getting into 4ch and there's so many cool types of planes I hadn't even tried yet. Just from this challenge I flew a plankster for the first time successfully, and made my first two really great 4ch planes(the Floating Kidney 4ch was pretty good, but I wasn't quite ready for it at the time). I tried new(to me) stuff like tandem planes, canards, swept wings, and forward swept wings, and learned so much that can help me develop more advanced designs of different types.

I built some solid 4ch muscle memory over the course of this challenge, and did a lot of experimenting. I also had a blast building and flying all these, even the ones that were a bit imperfect or sketchy. Time to catch up on everyone else's progress while I think of a possible last minute plane or two for this challenge and fill in the last bits of my current entries.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Hope this ends up flying as good as it looks!
 

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Vimana89

Legendary member
Seven entries, pics and videos all up. I may edit and organize text a tiny bit more but my entries are good to go, all the necessary information, pics, and videos are up!