FTFC23: Buildruary Build-off Challenge

mastermalpass

Elite member
And that's time! I only managed 3 out of 4 builds in the end, but I am very happy with the result. The 3D flyer and field-disassemble-able planes have been on my aspirations for over a year now and the RC Powers MiG-29 V4 has been waiting for me to build it for even longer.

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I pushed myself - which is probably why I didn't manage all four 😂 - and created a much needed update to my hangar. Fingers crossed the Kadet and Su-36 fly well (I know the MiG-29 will) and fill 2023 with some flying experiences very different from the planes I've been flying for over two years now!

Now I can relax a bit and take my head out of the workshop... Oh hey, look at that! You've all built some nice planes, when did that happen? 🤣
 

mastermalpass

Elite member
You have a time machine too. I didn't know the colonies sent that technology back to the Mother country.

Edited. You can tell I'm tired, even proof reading didn't help me notice I was conflating the third month with the third day haha!
 

mastermalpass

Elite member
I feel like I've gone back to my student days. Finishing projects in the early hours of the morning, while the house now has hardly any clean laundry, clean dishes or food! 😂
 

AgentC

Elite member
And that's time! I only managed 3 out of 4 builds in the end, but I am very happy with the result. The 3D flyer and field-disassemble-able planes have been on my aspirations for over a year now and the RC Powers MiG-29 V4 has been waiting for me to build it for even longer.

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I pushed myself - which is probably why I didn't manage all four 😂 - and created a much needed update to my hangar. Fingers crossed the Kadet and Su-36 fly well (I know the MiG-29 will) and fill 2023 with some flying experiences very different from the planes I've been flying for over two years now!

Now I can relax a bit and take my head out of the workshop... Oh hey, look at that! You've all built some nice planes, when did that happen? 🤣
Those all look amazing! So clean!!!
 

FlyingTyger

Elite member
It's now 1am of March 1st in the UK. Bit cheeky of me, but hey, you're all still building across the Atlantic. 😝

I completed my Sig Kadet! :D

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It's big and it's a beast! I don't know how much it weighs, but it's up there! I hope the 9x6 slow-fly prop, on a 1400kv motor, fed by a 40a ESC, with a 4S battery, is enough to pull its weight through the air. With it's giant wings and flapperons, I'm confident it will fly, so long as it has sufficient thrust. Need a big flat field and no winds to maiden this one!

And of course, we have my twist on the design; you can turn it from full plane to this, in under two minutes, by hand! :D
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Looks great. If that is based on the Bushhawk plans, it can handle some weight with no problems.
 

mastermalpass

Elite member
Looks great. If that is based on the Bushhawk plans, it can handle some weight with no problems.

It's come from @Matthewdupreez's design. From what I can tell, the Kaddy was never a 'full scale' plane, but a classic RC trainer design, originally intended to be made from balsa with a gas engine. So again; I'm confident about the weight, so long as I have the thrust. :)
 

mastermalpass

Elite member
My outlook for the next 10 days looks a little more daunting...
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I got some maidens done earlier today, at least! Very surprised that the Corsair flew, and decently even on a little 2S...

Oohft. Yeah I just heard this morning that the UK is forecast for Snow next week. This seems to happen every other year, the sun come out, the days get warmer, little buds start appearing on the trees... Then a blizzard hits.

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mastermalpass

Elite member
The winter for me was much less cold than usual. I think we totalled at three, maybe four separate weeks where we had frost? Mostly in Jan and Feb as well. It's almost like actual winter was just late to get here.
 

AgentC

Elite member
Maidens, Round 1! (Hoping to get to do them again when the weather clears up, hopefully before the deadline).
It was too windy for the UnEZ Bronco to fly, and the Nano Scout predictably enjoyed veering uncontrollably to the left, but had decent success with the Mini Old Fogey and Corsair!


Post-Maiden synopsis on my build thread.
 
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mastermalpass

Elite member
Maidens, Round 1! (Hoping to get to do them again when the weather clears up, hopefully before the deadline).
It was too windy for the UnEZ Bronco to fly, and the Nano Scout predicatbly enjoyed veering uncontrollably to the left, but had decent success with the Mini Old Fogey and Corsair!


Hopefully I'll get a calm day to fly the UnEZ Bronco. I've also now fixed the Nano Scout's badly made power pod and included a thrust angle this time, so will try re-maiden it if/when the weather clears. The Mini Old Fogey just needs to be fine-tuned a bit more but flew great when I adjusted the rates and expo for the third flight. The corsair was the biggest surprise. I was expecting it to be a big flop, so didn't even bother weather-proofing it, but it flew! I broke a prop due to using a 2S battery causing it to bee too tail-heavy, so I'll maybe try get abother video when I try it on 3S.

Good going! The minis did the best they could against those winds. Hopefully you get a lul in the waves soon so they can fly some more scale patterns.
 

mastermalpass

Elite member
Here's the video of the Sig Kadet Maiden. What a great flyer this one's turned out to be! Super happy with it; any changes I want to make from here can only count as 'Fine Tuning', it was more than I wanted right from the get go. I makes me feel silly for worrying about its power. On 4S it has more than enough power at just 50% throttle. I haven't really measured the thrust and weight or tested the vertical, but I wouldn't be surprised if I could hover. That's a little while away yet, I wanna get a few flights out of this before I deliberately make it tail-heavy.

it's earned itself a trip to the paint shop. Next creative project will be making it its very own carry bag. :)


As you can see from the on-board footage, the acetate I've used for a windshield isn't perfectly see-through, it's got a slight mist to it - tinting everything slightly white and blurring the outside, just ever so-slightly. Does anyone else on here fly with a mobius or go pro behind a windshield? What material do you use?
 

Yankee2003

Well-known member
UnEZ Bronco and Nano Scout (re)maidened today in slightly better conditions. Don't believe what my 7-year old Director of Photography says when she mentions that the weather is "nice and warm today". It was -2°C... Children are crazy.

It was nice out, though.


That was excellent. I have two kids…..both grown….both still crazy. But a great kind of crazy. What great memories.
Thank you for the videos.