Nice job on that build! Looks great. Great platform for FPV, isn't it! I love mine. I see more people are putting the wing tip plates forward a bit to clear the elevons so you don't have to trim a little bit of it off. I actually like using the wing tip plates as a vertical stand for mine.
Thanks! It really is a great FPV Platform. I am replacing the pushrods with some thicker ones as they are flexing a lot in flight and causing some down elevator spikes, lol. This was my first experience with painting the foam board. I learned some good tricks to getting the tape off without it taking the paper too! I really just wanted to add some color without adding weight so I tried some paint in the airbrush that allowed me to paint straight onto the paper without sealing it first. So far so good, with no paper lifting!
I like the idea of being able to use the winglets as a vertical stand. I will have to try that on my next one...
What kind of motor, propeller, esc and battery combination do you use?
Thanks. Very nice airplane! What kind of motor, propeller, esc and battery combination do you use? How fast is your wing and what flight time do you get? Do you use 4S battery? What is the weight of the airplane? I am building my own version of blunt nose versa wing from taped extruded polystyrene. I would like to achieve nice speed (vertical unlimited) and good flight times. Any advice, please? Regards
My Wing is already nearly finished. I did not use FoamBoard as FliteTest uses. I used 5 mm thick Extruded Polystyrene Boards and I reinforced them with package tape. The current total weight of the Wing with just servos is 226 grams only. And it feels it can handle some speed as it looks and feels stiff and smooth. That it is why I started to think that I can give it some speed. And I am deciding what kind of motor, esc, propeller and batterry combination to select.
With 900kv 720w motor with 65-75A ESC, 10x10 propeller on 4S batterry it gives maximum speed 168.1 km/h and 1892g thrust. Do you think it is too much? Flight time 9-15 minutes. Or should I select lower max speed with longer flight time?
The expected total flight weight could be around 1100g.
Just finished up my first BNV. After building a few other speed-build kits and scratches - Old Speedster, Flyer, Mustang, Mini Guinea - I must say that this was a pretty simple build. A little bit of problem solvingn required at the end with regard to power setup choices, gear placement, and achieving good CG, but all good and simple in the end.
We don't have DTFB out here in the islands, so I'm using Office Depot brand - a little heavier, slightly more rugged, though not so much like Elmers. The result was a sexy sturdy wing weighing in just around a Kilogram AUW (will double check that) - that is with a 4000 3S up front, next to a Turnigy Trust 45 with an NTM 2836 2200kv swinging a 7x4 APC. A bit over propped I know, but it gets me better performance than the 6x4. And the motor is just what I had lying around. I have a 2830 1200kv on the way. Currently sans FPV gear.
A note on motor and CG - this was tough. I have motor mounted forward of the firewall, and forward of original motor placement position. Had to cut away several inches in the aft for prop to clear. Result is a clean look and good CG.
Maiden today was easy and successful. Though I was pretty nervous as I've never launched or flown a wing. But wasn't bad - I was in fact quite impressed how smooth of a flyer it was. Even a good SE 10mph wind was barely noticeable.
First launch, I must say, was rather dramatic. I realized once the plane left my hand how much reflex it really needed - shot straigjt to the deck, fortunately was able to recover and bring it in to adjust. My reflex is around 10 deg! Is that concurrent with anyone else?
Kept flight short so I could practice more launches. Unfortunately on second landing, prop struck which popped off the motor mount - was glued directly to the paper. So had to go in early. Any recommendations out there for prop clearance or securing firewall well?
Notes:
-CG achieved by motor prop assembly forward and cutting foam for prop clearance
-CF tubes on pushrods for rigidity
-4000mah 3S fits beautifully and balances well
-Reflex Reflex Reflex
Nice job pushjerk, and mahalo for the sight of warm weather and green grass! You asked about recommendations for mounting the motor mount: I cut out the paper from underneath where I will mount the motor, so that I'm gluing wood to foam. I've also done the same using an old gift card so that there's a larger base area for the motor assembly because sometime the foam can come up on harder landings. 10 degree flex sounds like a lot -- I think I have mine at about 4-5 degree, but how does it fly at mid throttle with no elevator input?
Deurdiewind, welcome to the flite test forums and congratulations on a nice looking build! I hope for a great first flight. For me, a good way to remove the nervousness was to incrementally get it into the air. I first did a sort of "practice launch" / glide test, to see that the CG, launch, etc was sufficient. I did it over snow last year, but anything soft will do. Not sure if it's the best technique, but I started it with the motor at about 1/3 throttle, just so there was some thrust, and I could practice with the prop spinning, but as soon as my left hand returned to the TX, I dropped the throttle, and went to full back elevator.
Heh, I just dug up the video, and realized it was just a little over one year ago that I finished my first Versa -- my second ever FT based build/build of any flying model!
Yeah, great advice makattack on working up to a full on maiden. The ol' "chuck it" test has worked well for me in the past.
I've done what you said regarding the motor mount, removed the paper and glued the mount directly to the foam. Furthermore, I've gone so far as to reinforce the underside of the plane directly under the motor mount with some popsicle sticks and extreme packing tape, then ran a piece of tape from the top of motor mount down to the underside of the plane, toward the nose. It's not going anywhere in a non-catastrophic event. Sounds complex but is not - photos to come.
Yeah, I've never really had issues gluing directly to the paper, but the BNV is wrought with them - first the motor mount, and yesterday a servo popped off inside the wing - had to perform surgery and go in to reinforce those. Now there exist a couple of access hatches for servo service.
having fun with this little wing. Can't wait to throw an FPV setup on it. That said, can anyone recommend a miniature OSD - Voltage and time display, at least. Vector is gonna stay in my larger FPV ship.
Ok so I live in South Africa and I know this great guy that laser cuts my models for me but I really think the foam board he uses is heavier than the board available in the US. I also think on my next wing I'll strip the inner paper and definitely go with a lighter motor, I won't even go into how much weight I added to the nose to balance this wing to compensate for the heavy motor and the heavy foam board. I even moved the motor an inch forward but my all up weight is 1650 grams!!! My thoughts were how the hell do I fly a lead brick!!! Here's the maiden from earlier today we had to drive around a bit as we were trying to dodge a good old Johannesburg afternoon thunderstorm (I sill fly 35Mhz so my radio has a built in lightning conductor). So the clouds in the background are not Mordor. There was a fair 7-10km/h breeze and the and man I was trembling and despite all the advice on easing into it, we just gunned it! The launch was a bit sketchy but once she was up it was a blast. The prop squealed on the down wind stretches and turning back into the wind it was like it was doing a tailspin/slide.
Wow what a day.
FT-BNV
Motor: E-Flite Power 10 (122 grams...try CG that!!!)
Esc: Maytech 45amp programmable.
Battery: No name 3S (I don't maiden new kit, no point puffing a new battery...she flies so now she'll get a nice new Lipo)
Prop: 10X5E (Going to try a 12x6 for the next flight)
For some reason, the center section of my Blunt Nose Versa is about a half inch shorter than the two wing halves. Otherwise everything else matches perfectly. Has anyone else had that issue? Since the battery compartment will only allow a certain size to fit, what batteries are you guys using to power your setup?
