Strix Stratosurfer

[Maingear]

I got the preorder notification, tried to ignore it.... but I waited, and waited, and waited. The day finally came to place the order to RMRC for the Stratosurfer. It came in a well designed box!

Update- After several flights, I love it. Its cruise speed and handling is a lot like the E-Flite Pawnee, but much easier to land than the Pawnee. This is the perfect plane for the mature FPV pilot who has somewhere to go because of its efficiency. This plane covers so much ground, flying it as a park flyer will require a 80 acre field, in other words a large park. Develop the skills needed by setting up something like the Bix3, when you board with that plane then get a Stratosurfer.





More boxes inside!

 

[Maingear]

Wings already had servos installed. Flaps servo mounts are cut out in the same direction so only one channel is used.

Wing Photos....You can see that the wind is a two piece using similar molding methods as Durafly and E-Flight


Attach fittings go all the way through so the foam is not compressed. (leading Edge Bottom)


As the screws pass through the wing cap, they can slide around and hunt for the holes as long as it takes without eating up the foam.



Primary and secondary control surface servo wires pass through this tunnel. No exposed wires, very nice touch!


No guess work as to where to install control horn hardware, except it didn't come with any!

 

[Maingear]

Fuselage
I flipped the fuselage over and took a shot at the forward wing attach doubler.



This is the structure under the wing. Looks like a great location for an autopilot! I tugged on the wood, it's a good glue joint. No hot glue here. The bottom piece of wood runs all the way to the nose.



Looking Down under the canopy, they already installed Velcro! I like the way they do PNF!



A look at the foam layer the tray sits on, should absorb belly landings?



I pulled the hatch off of the rear equipment bay. Nice hole to route wire to GPS, Vtx, or autopilot arm switch



Look at how thick this plastic is. Much better than the Volentex Ranger 757. A boss was installed by the factory to prevent compression of the fuselage, it makes a secure connection. Once again, no exposed servo wires.

 

[Maingear]

Power Pod and wing spar. I pulled out the multimeter and found the spar to be conductive!

Update - ESCs are 40 Amp now and are being shipped from RMRC. Sustained WOT (Wide Open Throttle) with 30 Amp ESC and this motor/prop combo will result in motor pulsating.



Plenty of slack, Look how short the battery lead is! Plenty of room to put a power module in for an autopilot. Look at the ply doubler, for cam/GPS?



This motor mount blows me away! Do these come in three's? This could be an awesome twin!

 

[Maingear]

I really like the way they designed this airframe! That prop is no joke. My perception was it was to small because I have the same length on my mini skywalker, but my flights would prove me wrong. It's making me rethink using the largest prop possible every time I can.

24"extensions go to the ruder and elevator. Insolation on wires are tough, but feel grippy like rubber or silicon and not slick like cheap plastic. That third screw hold the empennage together. No spare parts here! The ply double is for the flat shelf in front of the canopy's base. No naked wires!


This control horn is typical through out the control surfaces. Elevator servo is on top so the grass won't catch it!


Cam mount on the elevator? Never though about that, can't wait to try!


Foam appears to made of black foam and not painted.


Ply was factory installed.


Already hollowed out to aid in routing of straps and wires.

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

Nicce! for FPV?

 

[Maingear]

Yes, I will be installing 1.3 Vtx and a 433 RX. Will fly manually for a few months before I put something in that gives me altitude hold and return to launch.

I'd love to print a modified version of the top canopy to put the video equipment in. With the 1.3 antenna sticking straight up, it should look like it has hair! Lol

Can't wait to fly it! Everything I didn't like about the skysurfer and bix series has been addressed in this design.

Justin

 

[Maingear]

Printed the cam mount, got file here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1079222

Used 3M outdoor mounting tape to attach to canopy's platform. I'll weigh it and add ballast for maiden. Mobius will be along for the ride.

Justin

 

[liamnave]

nice plane man!

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

Looovly!

 

[French]

I saw this saw box on the floor of FT HQ in today's vlog

 

[Maingear]

Thanks!

I saw that too, will be interesting to see how they set it up.

Here is my solution for wiring video....
So the wires are neatly tucked, I used to solder these microscopic wires and would burn the insulation off of them. The cables I bought were never the right size for my needs... What to do?



Eithernet connections (7 grams) and a punchdown tool!

Total finished weight of fpv canopy is 98 grams. I'll use BBs in a bag as ballast for my first flight.


Make a plan, then wire to it. Check for proper continuity on every circuit before hooking to components. Here I jumped positive, ground and video (the wires that go across connector). I usually give video separate channels so the camera can feed out of the connector and to a switch so I can change to the action cam's view, then back up into the connector and out to the Vtx.


I crimped two wires in the correct position, then soldered a JST for battery connection. I painted on some liquid tape later.


There it is! I mounted it with tape. Now I need to download the latest dragon link firmware and set flight control travels. - Justin

 

[Crazy Goats]

Sweet plane man! I like how it is rather.. reminiscent of the old days of FT. Is that 1.2 or 900 you are running?

 

[Maingear]

Thank you Nick! How is it reminiscent?

It is 1.2 (I'll plaquer everything before I fly- KM4VYW)

Justin

 

[Maingear]

First flight in slomo. It shows how responsive it is to inputs. I was not using expo. Should dial a little in on the ailerons.
https://youtu.be/IcsBWsFq4aw


4S 5000Mah was about 3-4 inches from the nose, so if you use a cam on the tail you will need a heavy battery. I want to move the Mobius to the canopy and fly with a 4S 3300Mah.


I took off with a 12 mph crosswind, should not have attempted until aircraft was trimmed. There was a guy flying a phantom beside me, he was flying it close to him... Maybe get some footage from him? On final I didn't see it on my scan. Then as I was a foot off the deck I saw it....I was committed to the landing at that point... Dragged the left wing tip and slid sideways to a stop 15 feet from the phantom. He had landed it on the runway, 60 feet from him. Old Velcro that was holding the Mobius on was the only thing that needed attention, otherwise the plane was in perfect shape.

He was a real nice guy out with his kids. He had 15 min of flight time that day. No not just that day, ever! I gave him a 10 min overview on his obligations with this new hobby. He was completely clueless about registration or the 5 mile airport requirement.

Flew two more times again this morning. Wind was calm and I flew with the canopy. I put 25% expo on the aileron and 15% on the elevator. It flew great. The LH aileron linkage was screwed in one complete turn and it now flies on rails. This plane is slick, very efficient, and loves to travel! Not for a beginner. This should be a second or third FPV rig because it cruises fast. This is exactly what I need to cover ground.

Justin

 

[Fyathyrio]

By loves to travel, do you mean the wings are easy on/off, and the wing mount sturdy enough to handle repeated removal and installation? If so, sounds like a great plane to replace my aging Dynam Hawksky.

 

[Maingear]

I threw it in the back of my 4runner and didn't even think about portability. I'll throw it In my wife's toyota matrix for scale. There are 4 philip head screws that passes through a top piece, then the wings before it secures to the fuselage top. With no spares, I'd be paranoid about losing one of these screws.

Didn't fit with the wings on. Wings off or seats folded down. no problem.

 

[Maingear]

Received an e-mail notification from RMRC that an updated ESC is on the way. They have revised the ESC spec from 30amp to 40amp. I'm thankful they took care of me even though I never contacted them, didn't know there was an issue.

This is going to be easy, 4 screws and long leads, everything will be accessible. Similar air frames have a two piece motor pod that require gluing and would have made this simple upgrade a big headache!

Justin

 

[Maingear]

Here is the new ESC


Removed the 4 wing attach screws out to get access to the receiver, then unplugged the throttle channel. you can see I added something to the power supply, it is simple to install and helps clean the power up. Not needed for basic systems. 6amp BEC is a nice upgrade as well. The ESC's manual was not included, Doubt if it will need adjusting

Wires are a little thicker...


Ready for action!


Justin

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

Thats nice of them! When are you flying?