*Unofficial* FT Spear

[localfiend]

Not well so far. Hard to get going with the prop thunking in the water about 1/2 inch.

I put a 9x6 on for first flight, which was more of a paddle. Next will try smaller prop or a bit more foam.

Seems to be getting kinda massive though?

Massive an really heavy. Looks cool, but you might have to have a small prop and hot motor to make it work.

You could always just add a set of floats. Much lighter weight and more aerodynamic.

http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?24068-Easy-to-Build-Swappable-DTF-Floats-amp-Ski-s

 

[RC Sea Foam Guy]

Hey thanks for the link to the floats. They look great.
I am currently in a Steampunk or Dieselpunk look mode.
I put a hull on a Kraken and it works well.
Tried to do the same on the Spear while letting air flow to the prop.

 

[Mitchmoo5000]

That Kraken looks AWESOME! Do you have any other pics/vid/plans?

Hey thanks for the link to the floats. They look great.
I am currently in a Steampunk or Dieselpunk look mode.
I put a hull on a Kraken and it works well.
Tried to do the same on the Spear while letting air flow to the prop.

 

[Edwardchew]

Just maiden this and super happy with it! It just flew like a tuned/locked in mini quad with FC! Awesome!
And I realized my A1 printed slightly smaller, so had to trim a bit at the back to fit a 9inch.
3s 3000mah 2212 1000kv GF 9045 lasted me 30min, broke my neck... and it's kinda underpowered.
To try 4S and FPV tomorrow. Yeepee!

 

[larryoakley]

CG ????

Hi guys, what CG you getting on the Spear? I am finishing mine with FPV setup (Runcam2 as FPV&recording camera, 600mw VTX, Eagletree OSD pro, 3200mAh battery, 40A ESC, NTM 3035 / 1400Kv motor), simply cannot get the recommended CG between 3"...3.5". what I get is a CG around 4.25"..4.5", already tried putting everything as fordwar as possible without success.

Just to clarify, Im taking the CG reading at the wing root / leading edge, attached you will find a picture of the electronics arrangement while trying to get the CG right.

 

[_0CooL_]

HI SPEAR's fans,

I will build this arrow next month, but I have a problem for the motor/prop.

- NTM Prop Drive Series 28-26A 1200kv / 286w
https://www.hobbyking.com/en_us/ntm-prop-drive-series-28-26a-1200kv-286w.html

- ESC 30A 3A UBEC
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobby-king-30a-esc-3a-ubec.html

- LiPo 4S like 2200mAh

But witch prop ?

Thx for All

 

[jpot1]

The 3 - 3.5 is when measured from the back where the motor mount is, not the LE. Mine flew great that way at the 3 in mark.

 

[jpot1]

HI SPEAR's fans,

I will build this arrow next month, but I have a problem for the motor/prop.

- NTM Prop Drive Series 28-26A 1200kv / 286w
https://www.hobbyking.com/en_us/ntm-prop-drive-series-28-26a-1200kv-286w.html

- ESC 30A 3A UBEC
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobby-king-30a-esc-3a-ubec.html

- LiPo 4S like 2200mAh

But witch prop ?

Thx for All

9 inch. I started with a similar motor with an 8 in and found it a bit sluggish. 4s should also help.

 

[magic_marty]

Has anybody tried any type of Flight Controller (APM CCD ect..) I have all the parts cut out and am about to begin the build and plan on installing a APM2.6 board but it looks like i might be in for a challenge due to the spear not being thick enough..Haven't did any measuring yet but i believe the plugs on the APM are going to hit the hatch when it's closed and i don't currently have a extra side pin APM ..

Also interested if anybody can confirm that a 1000kv running 4s will be suffeceint enough power

 

[larryoakley]

The 3 - 3.5 is when measured from the back where the motor mount is, not the LE. Mine flew great that way at the 3 in mark.

LOL.... in other words, I was taking the opposite reading, that explains everything.

Thanks for the clarification!!:black_eyed:

 

[Edwardchew]

Has anybody tried any type of Flight Controller (APM CCD ect..) I have all the parts cut out and am about to begin the build and plan on installing a APM2.6 board but it looks like i might be in for a challenge due to the spear not being thick enough..Haven't did any measuring yet but i believe the plugs on the APM are going to hit the hatch when it's closed and i don't currently have a extra side pin APM ..

Also interested if anybody can confirm that a 1000kv running 4s will be suffeceint enough power

My APM should be in the mailbox by today. spec wise looks to fit well but will have to rotate by 90degree. shall see.
http://www.banggood.com/Mini-APM-Pr...ticopter-p-982501.html?p=DG23031123036201501P

I'm running 2212 1000kv with GF 9x4 but feel like lack of power on 3S 3000mah, flying mostly at 60% thro.
Then I tried 4S 3000mah, too mostly flying at 60% thro. wth... didn't feel much different.

 

[Edwardchew]

Perfect fit! and rotate APM orientation by YAW:90

 

[magic_marty]

Got mine finished up with APM 2.6 mounted slightly off to the side to allow for battery placement to get the correct CG..Weight came in without battery at 19.5 ounces just a tiny bit under the specs with the bottom completely covered in packing tape for those belly landings...Setting up the APM is a lot different then on quads which i have several and also a 450 Heli with APM but on a plane it's a lot more tedious cause of all the different parameters ...Hoping for a uneventful maiden this weekend..
EDIT..I just remembered it was not the width but the plugs hitting the hatch cause of it being a top pin so a side pin 2.6 should work but might be a bit tricky plugging in the plugs ..

 

[magic_marty]

That is a perfect fit , that is how i wanted to mount the 2.6 but it is a bit to wide even without the case its just to snug for my liking..so i placed the rx and power supply there instead..the motor i have mounted is a 2830 if i remember correctly 1100kv .. Going to try a 2200 4s see how it does..

 

[sanmatisse]

Has anybody tried any type of Flight Controller (APM CCD ect..) I have all the parts cut out and am about to begin the build and plan on installing a APM2.6 board but it looks like i might be in for a challenge due to the spear not being thick enough..Haven't did any measuring yet but i believe the plugs on the APM are going to hit the hatch when it's closed and i don't currently have a extra side pin APM ..

Also interested if anybody can confirm that a 1000kv running 4s will be suffeceint enough power

I will be using a CC3D Atom in my next build for stability and will let you know how it goes. It was previously used in a 250 quad. The LibrePilot GCS has a wizard that makes it really easy to set up for fixed wing (flying wing specifically).

I scratch built and flew the Spear with no FC and it flew great. I had some trim issue at first but what doesn't?

For power I am using a 920KV motor from a DJI E300 propulsion kit, a 30 amp hobby king esc, a turnigy 2200mah 3S and a 9x4.5 APC prop. The only extra equipment was a Floureon action cam (almost exact same specs as gopro 3) mounted.
I am pretty new to fixed wing so it has plenty of power for me. Just over half throttle kept a nice line. I have a 1100kv motor ordered for this next one and will see how much difference that makes.
The next one will have a board camera and a transmitter in addition to the action cam.

 

[tanner331]

Would a NTM prop drive 28-26 1100kv motor work for the spear?
Here is a link
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/ntm-prop-drive-series-28-26-1100kv-252w.html
I am planning on using 3s setup.
I am also planning on building this plane as a basic fpv plane.
Also what is the most weight that this plane can carry?
I have a 4s battery that I could use but it is heavier and I was seeing what the max aircraft weight is to see if it could be used.
Thanks
Tanner

 

[magic_marty]

I always do a kind of generic thrust test..I hold the plane vertical and start applying throttle and see how much throttle it takes to lift it's own weight...On my spear with the Aerodrive 2830 1000kv it takes about 3/4 throttle on a 2200 4s pack...So it should cruise pretty well at half throttle i hope..If it turns out to be under powered i plan on trying this motor and see how it does..http://www.valuehobby.com/power-sys...runner-airplane/gforce-e450-1200kv-motor.html

 

[magic_marty]

Update...Had a fairly exciting maiden today but lucky no crash, turned out the control surface throws are super sensitive on high rates and i didn't have the lows set yet..Did the auto-tune for the APM and now have it flying pretty well accept some fine tuning Lim_Roll_CD needs to be bumped up cause in FBWA mode it banks very lightly and makes a large wide turn..Also need to bump up the lim_pitch_min/max to increase the climb rate in FBWA mode..As mentioned earlier in the thread it is really loud, so loud i can't hear my lipo alarm inside the battery compartment..The 2830 1000kv has plenty of power on 4s just wish it was not so loud...lol


Bit off topic but i also set up a APM on my Storch and it performs extremely well also needs the pitch/roll limits increased ..
Still learning a lot about Arduplane but getting there slowly it's a lot different then Arducopter for multi-rotors..

 

[magic_marty]

Believe i found a solution to the noisy prop here's a link to a very interesting experiment that shows in the video it works!!
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1608266

Defiantly going to give this a try on both the Spear and the mini arrow...Will update any success or failure ..Stay tuned!

 

[Azyune]

Hi,

Just want to share my spear build. Power system is Emax XA2212 1400kv + Skywalker 20A esc + 8x4.5 Apc style prop + 3s 2200mah.
It cruise fine at half throttle but feel sluggish if full power so have to ask someone to launch it for me. No need to install flight stabilizer for me since it flew very stable no shaking, accurate control response with 40% expo. I can enjoy relaxing fpv but now will going for more powerful setup.