Swappable - Bloody Wonder MkIII (Free Plans)

by SP0NZ | January 8, 2015 | (30) Posted in Projects

Introduction

The FT Bloody Wonder was the first plane I really learned to fly RC on. It was not my first plane, but it was the first plane I had success with. For that reason it will always have a special place in my hangar. I can't think of a better way to honor that than by trying to make an already great design even better.

Some of the things that I thought needed a little tweaking were the vertical stabilizers, the fuselage, and the build process (particularly attaching the wing and horizontal stabilizer to the fuselage).

Objectives

I set out to improve on the original FT Bloody Wonder V1/V2 designed by Josh Bixler. The goals I set for this were as follows:

  • Maintain as much of the look and flight characteristics of the original FT Bloody Wonder as possible
  • Design a new and stronger fuselage taking some styling queues from its namesake, the Bloody Micks FunBat
  • Make the build process easier by using tabbed construction for easier alignment and positioning of wing and tail to the fuselage
  • Make a new (optional) tail configuration to prevent the vertical stabilizers from being damaged during landings
The development process started well over a year-and-a-half ago when I put a pair of FT Delta tails on the Bloody Wonder horizontal stabilizer.  If flew great and I didn't have to worry about the tails taking damage anyore, even when I managed to pull of a "good" landing.
 
Since then I have built several other FT designs.  I decided to incorporate some of the newer FT features into my new version of the Bloody Wonder, and the MkIII is the result.
 
Here is the MkIII with one of my favorite tail configurations.

Basic Specifications:

Wing Span: 28 inches
Length: 24 inches
Wing Area: 221.2 sq. inches
CG: 1.75 inches from leading edge
Channels: 3
Controls: Throttle, Aileron, Elevator
Model Type: Combat / Stunt
Build Level: Intermediate
Pilot Level: Beginner (Basic Setup) / Intermediate (Advanced Setup)
 

Power Options:

Basic Setup

Prop: 9 X 4.7 Slow FLy
Motor: 1300 kv 24 gram hexTronik
ESC: 10-12 amp
Battery: 1000 mah 3S 11.1V 20C
Weight (AUW): 13 oz.
Wing Loading: 8.46 oz./sq. ft.
WCL: 6.8

Advanced Setup

Prop: APC 8 X 6
Motor: 1200 kv NTM PropDrive 2826
ESC: 25-30 amp
Battery: 2200 mah 3S 11.1V 30C
Weight (AUW): 19.2 oz
Wing Loading: 12.5 oz/ft^2
WCL: 10.1

 
Here is the MkIII with the original vertical stabilzers.  This one I call the Bloody Warhawk (I only wish that colored packing tape came in olive drab.)

Included in the free plans, are several tail configuration options.  In fact, there are 8 different variations to choose from.
 

Free Plans

Full-Size
Tiled


* Please take a few moments to log in and rate this article and maybe leave me a comment on what you like or don't like about.  Thank you.


Maiden Flight (Vertical Tail Configuration)

 

Build Thread

The latest and most up-to-date Instructions for building the BW MkIII are available in my build thread on the Flite Test forums:  Bloody Wonder MkIII - Build

 

If you build one, please post a picture or video in the build thread.  I'd love to see it.  And, if you have suggestions for improvements, let me know.  Who knows, maybe they'll show up on the Bloody Wonder MkIV.

 

Special thanks to Josh Bixler for the original design of the FT Bloody Wonder.

COMMENTS

SGRacer on January 9, 2015
I have built and flown this many times and absolutely love the resilience. On my high throws, it looks like it is doing 5-7 rotations a second! and the double wall body can take a beating! I do one thing to make it more resilient. I peal back the paper of the nose for about 3-4 inches, then lay down hot glue, put the paper back and squeegee with a scrap piece of foam; rock solid.

My only annoyance with this build is the roundness of the body, just takes a while to cut out (this plane has 4 long rounded pieces)
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SP0NZ on January 9, 2015
Great tip on the nose reinforcement, I will have to give that a try!

The body design was a style choice based on a couple of things. First, a little bit of a throw-back to the Bloody Micks FunBat that inspired the FT design; Second, I'm using it on at least two other spin-offs of this design. The body lines better fit the look of the Ugly Wonder and Bloody Baron designs that I will be releasing. I contemplated changing the line for the MkIII, but in the end decided to keep the same fuselage for all 3 designs. Maybe the MkIV? ;)
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SGRacer on January 9, 2015
I also love the moved vertical stabs. I put mine in the middle and they don't get bent and messed up on rough landings.
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SP0NZ on January 9, 2015
That's the main thing I wanted to "fix" with my own Bloody Wonders, my tails kept getting floppy on me. :)
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SP0NZ on January 9, 2015
@SGRacer "My only annoyance with this build is the roundness of the body, just takes a while to cut out (this plane has 4 long rounded pieces)"

Then you really aren't going to like the Ugly Wonder that I'll be releasing soon. ;)
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Bellows on January 16, 2015
Hi Everybody,
I just wanted to thank Josh and Sponz for this great design. It is an easy build and a fun flyer. I just maidened mine yesterday and I love it. You can see it here if you like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTxEEf5t6m0

Notice I copied Sponz's look also. Very Nice touch! I used the smallest vertical stabilizers to minimize damage. I think it worked as the tree that tried to eat it did no harm.
LooseBruce

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SP0NZ on January 16, 2015
Great build and great video Bruce. Thanks again for sharing your experience with it. It's good to see someone else enjoying it!
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Noobi1951 on January 10, 2015
Looks great! Thanks for the build thread. The idea for stiffening the nose is one I will try to incorporate in future builds as some of my landings are rather rough.
After my initial Bloody Wonder's nose became to misshapen I made a new fuselage with a triangular cross section. It really stiffened up the nose, but it Is no longer swappable, and the interior space is quite limited. I cut an access door in the side of the fuselage for battery replacements.
I too have loose floppy tails : ), and will try the modification you have come up with.
Thanks again.
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SP0NZ on January 10, 2015
Thanks Noobi1951. I plan to do build threads for all my future designs as well.
The P-40 Warhawk inspired Bloody Wonder MkIII I made for the build thread will probably be the last one I make with the original vertical stabilizers. They never hold up for me.
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Hellbender on January 15, 2015
Oh the plans are amazing. I love the cover page, the 2D bloody wonder in the upper corner is great. My vertical stabilizers are always mangaled as well, although the flight characteristics seem not to be affected to badly. Giving up the vertical launch capability is a difficult choice. I may try the MKIII along with 4 popsicle sticks at the aft for vertical takeoff.
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SP0NZ on January 15, 2015
Wow, thanks for the positive feedback on the plans Hellbender. Keep in mind that the MkIII gives you the option to build the BW with or without VTO (vertical take-off) capability. You can choose which tail configuration you want to use. All the options are included in the plans.
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bmosinski on March 5, 2015
Going to build this one tonight Thanks for sharing! Can you tell me what application you used to create your plans?
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SP0NZ on March 5, 2015
Please post some pics in the build thread, I'd love to see how it turns out and what configuration you went with.

The actual plans are done in AutoCAD, but the 3D modeling is done in Inventor.
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GVNguyen on August 25, 2016
Thanks SPONZ... I got the BW MKIII Plans . Our Club have at least 7 planes and we do Combat
every time we have an special Even . Also thanks to Josh, the designer....
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shanetill254 on March 30, 2017
Thank you Sponz for all the hard work.

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Muhammad Hashir Khan on June 24, 2019

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Swappable - Bloody Wonder MkIII (Free Plans)