FT Guinea Pig - BUILD

FTScratchBuild-Advanced

After the HUGE success of the FT Mini Guinea we have decided to release it's big brother, the FT Guinea Pig!

If you'd like to build one of these with us you can download the plans below, trace them out on foamboard and get cutting!

FREE PLANS

• FT Guinea [FULL]
• FT Guinea [TILED]

For the first time ever we can say that if you need a solution for your electronics, WE HAVE THEM!!

We now offer Power Packs directly from us, so no more scouring the internet for your parts!

If are are picking up a Speed Build Kit there is also an option to include the required Power Pack. It will automatically add it to your total. 

*** Note, in the above image the motors used are not what's being currently sold with the PowerPack that is shown in the image above this one.  In order to use the motors in the Flite Test PowerPack, you need to add the threaded motor shaft onto the motor.  See the images below for how to do that.

So now that you can EASILY and SIMPLY get your electronics, you'll need to put them to good use! 

For this twin you will need to build two Power Pods. If you've never built one of our swappable kits before, the Power Pod is a quick way to move your electronics from kit to kit. 

The entire pod can be removed and slotted into another swappable. No need to buy multiple electronics. 

We recommend building the two Power Pods first. You can see the Power Pod build video below!

Once you have your pods done, your ready to begin!

First we'll work on the wings.

Step one is to cut a double bevel. Use a boxcutter or razorblade to cut a little beyond a 45° angle on both the aileron...

...and the leading edge. 

To join the wing halves start with a small piece of tape just to hold them together...

...then apply a larger piece of packing tape across the center. 

Now when you flip the wing over there is a hinge. 

Fill that hinge with some hot glue, flatten out the wing, then let dry. 

Next is the spar which we divided into three parts. Two of the parts are are made with an A-fold.

An A-fold means the side cheeks are ABOVE the bottom plate. You may also see etched into other pieces a B-fold, but more on that when we get there. 

Remove the small stripes of foam so you can fold the side cheeks above the bottom plate. Fill the gaps with hot glue, fold and dry. 

The last piece of the spar is this simple fold and glue piece of foam...

...reinforced on the top and bottom with paint sticks. 

Before we glue these pieces in, open up the scores in the wings on either side of where to spar will go.

Glue in the spars with the edges of the foam-only pieces touching these etchmarks. 

There are two long skinny pieces of foam that serve as back spacers. Glue those on the trailing edge of the wing. 

Next, fill the open scores on either side of the spar with some hot glue and slowly fold over the wing. 

The spar should meet parallel on the bottom of the wing.  

Now that the wing has it's shape, fill the leading edge with glue...

...along with the top of the spar. Fold over the wing just like before and let dry.

You'll notice the back spacers are still open. We'll glue these down now. 

Your wing is almost complete!

Cut a bevel just like before, but only on the ailerons. Just fold and score. 

Because this hinge is used a lot we recommend reinforcing with hot glue. Just apply a thin bead right into the hinge...

...then take a scrap piece of foam and drag as much of the excess glue out as you can. This will create a thin film of glue that holds stronger than just the paper alone. 

Lastly take a piece of skewer roughly 6 in (15 cm) long and glue it to the trailing edge. This prevents the rubber bands that hold the wings on from digging into the foam. If you like, you may also cover this with a small piece of tape. 

Now we can start to route the electronics. Insert the servo wirers into the small square holes. 

Connect them to the Y-harness and route through the middle. 

Glue in both of the control horns making sure the holes are directly above the hinge line. 

Insert the push rod through the top hole.

Thread through the linkage stopper and trim the excess rod. DON'T THROW AWAY THE EXCESS! It's still good to use!

Next up are the power pod nacelles. Remove the bits of foam between the sides and bottom. There is also a chunk near the B-fold that needs to be removed. 

Speaking of B-folds, this is where the side cheeks are BESIDE the bottom plate. For reference:

A-fold = sides ABOVE the bottom

B-fold = sides BESIDE the bottom

If you're unsure, just check the diagram. 

Fill the gaps with glue and fold up the sides. Be aware of the little tabs sticking out of the bottom now. 

With this B-fold, you will want to remove the papte from this small rectangle Josh is gluing above. Fold it over 180° and repeat on the other nacelle. 

Glue them in with the tabs keying right into the wing. Make sure the B-fold is facing the leading edge. If you pay attention to the circles punched out you won't glue it in backwards. 

Route the remainder of the dires through the wing including the battery harness and the ESC wires. 

Once you are done it should look like this. 

Next we can hook up the Power Pods and make sure our servos are centered. 

If you don't already have one, this Servo Tester is the best way to make sure everything is centered correctly. You can pick one up in our store for less than $10. Worth every penny!

When testing your motors ALWAYS TAKE YOUR PROPS OFF. No sense in hurting yourself or someone else because you wanted to save a few seconds. 

Once everything is centered and spining the right way, secure the power pods with skewers. There will be four holes etched into the nacelles where the skewers should pass through.

Leave about an inch (2.5 cm) left on either side of the skewer and break off the rest.  

Now the wing is complete and you can set it aside. 

The fuselage is next! Essentially this is just a big box, so the assembly isn't too difficult. 

Fold the sides up with a B-fold, and glue them into place. 

There are a few random pieces that look like this in your kit. This is a simple guide for the skewers to pass through. 

There are a few more etched holes similar to the ones on the nacelles where you will secure the nose. Pass a skewer through and glue in the guide.

This makes it a breeze to pass the skewer through the wide fuselage. Repeat with the holes near the tail also. 

Finish off the fuselage with the belly plate. Glue the front squarer half first, then fold the back down and glue. 

This is the battery platform/nose gear housing. Like most of the other pieces remove the small bits of foam between the sides and bottom. 

Glue two small pieces of paint stick over the etched holes. 

Then fold up the sides and front to make something box-like. 

Cut two more bits of paint stick slightly smaller than the ones you glued into the housing. Drill a hole the width of your landing gear wire through both. 

While your at it, drill out your wheels too. 

The bends for the landing gear don't really have any measurments because everyone uses different sized wheels. 

You will end up with something that looks like a question mark. 

Cut off the excess (DON'T THROW IT AWAY!) and secure with a dab of hot glue. 

Thread the nose gear wire through the housing, then through those two extra pieces of paint stick, then again through the housing. 

By gluing those extra pieces to the wire while they are inside it prevents the wire from slipping out either way. 

This slip helps keep the nose piece centered. It's just two simple A-folds. 

Onto the nose! Remove the inside paper from the tip of the nose to the etching. Do this to both sides of the nose. 

Then fold and glue. 

With one side missing paper the foam is extremely easy to mold. Slowly work the foam and bend the tips of the nose towards each other. 

The remainder of the nose looks like a bowtie. Remove the bits of foam around the outside and also the inside paper. 

Fold and glue the small tab on the end. 

Just like the other nose piece, slowly work the foam into a 'C' shape. 

You'll need to coerce the pieces together to line up the curves, but make sure everything fits nicely before you glue. 

Once your happy with the fit, just glue and dry. 

Next is the windshield. 

Remove ONLY the rectangle of paper in the middle of the score lines. 

Slowly work into a curve. 

You'll notice a small tab on one side. Angle it just a hair and it will slip underneath the "bowtie". Check the fit, glue, and trim the excess hanging off the back. 

On the bottom you will see a cut than needs to be extended all the way to the edge and opened up with a skewer. This is for the nose gear wire to slip into. 

Next take the battery platform/nose gear housing and slip it into the nose as far as it will go comfortably. Use a pen or pencil to mark where it meets the edge. 

Use this line as reference when gluing it into the fuselage. 

Now you can also glue in the slip. 

Once those pieces are dry you can install the nose piece. It should simply slip on. As before there are small holes etched into the nose. One pair at the top, one pair at the bottom. 

Here you can glue in the remainder of the skewer guides. 

For the landing gear you will see an odd looking rectangle with scores and cuts all over it.

Use the picture above to see which section needs to be removed and the other that needs completely cut off. Save this right most piece!

In the remaining score line, push the rest of the landing gear wire left from the nose in and glue. 

That piece of foam that was completly cut off can now be glued on top. 

Then finish off the landing gear sandwich by folding the entire thing over onto itself. 

This part is optional but we are going to build some wheel pants! You will need to remove the small bits of foam from the two pieces you see above. 

Fold the semi-circle according to the A-fold and B-fold on the piece. 

Remove the paper from the inside of the longer piece. 

Also remove this small tab at the back end. 

Just like the nose, with that paper removed, mold a curve into the long strip and glue onto the curved piece. 

Cut the excess and repeat to create the other. 

When aligning your pants, line them up with the crease of the fuselage. 

We made a line with a ruler just to insure the landing gear is glued straight, and YOU SHOULD TO! It's very important to prevent crabbing during take off. 

 Add a small drop of glue to the wire, install the wheels...

...and finish with another drop of glue. Cheapest wheel collars you can get!

Now go ahead and put on your pants (or don't, it's your build!)

Glue in the battery tray. 

For the tail, cut a bevel like before into the rudder. 

Reinforce with a glue hinge. 

Repeat with the elevator. 

These pieces key together and then key into the fuselage. When you glue, make sure you check for a nice 90° angle. This is very important to keep your plane flying true. 

For maximum strength, glue two skewers to the tail...

...and trim the excess. 

Just like the wing, install the rudder and elevator servos / push rods / and control horns. 

Finish off the tail with these two fins. The smaller half of the fin faces down. 

Next is to hook up everything. Every reciever will be different. Check your recievers manual for it's specific layout. 

The above video has more details for setting up your Differential Thrust in your twin engine.
(That segment start around 13:20)

Now you can thread all your wires through the top of the fuselage and secure the wing with rubber bands. 

If you haven't already you can open up the cargo do to make the elevator and rudder connections. 

Once all the connections are made you can glue your reciever inside. 

AFTER you have checked your motors and control surfaces are working properly, you can put your props back on. 

Center your servos and tighten down your linkage stoppers. 

Here is your throw gauge.

H = High (good for aerobatics and agressive flying)

L = Low (best for relaxed flying and beginners)

Make sure you check your CG and adjust your battery accordingly. 

We hope you have fun running experiments with your Guinea Pig! Make sure you take pictures and video to share with the rest of the Flite Test community. 

Thanks for your continued support and let us know if you have any designs you'd love to see made into a future Speed Build Kit!

FREE PLANS

• FT Guinea [FULL]
• FT Guinea [TILED]

DIFFERENTIAL HELP

• Differential Mixing
• Graupner Mixing File (COMING SOON)