My Build of the FT Simple Soarer

Hello Flite Test Community,

I have not written an article for a while, (What is wrong with me?) so I decided to document my recent FT Simple Soarer build. I have been wanting a nice toss around glider for a while and since I have really enjoyed flying FT planes in the past I thought I would give their glider try. 

Enough chat, lets build.

The way any FT plane starts. A sheet of Adam's foam board, an IPad, a hotglue gun and some bamboo skewers.

Here are the electronics I used for this particular build:

Two nine gram servos: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__662__HXT900_9g_1_6kg_12sec_Micro_Servo.html

HK 18-20 amp ESC:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__6548__Hobbyking_SS_Series_18_20A_ESC_card_programmable_.html

Orange RX 6ch reciever:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__28554__OrangeRx_R615_Spektrum_JR_DSM2_Compatible_6Ch_2_4Ghz_Receiver.html

FC 28-12 Brushless Outrunner

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__5423__FC_28_12_Brushless_Outrunner_1534kv.html

1300mah 3 cell or 1000mah 2 cell, you'repick.

1300 3s:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9272__Turnigy_1300mAh_3S_20C_Lipo_Pack.html

1000 2s:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__20841__Turnigy_1000mAh_2S_20C_Lipo_Pack_USA_Warehouse_.html?strSearch=1000%20mah%202s

(Unfortanetly I can not find where I bought the folding prop, but this one would probably work.)

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__4329__Folding_Propeller_7_5x4inch.html 

Heres the motor I'm using. It is a bit more powerful than the blue wonder Josh Bixler used on his glider. Since I had one of these lying around I thought "Why Not?"

I did not buy the speed build kit for this glider, but if you are new to the hobby I would highly recommend getting one. They come with everything you need to build the plane for a very resonable price. The laser cut firewall FT sells works very well and is what I used on this glider.

I also bought some of their control horns. You can't go wrong for $4.

Here is the assembled power pod. 

While digging through old supplies I found this carbon fiber folding propeller. With a bit of modifying I was able to fit it onto the shaft of the motor. I want this to be a decent motor glider and using a folding prop really helps with drag issues.

This particular wing was a bit more difficult to cut out then most of FT's wings. I prefer to use a single edge razor when cutting out wings like this, for they have a more narrow blade than an exacto and also cut straight lines more easily. This wing is REALLY long so be sure to have a good straight edge when cutting it out.

Here it is, assembled and ready to fly. The most difficult part was putting in the dihedral. Be sure to use a lot of glue and let it sit for a long time with the dihedral guage in place. Besides that it was reletively simple.

 Another shot of the wing.

 Here are the tail surfaces. For these I used an exacto blade because they are better at cutting curves.

The fuselage all cut out. The biggest thing I have to say for this is TAKE YOUR TIME! If you try to rush the cutting out process your fuselage will not assemble nicely in the next couple of steps.

Here it is, all assembled! Be sure to have a 90° angle close by. 

Here are the installed servos. As you can see it is a very tight fit.

Assembled tail surfaces. Once again a square is very helpful in this step.

Power pod in place. As you can see the folding prop does not really interfere with the design itself.

I had the option of mounting the battery externally, but as I said before I would much rather have an aerodynamiclly clean glider. There is just barely enough room for a 1300 mah 3 cell.

I'll do some testing to see wich battery preforms better. The 1300 runs the motor at a higher rpm, but it is quite a bit heavier than the 1000.

Another shot of the nose.

Here's a shot of me just messing around with the focus on my new DSLR. Also helps show how large this plane is for a swappable.

 Decal Time! No glider is complte without some nice red tail stripes, right.

I also added two bands around one wing to make it easier to spot on high altitude flights.

She's done!

I am very excited to fly this glider but unfortanetly Iowa winters are not the best time to fly...

Ughhh... Snow. Once this stuff melts I'll be sure to post some flight videos and a review of it's charcteristics.

I'd like to thank Flite Test for desigining this awesome glider and you the reader for reading my article.

Until next time,

Winging It R/C