My FT Mini Arrow Story

Hello Flite Test community, I would like to tell you about my FT Mini Arrow project. A few weeks back I decided to build a Mini Arrow for FPV  and downloaded the tiled plans. The motor I planned to use was a 2205/2000kv and a 20 amp speed control. My FPV set up was a Lumenier camera and a DYS 200mw transmitter. I planned to power the wing with a 3S 860mAh Pulse battery rated at 35C.

I never built or flown a wing before and was a little bit worried because I always thought that wings would be difficult to fly, but I had complete faith that the Flite Test crew knew how to design a good plane. The build was super easy and all the pieces went together without any issues, the only problem I had was trying to figure out the center of gravity. With the camera in the nose and the transmitter in the wing, I just couldn't find a good balance with the battery inside the fuselage no matter how far back I tried to place it. I finally ended up putting a piece of velcro on the top placed far back near the motor and found my CG this way. It was a successful maiden flight and the Arrow exceeded all my expectations! This is a great design and I was surprised on how easy and responsive it is to fly! In the video below I have some FPV footage of that first flight!

Afterwards, I still wanted to sort out the CG issue and put the battery inside the fuselage, so I removed the FPV gear and placed my transmitter receiver on the top where the battery was before. I made a small "wing" to protect the receiver from damage in case the plane ever ended upside down on landing. This did straighten out the CG issue and I did fly it like this as a line of sight plane for a couple of days. I then experimented with a "Flame Job" design to help get a better visual of the top side of the plane when it was up in the air. This design worked out great! Not only could I easily tell which side was up after completing a series of rolls, but when it was coming towards me head on I could make out the bright red top of the wing! Then this happened.

It was no fault of the design or plane, but my own pilot error. I was flying low and fast in front of me and decided to try some low altitude rolls, unfortunately I forgot that I was standing in front of a group of trees and the plane quickly disappeared behind one! Before I could react to what was going on, I heard the sickening sound of Dollar Tree foamboard hitting a solid object! However, all is not lost, all the electronics are still okay and I have already began construction on a new Arrow. This time I plan on figuring out the CG issue with the FPV gear re-installed!

Here is my question to all of you in the Flite Test community, I would like to design a graphics file with the flames for everyone to download, but I don't think the flames are enough. Should I put a different design on the underside too and what should it be? Should I add lettering or windows to the plane? I would really like to know what the community thinks, so please leave me your ideas below! Thanks for checking out my article and I hope to hear from all of you soon!

Sincerely, Mike Flores-Mafco Designs.