FPV Warbird - Project

Around Christmas time of 2014, I crashed my FPV plane, the FT Blunt Nose Versa Wing. I desperately needed a new platform for flying FPV. Inspired by those who were putting FPV on warbirds, like David Windestal, I decided that I should scratch build some sort of scale FPV plane instead of another wing.

The Twin FPV Warbird was born. Here are two films, to show what it does, and the build log to show how I made it.

The Films

(First action packed one)

(Second more relaxed one)

The Build

After coming up with some concept sketches, I cut out and built some simple engine pods. This was to be my first twin engined plane.

I then progressed to cut out a fuselage. I basically came up with the shape by drawing shapes onto the foam with templates. A very simple technique. 

I made the wing with quite a thick airfoil and under cambered wingtips. The engine pods were glued onto the bottom, wires going into the wing and out of the centre. The wing was then glued onto the fuselage. Again, very basic and not that complicated. 

After finishing the control surfaces and wiring, I decided to do a quick maiden flight to see how it flew. 

Lets just say it didn't go great. 

I had rushed the last stage of building and making sure everything was right. I had given too little elevator control. The plane had pitched up from a bad hand launch. It then stalled and smashed into the field. Anyway, I fixed it. 

I did a second test flight which, thankfully, was epic. I therefore rewarded the plane with some decoration. 

I had based the design on a twin engined plane from the Soviet Union during the Second World War, so I went for that theme to be a bit different. 

Here it is on the third test flight. 

After adding some weathering to give it some character, I experimented with the camera gear. I made a camera anchoring mount for my GoPro Hero, and looked into attaching the FPV gear. 

Here is the viewing window I cut into the bottom. Like the plane this aircraft is based this on, it allows for a greater field of view from the cockpit.  

Previously the field of view had been too small during the first camera test flights. 

This is why I cut the viewing window in the floor and positioned the camera slightly further forward and slightly higher up. I also added a canopy frame made from some sort of thick card. 

The result was pleasing. 

The engines make a nice synchronised whirring noise too.

Here how the plane looks now. I replaced the three bladed props with simpler two bladed ones in order to attach some nice looking yellow spinners. I essentially 'pimped my warbird'. 

On this design of mine, I've found I really love the contrast of shapes. The rounded yet triangular wing tips, the curved engine pod tops, the square fuselage and oval vertical stabilizers.

I also like the cockpit detail, which contrasts with the simplicity of the shapes in the airframe. 

In the future I am going to use this plane for all sorts of things. I may add a joystick that moves with paired servos. I may also add a bomb drop and cool features for the cockpit such as lights and gun and bomb aiming sights. I may do smaller articles on these developments too. 

Here is my previous FPV experience in the form of the FPV Versa Wing. The unrestricted view is nice for some purposes, but it doesn't have quite the same feeling. Having a cockpit where you can see controls and dials is nice as it feels like more of an actual complicated machine. 

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you did, maybe you could check out my Youtube Channel for more content. 

Thanks for reading!