Starchaser R/C Spaceship

by Mafco Designs | September 3, 2017 | (9) Posted in Projects

Here is my first R/C airplane design that I am making available for everyone. I'm calling it the FPV Starchaser because one of my main goals was to be able to stuff it full of FPV gear. It is made from two sheets of dollar tree foam board and is a pretty simple and quick design to build. My inspiration for the design was the Colonial Viper from the old Battlestar Galactica t.v. show, I have always wanted to build an r/c version of that ship! It is a pusher prop design that uses two servos for elevon mixing. The front canards are non-functional and are angled at five degrees. The thin cockpit area along with the vertical stabilizer is used as an area to grab onto for launching, there is no rudder on the stabilizer. The wing has a twenty-six and a half inch span without the "winglets", and the airfoil is a Kfm 2. The front nose area slides forward and allows access for battery area, the stationary canards are attached to the nose. The graphics on the plane were drawn in Adobe Illustrator and are saved as one big sheet as a PNG file, which I took to Staples and had printed out for around eight dollars. I used 3M spray glue to attach the graphics, then covered the entire plane with clear packing tape to give it more protection, durability, and a nice shiny surface.

The plane flies pretty well and makes really sharp banking turns with a small amount of up elevator to keep the nose from pointing down. Rolls are really quick with good tracking coming out of the roll, but loops are not as pretty and the wings get tipsy coming out of the loop. Landings are really easy and a slight flare up at slow speed a foot from the ground will drop it on the bullseye! It flies for about five to seven minutes depending on how much throttle I am using and usually cruises at about half. For the most part, I am using 1300 3S Lipos, but have also flown it with batteries ranging from 850 mAh to 2200. 

I will be coming out with the free plans soon as well as an instructional video, along with the file for the graphics (which will not have my name or call sign on the side, that area will be blank). Here is a flight video showing some cool chase footage with a quad!


COMMENTS

IronKane on September 25, 2017
I see that you have the plans on your web site. I was wondering about the scale of the individual pages. Are they set to print as a 8.5 x 11 document? You wouldn't happen to have a all in one pdf? I would love to cut one out on my CNC foam board cutter.
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paultbg on September 11, 2017
Good work, looking forward to see the plans as well.
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Mafco Designs on September 11, 2017
Thanks, I'm working to get the plans out as soon as possible.
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paultbg on September 14, 2017
Ok, thanks for the update.
Keep up the good work.
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FliteTest on September 4, 2017
Nice job on this design! This sure looks like a fun FPV platform!
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Mafco Designs on September 4, 2017
Thanks guys, Flite Test has been a big inspiration for me, I think it's great what you guys are doing for the r/c community!
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cantfly on December 20, 2017
nice one mate..
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Mafco Designs on December 21, 2017
Thanks, It's my first attempt at R/C plane design. I hope my next one will be just as much fun to design as this one was!
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Mafco Designs on September 11, 2017
Hey everybody, just wanted to let you know that I have been working on getting the plans and build video out, hopefully tonight or tomorrow!
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ChandlerRC on September 12, 2017
Hi Mike, can you send me your email address? chandlerrcflyers@gmail.com
I fly with some friends in chandler, maybe we could fly together sometime! Arizona Ave and Palomino, 1/2 mile south of Elliot about 1/2 mile east in a dirt lot. https://goo.gl/maps/YnAwJPyTZPC2
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Mafco Designs on September 12, 2017
Sure, you can get hold of me at mafcodesigns@gmail.com. It would be great to fly with you and your friends! What day and time do you usually fly?
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paultbg on September 13, 2017
Hello, any luck with the plans?
Regards
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Mafco Designs on September 13, 2017
I have been working on the build video to release with the plans, which are pretty much done. The video is taking a little longer, but it will really help explain how I put it together. I am now looking towards the end of the week, hopefully.
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ChandlerRC on September 10, 2017
Where in AZ?

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Mafco Designs on September 11, 2017
I'm in Gilbert
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dgrigor02@yahoo.com on September 4, 2017
I think you should leave your name on it. After all you designed it.
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Mafco Designs on September 4, 2017
I figured that people would want to use the space to put their own name on there instead of mine, as a way to personalize the plane. But I should find a small spot to put my little logo! Thanks for the comment!
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james.ketchem on September 6, 2017
how long do you think on the plan ans build video?
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Mafco Designs on September 6, 2017
Hi James, I just about have the plans finished and will be working on the build video this week, so I should have it ready to roll out by this weekend. Thanks for your interest!
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james.ketchem on September 9, 2017
can you do me a favor and send me a email when you are done. jjwwkk@yahoo.com thank you if you can
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Mafco Designs on September 10, 2017
Yes, I can email you when I'm done, I will be working all day today to try and get it out!
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Starchaser R/C Spaceship