I’ve wanted to get into FPV for a long time now and it wasn’t until recently that I decided to take the plunge and order a Fat Shark AttitudeSD setup from HobbyKing. I’m going to be matching it up with the awesome GoPro Hero 3 for vision and recording. Of course, this is a lot of cash to spend on one project so I wanted to make sure the airframe I used kept to the Red20RC mantra of “maximum fun for minimum expense”.
The project then is to design a purpose built FPV platform that is:
- Built from our favourite Depron or Foam Board
- Stable in flight yet able to handle some wind and a variety of speeds
- Efficient so we get some longer flight times
- Easy to repair or replace
- A repeatable design
Initial FPV Wing Concept
After my success with the Versa Wing and the obvious advantage of some of the Flite Test build techniques I decided to base my design on the VW and inject some of the design concepts seen on the RiteWing Zephyr II. I would extend the wing panels slightly to give a more efficient and stable cruiser. I would then add a central bay with recessed camera mount in the nose.
Planning out the FPV Wing
From the initial drawing it was only a matter of adding a number of lines and measurements before I had a completed plan. This was then sliced up and converted to PDF so it could be poster printed.
Initial sizing meant I would be using one large sheet and one standard sheet of foam board; not bad for a wing of this size.
Cutting the FPV Wing components
By this stage my new GoPro Hero 3 had arrived so I put it to good use capturing some time-lapse footage of the build. This first video shows just how quickly you can cut an entire model from foam board.
Assembling the FPV Wing airframe
Moving quickly on, it was time to fire up the hot glue gun and start sticking some foam together. For a prototype I was really pleased with the fit of the parts.
As with the Versa Wing, the strength in the final wing is astonishing. Here is the final airframe next to a standard Versa Wing for comparison…
Now all that remains is to tackle the gear installation and I'll be ready for a maiden flight!
You can keep up with the full series of build articles on the Red20RC site - https://www.red20rc.com.au
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