V-tail Baby Smash Drone

This plane is a “baby” version of the SB Smash Drone that I built for my son, Daniel. He likes to read Winnie the Pooh and I figured he’d get a kick out of a plane that looked like “Tigger.” The bright splashy paint scheme was fun! 

Everything on the Baby Smash Drone is smaller. However, I also experimented with removing paper to save weight. To try to replace some of the lost strength I put packing tape everywhere I removed paper; unfortunately packing tape doesn’t stick as well to foam and I was not very impressed. Further, after a few crashes the foam starts breaking down pretty quick! However, I've gotten lots of flight time out of it and still have it!

All in all, I was fairly happy with the results. While this was not a “swappable,” I used much of the same components I might use in one, except everything was as light as I could get it. I also used Hobby King’s Donkey 1550kv motor which is cheap and light but only produces about half the thrust of a Turnigy D2822/14 1450KV with the same battery and prop. Even so, the Baby Tiger Drone performed admirably, leading me to believe the weight saving attempts helped offset the weaker power system.

One of the most fun things about this build was experimenting with V-tails. I bought the cheap ($3-4US) Turnigy V-tail mixer so I wouldn’t have to mess with programming my transmitter.  Aside from the challenge of researching proper V-tail angles and so on, a V-tail kept the elevator off the ground (no tailwheel) and looked super cool!

Interesting things about this build?

• I experimented with different ways to save weight on this plane which was enlightening! 
• Build Smaller
• Remove Paper
• I also played around with brushing on cheap Acrylic paint from my local Walmart as opposed to misting spray paint or using an airbrush. (See a Baby Blender Stearman painted this way here.)
• However, one of the most intriguing things was the design and flight of a V-tail aircraft.