Two Baby Blenders & six months of full-contact arial combat
The Baby Blender was my first real scratch build. Around the same time my piloting friend and instructor, Chad, also built one. We were proud of our shiny new planes and treated them with care.
However, one day we were admiring how tightly they could turn, and how swiftly they could climb, and a dark thought crept into our minds - what would ribbon cutting be like with the Baby Blender?
So began the slippery slope. Soon two planes in the air meant only one thing - combat. Soon the ribbon was nothing more than a guide to help us track our enemy with the sole ambition to smash them out of the sky. And soon our planes began to look more like monsters than babies: chopped, smushed, ripped, punctured, battered, and sometimes even smoking. It was the best six months of flying ever, and honed my skills to a keen edge.
Watch the video below to see a compilation of our progress into the dark world of to-the-death arial combat. It is mostly on board footage, and we only captured a small fraction of the catastrophic collisions we survived (because 808 cameras just turn off by themselves). And read on for more details of how the planes fared.
The set up:
The two planes were stock Swappable Baby Blenders, with tape covering. Initially we used small motors and 11X3.7 props, but quickly moved up to NTM 2826 1350 KV motors. The competition was fierce for who had the power to climb and roll sharply, and this eventually led to 11X5 props. This was GREAT in the colder weather, but soon we started killing motors. I had more trouble with this, and killed at least 3 motors and one ESC. This led to going up to 36mm motors, but that is really hard to fly on a Blender as the balance is way off. They don’t land, they fall out of the sky like a rock.
The rules:
There were no rules. We ran crepe paper tape behind our planes, which was originally the target. When I say originally, I mean for about a minute, then the planes were the target. But the ribbon is really useful because it allows you to keep track of the other plane and which direction it is moving in from the corner of your eye. It was essential for lining up the enemy for a lethal strike. Ribbon cutting did happen, but by mistake, and usually led to the winner crashing with ribbon wound around the motor. It was a poor substitute for a real victory, which was knocking the other plane out of the sky, while staying airborn yourself.
In a fit of obnoxiousness, I took a picture of Chad’s plane and began taping “kills” on my fuselage whenever I took him down and stayed in the air (see below). This became an unofficial but not very well recorded idea of “victory”.
The outcome:
So how does a Blender hold up? The short answer is GREAT! It is hard to image a plane taking the beating these two planes too and still flying. They were crashed every imaginable way. They took 8-10 full speed head-on collisions, some so violent that they ripped 3/4 of the motor mount points off. They ripped into each others wings, bellies, tails, and everything else. Chads plane had the top wing “removed” and he kept fighting. He also had half his elevator ripped off and kept in the air. My plane got so loose that it would not take off and I had to discus launch it, but risked the fuselage falling off sideways if I held it down too long. And still they flew, and flew well in fact.
Ripping into Chad's wing
Ripping into Chad's belly
Amazingly this did not result in a hit
Most of out repairs were in the field, since we would have more than one big crash every session. Tape was all we used, and lots of it. Hot glue when you get home, and NO new parts. They flew with big holes in the wings (mine acquired a big hole that made it easy to carry around, like a handle), smashed control surfaces, and thrust angles all over the place.
Back in the air a few minutes later
Starting to show some wear
No damage this time
"Landing" after a good fight
Post crash analysis
A pretty sunset...oh, and Chad's plane in pieces
Typically the Victor would be humble. Here I am doing a victory dance over Chad's broken plane
The Blender might be the perfect plane for full-contact combat. It flies fast or slow, it can turn on a dime and you can keep it in a VERY tight space (important for safety). And because it is kind of a floppy plane to begin with, it takes catastrophic crashes very well. We think it flexes so much it does not break.
I should end by pointing out, in case it is not obvious, that Chad gave out at least as good as he got. I had some fun at his expense in this post (and since I had the camera the movie makes it seem that I am always chasing him), but he is a way better pilot than I am and just as often as not he flew away while I did not. I am actually amazed I ever managed to take him down at all.
Before and after
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