Well the time has finally come for me to put it out there and release the plans for my swappable trainer and each of the wing plans. (3ch Dihedrial wing and 4ch Aileron wing) First off, I apologize for the build video quality but hopefully it will suffice. I know the videos are a little long but I'd rather show too much then not enough. If you've done any of the FliteTest scratch builds you probably don't even need to watch the videos. The plans are in line with the FliteTest scratch build plans, same color coding, same style of assembly, ect. I wanted to make them as easy as possible to understand.
The body is pretty strong on its own but I highly recommend the additional bracing. Which wing you choose will depend upon the flight control and characteristics that you want. In either wings case, the center of gravity is directly in front of the wing spar. This of course can be adjusted to fit your personal flying style and preferences. Neither wing will provide the very stable beginner style flying like the FT NutBall or the FT Flyer, but I was shooting for a much more old nitro style trainer feel.
(Please note, due to trying to keep the build as simple as possible this design is a steerable tail dragger. Most all trainers are in a Trike configuration for easier landings but this complicated the build quite a bit. Hopefully it will be an enjoyable flight none the less)
The Dihedral wing will provide an easier to learn, slightly lighter airframe that flies pretty well on the Park 300 motor with an 800mah 2s battery and throwing a 8x4SF prop. It will run with the NTM 28-26 and the 3s but the added wight makes landings a little rough as it pushes the glide slope slightly over the edge.
The Aileron wing provides a much faster flight, lower glide slope and a more scale flying experience. If using a 5+ch receiver you can set the ailerons up for flaperons and provide much easier take offs and landings. This wing will fly on the 300 Park motor with the 800mah 2s but it really comes together and screams if you use the NTM 28-26 with a 4s, the same setup as the FliteTest crew uses in the FT Bloody Wonder. (I tend to run a 2200mah 3s which will give you about 20 minutes of flight time). On this set up I like to run an 8x5 MA style prop.
(The following tip was copied from a FliteTest scratch build article)
TIP for printing the plans:
To print "tiled" use Adobe Reader XI and in the print dialog select "POSTER", select "Cut Marks" and make sure "Tile Scale" is 100%. Then overlap and tape as required (after trimming the top overlapping edge).
(Thanks youtuber larrybarrick for this suggestion!)
Body:
Download the plans Here
Dihedral Wing (3 Channel):
Download the plans Here
Aileron Wing (4 Channel):
Download the plans Here
Also wanted to share my current transmitter settings.
For the 4 Channel
D/R & Expo-
High Rates:
All 100% Rates with all 30% Expo
Low Rates:
Aile:50%
Elev:80%
Rudd:50%
with all 25% Expo
Travel adjust-
Moved elevator to 115% as it felt a little anemic to me
Flaps:
Normal: 0%
Land: Down 65%
Wing Tail Mix-
Dual Aile: ACT
For the 3 Channel
Set my rudder to operate off the Aileron channel. Just how I like to fly it, your choice.
D/R & Expo-
High Rates:
All 100% Rates with all 25% Expo
Low Rates:
Aile:65%
Elev:80%
Rudd:100%
with all 25% Expo
Travel adjust-
Moved elevator to 115% as it felt a little anemic to me
Due to a few requests I'm re-uploading the plans with a few measurements and a measurement key on each set of plans to enusre they are printed to a proper scale (Within a few percent is fine, as long as the Fuse fits).
Trainer Body Plans with Measurements
Aileron Wing Plans with Measurements
Diheadral Wing Plans with Measurements
I'm always open to any suggestions or changes that you feel will make this a better flying plane. Thanks so much for following this project and please upload and share your flights and build experiences.
Happy Flying!
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