Had a chance to crack on with the Spade Z3s over Christmas, very easy build and no issues. Must say I'm impressed with the way it's all open to fit your FPV gear to suit your own needs, mine is a alternative to the Zephyr 2 which had it's first flying season (never flown a plane so much) Z2 upgrades/changes for 2015 ie air-speed and anti-vib mount for the RVOSD.
Spade spec is
1300Kv HK motor
80Amp ESC
5000mAh 4s
HS-485HB servos
Cyclops tornado flight controller
Immersionrc EZUHF
Immersionrc tiny tel
Immersionrc 2.4Ghz VTX
AUW is 2.25Kg
Should do a LOS maiden in the next few days and a FPV just after that if the gods allow ;)
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/Spadeforumc_zps5cd5cc60.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/Spadeforumc_zps5cd5cc60.jpg.html)
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/Spadeforumb_zps762a6869.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/Spadeforumb_zps762a6869.jpg.html)
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/Spadforum_zps0856e414.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/Spadforum_zps0856e414.jpg.html)
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/Zsforuma_zpsf9d717ad.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/Zsforuma_zpsf9d717ad.jpg.html)
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/Zsforum_zpsf477f4ee.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/Zsforum_zpsf477f4ee.jpg.html)
Very smart, love the paint scheme :)
looking good. very nice finish.
/Steve
looks the mutts mutley lol
Quote from: mark1975 on December 30, 2014, 01:36:20 PM
looks the mutts mutley lol
Cheers mate, tell me that after the maiden lol, I hate maiden's, second flight is always the best ;)
Looks great, very nice.
I was going to use the same vinyl, that or digital artic camo. :D
Quote from: Ratty on December 30, 2014, 01:46:25 PM
I was going to use the same vinyl, that or digital artic camo. :D
Used it on the Z2 and it's a little heavy but tough, after a full summer of flying she still looks as good which is surprising with some of the sites I was flying out of hehehehe.
Where did you get that vinyl?
Quote from: ThunderstruK on December 30, 2014, 02:36:11 PM
Where did you get that vinyl?
It's an Ebay shop from Ireland, very fast postage but its not cheap and the sizes are a bit odd which is why you don't see that much of it around. You can buy just plain single colour vinyl which is just as good but a lot cheaper ;)
That's a really nice job, well done.
I'm also impressed you managed to keep the weight down without making sacrifices too.
Neil.
You don't really need both those and the Twinstar as well then... :D Looks great, very jealous!
Looks great. Quite a low weight compared to others I have seen too.
Did you laminate it and put the camo stuff on?
And can we have a link to the ebay camo please? If it's that tough I may put a different colour on my z3
Yep it's laminated first and camo on after, my Z2 was a real heavy wing so I did go to town and kept every thing as light as possible, saying that I still ended up with 35g of weight on the motor mount to get the CG to 8" that should come off after the maiden with any luck.
The Ebay shop is
http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/carwrapdirect?_trksid=p2047675.l2559 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/carwrapdirect?_trksid=p2047675.l2559)
Be careful when buying to choose the right size, I think these are just samples so the sizes are odd.
Well after a month of life, love and work getting in the way I FPV'ed maidened the Z3, it was not the best of dawn's as I'd hoped with a gusty wind and a cloud base at 400ft but just wanted to get flying and I was not disappointed. She needed a bit of trim and the gains on the Cyclops Tornado needed a tweak, but all told she flew really well, not a trace of wag at any speed either straight into or cross wind, that pleased me loads. Only issue I had was interference on the camera so some sort of filter is needed (not had to before) and the throws are a little high.
Is it better than the Z2 or Twinstar? it's just a different craft that flies really really well IMo, the Twinny and Z2 have there own merits but the Z3 does do a lot more of what both the Twinny and Z2 do well all in one airframe. This summer will tell, still need to tune it and will report back my finding.
The vid is a little dark as it was just after dawn, I tried out both high and low speed ranges in the vid and the PA/RTH mode on the Tornado which suits the Z3 very well.
http://youtu.be/7ZSnVaN6qSA (http://youtu.be/7ZSnVaN6qSA)
Looks like it flies great. Nice job.
What prop did you go for?
Flew nice, what sort of numbers for cruise was it coming back with ?
Quote from: Ratty on February 15, 2015, 08:25:10 PM
What prop did you go for?
Started with a APC 10x5 and then a APC9x6, the 9x6 was great for speed but she is back on the 10x5, this was the best of both worlds and gave a easy launch and a good turn of speed.
Quote from: Coyote on February 15, 2015, 09:57:53 PM
Flew nice, what sort of numbers for cruise was it coming back with ?
Have only just sorted the PA and RTH, but I think she will sit at 40mph pulling about 8-10amps (if I remember right) tried flying at 5 amps on PA and she was at about 30mph and happy with it. The Twinny will sit at 3 Amps and I would love the Z3 too as well but I don't think it will, more flight testing is needed.
All the flying I've had so far has been is gusty conditions so it hard to tell, my Fatshark HD's should be with me tomorrow so I will be able to review/post flight info better.
Looks really nice, super stable!
Nice one thanks, ill stick with 10x5 for mine then.
I still haven't plumped for my next big fpv plane :-) What's your opinion of the pros and cons of each? I'm still thinking the Twinstar might be good, if nothing more than it'll be quieter if I want to fly from a random field without being caught ;-)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Hi ya dp, tough question and there is no real answer to suit everyone.
The Z2 is a great flyer and with my 3s 10Ah set-up you can put it in loiter and go off and have a steak dinner and pudding and she will still be flying when you get back, but some people have issues with launching a large heavy wing. :-[
The Twinstar is a great all rounder and when teamed up with a Cyclops Storm/Tornado is a truly great flyer for all levels of pilot and it sound fab on a fly by, but it does not deal with gusty condition as well as the Ritewing airframes, it deals with them but not as well. (I fly mine first thing in the morning when all is still and you need a quiet airframe)
The Z3 is like the Z2 but with a lot of the trouble removed from the build/set-up and is like a swiss army knife of the FPV world when it comes to set-ups, you can just about make it into what ever you like ie, distance cruiser or hot a fast 25 mins blaster, she will do both very well and does not have the wing-wag that some flying wings have.
I can not give a totally honest answer because the Z3 is my latest shinny thing, but if I crashed all three in the same day I would buy all three again with out hesitation, starting with the Z3, Twinstar and then the Z2.
does look very solid Mut,almost guided missile status 88)
Haha, I don't like to ask easy questions :-D
I've built an fpv40 wing from depron, (just flown line of sight so far). I'm hoping to build a version with a ply centre section like the venturi. Think I'll stick with that for my noisy fpv wing and get the Twinstar. It's a bit daunting though with the mods you need to do to fly it fpv. Plenty of build videos out there though :-)
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
It is Brod, the wind was blowing and it was gusty at ground level, it really impressed me with the limited flight times I've got on the clock so far, need to work on the set-up/CG some more but it's not a million miles off. Will post a HUD display vid to show the numbers.
Forgot to say that all the footage after "play time title " was all in manual, ie passes down and round the fields.
Got up early this morning and was just in the mood to give the Z3 some stick, lower, faster and harder turning, it will end in tears hehehehehe
Vid to follow ;)
92mph fly-by
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/92mph_zpsrkgeqwwi.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/92mph_zpsrkgeqwwi.jpg.html)
Pylon turns round a tree
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/vlcsnap-2015-05-25-13h52m16s555_zpsipkjdxfu.png) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/vlcsnap-2015-05-25-13h52m16s555_zpsipkjdxfu.png.html)
50mph low pass that got way too low heheheheh
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/vlcsnap-2015-05-25-13h51m35s705_zps4wyz2qxr.png) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/vlcsnap-2015-05-25-13h51m35s705_zps4wyz2qxr.png.html)
What a great day for flying, with the new Ritewing Drak just about to be released I thought I would take the Z3 out for a sortie to see if she was still Ok after the coming together with a beach rock. Still in love with this airframe and it makes the Drak both more and less appealing, as in the Z3 still does it for me but the Drak is the next step, what to do???
Pics from todays sortie
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/Weobley_zpso1gs1mtj.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/Weobley_zpso1gs1mtj.jpg.html)
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/Weobley%20FS_zpsfhdxdonl.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/Weobley%20FS_zpsfhdxdonl.jpg.html)
Great video mate I have just seen it. Z3 is a great airframe in my opinion. It's very flexible and you can go fairly decent range with it. I've not gone too far with my so far, 5-6km or so, but from the figures I think it's easily got a 35-40km range (total) with the 8ah I've got on board.
I will be getting a Drak because I generally fly longer flights and I like having lots of range in reserve. I'll keep the Z3 as a smaller travel plane.
Yep, the Drak is going to have a much better carrying load for Lipo's, I am getting well over an hour with the Z2. But the Z3 with 5600mAh 4s is good for 30mins, with a light load she will sit at 40MPH between 5-7Amps if I'm careful and that will do for medium distance flying.
I think the Drak will give me "lots of range in reserve" which is what I also like when distance flying.
Either way I need to thin out the hanger and the Z2 and Twinstar airframes will be going in the classified section to make room, pity cos they are both great planes and don't really want to but need the space :(
Z3 Spade longevity, is it still the same aircraft after a season of use and abuse???
Just doing an airframe/systems inspection , and thought I would post what my Ritewing Spade now looks like after probably the most flying with an airframe I've ever had in a 10 month period.
Made a few changes from the original set-up, some because I wanted to improve and others cos I had to.
The battery went from a Turnigy 4S 5000mAh to a Zippy Compact 4S 6200mAh, this was because I wanted a little more flight time and a bit in the bag for distance flying.
Camera went from a stock 900TVL to the Fatshark 900TVL, this should not have made any difference but IMO it's a real world step-up, can't explain why but it just "looks" so much better on the Fatshark HD's, this change was because I screwed up on a beach landing and missed the smooth sand and landed on the rocks.
This was the end of my original camera lens, and I liked the Fatshark camera on the quad so fitted one to the Z3, the Z3 airframe took this rough landing with a pinch of salt and the only other break was the bracket holding the pitot tube.
Still using the Cyclops Tornado flight controller which has not missed a beat, impressive, cheap and simple to use/setup. (keep looking at a vector though)
The last thing I did was fit a rear facing Mobius camera on an anti vib mount for a mountain bombing sortie I've got planned when the weather breaks, would also say that fitting a lost model buzzer would be good for finding the Z3 in long grass, it has a very low profile.
How long will this airframe last? Well it's wearing well so far, this might be down to the fibreglass reinforced tape on the leading edges and the skid. If I could go back I would have extended the tape forward to the nose, there are a few marks but nothing some hot water wouldn't sort out.
The pic's
After a clean and shake down
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/IMG_4446_zpssts5f81d.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/IMG_4446_zpssts5f81d.jpg.html)
The pitot tube mount
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/IMG_4447_zpskzoniflm.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/IMG_4447_zpskzoniflm.jpg.html)
The underneath after a bloody good summer
(http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss76/mutley2/IMG_4448_zps2cy8kl3n.jpg) (http://s563.photobucket.com/user/mutley2/media/IMG_4448_zps2cy8kl3n.jpg.html)
PS the only other thing was the O rings holding the wings had started to perish and crack, the first to go was the FPV camera O ring and then I noticed cracks in the wing rings as well, got some more off eBay for a few quid.
Looks like she is holding up well
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thats still looking really great! Mine is almost ready to go, just a few things to finish here and there. The terrible weather has kinda slowed my pace though! I got a 3D printer last week so have been messing with camera pod designs, is yours 3D printed? Currently I plan to cut a section out from the nose and replace with this :
(http://i.imgur.com/6xX7RaZ.png)
I designed it for a 3x3cm board cam and for the Runcam HD2 which should be arriving any day. The runcam will need to slide through from the battery bay but hopefully should work well and not disturb the aero!
I like the rear facing mobius idea, I have a video switcher lying around so that could be an awesome addition also!
That looks like it will really take out the drag from the front Mobius and cam mount, great work, keep us up to date with this as I've just ordered some thing very similar from Chris at Ritewing for the Drak.
Just a thought, the camera on my Z3 still needs a clean every time it lands as the profile is very low and leaves the lens right in the grass, sand, mud or general sh*t. Would it be better to have a aerodynamic mount that pulled the camera away from the ground and helped keep it clean, I've been trying to come up with some thing and have pan & tilt mount which I'm would help and keep the lens clean, just a thought.
Quote from: iwan_canobi on December 14, 2015, 10:30:26 AM
Thats still looking really great! Mine is almost ready to go, just a few things to finish here and there. The terrible weather has kinda slowed my pace though! I got a 3D printer last week so have been messing with camera pod designs, is yours 3D printed? Currently I plan to cut a section out from the nose and replace with this :
(http://i.imgur.com/6xX7RaZ.png)
I designed it for a 3x3cm board cam and for the Runcam HD2 which should be arriving any day. The runcam will need to slide through from the battery bay but hopefully should work well and not disturb the aero!
I like the rear facing mobius idea, I have a video switcher lying around so that could be an awesome addition also!
Wow - I like that, are you planning on sharing the stl file?
Quote from: Badlands on December 14, 2015, 05:43:18 PM
Wow - I like that, are you planning on sharing the stl file?
Cheers! I will release them for a fee of £10.... :P Kidding, yeah, I'll stick it up on thingiverse once I'm happy with it, the sizings aren't coming out quite right so I need to figure out if its the design or my printer thats not right!
Quote from: mutley2 on December 14, 2015, 03:58:50 PM
That looks like it will really take out the drag from the front Mobius and cam mount, great work, keep us up to date with this as I've just ordered some thing very similar from Chris at Ritewing for the Drak.
Just a thought, the camera on my Z3 still needs a clean every time it lands as the profile is very low and leaves the lens right in the grass, sand, mud or general sh*t. Would it be better to have a aerodynamic mount that pulled the camera away from the ground and helped keep it clean, I've been trying to come up with some thing and have pan & tilt mount which I'm would help and keep the lens clean, just a thought.
Yeah I would love a pan/tilt setup but I can't think of any way to do it neatly. To pan right round it really needs to sit quite high on the nose. Hadn't thought about the lens getting mucky, good point. It does sit back from the hole though so should be protected to some extent! Once I get it fitting correct I'll stick some pictures up in my thread of what it looks like.
It's no big deal cleaning the lens ever time its just when you forget to take a clean cloth that it becomes a pain flying with grass stain on the lens. Being set back would help, nice idea though
Hey n1 m8!
Ive always thought the official Z3 cam mount looked a bit goofy.
(http://i.imgur.com/NaD2GE0l.jpg)
Your design is lot sleeker...
Quote from: iwan_canobi on December 14, 2015, 10:10:45 PM
Cheers! I will release them for a fee of £10.... :P Kidding, yeah, I'll stick it up on thingiverse once I'm happy with it, the sizings aren't coming out quite right so I need to figure out if its the design or my printer thats not right!
Nice Martin, promise I won't run into the back of you :'(
Haha - that's not my Z3 Brucey (although it does look a little like my Z2!) just a random picture.
& yea don't rear-end me with your SSBB ffs - wont be anything left!
Ah, thought it was yours!
SSBB will be the only thing in the air, no quads or planes!
Hey Badlands, the gopro mount for the Z3 is a bit of a slab and Chris said how much he spent on gopros until he switched to mobius cams and new mount, think it was about 3k in a year. Love my gopro but would never stick one on a Z3 or Drak until I win the lottery hehehe.
Quote from: mutley2 on December 15, 2015, 09:38:55 PM
Hey Badlands, the gopro mount for the Z3 is a bit of a slab and Chris said how much he spent on gopros until he switched to mobius cams and new mount, think it was about 3k in a year. Love my gopro but would never stick one on a Z3 or Drak until I win the lottery hehehe.
Chris must crash a heck of a lot. That's at least 10 go pros he has smashed up to rack up that large a bill.
Quote from: Billy_boy_2010 on December 20, 2015, 02:15:06 PM
Chris must crash a heck of a lot. That's at least 10 go pros he has smashed up to rack up that large a bill.
Not sure he was crashing but the gopro lens in that mount was the main brake when landing lol, Mobius cam's aren't as good as gopro but sure are cheaper.
I've been though 2 Mobius lens and a Fatshark lens on my Z3 so far, the Drak will have a better mount for both.
I've been asked a number of times on how I launch the Z3 Spade, it's really straight forward, I just launch/throw in a traditional way. No real expertise is need just a confident throw, more like a guided throw as the Z3 has more than enough power to push hard straight away. My Z3 had 2 Mobius's fitted, a flat field and there was zero wind in the video, so it's worst case scenario, no problems though.
There has been a lot of talk on the weight of the Z3 and it's wing loading, this vid should show that even with a loaded Z3 it's a pussy cat to launch, I believe the key to a good launch is confidence and a 4s set-up, hope this helps any one with a Z3.
The vid show's a few launches, the OSD readings on take off and landings from 2 Mobius's and a GoPro
! No longer available (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mRQE0rVkuw#)
Why does my tracker now remind me of Bob the iffy scutter from Red Dwarf lol
Nice one!
Hi David,
Many thanks for posting the vid........ but a little too late for me I'm afraid !!!
I re-maidened the Z3 today but had a repeat of my failed launches and smashed up the front again. I'm not sure if it can be repaired or if I have the spirit to do it again. I can't figure it out, I was out flying yesterday with the Venturi and videoed 5 great launches, normal over arm ones like you do with the Z3. It just soars away like your Z3 does. It was my intention to post them up today for anyone wondering about launching the venturi !
I went out again this morn with Mike (Drone 5 on the hub) , tried the same with the Z3 but it just peeled left into the ground before I could correct it.... Almost like a torque roll I'd get from the funjet... but that shouldn't be an issue with a plane this big ?
2 other launches with the venturi.... no problem. I wondered if I should have launched the Z3 in auto balance mode, maybe it would have given me more time to get on the sticks. Each time I've had a failed launch it has been a sharp left nose in . Ailerons are working in the right direction. auto balance does too, although switched off this time..... I fly mode 1, (like you ?) and right hand launch, so takes a second to get on the ailerons.
I had a Z2 which was easy to launch, and I know this should be too.... I've just watched your vid !
I really do think this should be the ideal plane for me but I've had it a year and it hasn't been airborne yet .
I have a vid clip which I'll try and post up tomorrow ! Grrrrr :(
Sorry to hear about your Z3, might be worth putting to one side and having a break, look again at it with a fresh pair of eyes in a week or two. If you want to bring it to one of our Herefordshire meets I would be glad to either launch or fly for you, don't give up on it, tis worth the effort
Bad luck Mark- post the video up.
How powerful is the motor you're running? 4s? What size prop and kv?
Maidening mine when it's ready. Maybe 2 weeks time. Getting nervous!
Get some one to film you launching so we can see your technique and what the plane is doing