I purchased a pre-release version of the latest Falcon when Rob re-released them this year however due to a couple of delays, I missed my 'build window' for it and got distracted by other things. In the meantime, I have debated what to do with the Falcon as I had made the decision that I wanted to go with a Cyclops Storm Autopilot setup-up but whenever I tried laying all the components out on the Falcon, I kept giving up as it was obviously going to be a tight fit.
Then in the summer along came the Z3 which looks fantastic both visually and from a layout perspective (and apparently has less of the 'waggle' issues that wings suffer from) but is just a little too big and much too expensive for my liking.
Not being one to leave a good design alone, I hatched a plan to modify my Falcon into a Z3 style model and hence the concept of the Z-Falcon was born...
This build log documents my progress along with associated challenges, how I overcame them and hopefully on to a successful flight review so here goes... (note, as I add to the log I will copy the additions into the first post as well to keep it all together)
1st January - Work Commences
I've been contemplating how to go about this for a while now and have decided to build an EPP body from 9mm coloured EPP and add some colour-coordinated correx fins. I've decided to base the build around my old Boscam HD19 camera as it is considerably lighter than any board cam +GoPro/Mobius combo but with less latency than a Mobius on it's own which would have been the lightest option. This also reduces the amount of 'frontal area' required as the HD19 can be burried in the nose hopefully cutting down on drag given I now have a fuselage to contend with and I want to keep the build as light as possible.
Component List:
- Falcon Kit (with laminate covering)
- 9mm red EPP
- 4mm red correx
- 2x Hitec HS82MG servos
- A2212/6T 2200kv motor
- 3s 2200mah GensAce / 3s 4000mah MultiStar LiPo
- Castle Creations Pheonix 45 Esc (may put something smaller in depending on amp draw)
- Cyclops Storm Autopilot
- ImmersionRC EzUHF 4ch Lite Rx
- OpenSource ExUHF to analogue RSSI Converter
- ImmersionRX 600mw vtx with homemade dipole antenna
- Bignose clover antenna
- Boscam HD19 Flight Camera/Recorder
Here's a photo of the main components from the original kit (you get all the other bits needed too like spars, horns etc.), I've opted for the rx on one wingtip and the vtx on the other to keep them well separated and to keep the model laterally balanced with as little extra weight as possible. With these components outboard, this now means there is plenty of room in the fuselage for the remaining electronics and with a longer nose, hopefully less of the tail heavy challenges associated with wings. I am building this around the standard 2200mah size battery but I am hoping to be able to use the 4000mah MultiStar LiPo (which is virtually the same size, see my comparison here) for more duration with a little extra weight.
(http://s13.postimg.org/7ajzwa9dv/IMG_1798.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/7ajzwa9dv/)
...and here they are with the inboard panels cut out. I used a home made hot wire rig I've had around for ages from when foam/veneer wings were in vogue but you could just as easily use a long bladed saw or big knife if you are careful.
(http://s9.postimg.org/4cwl2nb2j/IMG_1804.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/4cwl2nb2j/)
Next I went on to design the profile of fuselage, this wasn't an exact science but basically consisted of 2 EPP Sheet thickness (i.e. 18mm) above and below the wing with proportions and shape of the nose based on a 'mk1 eyeball' interpretation of the Z3. I plan to box the tail a little around the standard motor-mount to allow me to mount the motor a little further back if I chose to by adding more sheets of EPP. Here are the 2 side panels and a a couple of lengths of strip sheet.
(http://s13.postimg.org/sgie4m9kz/IMG_1805.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/sgie4m9kz/)
So far I have these 2 solid strips running along the bottom of the fuselage to give a good solid base and I have carved out the nose to accommodate the HD19. You can see where I have left the original motor mount in place but I trimmed the top of it down so I can runs some red sheet over it. I'm not sure yet where the formers and strengthening are going to go in the fuselage yet as I need to build further to work out where all the components need to sit. In order to add a bit more lateral strength given I have had to cut the wing panels and they will only be joined by glued correx, I have added an addition short carbon tube spar forward of the main spar. Finally (and you can barely make this out) I have tunneled a hole though the leading edge of the wing to accommodate the wiring out to the electronics in the wing. This was tunneled out with a sharpened piece of brass tubing and I will line it with a drinking straw to make the wires slide though more easily (hopefully!)
(http://s12.postimg.org/87ln5lpc9/IMG_1814.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/87ln5lpc9/)
Final job for this part of the build was to laminate the inboard panel (before adding the inboard winglets as it will be difficult to do afterwards) and then cut out the inboard and outboard winglets themselves, again done by eye from photos of a Z3.
(http://s13.postimg.org/7m61msf7n/IMG_1806.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/7m61msf7n/)
More to be added as time goes by...
I did a similar thing with my Falcon a few months ago (albeit much more hacked and nowhere near as neat and thought out as this!). http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php/topic,22361.0.html (http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php/topic,22361.0.html)
It worked really well though, flies brilliantly and has been great. There are some flight videos in the thread and on my youtube. My center was really wide, purely because I wanted to make the wingspan as wide as possible to increase stability, but yours looks like it will be really nice, looking forward to seeing how it flies!
Looks awesome.
Looking Good. Falcon with a fuselage is nice !
regards
Andy
Thanks for the comments guys and apologies to iwan for unintentionally copying his idea (great minds and all that ;)), I've had a look at your threads and they are very interesting, especially comments on CofG as I don't want it too tail heavy for the maiden! I've not had any time to do any more to it recently due to family distractions but hope to get on it soon.
I'm finally getting around to doing the final tweaks to this as I want to maiden it at Mad Dogs next week if I can find a volunteer (aka mug) to launch it for me however I wanted to see if anyone could recommend some starting throws based on your real-life experiences? (I've gone for the CofG at 170mm from the leading edge of the foam on the FPV version as Rob suggested on a post elsewhere)