Delta FPV of the generic kind

[RaySky]

Hi Folks

This is gonna be my first FPV platform, my first attempt was to make a Versa using depron but is soon became apparent that its never a good idea to tinker with an excellent design  (?)

It was never my intention to improve on the design... more a challenge to use depron opposed to foam board as the Versa ticked so many boxes and it looked like the perfect airframe, I only managed to make the blunt nose section before I realised it was going to be a pain to convert so now I am here.... A clean slate and use my own depron build skills to make a standard generic Delta that will house all the avionics that I could wish to install  :)

Pics to follow very soon

[RaySky]

Originally I was planning to build a large wingspan to aid LOS as well as wing loading... then common sense kicked in and opted for a 1000mm wingspan because its the length of a depron sheet  ;)
From what I have read on the Hub carbon fibre causes RF problem so its back to using wood spars.
The next issue was wing section and there a million and one of them,  the choice was simple, flat bottom lol




As you can see its very generic shape  ;)
The best part is that its easy to work out the CoG and those 1/4 inch spars will cope with good amount of stress,






I wanted a good bit of depron in the nose to cope with a sudden stop by terra firma and the camera will be well out of impact too

Next add sides and depron wing spacers to give wing profile,









There seems to enough space but as its my first FPV it most likely will be a shoe horn job lol









Still lots to be done but looks like it will do what its designed for (I Hope)

[skyscraper]

Looking good mate. I'm a fan of that sort of shape as you can see...  :)
http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php/topic,3813.0.html
http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php/topic,4949.0.html

Its certainly easier than some to get the c.g forward on. Looking forward to seeing how it goes.

regards
Andy

[RaySky]

Cheers Guys

Yip I checked out that sexy delta many moons ago  ;) it looks like a swift airframe... I am looking at my first FPV as a basic quick build and disposable airframe as I am sure it will suffer damage during my FPV learning curve lol

I nearly made the classic mistake of forgetting to put lots of holes in for servo's. OSD Vtx and Nav lights

 


I couldn't resist putting extra wood spars to the fuselage sides  ;)
I constantly have to remind myself I am building something I don't know all the criteria of!
Basically I am making this up as I go along lol

As soon as the upper wing skins went on I began to realise that the whole airframe was firming up nicely, it would never survive a bad landing like EPO, Elapor or EPP foam,

The best idea was to use spruce spars on the leading edge to cope with rough tall grass and coastal reeds,



Still lots to do but getting there slowly  :)



I have enjoyed building thus far as its my first step to fly FPV,

[RaySky]

Almost at the point of kitting it out for a LOS maiden flight,
I am really pleased that the complete empty airframe tips the scales at only 200 grams  ;D
Half of that has to be the wood spars and the glue, I think I am on target to use a 200 watt motor setup,




The centre section is essentially an elongated box duplicating the wing,
I once planned to add glass cloth but having thought about the life span of this frame it seems pointless,




I know its not a ground breaking design or innovative in anyway but that was never the intention lol.. it was to make a FPV aircraft for buttons using what I had,
Now its time to think about the Vtx and Vrx for this baby  :-\

Cheers for reading and I will post a vid of the maiden flight using the onboard camera I plan to use via the vid downlink

[RaySky]

Building continues but I couldn't resist an update regarding the motor/battery/prop I am planning to use  :)
This is probably the opposite and flip side of the coin but in my mind I think its the perfect option for my first FPV craft that I plan to fly from a recreational beach area.
Originally I planned a 3S fast flying delta I could slow down once it was up and airborne! That changed once I visited the beach site and realised how quiet it was and how much the locals enjoyed the tranquillity of the area, The last thing they need or want is a high powered RC aircraft screaming around the sky... The solution was simple  :) A 2S battery and large prop running about 1400kvm
Its not exactly silent because its a depron airframe but acceptable,
Total power of the setup is a staggering 85 watts at full throttle lol
estimated flight time at full throttle is 16 mins but using throttle management could be as much as 30 mins +++

More pics to follow  ;)

[RaySky]

Putting any new air frame in the air for the first time is always a worry  :+
Add in that it's an unproven, untested design powered by a messily 85 watts on full throttle... and to make it very interesting also make it with depron that snaps like a carrot lol
Its been maiden'd and I am still very surprised by the entire flight, in fact it was 2 flights.. that's if you count the first short flight of almost 1 second lol
it was like throwing a dart  :o I was expecting it to go upwards on very little throttle but alas it came back to terra firma as if it was a paper cup being thrown  :laugh:
After dialling in some up elevator and more throttle I give it the ol'e Heave Ho and off she went into the blue..

I have to say when you fly an unknown design for the first time your mind is work at a million miles a second taking in all the information you see and hear,

Pics...




In the air it looks good  :) but most important it does what it was designed for  ;D






after 30 mins flight time I decided to land... I have no idea how much is left in the pack but 30 mins FPV will do for my first flight

[iwan_canobi]

Glad you got it flying! Always nervous on the maiden and especially for a scratch built design, but sounds like you got it going well!

I must say it looks really nice, you have some depron skills obviously! How are you doing the joins? They look really smooth and rounded! And the elevons - are they 2 pieces put together and sanded?

Do you fly with the center section uncovered?

Great work!

[RaySky]

Glad you got it flying! Always nervous on the maiden and especially for a scratch built design, but sounds like you got it going well!

I must say it looks really nice, you have some depron skills obviously! How are you doing the joins? They look really smooth and rounded! And the elevons - are they 2 pieces put together and sanded?

Do you fly with the center section uncovered?

Great work!

Cheers iwan
I am really pleased how it developed and evolved  :) I have to say once it was in the air and trimmed it looked good and flew really well on half throttle , given full throttle is 85 watts static I can only imagine once its in the air the watts and amps drop down, I plan to charge the battery and see what was used to see how much longer it could have flown for. it may well be it was on the last few minutes before cut off...

Depron is a brill material to work with, it has a grain direction like balsa sheet so its important to cut the parts for bend or strength.
I used 6mm for the lower skin and 3 mm for the upper skin, once a spacer is placed in between both skins it makes a perfect aerofoil  ;) the pics show where I glued the spacers... add in those wood spars to give strength 

The centre section is uncovered because I still need to make the top deck/canopy "Thing" lol
The Vtx etc has arrived and I can now plan the position of all the airborne tronics  ;) Everthing is velco'd in at the moment.

As the maiden flight was better than my expectation I am going to glass cloth the airframe,
I did plan to do the maiden flight with Wing Cam but I opted for LOS only and no camera vid.
I am itching for my first FPV flight.... success it directly proportional to attention to detail and eliminating the foreseeable problems


   

[RaySky]

I charged the battery pack and it equates to a 30 minute plus flight used 2431 Ma form a 2700ma pack so I was close to cut off... Too close lol

[RaySky]

Only one more post to make and the thread is complete  :) Its a "Ray" Thing lol
I have read a good few RC threads and there is never an ending or conclusion of even a maiden flight... so here is the finale  ;)

I had all sorts of ideas of making a canopy to make it look sporty and stylish but then common sense told me to make it functional and aerodynamic!



There is more than enough space in the fuselage for any tronics I may wish to add, I am really pleased as it balances well and the front section is for my OSD kit when I am at that stage.




The hobbyking camera has been a pain because it wasn't square... it was shaped more like a wedge so I had to add a wedge of depron and ply to make it square



mounting it on soft sponge has taken some of the "Jello" out (as I have noticed the word used) maybe its because it's the larger prop running on 2S

The thread link is the actual FPV maiden flight http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php/topic,21339.0.html

I am really pleased with it, a simple design, low cost and it does what it was designed to do  :D






 

[Holski77]

Ha, everyone is excited about the z3, but this looks like a better plane in every way.
Pro build man, really inspires me to copy your genius (if you don't mind)  ;D

Do you?

I can pay you back with some noob advice.
I like to coat one side of my foam with tape before the folding begins.

for example:

http://flitetest.com/articles/the-tern-60-flying-wing

What do you do to seal/laminate your plane when you have finished?

Also, are you concerned about your control surfaces being to small?
Elongating the nose increases the pitching moment of inertia of this plane past that of a normal flying wing.

[RaySky]

Ha, everyone is excited about the z3, but this looks like a better plane in every way.
Pro build man, really inspires me to copy your genius (if you don't mind)  ;D

Do you?

I can pay you back with some noob advice.
I like to coat one side of my foam with tape before the folding begins.

for example:

http://flitetest.com/articles/the-tern-60-flying-wing

What do you do to seal/laminate your plane when you have finished?

Also, are you concerned about your control surfaces being to small?
Elongating the nose increases the pitching moment of inertia of this plane past that of a normal flying wing.

Hi Holski77

Please feel free to copy and build and enjoy  :)
I can post some measurements if you wish to make an exact copy,

I use glass weave cloth to laminate depron, I don't use a resin mix, I use water based varnish as it gives lots of time to work with, easy clean up too but no were near as ding proof a resin.

this design doesn't use folding as the upper wing skin is 3mm and gives a flat bottom and nice aerofoil section.

The control surfaces give perfect authority and the throws are average for a delta, having the CofG spot on helps too.
I wouldn't call this a flying wing although a few mods to the front and that's exactly what it would be lol
the front section gives lift too so I am not concerned,

All in all I am delighted how it flys, on 85 watts total and a 2S pack it has exceeded my expectations by loads,

Gonna post the Youtube maiden here too  :)

First FPV

Enjoy

[Holski77]

Unbelievable flight for 2s!

I don't know why you were so afraid of stalling that plane during the video!
If you are looking for different power systems that don't make much noise, get some slow fly props and low kv, high voltage quadcopter motors.
Higher voltage is always better!

[RaySky]

Unbelievable flight for 2s!

I don't know why you were so afraid of stalling that plane during the video!
If you are looking for different power systems that don't make much noise, get some slow fly props and low kv, high voltage quadcopter motors.
Higher voltage is always better!

Hi Holski

The motor I chose is a quad motor deigned for 3-4S but I did a few static tests on 2S and the numbers seemed good turning an 8x6 APCE

http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__29349__FC_28_12_Brushless_Outrunner_1534kv_UK_Warehouse_.html

It's so quiet that I need to rig up the audio from the Vrx so I know the motor is doing its job lol... and also part of the reason why I was concerned about a potential stall, that and the fact it was the first flight with all camera-Vtx and Vtx battery on board.

I plan to add a HK autopilot with RTH so that's gonna make life a whole lot easier and much more confident to assist my FPV learning curve :D

Cheers

Ray