Mutleys Ritewing Z3 spade

[Coyote]

Flew nice, what sort of numbers for cruise was it coming back with ?

[mutley2]

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.

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.

[iwan_canobi]

Looks really nice, super stable!

[Ratty]

Nice one thanks, ill stick with 10x5 for mine then.

[dp106]

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 ;-)

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[mutley2]

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.
     

[Brod]

does look very solid Mut,almost guided missile status 88)

[dp106]

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 :-)

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[mutley2]

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.

[mutley2]

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

Pylon turns round a tree

50mph low pass that got way too low heheheheh

[mutley2]

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

[dogzilla]

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.

[mutley2]

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  :(

[mutley2]

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


The pitot tube mount


The underneath after a bloody good summer


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.

[stevec]

Looks like she is holding up well


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