E-wings - a new UK based EPP wing manufacturer

iwan_canobi · April 06, 2018, 12:51:20 PM

I've been doing this hobby for a number of years now and have been increasingly frustrated with the lack of options available in the UK for EPP hot wire cut style flying wings. The US has loads of options (ritewing, sweepwings, TBRC etc) but we are severely limited here for options, and shipping from the US is horribly expensive.

So a while back I thought, why don't I just make my own company? So, over the last few months that's exactly what I've been doing. I've built up all the necessary tools to CNC hot wire cut and produce wings, I've sourced a UK manufacturer for extremely high quality, robust EPP foam and have been working on CAD designs for the first model to be produced.

So, I give you:

It's still very much in it's infancy so I don't have a website set up yet, and I'm still at the prototype stage but I wanted to announce here first to see what interest there is in the first model.

The first wing is a 1.4m 3-piece wing, with a meaty airfoil for stable cruising and fast, low and smooth runs. I hate wag, so I'll be doing everything I can to make sure this wing will fly as smooth and stable as possible, whilst still being manoeuvrable and easy to launch. It will have the following specs:

3 piece EPP construction
1 main spar and 6 strip spars
2 pre cut center bays for battery / electronics
High quality balsa elevons
Laser cut correx bay covers and winglets (possibly also vertical fins depending on testing results)
Optional 3d printed camera nose
Various motor sizes and power setup compatibility
Speed range - 40-160km/h

Now some of that will change slightly as the testing continues, but those are my targets just now. Target price for the kit is £70 which I think is great for the quality you will be getting. Again this is a target but it shouldn't deviate too much.

I'll add prototype pictures soon, and I'd hope to be able to ship the first kits within the next 2 months, just in time for summer! :D

The plan will then be to move to designing the next models, in mind I have a small racing wing, and a larger forward swept design with a fuse.

So please feel free to comment, let me know if this first model is something you would be interested in and if you have any particular requests of what you'd like to see in the range. Once I'm happy with the design I'll get a site up and start taking orders!

I should note that this is not going to replace my day job, and I'm doing it all off my own back in my spare time so the initial batches may be small, but you've got to start somewhere!

I'm super excited about getting this off the ground and hope you guys will get some enjoyment out of my designs! :D

FPVSteve · April 06, 2018, 12:59:30 PM

Fantastic!

Would you also be willing to offer custom cutting services for people who have plans but no machinery?

CurryKitten · April 06, 2018, 01:03:25 PM

Awesome - nice one Ewan. Really looking forward to seeing your designs - you did some great things to eliminate the wag from your last one (can't remember what it was) so I expect a new level of super smooth flying wing :)

iwan_canobi · April 06, 2018, 01:06:43 PM

Cheers guys, looking forward to getting on with it and getting some out there in the wild!

Quote from: Steve W on April 06, 2018, 12:59:30 PM
Fantastic!

Would you also be willing to offer custom cutting services for people who have plans but no machinery?

I wouldn't rule it out Steve but not initially. Maybe once I've got the first few batches out of the way I would look into it, it just depends how much work the plans would need etc.

pk-surfing · April 06, 2018, 01:19:55 PM

A definite 10/10 for what you are doing, great to hear.

Keep us updated on what's available and when.

PK :)

Loopdreams · April 06, 2018, 01:49:24 PM

Excellent news! Really looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Loopdreams · April 06, 2018, 02:02:24 PM

English Turbines · April 06, 2018, 02:44:04 PM

Good for you, there certainly is a gap in the market for it.

I was never impressed with the designs from Flyingwings, but Im guessing you will be competing with them for sure.

If you need a Website developing, let me know, my Son could maybe help you out with that one..

:vulture:

Andy Sayle · April 06, 2018, 11:52:56 PM

Nice one, Best of luck.

Out of interest, what CNC hot wire did you go for? I'm halfway through cobbling one together myself at the moment...

Andy

dp106 · April 07, 2018, 12:36:04 AM

Based on what you did with the Genesis to eliminate the waggle this should fly great!

1.4m might be a little large for my tastes. It seems as the wings get bigger so do the noise levels having big motors next to the trailing edge of the wing. What I have always fancied is the Joker: https://flyingfoam.com/product/joker-36/

All the best and looking forward to more details..

iwan_canobi · April 09, 2018, 10:48:29 AM

Cheers for the support guys! :D

Quote from: Andy Sayle on April 06, 2018, 11:52:56 PM
Nice one, Best of luck.

Out of interest, what CNC hot wire did you go for? I'm halfway through cobbling one together myself at the moment...

Andy

It's a DIY one, based on this guide here -

http://www.rckeith.co.uk/cnc-hot-wire-foam-cutter/

I've done a few things a bit different but it's the same basic form and components. I'll likely build another once I'm going, there are a few frame designs that should be easily printable and a bit more adjustable.

Quote from: dp106 on April 07, 2018, 12:36:04 AM
Based on what you did with the Genesis to eliminate the waggle this should fly great!

1.4m might be a little large for my tastes. It seems as the wings get bigger so do the noise levels having big motors next to the trailing edge of the wing. What I have always fancied is the Joker: https://flyingfoam.com/product/joker-36/

All the best and looking forward to more details..

Cheers Dave! Something like that is definitely on the cards, only I would prefer it to be a pusher rather than nose mounted motor. The swept wing I mentioned I was thinking of would be along the lines of the Nurf from the same place, but smaller. After flying my mini Drak again at the weekend I'm thinking I may focus more on the swept wing model first, if I can get something that handles close to the mini drak in a similar size then that's what I'll go with first!

dp106 · April 09, 2018, 05:31:53 PM

Quote from: iwan_canobi on April 09, 2018, 10:48:29 AM
Cheers Dave! Something like that is definitely on the cards, only I would prefer it to be a pusher rather than nose mounted motor. The swept wing I mentioned I was thinking of would be along the lines of the Nurf from the same place, but smaller. After flying my mini Drak again at the weekend I'm thinking I may focus more on the swept wing model first, if I can get something that handles close to the mini drak in a similar size then that's what I'll go with first!

A pusher would be better for fpv however I reckon one on the nose would fly better, certainly launch easier! :)

After another crash this weekend with the Genesis (damn those hidden branches), I now have a large crack to repair. Should be ok once I've filled it with E6000 but who knows how much longer it will stand up to the abuse. May be needing a suitable replacement soon... :D

Badlands · April 09, 2018, 07:50:42 PM

Good luck mate - looking forward to seeing your designs.

mutley2 · April 09, 2018, 08:26:51 PM

Hey Ewan, you know I'm a fan of wings, get some pics up ASAP and I look forward visiting your new website. :terrific: :terrific:

iwan_canobi · April 11, 2018, 10:26:33 AM

Cheers guys! I'm itching to get going at the minute but the weather really isn't playing ball for testing and I've had a bit of an issue with the CNC which means I need to wait on some parts. But fear not, I'll get some pictures and more details up as soon as I can! I'm about to place a substantial foam order, so once that's done I have no choice but to make it work! :P