What to do with your old Teksumo/Popwing

Old Popwing has seen better days, but now I'm in love again!

"Wow" a young boy screamed as my Popwing took off like a bat out of hell from the local park.  Though he was impressed, I certainly wasn't.  After nearly crashing into the ground the plane shot up to around 40 feet.  "Too much up-trim," I thought to myself.  I landed it, and moved the control surfaces down even closer to level and shot it off again, This time with less throttle. A nice toss and the plane was performing well.   I set some radio trim and figured out what was off.  The control surfaces were a bit too flat, after landing I brought the control surfaces up slightly.  My third takeoff was fine. The plane was flying well.  There was no trim, no expo, and I was at full rates. "She's ready," I said with a smile.  I enjoyed the rest of the flight as I thought about what I was going to do with her that night. 

Later on that night.

I cut the zip tie that held the receiver.    Though it wasn't a bad receiver it wasn't what I needed. I spent around 20 minutes getting my  SeroiuslyPro Racing F3 flight controller ready.   By now I've been through the INAV setup enough times to have it down cold.    Still, I put a sick amount of modes on my FrSky receiver and it took another 20 minutes o get them all turned on.  The old receiver came out  easy enough (it was held down with Hook & Loop and a zip tie on the bottom of the plane in the cutout compartment0.   The SPRacing F3 has a nifty case, and with a little hook and loop it took roughly the same spot, with one small problem, Since it was on the bottom of the plane it was upside down.  This means the plane will think left is right and right is left.   In the configuration tab in INAV I simply changed YAW by 180 degrees and that solved the problem.  I used E6000 to glue down the XM+ receiver to the bottom of the wing. It's tiny.  The only real mod was to take a very small drillbit and hand drill a small hole from the compartment my flight controller and ESC were located. I passed up one tiny cable.  It went to my GPS unit. The GPS unit needs to be on the top of the wing so that it can see the satellites.

Here's the wiring, in detail.

#1. Plug in ESC into the flight controller  (S1)
#2. Plug in GPS Unit into flight controller (plug on side of controller)
#3. Pug in servos into the flight controller (S3 & S4)
#4. Plug in the receiver (one cable) into the flight controller. (special cable that comes with the flight controller, plugs in side of controller)

If you're counting, that's five plugs to plug in, that's it!   It truly is that simple.

Aside from the rat's nest of wires the F3 fit right in

The re-maiden flight

It was a day with rain in the forecast. For the record, Southern California, a place where it never rains has seen 3 months of on and off rain, mostly on.  I had my shoring up flight the day before, and now, at face value, it was time for its INAV maiden.  Would the proper trim from another receiver transfer over to INAV using the FRSky transmitter and recevier?  Would the flight controller have its own ideas as to what was servo-center?  I guess we'll find out!

With a good toss the plane was off and flying.  It was a tad tail heavy so I landed it and moved the battery forward.  This time all was well.  She was off and flying pure and smooth. It was so nice that I hesitated to do what I had to do next, turn on stabilization.  The key to doing this is to fly it over grass because it may come in for an abrupt landing.   With a flip of a switch "aaah, even nicer!"


There was good, and then there's even bettter.  I was seeking as close to perfection as I could get with this plane.  It had a lackluster motor on it which made it fine for a floater, but it certainly didn't fly fast.  The best thing I could do was to make this a smooth flyer.

What a flight controller can and can't do

If a perfect plane flight is 100% and your plane is at 60% of it's potential the flight controller really won't help get you to 100%.  Maybe 70%, if you're lucky.  I used to be happier with planes that have marginal flight characteristics, but not anymore.  If I can get a plane to 90% the flight controller will help round out the flying experience, bringing the plane closer to 100%.  The point is to use the flight controller to make a good plane better than to make a bad plane fly well. 

Servo Autotrim

When we get a new plane we tend  set it up as best as possible and then take it out for the first flight.  When the plane is in the air we discover it's still not right and then set the trim in the radio.  What the trim setting in the radio is doing is permanently make small adjustments to the control surface positions by compensating in the radio.   The transmitter is a low-level computer that keeps track of these settings.   What is different is that with a flight controller, the computer is moved to the plane.   Thus the transmitter defers most of its decision making to the plane's computer because it's a better computer.   But along with great power comes great responsibility.    It's a bit more work to set up the flight controller and refine flight characteristics.  Thankfully, INAV helps out with this task.

This may sound counter-intuitive but the way a lot of planes are designed, level flight actually causes the plane to pitch down a bit.  Thus, there needs to be a certain amount of up-trim added to prevent the plane from losing altitude.    We tend to do this when we first fly a plane, we'll give the plane some uptrim with our radio trim buttons.   Part of my exercise from the day before was that I found what I felt was the very best setup of the plane. I set trim, then when the plane was landed I set the control surfaces to where the radio was trimmed. Then I set the radio trim back to zero.  It took three flights and it was close to perfect.  My servos arms are at exactly 90 degrees from the plane. Everything was ready.  So, why do I have to go through trimming a plane if the plane flies well in manual?

Flight stabilization can make things worse, at first.

The plane flew great in manual mode, which meant that I had total control of the plane's control surfaces. When I switched into one of the gyro-stabilized modes the plane did the best job it possibly could.  But, perhaps the flight controller isn't exactly pointing straight, and sometimes the flight controller isn't exactly situated at the center of gravity.  And when these things occur, sometimes you make things worse when you attempt to fly in a flight stabilized mode.  A lot of people get to a point in INAV where they give up right about here. They just fly in manual and use the features they like and forget about the flight stabilized modes.  They are missing the best part!  Getting this sorted out isn't difficult, and with INAV 2.1 complex PIF settings are calculated for us using the Auto Trim feature.

Refinement

I calibrated the gyro before putting it into the plane.  And the plane is certainly setup right, so what more do I need to do?   If I like to only fly in manual, the plane is ready. But, just like when you get into a new car for the first time, you have to adjust the mirrors, the seat, the heater or air conditioning.  The car works fine, and you know how to drive, but still, modifications are needed,  you just need to get it set for your situation.  This exactly what needs to happen with a new flight controller in a plane.  It has to make minor refinements.   INAV has a simple way of doing this. You have to teach the plane what stabilized flight looks like.

Turning on Servo Auto Trim.

I took the plane out, I got it flying level, and then I turned on the Servo Auto Trim and flew level for at least a few seconds.  What was happening in these few seconds was the plane was learning what level flight looks like and then made adjustments.  I then landed the plane, disarmed the flight controller, and shut off the Servo Auto Trim.   Then I took off again.  It was a bit windy the first time I did it. It worked okay.  The second time I did it there was no wind, and that time I really got it.  The plane flew great in the stabilized modes.


Turning on Auto Tune

The problem I had with this build was with the weather.  We had an extended rainy season and the days I could fly were often cold with an unstable atmosphere. One morning I had the most perfect flying day.  Light, fluffy air, a mild breeze,  it was nice and warm. In my haste to get things started I couldn't find my 1800mAh 3S battery.  I instead went with the slightly lighter 1500mAh 3S .  The plane flew without a problem.  I got it up a couple of hundred feet in the manual flight mode and flipped on the horizon mode. It flew great, so I went for it.  I turned on "Auto tune" and started flying. I kept flying in this mode for around 3 minutes.   I noticed that I was at exactly half throttle.   I needed a comfortable flying speed and for this  lackluster motor half throttle was perfect!   What is important is that Auto Tune needs to be set at a speed I will most often fly in, and for me this was perfect.   Before I landed I turned off auto trim, then I l anded and saved the configurations.   Then I disarmed.  I armed again and took the plane up and did yet another servo auto trim.     By the time I was done I was thrilled with the way this plane flew.

So, what's it like?

How did it fly?  I've never had a Popwing fly this good! I had things trimmed at half throttle and the plane was Floaty McFloater.   I flew the plane I didn't have to manage the flight. I hit the sticks when I needed to turn, but that was about it.   It was like driving on a freshly paved road.   When it was power off time, it was a nice, smooth stable landing. I did notice that the wind had picked up during the course of my flight.  I just never felt it.  I didn't feel like the entire experinece made things worse or took away the thrill of flying.  About the only major adjustment, I had to make was waiting 30 seconds for my plane to find satellites and be ready to arm the first time I plugged in the batttery . If I were to change batteries and do another flight the satellites will be found much faster if I can swap the batteries in less than a minute.

Horizon Mode

This is a good, comfortable mode for flying.   I find it to be the mode the balances the need for stabilized flight with the need to be hands-on during the flight.   This certainly smooths the ride while allowing you the ability to feel in control.  I was getting the plane flying straight as an arrow, and was using minor fluctuations in throttle to raise or lower elevation.  Powering off the plane had a lovely glide back down.  Part of this was the legenary flight characterisits of the Popwing/Teksumo.  But mostly it was the flight controller making minor adjustments during flight on an ongoing basis.

Angle Mode
My experiences with Angle Mode thus far haven't been good.  If your plane isn't well trimed and then autotuned and auto trimmed this mode will seize control of your plane and fly it very poorly.  You will be out of this mode in short order.

But, when your plane is well trimmed this isn't a bad mode.  Yes it does have limited banking angles and thus you need to account for that fact.   But it wasn't horrific. It was actually quite pleasant.  With this mode I would have no problem handing over the radio to the newest of newbies. They can get the feel of the plane and hopefully can lsiten to your input while figuring out how to keep the plane moving in the right direction and not crashing.

If anything, this mode is too smooth.  When my buddy Cabo-Charlie invites me to Cabo San Lucas again, this is the mode we'll be flying in while drinking Coronas on the beach in our highback chairs.


Success! 

The point that shouldn't be lost was that this wasn't a plane that I planned to have  flying with a flight controller.  Yes, it does help that I knew my way around in INAV  but the point is that planes which may not be good candidates for INAV FPV may actually be good candidates for INAV LOS.   The reason I felt a bit compelled to write this is because a lot of people are cheering on the demise of the F3 flight controller in INAV.   But here's a perfect example of an application where an F3 flight controller does work.  If you can solder 24 pins, or if you have a friend who can solder 24 pins for you here's a cheap and easy way to get started with INAV.


Not everybody gets line-of-sight pilots

Instead of staring at a screen, or looking into goggles we're staring at the sky.  There's something majestic about watching your plane float around in the sky.  Not every plane needs a camera and video transmitter. With a flight controller, this doesn't need to change.  Yes, I do have other full FPV rigs that fly.  But there was a specific reason why I was interested in modding this plane.

Fugly but flies well

This is my test plane

This Popwing certainly isn't new.  It has it's battle scars.  It's been in a few crashes but the largest problem is that it's seen a lot of use.  Too many landings on tall grass have cut into the foam on the bottom and the edges.  I have a few beloved planes like this.  This is actually the perfect plane for INAV.   There are many settings and wonderful modes to try out.  The problem is, you really shouldn't be using your top shelf planes as your INAV test plane.  The beauty of INAV is experimenting with new things.  For this, you'll need a test plane.  Something that is light and cheap.  What better than a Teksumo or Popwing?

The entire setup was under $25 US. 

The SP Racing F3 flight controller was $13 and the GPS unit was $9.  Together, with shippiing, it's under $25 from Banggood. The more modern F722-Wing costs closer to $60 and isn't plug and play. Yes, it does a lot more and is better in every metric to the F3 flight controllers  The F3 Flight controller is cheap and is a simple entry into the world of INAV.    It runs the vast majority of the flight modes that are offered by INAV.  This is a cheap, fast and easy way to get into computer controlled flight.


The things you need to know before jumping in.

The F3 will only support up to INAV 2.1   As of March of 2019 the programmers at INAV have decided that all future releases of INAV will not be offered to those using F3 flight controllers.  Since the F3 represents older technology hardware they wish to continue their efforts with newer technology that is a bit more robust amonts of memory.

You will be able to download INAV 2.1 for the F3 flight controller for some time to follow.   Thus, if you need to reload INAV onto your flight controller, you'll be able to download it.

The F3 flight controller doesn't come with an OSD-  One of the cool aspects of INAV is the on-screen display that you use in conjunction with a camera and video transmitter. You can add an OSD to the F3, but it does require wiring and programming.  If this is the route you are going it's better to buy an F4/F7 board with an OSD built in.

You will need to solder 24 pins-  If you've never soldered before this is a great way to learn.  If you blow it, you're not out as much money as one of the more capable boards.  If you can't solder, you'll need to have someone help you.

The SPRacing F3 is a clone-  The original F3 racing isn't made anymore. I have speculated that the F3 clone is actually a better board because it may use newer hardware.  I have a few of them, they work fine.   But, your results may be different.    Clones always have a degree of uncertainty.


You may need a new radio and receiver- The flight controller needs switches and knobs to work.  You use the switches to work with the different modes.  Most traditional radios have somewhere between 4 and 8 channels. Each channel needs a servo wire hooked up to it. That means, if you want to work with 8 channels, you'll need 8 wires coming from your receiver.    The newer style of radios are serial based.  There is only one cable the receiver needs to offer the flight controller. Your servos and  ESC plug into the flight controller.   The wiring is much easier.  On that one wire upwards of 16 channels can be used!  You will need to check and see if your radio system is serial based.   Some are and some aren't.  The very inexpensive Flysky FS-i6 and Turnigy TGY-i6 are both serial based transmitters  Some of the receivers are and some aren't.


You will have to challenge yourself to take on a learning curve-  Knowing how to build a plane and getting it flying is step one.    You will have to do some computer work to get the flight controller ready.  You don't have to have an electrical engineering degree to take on INAV, but just the same, you won't figure this out in one evening.  This has to be something you want to do and you will have to apply yourself.

INAV Fixed Wing Group on Facebook

We've created a group on Facebook that now has over 1000 members within the first few months. Our group is made up of pilots from every continent and nearly every corner of the globe.  Our members have come up with a setup guide for INAV as well as video tutorials.  Since we found people with the same issues over and over again we came up with a troubleshooting guide for INAV. Though you may not live near any of our members you will get the support of the community.  Thus, if you decide to take on INAV you're certainly not alone.  You can get help.


If you build and tinker with planes, you'll love INAV.

The people who like prepackaged planes (PNP) may not enjoy INAV as much as those of us who like to build.  The sense of accomplishment is hard to describe. The first time you throw a switch and watch your plane turn around and fly itself back to you is mind-boggling. The first time you launch a plane and it flies itself to a certain altitude is mesmerizing.  As our member, the famous Australian RC plane reviewer Andrew Newton once said of the auto-launch features "It never gets old!"


Overall

It's time to dust off your Popwing/ Teksumo.  Even in today's world, the F3 board on the this plane is such a no-brainer.    Once installed, you'll be taking your plane flying a lot more.  If you're a line of sight pilot and have this plane it's nearly crazy not to put this flight controller on you plane.   You will love it that much more!  From this board you can move on to other planes.  The learning curve you go through with the F3 flight controller will help you with the vast majority of  INAV builds.

Eachine Black Wing 680mm Wingspan EPP FPV Racer RC Airplane KIT

When the names of some first builds come along, the Eachine Black Wing hardly gets an honorable mention,  The main issue is the size of the plane.  It's under 700mm so it falls into the realm of a small build.   Planes under 800mm are hard to get excited about.  There is a lot to choose from and most aren't all that special.    When this plane came out I built it with linear ESCs and all the usual things that  I would use on planes twice this size.  The motor was small enough for the plane, or so I thought.  In reality, it was over-powered and never flew that great.   This time, I'm keeping it light and simple.  So, why am I building it again when I wasn't in love with it the first time.  Simple, I accidentally bought two!

When this plane came out a couple of years ago there was a lot of excitement, and then the excitement died down.   I am thinking that thanks to the miniaturization of the radios, GPS, motor, VTX and camera this plane may be worth one more look.   Perhaps a nice, smooth INAV experience could breathe some new life into this plane.

The good

Made for FPV-   Though it's a small plane, the plane is designed for not only an FPV camera but a Runcam on the lid as well.   It makes good use of the space.

Large fuselage -  The fuselage is huge for such a small plane.  You can get an F405-Wing board in it, though I don't know why you'd want to do that!   My goal is to make a minimalistic build so that it's light.   The GPS,  and receiver will sit out on the wing.   I have very small VTX's that can mount in the lid.  I doubt space will be an issue.

Smooth, yet strong molded EPP foam-  I've tried my hand at killing the first build of this plane, and yet, crash after crash she's still fine.  This is a good plane for less than gentle landings.  The smooth EPP foam can withstand abuse.


Low Price-  The plane can be had for under $40, sometimes much less.  The puts it in the price range of the foam board plane kits you'll often find online.  It's not EPO, but EPP which makes it an unheard of deal.

Quad Parts-  Other than servos, most of the electronics could be sourced from quad parts including the ESC, receiver, cameras, and motor.  You could literally make this build from a crashed quad.

Fast & Fun- If you want to, you can put a motor in it that handles 4S so that you can open it up.

The bad

This is how they suggest you mount the motor-Nope!

What I did instead.

Very Loud- It's a bit annoying how loud this plane can be.  I am moving the motor back and using a smaller prop this time around.

Doesn't like weight-  Don't get too crazy loading this plane up with heavy gear.  It doesn't care for that.  Keep her light.

Winglets are large and glued on.  They do fall off from time to time.  Do a very nice job gluing them on and check them often.

Small footprint-   The odd size of the plane makes for some strange aerodynamics.  It's not a glider. The short fuselage makes for some rather interesting CG challenges, and it's very easy to set up wrong.  Small planes can be a bit wonky to fly.  You would think that larger planes would be harder.  No, the small ones are much harder.

Disappears in the sky rather quickly-  Being small and black means that it's too simple to lose in the sky if you fly it line-of-site. If you're going to pass on the decals, consider putting fluorescent bright duct tape on the leading edge.

The plan

The All Up Weight

Plane::      170g
Battery:    150g
Motor         30g
FPV gear:  70g

Total       420g


The AUW will be between 400-450g

Motor-The EMAX MT2204 2200KV has 440g of thrust.  It should be plenty for this plane.  It will fly nice,  but it won't be a sports plane.   Someone did a thrust test on this motor and found that a 5040 triple blade pushed the motor to 500g of thrust pushing 11amps.  and a meager 133 watts.  Yes, there are plenty of quad motors that can push twice as much thrust on 4S, why not just use one of them?  It's all a trade-off.  More thrust means more power  What I like about this motor is that it's efficient which means that it can hopefully have longer flight times.   It's also a motor I happen to have on hand.

Motors are a personal choice,   The motor used will help determine the flight experience. This comes along with experience in building RC planes.   The one point that gets lost is that the weight of the motor also has a huge impact on the total flight experience.   The CG of this plane fairly close to the motor, which is common.  This means that the heavier your motor selection the more weight you'll need up front to counterbalance the weight of the motor.  Though that means larger batteries that can help the plane fly longer it also means you'll be flying a heavier plane.  You'll need to have more speed to maintain flight and you run the risk of dropping a wing on your turns.  I don't like the feel of a heavy plane.   This can make or break how much you enjoy the plane.

Metal Gear MG90 Servos-  There's really not a point to install plastic gear servos anymore. The MG90s have metal gear but  are not digital servos. Smaller wings get tossed around in open sky a bit more than larger wings.  Flight stabilization can help, but only so much.  No matter what you put on the wing the smaller wings get tossed around a bit in the sky.  Thus, I am sticking with the analog servos and accepting the occasional bumpy flight.


The ESC

The speed controller will be a skywalker 15a ESC.  Why? Because I have quite a few of them that I purchased and haven't used. It's a bit larger than an opto speed controller, but not much.  It's also  has 5 volts from its bec that I really don't need.  This is a small plane with a minimal power draw from the motor. The 5v from the BEC on the flight controller is more than enough.   But, it's nice to have more power if needed.

You really need to hack into the foam to get this Eachine camera to fit.

The Camera & VTX-  I am using a cheap Eachine 600ttl camera and Eachine VTX.  The VTX is 600mw. The camera needed to be carved into the foam on the nose though it was from Eachine as well.

The flight controller

Built, just waiting for the Flight controller. 

And this is where the story ends for now.  The flight controller of choice, the Omnibus F4 Pro V3 clone is sitting in a sorting facility in China. And that's the true beauty of buying from China, learning patience.     The good news is that all the glue joints should be dried to perfection before my first maiden a month from now.   The postal issues may have something to do with Chinese New Years.

I will work on it some more, getting it ready for the flight controller

In the meantime

Banggood seems to be throwing this plane on sale a lot lately.  Prices are often around $32 (US).  After building this plane again, the right way this time,  I do like it.  I do like the S800 better because it glides better. Still, the best plane is the AR 900 in my book.  It's hard to find a plane that flies well under 800mm.   If you buy this, don't go all out throwing an F405-Wing into it.   This may be a good little plane to make from spare parts you have laying around.

So, if you do order it, in the meantime follow the build instructions from Matt

Specs

Plane
Model Number: Eachine Black Wing 680mm Wingspan EPP FPV Racer RC Airplane KIT
Type of plane: Wing (Delta Wing)
Material: Molded EPP
Wingspan:680mm
All up weight (AUW): Unknown as of now
Website link (for purchase): https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-Black-Wing-680mm-Wingspan-EPP-FPV-Racer-RC-Airplane-KIT-p-1176721.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN
Notes:  This plane goes on sale quite a bit, liked but not beloved, this is my second build and is WIP.  I am waiting on a flight controller

Motor
Model number: MT2204
KV: 2300
Grams of thrust:  440-500
Battery range it accepts (S): 2-3S
Website link (for purchase): https://www.banggood.com/Emax-MT2204-2300KV-Brushless-Motor-For-QAV-250-p-946400.html?rmmds=search&ID=49006&cur_warehouse=CN
Maximum amps: 11.5
Weight: 25g
Notes:  Not an exciting motor by any means. It has enough thrust to fly. I am hoping the low wattage will keep it airborne longer.  This isn’t the best motor for the plane, it was old inventory I had on hand.  It can be found by other manufacturers.  Most people will use the 2205 instead.

Flight Controller:
Model number: F4 Pro V3
Website link (for purchase):  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Betaflight-Omnibus-STM32F4-F4-Pro-V3-Flight-Controller-Built-in-OSD/32957382703.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.6a664c4dp2Jg0z
Notes: I believe a lot of the boards for sale on Banggood and Ali Express are knock-offs of the originals.   It has good reviews, we’ll see how it does.  It’s  currently stuck in a sorting facility in China, during  Chinese New Year.  The plane is built, but I’m waiting on this FC.

Video Transmitter (VTX)Model Number: Eachine TS5828L Micro 5.8G 600mW 40CH Mini FPV Transmitter
Voltage Range:7v-27v
Mw range: 600mw
Weight: 16g
Smart Audio: No
5v output for camera?  No
Website link (for purchase): https://www.banggood.com/TS5828L-Micro-5_8G-600mW-40CH-Mini-FPV-Transmitter-with-Digital-Display-p-1058136.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN
Notes:  There are newer VTX’s out that may be better for this plane. Again, this is what I had on hand. It’s small so it will fit on the lid nicely.   Uses an RP-SMA antenna.

FPV Camera
Model Number:  Eachine 1000TVLMini FPV Camera NTSC PAL Switchable
Voltage Range 5-20V
Sensor: size and CMOS/CCD?: 1/3 CCD
Lens mm  2.8mm
Field of View:  110 Degree Wide
Television Lines (TVL):  1000TLV
Weight: 10g
Website link (for purchase):  https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-1000TVL-13-CCD-110-Degree-2_8mm-Lens-Mini-FPV-Camera-NTSC-PAL-Switchable-p-1053340.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN
Notes: This is a fairly good quality for a cheap camera. 1000 television lines.   Though it’s an Eachine and the plane is an Eachchine, it took about 20 minutes to carve out the foam on the nose to make this fit. 

GPS
Model Number:  Dual BN-220 GPS GLONASS Antenna Module TTL Level PAL Switchable
Weight: 5.3g
Website link (for purchase):  https://www.banggood.com/Dual-BN-220-GPS-GLONASS-Antenna-Module-TTL-Level-RC-Drone-Airplane-p-1208588.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN
Notes: Beloved, cheap GPS

Servos:
Model number MG90S Metal Gear RC Micro Servo
Quantity 2
Metal or plastic gear: Metal
Digital or analog: Analog
Website link (for purchase): https://www.banggood.com/6X-Towerpro-MG90S-Metal-Gear-RC-Micro-Servo-p-1072260.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN
Notes:  Why even bother with plastic servos anymore?   The small size of the plane means it may get tossed around a bit Digital servos won’t help that much.

Speed Controller (ESC)
Model number:  Skywalker 15a  SKU: 30205150
BEC included?: Yes, 2 amp, 5 volt linear
Quantity ( 1 or 2): 1
Maximum Amps 20 (short term)
Website link (for purchase): https://www.hobbywingdirect.com/products/skywalker-esc-15a?variant=3471190980
Notes: Not what I would normally use for this plane, but I am using up what I have laying around (where have you heard that before?).  The +5v and ground have been cut  and may be used for something else

Power Distribution Board (PDB)
Model Number:  (Not needed, the FC has a built in BEC)
How many S?:
Website link (for purchase):
Notes:

Propeller
Model Number  Kingkong / LDARC 5040 5x4x3 3-Blade
Size & number of blades: 5x4 triple bladed propeller
Website link (for purchase): https://www.banggood.com/10-Pairs-Kingkong-5040-5x4x3-3-Blade-Single-Color-CW-CCW-Propellers-for-FPV-Racer-p-1067875.html?rmmds=search&ID=224&cur_warehouse=CN
Notes:  These propellers tend to be nearly commodities thanks to our drone friends.  The measurement at full throttle was 500g of thrust with a propeller like this.   The idea is to not use a 6” propeller to help keep the noise down. These propellers tend to sound like hair dryers when flying.

Battery
Model Number  Turnigy 1500mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack
mAh::1500
# of cells: 3
Weight: 128
Website link (for purchase): https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-1500mah-3s-20c-lipo-pack.html
Notes: For this plane, you want to use shorter, more stubby batteries so that the weight is more concentrated in one area. You will need to move it up and down the fuselage to find the right CG. 

Sonicmodell HD Wing Review-Underrated FPV Platform

Overview

From the sales description found on websites:

"This 1213mm wingspan HD flying wing is designed for stable flight and multitask FPV flying, the specially designed high-efficiency airfoil and envelope offers great elevating force during flying, it’s spacious rooms inside fuselage are perfect for more FPV gear and large battery to ensure long flying time, we offer foam nose and plastic dome(interchangeable) for multiple FPV camera mount, the separate hatches in two wings are for Vtx and GPS mounting with great cooling effect, the landing sled in bottom of fuselage and wings will protect your airframe from scratches."

Let's look at the claims:

1213mm wingspan - Strange size, 1219 is 4 feet.   Usually, metric planes are just 1200mm.  Oh well, bigger is better.

Designed for stable flight-  Surprisingly stable,  the extra nose weight gives this plane flying authority.  It holds a position very well, the only tweaking needed was to get the trim right so as to not pitch nearly as much. 

Great elevating force during flying-  There were a few times during 'line of sight' flight I had to bring the plane back down closer to earth, because, yes,  it does like to climb. The worst part is that it's so smooth that you hardly notice it climbing.

 Large fuselage "perfect for more FPV gear and large battery to ensure long flying time"- Perhaps one of it's greatest selling points, this is a nice platform for medium range FPV.   The plane is designed to haul around some weight.  I am checking it out now with different batteries.  But yes, it's ideal for adding cameras, perhaps many cameras.

" {F}oam nose and plastic dome(interchangeable)"- The plane comes with two foam noses and one clear plastic dome.  And yet, there aren't enough magnets for all of it.   Thus, if you order the plane you should order s"ome extra rare earth magnets.   You need magnets because many kits come with poor magnets or none at all.    Even kits like the HD Wing  feature magnets that you can loose over time, so having extras on hand is ncesssary.   

The separate hatches in two wings are for VTX and GPS mounting with "great cooling effect",-  This is important if you're running those really hot VTXs.  You can mount it out on the wing to help prevent it from overheating.   If you're flying with a flight controller you can further mount a XM+ are similar full range receiver on the wing  They are small, weigh next to nothing, help improve range while freeing up space in  the fuselage  Its strange that such a large fuselage would be nearly empty.  We are benefiting from our friends who fly micro quads.  The gear these days has been miniaturized.







The build

Thankfully there is a good build manual that comes with the plane, and plenty of good build videos, like those from Andrew Newton and 7Demo7.  You can piece it together on a dry build and get the gist of how to finish assembling it.   it's not a complicated build.   The one thing I wished I knew before I built it was that it can take some fairly large propellers. Other than the cheap 600mm "Spirit Wing" this is the only plane I've built that has the propeller sit fully behind the wing.  This means that there is no size limit to whatever propeller you want to use.   I like larger propellers.  They tend to be quiet and efficient and can be good for slow flying  The limiting factor will be weight. A little more weight in back means that it needs a lot more weight up front.  But still, this is fantastic for long range FPV with the right motor combination. 

The suggested motor is a 2212 2200KV.    With this motor, the pull of 700g it seems like it may struggle if you weight it down with heavy FPV gear or extra batteries. The smaller propeller is better suited for fast flight.  On my initial build, I used a 2830 1300KV motor swinging a 9x7 propeller. Performance wasn't lacking and speed was decent.   Best of all, it was quiet and helped the plane sustain a half an hour flight on a 3S 4000mAh battery




The build process is a bit longer than most, because it has a lot pretty cool options.  I must say that I fell in love with the plane during the build process. I love how the plane goes together, the attention to detail and the quality of the parts made me excited to get it in the air.

I did paint the plane. The one thing I can't get excited about is white EPO foam.  It has a certain unfinished look about it that I don't care for.   It's a bit stark and dull and can get hopelessly dirty after a few too many wet grass landings. If you have mroe than a few planes they all start to look the same when stored together.    With that being said I I will say that the decal set that came with this plane look decent.  I have no idea how long they will stay on once applied.  At least they don't look like they were designed with 14-year-old teenage boys in mind.




I use Krylon Foam Primer first.  Only a couple of coats are required  Let it dry and then start putting on the final colors.  I went for a two-tone paint job.  Black fuselage with yellow wings.  I like strong contrast in my planes because I find that they are easier to spot in the sky.  Since the body comes in two pieces I used a red bottom with a black top on the fuselage.  Visually, it was easy to see.  I wasn't the largest fan of the yellow in retrospect.  It had more of mustard yellow for my tastes.   I decided to call it "Honey Badger" because, in the end, the plane just don't give S*&T.   It's gonna fly and fly.   I even got it a honey badger decal.



The plane was finished off with a very durable 5mm lamination.  It helps keep the plane clean, prevents the paint from peeling  off, provides extra rigidity, and I've found helps lower drag. The bad news is that the plane looks like it's being stored inside a sandwich bag!  I've gotten used to the look of lamination on my planes.  I will say that I had to wrestle with the lamination on this build for a couple of evenings before it was done.







Areas of concern

Center of Gravity- People seem to struggle with finding the right CG for this plane.  It's going to take a couple of flights to really nail it down. There are a couple of dots on the bottom of the wing which many find to be the correct CG, and not the CG marks that come with the plane.

Exposed nose-  The other huge issue with the plane is that there is a huge nose that sits well in front of the delta wing.  During a crash, this will take the brunt of the damage.  True there are interchangeable noses, but there is also a wood plank that protrudes out with the nose.  If this breaks it's going to be fun trying to repair or replace it.  My best advice, don't crash!




Plastic dome-  There is an FPV plastic dome options for the front.  The problem is that these clear domes give strange reflections that show up in thef light footage.  It gives the look of flying inside a plastic bubble.  This may be fine for an FPV camera, but for HD recording, stick the HD camera up on the top of the plane.

The maiden

After the first few attempts, the plane would fly for around five feet on full power and land on the grass. I gave it some serious thought and felt that perhaps the motor wasn't strong enough to make it fly.  I decided to try replacing the propeller with a larger one, when I noticed that for whatever reason the prop was on backward.  Once it was on the right way, it was one happy camper.  The next issue was that it didn't have enough weight on the nose. I got to test the foam nose in a real-world crash situation. after it went up and came right back down. Everything was fine.  Then I added considerably more weight to the nose and off she went!

My first flight was really an interim test flight.  This plane is going to be set up for FPV, but first I need to know how she flies.  So, I put in a very lackluster speed controller that I literally had laying around.  It doesn't like full throttle.  So, I had to test it with at most 70% throttle, which was fine.  But, I still didn't get to see the entire story.  And that is the issue for now.  After one successful maiden flight, I felt she was ready for an FPV upgrade.  So, she's been sitting around for weeks waiting for the upgrade.  Currently, I have other planes that are seeing their FPV upgrades first. The HD Wing will get better quality gear and when she's full FPV I will add on to this article.

But, how does she fly?

C1 Chaser, notice how close the winglets are to the center of the plane

I can compare this plane to a C1 Chaser, which is essentially an oversized Wing-Wing.  The C1 is a plane that can fly slow and likes to glide.  And yet it tends to do a bit more wandering in the sky.  It may be because of the arc of the wing that makes it a bit more forgiving. and perhaps more ideal for newer pilots.  Thus if I were to suggest at 1200mm ideal for newer pilots it would be the C1 Chaser.  The HD Wing has a flatter wing, and thus likes a bit more speed and can be a bit less forgiving.  The HD Wing is all business.  It may be because I had the heavy 4 amp 3S battery up front but it was straight as an arrow.  So straight that it may be considered a tad bit boring.  It doesn't participate in the winds and changing air flow as much as the C1 Chaser seems to do.  It just holds its position very well.  Then again, that may be the huge amount of mass up front that I flew with doing the talking.  Regardless, this would be an excellent platform for FPV.   The plane literally demands FPV.  Without FPV, it may be just an 'Okay" line of sight plane.  I do like the C1 Chaser better as a line-of-sight plane.


Great elevating force?

The sales literature mentioned "Great Elevating Force."  Again this has to do with its wing design.   But yes, it catches lift in a bit of an unusual way.  It's subtle, over time it seems to go higher and higher.   So, when flying her, be certain keep an eye on her altitude.  She does like to climb.
Why I really like this plane

First, this plane is a rock solid platform.  You put it in the air and it flies straight and true.  It doesn't  roll from side to side nor gain or lose altitude.  It just flies straight.   This is just a very predictable flyer.   You can look down for a moment and the plane won't be on the ground.  This may be a good plane for a video platform because it flies so straight.   I do really enjoy her even though I haven't put a camera on her yet.

Andrew Newton wins the award for best paint job.

FPV Potential

ZOHD is a division of Sonicmodell.   Not all their planes are winners, but more often than not they have exceptional planes.   I like what they are doing with the hobby.  Their planes are innovative.  The HD Wing is really setup to be an FPV plane. The nose has a few different options.  One is all foam and thus no FPV camera mounted onto the wood. There is an FPV camera cutout for foam option and  the third option is the clear dome.   You can also mount  a camera on the top of the plane.   Of all these options, I think the clear dome is fine for an FPV camera, but not a Runcam. 

There are spots off to the side of the fuselage where you can mount your GPS, VTX and receiver.  I am switching over to XM+  and thus will mount them onto the wing  The other thing I love about the plane is that the winglets have no risk of getting hit by the prop.  My next build of this plane will have an 11" prop. I am hoping for longer flight times and quieter flights.


Long Range FPV?

The full-sized SkyHunter is a better long-range FPV plane.

Long-Range FPV is a term that gets thrown around very loosely.  The people who do it well have worked their way up the technology food-chain.  Long-range FPV is a discipline and a huge commitment of time, effort, resources and money.  What most folks are probably thinking of is mid-range FPV.  The technology to fly a plane 3-5 kilometers away and bring it back is readily available and fairly inexpensive.   With each time that you fly a plane beyond line-of-sight there is a realistic possibility that it won't come back.   Thus, you don't really want a huge financial investment flying away from you.  The HD Wing is a good idea for mid-range FPV because the plane is inexpensive.  It can also carry a lot of weight.  My little test with a 4amp 3S batery had the plane flying around for over half an hour.  I can easily see this plane flying for an hour, covering 20 to 30 kim in that period of time.

If you're going to test out FPV beyond line-of-sight, the further away you go the more you really need to be away from where people live and work.  We have a number of people doing stupid things with the technology we are given and sooner or later if this keeps up we'll all suffer from newer, more stringent laws and regulations. Some people aren't fortunate enough to live where there is a lot of open land.  If you do,  mid-range may be fun to try out.

Overall

The HD Wing gets a huge thumbs-up!

The HD Wing isn't a first or second build  plane.   Perhaps it's not even a park flyer.  There are some wonderful EPP foam wings you can cut your teeth on before taking on this plane.    I have a lot of gripes about the Wing Wing style of plane.  The winglets near the prop make them louder than they should be. The motor mounts are often horrific.  And yet they fly so very nicely.   I have LOVED my C1-Chaser. The HD Wing is a more fragile step up from the C1 Chaser.  it's just better thought out.  The attention to detail is superb.   It demands a flight controller running INAV.  My next build of this plane will have digital servos and it will fly like silk.  About my only gripe is that the plane comes with extra noses, but why no option for an extra battery tray?  You know that people have been breaking it along the way.  I can make something work with hobby wood, but why not at least sell its replacement on eBay?

Overall, this is a nice plane to own. It's not a "must have" plane.  IF you do buy it, you'll appreciate it.  It's a wonderful plane!  1200mm or something around there is a nice sized plane to fly.  It does fly differently than an AR Wing.  This plane is very nice, and is certainly a keeper.   Build it right, treat it well and you'll love it for a long time.  This is probably one of the most under-rated planes in the market.  There's a lot to love about it.



I will update this article once I have the FPV gear added to the plane.

INAV LITE-Seroiusly Pro F3 Racing Flight Controller

INAV Lite

In our INAV Fixed Wing Group on Facebook, there is a question we ask people first coming into the group. It pertains to their experience with INAV. More than half have INAV working on a plane. And yet, there is a significgant number of people looking to build their first INAV plane. What I am proposing is a shortcut to gettting INAV working on a plane. The Seriously Pro Racing F3 is a flight controler that was popular a couple of years ago. Today it's aging technology, and I won't bury the lead, it may be discontinued in future versions of INAV. It's a flight controller board that doesn't offer a built in OSD which you usually find built-in to most current flight controllers. Other than that, it does handle INAV without a problem. Because of this I call it 'INAV Lite.' If you have many years of experience flying fixed-wing planes you may just want to make one of your fixed wing models a recepient of this flight controller. A good candidate is a fixed wing plane that flies well and has a little space for something about the size of another receiver. I won't mislead you, INAV has a learning curve. It's interstesting, and no, you won't be diving into something that's 40 layers deep. You will have to get a flight this flight controller, solder 24 header pins onto it. Then you're going to have to learn about receivers, and more importantly serial receivers. You hook up the flight controller and receiver to your computer (without the plane) and work on setting it up for the first time. You will know when the radio is talking to the receiver. They you can figure out how to make your switches work and set different flight modes. You can do this over a course of a week or two, chipping away at it when you have time. The good news is that when you have this worked out the skills are transerable to boards like the F405 Wing. You will eventually want a GPS. The BN-220 has a cable that hooks right up to the SPRacing F3, thus, no soldering. It's also a tiny GPS unit that costs less than $10.

The Seriously Pro Racing F3 Flight Controller-Dirt Cheap

There is a reason why I call this option "iNAV Lite." With the SPRacing F3 flight controller you can: 1. Use your linear speed controllers- Oh, I know you've got your favorite Turnigy Plush speed controller Before you start cutting the red wire on the BEC, or start moving on to OPTO speed controllers soldered to the power distribution board why not see if you can simply get INAV working? Avoid the rat nest of wires, this F3 flight controller RUNS ON 5 VOLTS! Just plug in your linear ESC like you normally do. It has enough power to power the SPRacing F3 board and your receiver. Of course, if you're pushing your battery to the limit then, yes, you'll need to go another direction. Otherwise, if you're just cruising, the linear BEC is fine.
2. Learn to solder on something very cheap- Micro soldering pins isn't easy. It's a skill. This board isn't hard to solder, but for a first time, it will be a handful. If it blows up you can feel good knowing that it wasn't a $50 F405 Wing board. Once you get the hang of micro soldering, this board can be soldered in under 20 minutes. i found that all I really need is the 8 columns of 3 row pins that are precut for this board. For those slow on math that's 24 solder joints. If you're not a fan of other soldering projects but want a GPS. The BN-220 comes with cables that hook right up to this board without additional soldering. If you check around, you should be able to get this board and GPS together for under $25 (US).

A decent soldering iron for under $10

3. Did I mention it was cheap? The version I got came with a little plastic case. I freaking love this case! The board only goes in one way, it's small and easy to mount. Thus, even if you're limited on space you can stick this just about anywhere. 4. INAV with fewer headaches- You can figure out how to configure the board, get the modes working, and your radio working with the flight controller. I would suggest a serial connection (SBUS or IBUS , etc) system over the PWM you may working with right now if you've been flying planes line-of-sight. You will have to figure out how to enable your switches on your receiver, then set the modes in INAV It becomes second nature after a while, but its all a learning curve. I found that I can arm this board without a GPS, so if you're looking for a glorified flight stabilizer, this will do. But seriously, you will want a GPS. Once you master setting up INAV, taking on the VTX and camera, getting your OSD setup right and other issues can be tackled.

5. Look at all those servo hookups!- One of the larger selling points about the SP Racing F3 is that it has the ability to hook up 8 servos. A traditional plane with separate ailerons and flaps uses six servos. Thus, for planes like the Pheonix 1600 or 2000 with flaps this is perfect. I am also going to put it on a used Radian Pro I picked up. It's not a bad plane, but the ability to keep it level at different speeds will help.

You can hook up as many as 8 servos to this flight controller!

The downside is that the F3 (all F3) may not be supported in future versions of INAV. So, save your HEX files in case you need to load up your firmware once again in the future. The F3 is a very capable board, it's just aging technology.
No OSD unless you really, really, really want it.-There are a lot more steps to jump through to get an OSD to work with this flight controller. The hookups are similar to a GPS, +5V and Gnd, TX out and TX in. It will hook up to a minimOSD which is around $7. Of course, the million dollar question is, why? For the extra expense of just the Minim OSD you can buy and F4 board with an OSD built in. Still, If you love your F3 flight controller but want video as well, it can be done. Not impossible, just more hoops to jump through.

INAV for Line Of Sight (LOS) planes

Not every plane is an ideal candidate for FPV cameras. A permanent mounting solution for an FPV camera isn't possible or would change the cosmetic appearance of the plane. Perhaps some plans are just okay being line of sight planes. But still, wouldn't it be nice to have the option of a return to home feature? Wouldn't it be good to have flight stabilization and a few other cool features of INAV? You can still plan missions and do many of the things INAV is known for. You can also do it without breaking the bank nor taking up too much space in your plane's fuselage. The reason I am excited about the SPRacing F3 flight controller is because it allows me to put a flight controller into a plane that I wouldn't consider to be a good candidate for a flight contoller. I have quite a few very good LOS planes and thought they may not ever see a camera, they will get a flight controller.   Flashing the firmware is tricky. If you try to flash it like other flight controllers it's nearly impossible. if you follow these steps it's actually quite easy.

What you will need- STM32 Driver link: http://www.st.com/en/development-tool... CP210X USB TO UART downlaod: https://www.silabs.com/products/devel... SP Racing F3 Manual: http://seriouslypro.com/files/SPRacin...

Steps  

1. Install STM32 Driver first

2.  With board plugged in (It doesn't have to be in boot mode) install CP210X

Step 3
You should see INAV want to communicate on Com Port 5, or some number you have never seen before.  Go to INAV.  Select SPRACINGF3 board, get the latest INAV, turn OFF everything (full chip erase, everything) except for manual.

INAV should flash

More information can be found at this video, follow the instructions,  you can flash the board to either Betaflight  or INAV.  The instructions are the same.

FlyingFoam.com is gone

Flying foam was a Midwest outfit that had a CNC machine that would make custom cores on a CNC machine   A lot of their business came from aerospace students working on projects.  They would take designs and turn them into EPP foam wings.  You could order the wings in a variety of different types of foams and colors.  You could also buy blocks of foam for your own project.

Part of their offering were designs they had programmed  sold under their "Quick Core" section of their website.  One of the better offerings was a 4' delta wing known as "Cheap Shot"  that sold for less than $60. They also offered other delta wings in 5 and 6 foot wingspans.  Along with this they had plans for various other planes such as Andrew Newton's favorite,  the 'Le Fish' glider.

The owner,  Coby Leuschke  saw a lot of work, and not a lot of money. He looked to get out of the industry and sold the CNC machine to an aerospace company.  The machine will now be in the hands of people who will use it exclusively for commercial drones.   As for Coby, he was working on an open source robotics platform on Kickstarter around 2014 and 2015. 


I wish to thank Coby for all he's done for the hobby over the years and wish him success in the future.


Here's a few videos of the various offerings from  Flying Foam.

Le Fish (Andrew Newton)

The Illusion 5' Delta Wing

The Mother Ship  6'

My favorite, the Cheap Shot

The Wide Glide

ZOHD Orbit Review

Overview

(Specs at end of review). You would think that cheap kit planes coming from China would be poorly executed knock-offs of more compelling planes from established manufacturers. And yet, in the past year Sonicmodels and it’s offshoot ZOHD have come up with some of the most compelling new planes in the industry. Earlier this year, Sonicmodels AR was one of the first “must have” smooth EPP foam blunt-nosed planed from China. It outclassed the very sophisticated Reptile S800 (also from China). The AR is a new generation RC plane, an FPV with the mindset of those who design miniquads. Every inch was well thought out with places for your Runcam/Go Pro and FPV camera as well as your flight controller. ZOHD has had some success with the Nano Talen and some failure with the original Dart only to come back strong with the Dart XL.


One of my friends has been raving about his ZOHD Orbit to the point that I bought one. I was in between the Black Friday deals and the potential new tariffs from Chinese products (United States). So, when the 20% off sale came along I bought some planes to carry me through 2019 to build.

First Impressions

The good

Box Storage -I am running out of room to hang planes in my garage and keeping planes in boxes to me sounds like a great idea, especially if they are small boxes.



No servo wire fishing - Spending a few minutes before every flight fishing servo wires through the body isn’t that much fun. And that’s where the Orbit shines. There are no wires to fish because the servos and all electronics are kept in the center portion of the plane. It offers a new and very clever way to work the elevons from inside the center of the wing. What it means is that you just push it together, and it’s ready to go flying. I am excited to try this out.

Extra Light Weight -It has a flying weight of 1 lb (455g) which is not only outstanding but puts it in the league of a light-build Teksumo. This means it should stay up in the air longer than my AR wing. This is achieved by having s somewhat hallow wing core.



Flight Stabilizer - The plane comes with a flight stabilizer installed and configured. This makes the plane one that would be fine for line-of -ight (LOS) flying or FPV without a flight controller. This plane doesn’t scream out that it needs a flight controller As I understand it, the stabilizer work well enough.

EPP (Not EPO) Foam - The plane is EPP foam which is nice because I seem to be building mostly EPO foam planes lately. I really do like a good EPP delta wing, though I am not a fan of pure white EPP foam. It tends to look a bit static. I may have to finish off at least part of the wings with a colored lamination. I would not use paint on this plane because it would just add weight.

Prebuilt- Usually, I like to build my planes from the ground up. But, more and more compelling planes are coming out as prebuilts. As long as they are built right, I won’t complain.

The bad 

The Motor -The motor is a bit unusual. It’s a 2204 which in motor terms isn’t the most current. It weighs around 50g which is heavy for a 2204. It also takes a proprietary propeller. I have to examine it to see if it eventually get swapped out for a lighter 2205 or 2206 2200 KV motor. There isn’t a lot of specs about the motor so I guess we’ll just have to see how it works.

The build process 

It takes about 3 minutes to figure out how the plane assembles. The square rod didn't go in as smoothly for me as I would expect so most of that time was spent getting the rod in the right way. The wing clips in fairly easily. I do like this design because it detaches easily during a crash. This is a good thing because crashes aren't uncommon in our hobby. The detaching process during a crash hopefully is enough to absorb energy without causing damage.

Binding-

I did seem to have an issue getting the ZOHD to work with a Spektrum AR7000 receiver. I put in a Redcon receiver with satellite and there was no problems. Others have expressed similar issues with the Spektrum brand receiver. Interestingly enough there is a small port for a Spektrum satellite receiver to hook in and give you all the channels you'll need to fly this plane.   I've tried it, it works fine.  You need to do a range check if you plan to use a Spektrum satellite receiver only.  The usual range is 300m to 1000m  (1000 feet to .6 of a mile).  The Redcon and LemonRX have rave reviews.
At the risk of changing topics the little satellite receivers have similar range than their counterparts with servo connectors.   If you're only flying line-of-sight (LOS) with this plane you can get away with a 'good' satellite receiver.    If you like flying about as far as you can see you may want to go the full servo-pinned receiver with satellite route  (Which is what I did).

The choice of a receiver is something you may want to really think twice about. The reason is that the flight times on this plane are insane. Without a flight controller, there is no return to home function with this plane. If you install a camera and VTX on this plane you don't want your receiver to lose range before the VTX you will need a longer range receiver.  If you plan to take this plane beyond line-of-sight there are other brands of transmitters to investigate that have longer range capabilities.

PWM Receiver Setup

The only other part of the build process which was kinda frustrating was the very basic documentation could have labeled the colors of the wires. It just uses terms like "Elevator, throttle, mode" Here they are:

3 wire (black, red, white)-Aleron

Blue-Elevator

Yellow Throttl

Green-Mode




Just double check, you never know when they change coding schemes. .

The maiden

There's a reason I don't video my maidens. The first ones don't go as well as plan quite often. Despite my CG being correct per the CG marks on the bottom of the plane it took off tail heavy. The stabilizers did their job, sorta. I brought it back down and put  a couple ounces more weight in the nose and it flew for 45 minutes before I got tired and landed it.  I checked the 3S 2200mAh Lipo to find that I had close to a storage charge worth of power left! Now I can see why people love this plane so much.

The flying characteristics of this plane were very nice.  There was no glaring negative experiences that I've noticed about this plane. when flying her.    The stabilizer worked well and though it was a bit underpowered it was a fine flying experience.

So, why aren't I raving about this plane?  I  know people love this plane and some may get a bit angry that I'm not singing its praises.   But I have to tell it like it is.

The flying experience is about as sterile as the big white hunk of foam you're looking at in the sky.  It's safe and predictable.   I am really going to have to do something to jazz up the looks.  Aside from its appearance, the flight characteristics are a bit too smoothed out.  To be fair, I haven't taken it off of the flight stabilizer.

The one huge omission with this plane is no spot to mount an antenna for your VTX.     Some people have worked around it, but it leads me to believe that this is a plane you throw your Runcam into the front of and fly Line-Of-Sight while on vacation.  And yet, even with stabilizers the plane has waggle.  This may be because the plane is light.  Even though it has digital servos the stabilizers won't give you the silky smooth video that you would get with a gimbal.

The YouTube Vlogger Painless 360 has come up with a VTX antenna mount for the Orbit which can be found on Thingiverse.






Of course, this begs the question "Why is such a superbly designed plane missing an antenna mount if it's marketed as an FPV plane?" 

As predicted, the motor was underwhelming. I guess if you want performance you should stick with the AR 900. This plane is about efficiency, and thus it's a bit of a vanilla flying experience. That's not bad, some days you just want to loiter around in the sky for about an hour.   This plane will do that.

Would I recommend this plane?

Nope.


It's not a bad flying experience, and it's not a mind-blowing great flying experience.  It's just okay. It's been so refined that it managed to suck some of the soul out of flying.   It's the Michael Bolton of RC planes. 

I'm not saying that this is a bad plane and you shouldn't buy it.  What I am suggesting is that this is version 1 and it hasn't really evolved enough.  This is more of a proof of concept plane.  They have proved you can make a compelling 900mm plane out of EPP foam that can fly for an hour and can be broken down and stored in a small box.   It can easily be setup again and ready to fly in a couple of minutes.  That's remarkable.

I can throw different motors on the plane and put in flight controllers and antennas, and GPS.  But sooner or later that effort is better spent on another plane  I'll just accept this plane at face value for what it is, a nice plane to take with me on vacation or when I leave town.    Just take along a few batteries and you've got good flying for days.


I know this plane will appeal to some people.  If you've outgrown your trainer and need a good first delta wing, this isn't a bad choice.  If you're not into building planes but would like a plane that you can easily get flying with as little fuss as possible, this is a good plane.   But, if you're into building kits and worry about all the little details, this plane may not excite you enough.   Despite all the innovative cool features, in the end, it's just a light, stabilized 900mm delta wing.


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Specs- ZOHD Orbit 900mm EPP AIO HD FPV Flying Wing PNP

Key Features:

Built-in gyro makes flight super stable and easy to control.

Autonomous flight directly after hand-launching - never crash when taking-off.

Multiple bonus camera mount, compatible for Gopro H3/H4, Runcam2 HD, Foxeer HS1177 FPV camera in the market.

EPP molded wing, pre-built-in Carbon Fiber spar for enhancement, light and flexible plus crash-resistance.

Detachable mainwing for easy transport - easy to change the wing via a simple plug.

Mainwing connected to fuselage by buckle - this will disconnect and release in the event of a crash.

Room inside fuselage for FPV gear  (Debatable)

''NACA” air-intake in nose and air-outlet in tail for better cooling on FPV gear.

Self-tightening prop nuts for secure prop mounting

Specifications:

Brand Name: ZOHD

Item Name: Orbit Wing

Wingspan: 900mm/35.43in

Length: 422mm/16.61in

Flying Weight: 455g (w/o FPV gear)

Material: Crash ResistableEPP

CG: 11.50cm from the wing leading edge(a bump CG mark under the wing)

Color: White + Black

Motor: ZOHD 22041870KV BL

Motor Shaft Diameter: 5mm

ESC: 30A W/1A BEC

Servos: 2pcs 8g digital servo

Propeller: 6x3

Recommended Battery: 3S 1300-2200mAh 25C

Flying speed: 10 to 85km/h

PNP Package Includes:

Airframe

ZOHD 22041870KV BL motor

30A W/1A BEC ESC

2pcs 8g digital servo

Gyro

Hardware