Micro wing v5

Introduction:

After a nice distraction with the Traxxas Summit, I'm right back at building the next iteration of the micro wing. The general shape and size is identical to the previous, but with some enhancements and more power. It'll be interesting to see how it flies.

Components (~$30):

• Racerstar BR1104 4000kv motor with a 4045 propeller
• Tarot 2-3s 6amp esc attached to a 3A Bluesky BEC
• 2x Hobbyking 15318B servos with push rods
• 1 sheet of foam board
• 4 channel micro receiver

Conclusion:

Building these as an iterative process has been great, but I'm trying my best not to introduce too many changes at once as it becomes harder to correlate the changes with the outcomes. With that said, I improved upon the previous version by introducing a larger center spar since the last one snapped in half. I also changed the shape of the winglets and wrapped them in tape to prevent them from breaking on impact. Aside from those structural changes, the major change with this iteration is the change in power system. I'm increasing the motor size by a notch and doubling the esc. The dry weight of the plane has jumped only a tiny bit from 38 grams to 45 grams. However, since I'll be running 2s, the extra battery cell will also impose a higher weight penalty. However, the power output (in terms of thrust) should jump ~60% from ~50grams to ~80+grams. It should be very interesting to see how the same craft will perform with such a big increase in thrust.

Update 7/8/17 - The maiden went really well. The plane flew right out of my hand and then head first into the wind. The winds were probably around 10mph and it took it on like a champ. A lot more power than v4, but not exactly the rocket ship as I was hoping for. I switched to a 3d printed 1.5mm prop adapter which works ok, but there is still a lot of vibration from prop balance issues. If I can fix that properly and then couple this with a high discharge lipo, I think this will be a much better performing plane. I may also switch it to a 250mah 2s lipo for a lower weight/thrust ratio to see if the performance will change. Overall, I'm very happy with this plane.