You must Sign-in or Register to post messages in the Hobby Squawk community
Registration is FREE and only takes a few moments

Register now

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

X-8 FPV Extremely long range

Collapse
X
Collapse
First Prev Next Last
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • X-8 FPV Extremely long range

    Well I've had X-8 Black foam version in a box for a few years that I finally got around to building. She's 2 Sunday's away from her maiden. I've never liked the chucking method of flight, so one of the challenges to overcome is a robust retractable landing gear system. When I say robust I'm talking about able to handle 12kgs. I installed brakes on the mains, pop up spoilers on the leading edge of the wings, a tail skid on the bottom that adds a little yaw stability.

    It can be CG'd and flown with any number of batteries from one to nine 4s, 4000mah, 30c-40c batteries. I don't have an all up weight yet, but with 36,000mah worth of batteries on board she'll be heavy. This will be a great performance/weight vs range experiment. Pictures are to follow.
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Using Futaba 3003, and 3004 standard servos for the elevons, brakes, and nose steering. There's a steel hacksaw blade on the tail skid for anti-wear. The spoon acts as a scoop for ram air/vacuum flow over the 80amp ESC.
    Attached Files

    Comment


    • #3
      One more shot
      Attached Files

      Comment


      • #4
        She's powered by a 42/650kv Turnigy motor, turning a 3bladed folding hub, with 10x7 blades.
        Attached Files

        Comment


        • #5
          Air brakes/spoilers embedded in the leading edge of the wings, as floating in ground effect is a common problem with this bird.
          Attached Files

          Comment


          • #6
            Ground clearance is great at 10 to 12 degrees up pitch the tail skid makes contact with the ground and still provides 1 and a half inches of ground clearance for the prop.
            Attached Files

            Comment


            • #7
              Payload bay both empty and fully loaded.
              Attached Files

              Comment


              • #8
                Zero stroke on the mains oleos with a full payload of batteries.
                Attached Files

                Comment


                • #9
                  Using 433hz, Dragon link LRR, and OSD and a 1000 watt video transmitter. Been flying for about 9 years in the RC world however this is my first foray into FPV any input would be appreciated.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I know nothing about FPV or flying wings... I have to say that I will be amazed that prop will be able to get that thing airborne with a full load of batteries.

                    Thats one of the coolest things about gas/fuel Reconnaissance platforms... the longer they’re airborne they get lighter, climb higher. and require less thrust to keep level flight

                    should be awesome !!!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Those fun facts haven't been lost on me. My original platform was going to be powered by an evolution 60NX, however I decided to take the weight penalty for reliability. The other decision that pushed me to electric was the X-8's gliding ability, obviously subject to how many batteries on board, I can take advantage of the folding prop and powered off flight.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by C17loadmaster View Post
                        I know nothing about FPV or flying wings... I have to say that I will be amazed that prop will be able to get that thing airborne with a full load of batteries.

                        Thats one of the coolest things about gas/fuel Reconnaissance platforms... the longer they’re airborne they get lighter, climb higher. and require less thrust to keep level flight

                        should be awesome !!!
                        While it has the capacity for nine batteries, the plan is to start with one and continue to add until the point of negative returns. While my current set of 9 batteries are Turnigy, I believe my next set will probably be from the Hobbystar brand due to the weight savings.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I had an X8 many years ago that I flew around via LOS and just for fun. Mine was a hand launcher. I added the airbrakes from HobbyKing for landing as it floated forever a couple of feet above the ground. However, mine were installed at the thickest part of the wing. It had a 12" folding prop (2-blade), flew on 4s. Prop came pretty close to my hand when launching. I wore a thick leather glove. Once in the air, it cruised around under very little power. I also recall someone on the forums added retracts to one but ground handling looked a bit unstable as I believe most wings with gear behave like this. But that wasn't the interesting part.

                          Another flyer at my field built 3 of these for commercial pipeline survey. The details are far in the past, so some of my facts are a little fuzzy. His were designed to fly autonomously on a pre-set flight plan using topographical maps provided by the pipeline companies. It used a heavy duty launcher with several bungee cords. The launcher was the most frightening thing about the whole survey system. After it launched, it could survey 50 miles of line and fly back 50 miles and self land. I recall he was using about 20,000 mah of batteries and quite a large prop. With a powerful ground station, he tested it around the native reserve where we flew. He had image reception long after the thing was out of sight and he let me fly it around a bit via the display. I watched as he put it on "auto" and it belly landed on the runway in front of us. It was quite amazing. He later sold all 3 of these to the oil companies and he went on to other endeavors.
                          Good luck with yours.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Sounds like my job in the Air Force haha. Except the plane being flown autonomously cost over $100 million and flies anywhere on the planet. This drone will probably be much more fun though

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by C17loadmaster View Post
                              Sounds like my job in the Air Force haha. Except the plane being flown autonomously cost over $100 million and flies anywhere on the planet. This drone will probably be much more fun though
                              Oh, I don't know. Blowing up bad guys can be a lot of fun, too.

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                I fitted brakes to my FX79 to make landing easier. They work very well, in fact my mate got me to fit them to his one as well.
                                Attached Files

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  Looks a bit like my jxd glider, what size wing is it? My one is 1800mm. Is your motor a good motor altering my current build to something a bit better but can't figure out what motor would be needed as my build will be heavy too. Click image for larger version

Name:	DSC_0120.JPG
Views:	656
Size:	143.5 KB
ID:	232220 ​​​​​​

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    The X8 wingspan is 2120mm.

                                    Comment


                                    • #19
                                      so how does she fly Phantom ? we need an update!

                                      Comment


                                      • #20
                                        Here's mine, its 3d printed.

                                        Comment

                                        Working...
                                        X