Black Horse Eurofighter 120mm EDF build

[Porkster]

if anyone's interested I'm going to document my build of Black Horse models Eurofighter.
It's a traditional wood frame construction designed to use a 120mm fan with a wing span of just over 1.2m and my plan is to make it 12s powered.

[TiredIronGRB]

Very cool, subscribed!

[ddsjoseph]

Cool Project. Would love to see your progress with photos as well. I see your passion for the jets. I suffer from the same disease. LOL

[Porkster]

Hi guys.
So , some progress has been achieved!
retracts bought and test fitted, these are from Pichler, Germany. They helped develop the airframe for the manufacturer. A bit like Motion and Freewing.
interior has been painted in textured 'old iron'
servos bought and fitted into pockets. I'm using Hi-tech mighty minis, they're a perfect size for the eurofighter servo pockets and on 6v are approx 4.8kg torque, and metal geared.
Hopefully more work to be completed today.

[Porkster]

More photographic progress.
The main wings are now built with the exception of the control rods.
An idea got from a German forum was to drill the control horns to allow the epoxy to really key into the surface to provide a more secure joint.
Servos and pockets are all mounted into the wings.

[Porkster]

Some more progress

[Porkster]

Construction has been pretty steady.
Some parts completed are;
went to the local DIY store to get match paint samples, this was mainly to correct the paint mistake on the canopy.
All servos and retracts are in, wiring completed and receiver installed with a remote satellite, I used a Duplex R18 which works out better value than buying a smaller receiver and satellite separately. I needed at least 12 channels anyway.
Powerbox switch fitted with the voltage reducer. Set for 6v.
JP electro magnetic brakes with 65mm wheels fitted
Schubeler fan built and mounted this is a DS 86 HDS with a HET motor
speed controller installed, I went with a HobbyWing fun fly V5 160A HV and programmer box

Things left to do;

moddify thrust tube to the correct FSA outlet and mount
spray the airframe with Matt lacquer to remove the shinny finish of the film
double check and trim all surfaces
Battery restraints and positioning
balance airframe

[CT]

Porkster, interested in this bird, could not locate price for the kit or a distributor.I am always looking for a 12s setup, only 12s EDF on the market now is the super viper. Your build looks like an beauty

[StormyDog1962]

Awesome build going on there and I hope the maiden and all future flights go just as good as the build. Thanks for sharing!

[bradl4648]

I have the freewing it flies great not a powerhouse but ok. PS: make sure you have the canards working the right way haha. Mine turned into a fast race car flipped over on blacktop lol nice rub burn and breakage. oh, yea yours looks great by the way!!

[Porkster]

Thanks guys, I've really enjoyed building this one. Although I must admit I'm way more of a plug and play guy!
I got the maiden flight in last Wednesday but unfortunately the motor cut out? I managed to land ok and a good indication of design was a good landing despite no power, luckily I was at the end of a downwind leg when the motor cut out and the glide didn't have to be too long before touch down. Certainly very upset to get this issue and what could have been a total loss!

I went with a schubeler fan and HET 800-60-830 motor with the hobbywing 160a HV ESC. either the esc did not like the motor (although i set the esc up as recommended ) or the motor wasn't suitable for 12s (which is what I now believe) the supplier has gone quiet but assures me that it was suitable for 12s, looking at their graphs and schubelers info I think it was a 10s set up! So basically I killed the motor, through what I think is no fault of mine??

looks like I need to spend some more cash on finishing this one!

[Porkster]

Porkster, interested in this bird, could not locate price for the kit or a distributor.I am always looking for a 12s setup, only 12s EDF on the market now is the super viper. Your build looks like an beauty

I'm not sure where you live but this frame is quite easy to get in Europe.
the HSD super viper is a nice frame, if you like it you can get an avanti suitable for a 120mm edf on 12s which would be a composite/wooden airframe.

[Porkster]

Some updates,
motor has been replaced with a Tenshock 501x 5.5y which is nearly twice the length of the HET motor and very heavy but it looks bullet proof, this is capable of taking up to 14s
I've also swopped out the ESC for a YGE 200a HV.

I had a couple of issues with the landing gear, why oh why does nobody make decent electric retracts which last! Turns out they do, but you need to spend some extra to get them! The company is called Electron, and they make some awesome gear which just shout quality as soon as you see them.
I got a set of er30 retracts with the simple steering system and the controller which also can be used to operate the brakes and disable the steering servo when the gear is up. They can be totally customised to retract angle and direction, so I've got 105* on the nose and 90* on the mains. They work a treat and I'm very happy with them.

Another flight on it today after a near disastrous first attempt where the plane refused to rotate and went into the rough at the end of the runway, not much damage at all but frustrating, second go after a quick fix and I've moved the batteries back and that was better, easier rotation but still quite a lot of up trim needed so I sure they can go back some more.

Sorry no no pictures this time.

[Alpha]

Some updates,
motor has been replaced with a Tenshock 501x 5.5y which is nearly twice the length of the HET motor and very heavy but it looks bullet proof, this is capable of taking up to 14s
I've also swopped out the ESC for a YGE 200a HV.

I had a couple of issues with the landing gear, why oh why does nobody make decent electric retracts which last! Turns out they do, but you need to spend some extra to get them! The company is called Electron, and they make some awesome gear which just shout quality as soon as you see them.
I got a set of er30 retracts with the simple steering system and the controller which also can be used to operate the brakes and disable the steering servo when the gear is up. They can be totally customised to retract angle and direction, so I've got 105* on the nose and 90* on the mains. They work a treat and I'm very happy with them.

Another flight on it today after a near disastrous first attempt where the plane refused to rotate and went into the rough at the end of the runway, not much damage at all but frustrating, second go after a quick fix and I've moved the batteries back and that was better, easier rotation but still quite a lot of up trim needed so I sure they can go back some more.

Sorry no no pictures this time.

Time for a necropost resurrection! Hey there Porkster, did you ever end up buying the expensive Electron retracts for your Eurofighter? I've used them before and they are great, but you're right, they're expensive. You mentioned using the ER30s, and I was curious if they've met your needs?

I was also curious where your canards are set, since you mentioned rotation issues. Although, due to your statement that it glided well after your motor quit, that would seem to indicate you're trimmed properly. Perhaps you've since added more height to the nose strut?

[Porkster]

Hey Alpha, yes I did get the electron retracts and they've been working very well since the build. The original ones which Pichler and blackhorse recommend did fail very early on.
My Cannards are set with about 1* degree of up trim and they are mixed for pitch only.
Ive since stripped the covering and am in the process of glassing the skin and converting it to turbine power.

[Radar-Guy]

Here is a video from the recent German EDF meeting at Nordhausen

https://youtube.com/watch?v=S2mybt830C4

[Porkster]

I think they fly really nice, just need longer flight times, hence turbine power