Despite having around 10 projects running in parallel, I recently started another one, a 500 size 3D printed Gazelle from Mastercraft. The Gazelle has always been a difficult one to figure out due to the small fenestron, but I wanted to try out a few things. First, it was a chance to try a 3D printed airframe. Second, I wanted to try a direct motor driven fixed pitch tail. Recent props from cinewhoops have had increasing numbers of blades and even had 8 blade props available. As soon as I saw those, I wanted to use one to mimic the look of a fenestron without the complexity of a traditional one.
I threw together a quick test bed to try out the concept. Started with a beater Trex 500 and removed the tail gears and belt, then 3D printed a fenestron housing and motor mount from PLA. While I didn’t have a spare 3 blade head, I did have an extra Align 4 blade. I figured more torque would be more conservative, so I fitted it to test bed as well. Setup of the motor driven tail was easy. I just used the Brain2’s option for motor tails, and put the tail ESC in airplane mode.
After a few tuning flights I was very impressed. The tail had excellent performance. No authority issues, and minimal (if any) impact on flight time. I also ballast the aircraft up to max gross weight where it could barely hover, loaded down with a 6S 4000mah pack (flight battery) and a 6S 5800mah pack (ballast). I then did collective pulses. The tail didn’t even waver. Next steps are to obtain a 3 blade head, and keep printing, sanding, and painting the fuselage. Planning on finishing the model in an RAF Red/White Training paint scheme.
Here’s the components I used for the tail:
Motor: https://www.racedayquads.com/product...clid=IwAR0phOB MqExA5i6JcPojZygJivjs_6sqlYv238zixmAnhs1PvZZSDaTLj SU
Prop: https://www.racedayquads.com/collect...6MMtKVih8IRY4Q tMSft-vqz8VlxwSZbzDx0PA
ESC: HobbyWing V4 60A Platinum (massive overkill)
Link to the parts that I designed for the test bed: https://grabcad.com/library/trex-500...hVr3kJRBzcMRIb BQZOBm9EmrYMIIrR-pWY
I threw together a quick test bed to try out the concept. Started with a beater Trex 500 and removed the tail gears and belt, then 3D printed a fenestron housing and motor mount from PLA. While I didn’t have a spare 3 blade head, I did have an extra Align 4 blade. I figured more torque would be more conservative, so I fitted it to test bed as well. Setup of the motor driven tail was easy. I just used the Brain2’s option for motor tails, and put the tail ESC in airplane mode.
After a few tuning flights I was very impressed. The tail had excellent performance. No authority issues, and minimal (if any) impact on flight time. I also ballast the aircraft up to max gross weight where it could barely hover, loaded down with a 6S 4000mah pack (flight battery) and a 6S 5800mah pack (ballast). I then did collective pulses. The tail didn’t even waver. Next steps are to obtain a 3 blade head, and keep printing, sanding, and painting the fuselage. Planning on finishing the model in an RAF Red/White Training paint scheme.
Here’s the components I used for the tail:
Motor: https://www.racedayquads.com/product...clid=IwAR0phOB MqExA5i6JcPojZygJivjs_6sqlYv238zixmAnhs1PvZZSDaTLj SU
Prop: https://www.racedayquads.com/collect...6MMtKVih8IRY4Q tMSft-vqz8VlxwSZbzDx0PA
ESC: HobbyWing V4 60A Platinum (massive overkill)
Link to the parts that I designed for the test bed: https://grabcad.com/library/trex-500...hVr3kJRBzcMRIb BQZOBm9EmrYMIIrR-pWY
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