It's awesome that you guys put these build videos out. I just got my kit and am setting my build table up. Also - the speed build process is brilliant. Back in the "old" days - I built balsa planes - which took forever, and because of that I was always terrified of crashing....just because of the time it took to build. I also don't miss the toxic glue (balsa glue and epoxy) and pins that were needed to build on top of the plans. Can't wait to get started - thanks!
Attention fellow pilots! As you all know, winter is coming. This usually means cold weather, and batteries don't like it. Use a heatpack! Also, if you're flying in the snow use a L.E.D light, which you can get from most hardware stores. Just tips!
Absolutely professional job on this video. Ok, the rest are pretty good too, but this was perfect. I never would have thought that a 54 minute build video would keep my interest! Thanks guys...can't wait for the kit to arrive.
Mine came in @ 1320 grams with 2x2200mah Lipos, using park 425's..small build log up, maiden tomorrow. Thanks to Bixler & and the rest of the FT team for a killer build.
*CHALLENGE:* Top gun was a pretty good movie. The featured plane in it, the F-14 Tomcat, has variable geometry wings (they swing back or forward). Try to make a plane that has variable geometry wings so that you get actual speed results!
you probably dont care at all but does any of you know a method to get back into an instagram account?? I was dumb forgot the account password. I appreciate any help you can offer me!
@Dario Titan I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and im trying it out now. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Give it a try. You can watch the build over and over for help. Go for it. I buy the speed build kits Makes it much easyer than to sit and cut out parts from plans. And i want to support what they are doing. They are working very hard.
I recently bought one myself, very nice design, very rigid and strong too. I would love it for you guys at flitetest to try and move the cockpit forward to the front as a small challenge, since the fuselage already looks like the Beaufighter.
I'd love to see the process you guys go through to create a plane like this. Things like choosing fuselage and wing shape and length, the length and shape of the control surfaces, placement of servos and motors. - Anyway, great vid, hope I can make one of these someday soon!
I successfully built this as my 5th or 6th swappable build. I have a couple of suggestions for this model. 1) reinforce the elevator. On my second flight the speed of the air over the H stab caused it to fail at the joint with the fuse, and the elevator ripped in two. I had it reinforced with a small piece of popsicle stick, and it still ripped. Thankfully I was able to land with 1/2 the elevator. I am now going to put carbon fiber stiffeners in both the elevator and the H stab. 2) I used a small piece of credit card where the landing gear touches the wing to keep it from indenting into the foam. This seems to be working well.
I dont get why people complain about the price.. first off they have the plans for free.. so you can download and make it yourself , second, the kit price obviously acounts for more than just the foam, the work hours, the tools, pay for stuff.. etc.
Are you up for the real challenge. I would really like to see you doing a waterplane and ofc how to impregnate/coat the paper and foam you use to be able to do this. A twin engine or maybe even more like the "Mars Firefighting Plane" the last one flying real deal is falling apart so model of it with 4 engines plus the electronics explained would be outrageous.
ive never even looked at plane videos and this was recommended for me........ and i just watched the whole thing...... god how does youtube know me so well.
It is."dollar tree" foam board, made by Adams . In my area it is sold at dollar tree stores and also dollar general . The speed build kits are priced very reasonable, cut one of these out and you will see!
They not only have to pay for the foam, they have to pay for the laser cutters, the man power , and their running cost to power everything. So $37 is a decent price considering the demand they have
Here is a design challenge for Flite Test. Cessna 180 High wing tail dragger with dihedral and not a square wing. Flaps as standard. Square fin and stabs. I think this would be a good historical plane as well because of Gerry Mock. By the way, this plane, the FT Cuiser, is damn sexy.
I dont fly RC planes, maybe some day i will, but i still like to watch these episodes. Maybe ill buy the uppcoming warbird just to hang it up somewhere in the appartment =)
Outstanding video guys! Josh you have really outdone yourself with this one. I love the fact that this one also has planned modifications points and all the additional information on the wiring set-up. Any plans for a scratch build plane with a rear pusher motor. What about a ducted fan scratch build ?
Hi i love watching these videos just because its cool to see how they make these. I only fly quads and helicopters and im wondering what should i buy for a first plane? (I dont want to build one because i know nothing about planes.)
For painting reasons, use marking tape instead on the fuselage They should make the wings a swept wing shape ( end of the wings are further back than the front) for aero dynamic reasons so you can go quicker
Print the single sheet/page showing the Scale in Inches and Centimeters. Use a ruler and make sure that 1 inch on your print = 1 inch on your ruler. Once this is correct then print the remaining pages at the same settings used to print the scale sheet/page. This ensures your model is in scale. Best bet is to take the pdf plan to a large format printing shop for printing. Again check scale. Cheers!
just calculated out the tiled plans cost. there's roughly six 20"x30" pieces of dollar tree foam board worth of plans here, so about $15 in materials. the only problem i have with the flite test builds is that they're very fiddly about precision cut holes and stuff. it's possible you guys like your laser foam cutter SO much that you forget what it's like to hand cut these, especially the really perfect circular shapes and the hard-corner small rectangle slots for foam tabs
Another great build. Question: What determines whether you use an 'A' Style Fold or a 'B' Style Fold? I see the point if you are going to slide one piece into another, but what about the other times? Just curious.
All the scratch build models are based around box designs - probably because of the limitations of Foam board. But can you make more complex shapes such as tubes (for a fuselage) ? How about a video looking at advanced building techniques with Foam board?
I like the size of the FT Cruiser But I have a Question...Can it be built with one central motor instead of twin motors in pods ? Has anyone done this ? Also could you add a carbon arrow tube glued to your spar as an added extra spar brace ? I ask because I want a really strong wing for later when I go crazy hyper on the motor size for a megga speed machine :-D
Man, they must have got orders for a couple of thousand Cruisers by now. Still waiting for mine to ship. Some of my flying buddies are getting them too.
What is the best way to transfer the plans to the foam board when scratch building? Do most folks just glue the plans to the foam board and then cut and score on the lines or is there a better way?
it says on the plans 766g without battery and to use a 2200mah 3s so just under a kg. maybe you could scale it down to suit your motors and also with it scaled down you wont need such a big battery to balance it so that will also spare up some of thrust
Great video, fascinating to see how it goes together and the techniques for designing and working with foam. How do you safely cut the foam board on the laser cutter? Doesn't it produce hazardous fumes? Do you have an extractor of some kind? What about the optics do you get any particulate that you have to deal with?
+Alan Evans I'm fairly sure that they have a separate company do the laser cutting. For your own laser cutter ideas there's a lot of stuff on youtube and you can get the lasers sourced from china for pretty cheap. ^_^
Olá tudo bem? Ótimos videos! Sou fã do Ft e sempre construo seus modelos. Gostaria de saber se posso colocar os motores 2204 2300kv? Tenho um motor cw e um ccw poso usar para girar em direções opostas? Obrigado pela ajuda.
Hello flitetest, would you recommend this airplane kit for a beginner? I am semi new to the hobby and I have pretty good experience at flying. Also is it complicated to add all of the electronics if you don't have much experience? Thanks, Airflight767
The shape of that wing really makes this plane look great in the air.
oh lord yes, i've been waiting MONTHS on this thing.
twin engine designs are the absolute best
It's awesome that you guys put these build videos out. I just got my kit and am setting my build table up.
Also - the speed build process is brilliant. Back in the "old" days - I built balsa planes - which took forever, and because of that I was always terrified of crashing....just because of the time it took to build.
I also don't miss the toxic glue (balsa glue and epoxy) and pins that were needed to build on top of the plans.
Can't wait to get started - thanks!
Attention fellow pilots!
As you all know, winter is coming. This usually means cold weather, and batteries don't like it. Use a heatpack! Also, if you're flying in the snow use a L.E.D light, which you can get from most hardware stores.
Just tips!
Good to watch ! thx for taking the time !! Reminds me of the 30's racing planes, plenty of scope for individual details....!!
That FT cruiser with a little modification can be a British Blenheim Bomber,(very cool WW2 MEDIUM BOMBER)
Absolutely professional job on this video. Ok, the rest are pretty good too, but this was perfect.
I never would have thought that a 54 minute build video would keep my interest!
Thanks guys...can't wait for the kit to arrive.
You are EXCELLENT at showing how it's done! Thanks!
I love foam planes. Started with RC Powers builds but you guys are the best on the net. Keep up the good work!! Love all you're stuff so far
Mine came in @ 1320 grams with 2x2200mah Lipos, using park 425's..small build log up, maiden tomorrow. Thanks to Bixler & and the rest of the FT team for a killer build.
My speedbuild version just shipped. Can't wait to FPV this plane.
Great video. One tip, I use fiberglass strand impregnated packaging tape for any dowel or non visible load bearing holes to prevent rip out.
*CHALLENGE:*
Top gun was a pretty good movie. The featured plane in it, the F-14 Tomcat, has variable geometry wings (they swing back or forward). Try to make a plane that has variable geometry wings so that you get actual speed results!
It's been done ✔
Check the FT Forum! 😉
You are a gifted hobbyist well done.
Fantastic that you went to this level of detail. If I can't build the kit using this video, then something is very wrong with me ;)
Amazing video!!! You can count on me being one of your customers buying your stuff to build my own plane thank you for making that legit video !!!
I really wish i lived near you guys to get some training time with you guys. Once again truly awesome contribution to the greater community.
Another nice design. Keep 'em comin'! That wing looks mysteriously like a Spitfire wing . . .
I watched the entire video...and I don't even have the plane. FliteTest, you're doing something good:)
Great idea for a first build. Also good platform for FPV. Great work!!
you probably dont care at all but does any of you know a method to get back into an instagram account??
I was dumb forgot the account password. I appreciate any help you can offer me!
@Lucca Miguel instablaster =)
@Dario Titan I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and im trying it out now.
Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
@Dario Titan It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy!
Thank you so much you saved my ass !
@Lucca Miguel you are welcome =)
Give it a try. You can watch the build over and over for help. Go for it. I buy the speed build kits Makes it much easyer than to sit and cut out parts from plans. And i want to support what they are doing. They are working very hard.
Just to say I am enjoying your utubes. I have looked at quite a few and they are very educational and great fun.
Cheers!
Each speed build kit comes with a power pod.
Got my first kit today, can’t wait to build it 👍🏻
Very nice plane ! fantastic work!! Congratulations !
Cool job, col hands on presentation again!
I recently bought one myself, very nice design, very rigid and strong too. I would love it for you guys at flitetest to try and move the cockpit forward to the front as a small challenge, since the fuselage already looks like the Beaufighter.
Thanks Guys i have been very happy with everything that you sell in your store. I have 4 of your planes, Happy with all.. Your Fan.
I'd love to see the process you guys go through to create a plane like this. Things like choosing fuselage and wing shape and length, the length and shape of the control surfaces, placement of servos and motors.
- Anyway, great vid, hope I can make one of these someday soon!
I successfully built this as my 5th or 6th swappable build. I have a couple of suggestions for this model. 1) reinforce the elevator. On my second flight the speed of the air over the H stab caused it to fail at the joint with the fuse, and the elevator ripped in two. I had it reinforced with a small piece of popsicle stick, and it still ripped. Thankfully I was able to land with 1/2 the elevator. I am now going to put carbon fiber stiffeners in both the elevator and the H stab. 2) I used a small piece of credit card where the landing gear touches the wing to keep it from indenting into the foam. This seems to be working well.
thats all part of the process my friend... remember, its foam board.
I dont get why people complain about the price.. first off they have the plans for free.. so you can download and make it yourself , second, the kit price obviously acounts for more than just the foam, the work hours, the tools, pay for stuff.. etc.
Are you up for the real challenge. I would really like to see you doing a waterplane and ofc how to impregnate/coat the paper and foam you use to be able to do this. A twin engine or maybe even more like the "Mars Firefighting Plane" the last one flying real deal is falling apart so model of it with 4 engines plus the electronics explained would be outrageous.
You guys make amazing stuff!
ive never even looked at plane videos and this was recommended for me........ and i just watched the whole thing...... god how does youtube know me so well.
That was amazing! Good job guys....! Wish you all luck with your future endeavors
Very nice !!! those are great builds and very well engineered ! I'm getting one soon ! and nice job on the presentation ! they are very clear !
this model is amazing, besides, with all that rounded tips has a nice 30^s vintage plane flavour!
It is."dollar tree" foam board, made by Adams . In my area it is sold at dollar tree stores and also dollar general . The speed build kits are priced very reasonable, cut one of these out and you will see!
It is reminiscent of a de Haviland Comet except for the nose. Spin recovery was impressive.
5* Video with a 5* Builder. Thanks Josh.
i have to say, this is probably the best way you could have answered
They not only have to pay for the foam, they have to pay for the laser cutters, the man power , and their running cost to power everything. So $37 is a decent price considering the demand they have
Here is a design challenge for Flite Test. Cessna 180
High wing tail dragger with dihedral and not a square wing. Flaps as standard. Square fin and stabs.
I think this would be a good historical plane as well because of Gerry Mock.
By the way, this plane, the FT Cuiser, is damn sexy.
I dont fly RC planes, maybe some day i will, but i still like to watch these episodes. Maybe ill buy the uppcoming warbird just to hang it up somewhere in the appartment =)
Outstanding video guys! Josh you have really outdone yourself with this one. I love the fact that this one also has planned modifications points and all the additional information on the wiring set-up. Any plans for a scratch build plane with a rear pusher motor. What about a ducted fan scratch build ?
Hi i love watching these videos just because its cool to see how they make these. I only fly quads and helicopters and im wondering what should i buy for a first plane? (I dont want to build one because i know nothing about planes.)
Great video ft team. I'm a huge fan... thinking this might be the first ft plane that I build... unless you drop build plans for dusty and slinger.
best build video ever... thanks
For painting reasons, use marking tape instead on the fuselage
They should make the wings a swept wing shape ( end of the wings are further back than the front) for aero dynamic reasons so you can go quicker
Waiting for the tricopter parts to come out! My business needs aerial photos NOW,
good work need to do a ARF series. How about the 1 hr. Challenge?
Print the single sheet/page showing the Scale in Inches and Centimeters. Use a ruler and make sure that 1 inch on your print = 1 inch on your ruler. Once this is correct then print the remaining pages at the same settings used to print the scale sheet/page. This ensures your model is in scale. Best bet is to take the pdf plan to a large format printing shop for printing. Again check scale. Cheers!
just calculated out the tiled plans cost. there's roughly six 20"x30" pieces of dollar tree foam board worth of plans here, so about $15 in materials.
the only problem i have with the flite test builds is that they're very fiddly about precision cut holes and stuff. it's possible you guys like your laser foam cutter SO much that you forget what it's like to hand cut these, especially the really perfect circular shapes and the hard-corner small rectangle slots for foam tabs
Excellent walk thru!
Great video and quite a well thought out design.
You guys should make a bomb drop swappable plane
You guys are awesome I would like to see a park jet no edf required could be rear prop driven
Is there a way we can scale down the size of the plane but still keep the 2 props or could you guys make a smaller 2 prop plane?
Another great build. Question: What determines whether you use an 'A' Style Fold or a 'B' Style Fold? I see the point if you are going to slide one piece into another, but what about the other times? Just curious.
Awesome video, awesome plane
All the scratch build models are based around box designs - probably because of the limitations of Foam board. But can you make more complex shapes such as tubes (for a fuselage) ? How about a video looking at advanced building techniques with Foam board?
that's been a lot of film work, but good work guys!!
how do you set propellers? which rotate inward or outward fuselage? thanks, great videos! saludos desde Uruguay.
im gonna make a mcro 3d foamy version of the baby blender!ill probably put it on your website!
I like the size of the FT Cruiser But I have a Question...Can it be built with one central motor instead of twin motors in pods ?
Has anyone done this ?
Also could you add a carbon arrow tube glued to your spar as an added extra spar brace ?
I ask because I want a really strong wing for later when I go crazy hyper on the motor size for a megga speed machine :-D
Great build video. I might have to try this!
Good show chaps!
Man, they must have got orders for a couple of thousand Cruisers by now. Still waiting for mine to ship. Some of my flying buddies are getting them too.
Heck yeah! those TG9's are the beez kneezzzzzz.
Beautiful guys keep it up!!
What is the best way to transfer the plans to the foam board when scratch building? Do most folks just glue the plans to the foam board and then cut and score on the lines or is there a better way?
it says on the plans 766g without battery and to use a 2200mah 3s so just under a kg. maybe you could scale it down to suit your motors and also with it scaled down you wont need such a big battery to balance it so that will also spare up some of thrust
wow i this is the longest vid you guys have
Amazing video
Super demo! Thanks.
Wonderful job... thank u very much for sharing
YES YES YES! Been waiting for this (a whopping 2 days!)
That's a nice plane
Definately a beautiful, airplane, when is the RTF going to be available ? i'm a balsa builder, i have never worked with foam, or foam board.
24:59 it sounds worse in real life! Also it flies nice
Great video, fascinating to see how it goes together and the techniques for designing and working with foam. How do you safely cut the foam board on the laser cutter? Doesn't it produce hazardous fumes? Do you have an extractor of some kind? What about the optics do you get any particulate that you have to deal with?
+Alan Evans I'm fairly sure that they have a separate company do the laser cutting. For your own laser cutter ideas there's a lot of stuff on youtube and you can get the lasers sourced from china for pretty cheap. ^_^
christopher campi they have a machine for that at their newish shop.
Very cool! I think i Will force do that plane ! So cool!
scratch build either 1. a plane designed for fpv or 2. you could do like a sailplane or glider
I've been to you're guys website. You put some great cheap prices for your planes. •3•
Boa noite, vende e manda esses aviões para o Brasil?? Parabéns. Bom video.
Thanks guys!
My aspergers enjoyed every single bit of this video. again ! :v
If you can work with balsa its not hard to get into foam. Just make shure you have a very sharp cutting blade
The extra battery so you can change out the battery at your flying field and 2 extra props so if you damage one you can replace it.
Thanks for the demo video, I ask you, what is the direction of rotation of the helices or what type of helix do you use for right and left
Thanks a million.!!! month end i will be purchasing a few
what motors are you using in this build? Since it's twin engine is it different than the recommended power pod build suggestions?
Olá tudo bem? Ótimos videos! Sou fã do Ft e sempre construo seus modelos. Gostaria de saber se posso colocar os motores 2204 2300kv? Tenho um motor cw e um ccw poso usar para girar em direções opostas? Obrigado pela ajuda.
Awesome build video awesome plane Awesome dude!
Keep up the great work guys... can't wait for spitfire! ;)
Wish I had as much money as you guys!
nice build + great build log, i like that plane :)
oh, and you should told futur builder to center the servo before glued theme in the tail :)
I love this older music, PLEASE use this older music in some of your newer videos!!!!!
Which thing is used for making the body of the plane...plastic board or some kind of foam ?......
i need more sail plane action!!! for example, make a review of a Graupner Discus 2ct. Do like the awesome guy David Windestål :D
Hello flitetest,
would you recommend this airplane kit for a beginner? I am semi new to the hobby and I have pretty good experience at flying. Also is it complicated to add all of the electronics if you don't have much experience?
Thanks, Airflight767