6:15 the fact that the Cube Orange gets hot, it's not a bug, it's actually a feature! There is an internal heating device that always maintains a constant temperature of 45°C, so that the IMU sensor are stable and won't drift with temperature change.
Those drone shots following the airplane are mesmerizing to watch. I'm building a VTOL version of the Fighter. This video has really got me motivated to get back to work on it. Thanks for the fun video.
Was looking forward to this review. Only saw one video about it. Big nice plane. Would have love to see the mapping camera compartment and a demo. Well done 👍
As ArxangelRC mentioned, the camera compartment is really big. There's a really long thread (585 posts so far) on the ArduPilot forums about the 4+1 VTOL version of the Fighter. There's a few photos showing various camera setups in the thread. The thread's title is *"Fighter VTOL 4+1 fixed wing."* The thread was started by *makeflyeasy.* Posts #50, #211 and #462 are a few which include photos various camera installations. For what it's worth, I'm (slowly) building a 4+1 VTOL Fighter. I plan to document my efforts in the thread *"Duane’s Fighter VTOL 4+1 Build Questions and Notes."* I'll add a rely with some direct links to these forum threads. My guess is the links will be caught by UA-cam's spam filter but I'll give it a try anyway. *Thanks for another great video @ArxangelRC.*
@@ArxangelRC I'm not very far along. I've got the body halves glued and I've added hinges to most control surfaces. I think I have all the electronics I need (except appropriate batteries) but I haven't installed the electronics yet. As I mentioned above, I've been posting updates on my build in the ArduPilot forum. The thread title is *"Duane’s Fighter VTOL 4+1 Build Questions and Notes"* and it's in the *VTOL Plane* sub forum of the *ArduPlane* forum.
Very nice built..Can you show how you put the PDB in the small space. I mean you use big cables and connectors, so it must be difficult to arrange them in that small space... Another question is why you use XT150 connectors?? I think XT90 is more than enough... But I saw you use banana connector instead of XT150..Maybe I did not see clearly... Tks
Hi, they are just naked XT150 connectors, I am future-proofing the plane... if you get my drift! ;) As for the PDB... it is worse than sardines in a can in there! It was a genuine effort to stuff it all in!
Can be autonomous if you put an autopilot in it. What it can carry as useful payload would depend in the weight of the battery, but lets say 1-1.5kg would be possible
but it said 'More over Believer' so, the question remains - which is better in your opinion; The believer or the fighter ? And if I wanted to get something for making money mapping, surveying , or as many other tasks as I could assign to it to make income with it..... Which device overall, would you recommend out of all the Quad Copters, Long Range Fixed Wings or VTOL Conversions platforms you have, and have ever tested ? Who sits on the throne in that regard good sir ? Please and Thank You.
An exceptionally fabulous build video. Amazing detailed photos and thorough coverage. While this is bigger plane any I intend to own (for now), seeing all the design and build details was very educational. Many great and useful ideas. Given weight of the MFE Fighter and that it will be carrying more weight in payloads, did do anything to help protect the fuselage bottom from landing abrasions? Perhaps this was left for a task beyond the maiden. Looking forward to seeing what kind of missions you have planned for this Fighter beast. :)
Glad you like it! There are two foamy sliding strips for the bottom, not sure they are meant for prolonged use as a regular plane though, with sliding landings, already lost one on the maiden... seems to have come off and I didn't notice that, so its lost now! Not a big deal anyway, but there needs to be something there to protect the belly for sure, especially at that weight! Since they are gearing the plane more towards VTOL anyway... sliding landings are not an issue there...
Yes. I think if you keep the twin tractor props to no more than 12" you can actually have a VTOL with twin tractor, although primarily the nose motor mount is meant to be used with it is setup as a VTOL.
i thought the plane was heavy, and then I followed the link that showed me the price... and somehow I ended up flat on the floor, that came as a heavy shock.. Anyway, despite that, a great review again, packed full of great information. Cheers.
This makes fly easy. They nailed it again and I'm looking forward to building one too. I have a question about prop size: The official spec sheet states 15" for the twin motor hand throw version but I recon at this size the Props would get damaged a non parachute landing. What's the maximum size for ground clearance you think? I had 12" in mind. Thanks so much for your videos. I enjoy them a lot!
Thank you! Actually I am not sure 15" props would clear the fuselage... need to check that! 12" would be OK but hey would still reach the ground I think! Having ESCs with a programmable break is how you land without breaking props!
I have bought the VTOL version, hope to start on it after the first of the year, my main goal is a long range SAR aircraft, although I would like to you use it for damage assessment and mapping. What glue did you end up using if I may ask?
I have not actually, would add quite a bit more weight, and I am not sure if there would be any real benefit on this plane! It is already heavy! Solar panels make sense on light planes with huge wings. This is not the case! I've thought about it, just not in regards to this particular plane.
BTW this airframe is insane. After building 3 variants of it I managed to get 500km endurance in 7.5h Flying on a single battery charge. I used 3520 Tmotor 400kv Motors APD 80F3 ESC's 8s60Ah Battery using Samsung 50e APC 13x10" Props INAV Takeoff Weight is just shy of 11kg Hand launch!!!!
DAMN! You hand launch an 11kg plane? How does that look? Does it take to the sky easily? Have not flown mine in quite a while, but I have spent my weight budget on other stuff now, not more battery... hahahaha... but damn.... 8S 60Ah is a pretty hefty pack. Well done. Does it actually carry any useful payload?
@@ArxangelRC First thanks for your inspiring videos. This initially got me excitited to build one too. The Maiden Launch was surprisingly easy with the 11kg, probably because I was very focused xD. I made a Package dropping mechanism, so 800g Payload on top of the 11kg no problem. Here a video showing the maiden launch and the first Parcel drop: ua-cam.com/video/lQOP6zZFq-s/v-deo.html With the Parcel mounted though and no headwind it is pretty hard not to crash it on launch. Once it half stalled and a wing tip already touched the grass but it recovered luckily. I think with the power of the 2 3520 400kv Motors on 8s and the 13x10 props it is fine and well speched for that kind of weight. About 3kw of power.
@@jojo42069 NIcely done, plane looks good and seems to work well! I guess the 13" props do help in taking up at that weight, but there is always the looming risk factor here. Hopefully soon I will be able to finish and test the mods I made to mine, and whatever the outcome, I will make a video update on it... could be a spectacular fail... or a not so spectacular success! :P
Well for me the plane cost is $840 and shipping is $500... sooo... however you spin it, the price works out pretty much the same, although that $840 is the price with VAT for the EU, so without it price is $700 for plane and around $420 for shipping... so a bit cheaper, but I guess shipping could be more expensive to the US... who knows... things have been insane with shipping ever since 03.2020!!! Sucks when the packages are big, and the box for this plane is massive!
Well the single tractor setup is mean for when you have it as a VTOL! I am not sure how reliable hand throw take off would be with a single motor in the nose at that weight...
Not sure I follow your logic... 3D printed parts are useful and are used out of necessity and to make the built cleaner! Where did I say I don't want to use glue?! The plane is, after all, GLUED together, and I did the glueing, since it came IN PIECES!
Haha, true... but this one is huge, and the box it comes in is huge too! No getting around a higher shipping cost I'm afraid, unless you order 100 of them and have them sea shipped! And that mode of transport has seen a 5 fold increase in cost during the lockdowns.
@@ArxangelRC I'll get one at some point. My believer had a accident and I had to replace the full V tail assembly, all the parts were only 50 USD shipping was 200 USD!!! Almost not even worth it to fix it. But I'm surprised, I bought a Mugin 2940, a massive fiberglass bird and the shipping was only 800 USD.
6:15 the fact that the Cube Orange gets hot, it's not a bug, it's actually a feature! There is an internal heating device that always maintains a constant temperature of 45°C, so that the IMU sensor are stable and won't drift with temperature change.
Perhaps, but in some situations it gets considerably more hot than 45 degrees.
@@ArxangelRC did you check that the heating parameters in the firmware are set correctly? BRD_HEAT_TARG, BRD_HEAT_P, BRD_HEAT_I, BRD_HEAT_IMAX
@@heliengadin Params are default, have not adjusted anything in there.
Thanks!
A very big thanks to you mate! Very much appreciated!
Thanks
Thank you! :)
Thanks Arx!
Thank you! Much appreciated! :)
Those drone shots following the airplane are mesmerizing to watch.
I'm building a VTOL version of the Fighter. This video has really got me motivated to get back to work on it.
Thanks for the fun video.
Haha, nice! Glad you like it!
Very detailed installation evaluation, we are very inspiring, thank you for your support!
Thank you for the kind words! :) I am far from done with this one though! :P More to come!
Amazing Arx! Your reviews of both the MFE Believer and MFE Fighter are great and both seem like incredibly well made planes. Well done MFE!
Thanks! And yeah... MFE really are doing well!
Was looking forward to this review. Only saw one video about it. Big nice plane. Would have love to see the mapping camera compartment and a demo. Well done 👍
Well the camera compartment is that big space in the middle of the fuselage. Right now I have the 3S battery in the forward part of it. Demo of what?
As ArxangelRC mentioned, the camera compartment is really big. There's a really long thread (585 posts so far) on the ArduPilot forums about the 4+1 VTOL version of the Fighter. There's a few photos showing various camera setups in the thread. The thread's title is *"Fighter VTOL 4+1 fixed wing."* The thread was started by *makeflyeasy.*
Posts #50, #211 and #462 are a few which include photos various camera installations.
For what it's worth, I'm (slowly) building a 4+1 VTOL Fighter. I plan to document my efforts in the thread *"Duane’s Fighter VTOL 4+1 Build Questions and Notes."* I'll add a rely with some direct links to these forum threads. My guess is the links will be caught by UA-cam's spam filter but I'll give it a try anyway.
*Thanks for another great video @ArxangelRC.*
The direct link to the forum post didn't work. Let me know if you have trouble finding the thread and I'll try to help you find it.
How far along is your VTOL build?
@@ArxangelRC I'm not very far along. I've got the body halves glued and I've added hinges to most control surfaces. I think I have all the electronics I need (except appropriate batteries) but I haven't installed the electronics yet.
As I mentioned above, I've been posting updates on my build in the ArduPilot forum. The thread title is *"Duane’s Fighter VTOL 4+1 Build Questions and Notes"* and it's in the *VTOL Plane* sub forum of the *ArduPlane* forum.
Looking forward to more of this aircraft
There will be! :)
I hope you make more content with this plane, very cool 👍🏽
Well... there will be AT LEAST one more video... fingers crossed it will survive that one time so there could be more.
Impressive, such a beautiful plane 👍
That it is! :)
Excellent mate, looks a very nice plane, man those batteries
Thank you! Yeah... a lot of battery in this one!
Very nice built..Can you show how you put the PDB in the small space. I mean you use big cables and connectors, so it must be difficult to arrange them in that small space... Another question is why you use XT150 connectors?? I think XT90 is more than enough... But I saw you use banana connector instead of XT150..Maybe I did not see clearly... Tks
Hi, they are just naked XT150 connectors, I am future-proofing the plane... if you get my drift! ;) As for the PDB... it is worse than sardines in a can in there! It was a genuine effort to stuff it all in!
Great stuff!
Thank you! :)
Amazing video! Could you tell me how much this plane can carry extra weight? And is it autonomous?
Can be autonomous if you put an autopilot in it. What it can carry as useful payload would depend in the weight of the battery, but lets say 1-1.5kg would be possible
I can't wait for more Fighter vids.
Will be coming as soon as I am done with 1-2 other videos first! :)
but it said 'More over Believer' so, the question remains - which is better in your opinion; The believer or the fighter ?
And if I wanted to get something for making money mapping, surveying , or as many other tasks as I could assign to it to make income with it.....
Which device overall, would you recommend out of all the Quad Copters, Long Range Fixed Wings or VTOL Conversions platforms you have, and have ever tested ? Who sits on the throne in that regard good sir ?
Please and Thank You.
An exceptionally fabulous build video. Amazing detailed photos and thorough coverage. While this is bigger plane any I intend to own (for now), seeing all the design and build details was very educational. Many great and useful ideas.
Given weight of the MFE Fighter and that it will be carrying more weight in payloads, did do anything to help protect the fuselage bottom from landing abrasions? Perhaps this was left for a task beyond the maiden.
Looking forward to seeing what kind of missions you have planned for this Fighter beast. :)
Glad you like it! There are two foamy sliding strips for the bottom, not sure they are meant for prolonged use as a regular plane though, with sliding landings, already lost one on the maiden... seems to have come off and I didn't notice that, so its lost now! Not a big deal anyway, but there needs to be something there to protect the belly for sure, especially at that weight! Since they are gearing the plane more towards VTOL anyway... sliding landings are not an issue there...
Браво!! Много яко. С неочакване чакам още интересен контент. 👍👍👍
Благодаря!
Very Nice... So this V-TOL version can do both regular twin tractor plane or v-tol??
Yes. I think if you keep the twin tractor props to no more than 12" you can actually have a VTOL with twin tractor, although primarily the nose motor mount is meant to be used with it is setup as a VTOL.
Wow though the plane was heavy but it take off butter smooth ... 👍
7.5kg is not that heavy for this wingspan! When I am done adding stuff to it, it would have gained another 2kgs... roughly! :P
i thought the plane was heavy, and then I followed the link that showed me the price... and somehow I ended up flat on the floor, that came as a heavy shock..
Anyway, despite that, a great review again, packed full of great information.
Cheers.
Thank you! Well yes... it is expensive... not really meant for FPV though... so... comes with the territory! Cheaper than the alternatives!
You need to check out the reptile dragon 2 man it is sweeeet!
I have it in a box! Need to find the time to get to it! :)
@@ArxangelRC awesome! 👏
@@chainbenwa2713 😁
This makes fly easy. They nailed it again and I'm looking forward to building one too. I have a question about prop size: The official spec sheet states 15" for the twin motor hand throw version but I recon at this size the Props would get damaged a non parachute landing. What's the maximum size for ground clearance you think? I had 12" in mind. Thanks so much for your videos. I enjoy them a lot!
Thank you! Actually I am not sure 15" props would clear the fuselage... need to check that! 12" would be OK but hey would still reach the ground I think! Having ESCs with a programmable break is how you land without breaking props!
Very nice!
Thanks!
I have bought the VTOL version, hope to start on it after the first of the year, my main goal is a long range SAR aircraft, although I would like to you use it for damage assessment and mapping. What glue did you end up using if I may ask?
Well I used the Henkel Moment Classic glue, not sure how it would be called in other countries. I think the US equivalent is the gorilla glue...
@@ArxangelRC Thanks for the quick reply
@@randycatlette1528 You are welcome. :)
Did you consider adding solar panels to make it fly longer ?
I have not actually, would add quite a bit more weight, and I am not sure if there would be any real benefit on this plane! It is already heavy! Solar panels make sense on light planes with huge wings. This is not the case! I've thought about it, just not in regards to this particular plane.
Would you know where I can find the construction instructions? I bought one but don't know how to build it. :)
In my blog! The link is in the video description.
Thank you! Also, I was wondering what you used? (May have to buy some new glue because super glue probably won't work).@@ArxangelRC
@@realright3358 I used Moment Classic by Henkel, it is contact glue, I assume similar to gorilla glue they have in the US.
BTW this airframe is insane. After building 3 variants of it I managed to get 500km endurance in 7.5h Flying on a single battery charge.
I used 3520 Tmotor 400kv Motors
APD 80F3 ESC's
8s60Ah Battery using Samsung 50e
APC 13x10" Props
INAV
Takeoff Weight is just shy of 11kg Hand launch!!!!
DAMN! You hand launch an 11kg plane? How does that look? Does it take to the sky easily? Have not flown mine in quite a while, but I have spent my weight budget on other stuff now, not more battery... hahahaha... but damn.... 8S 60Ah is a pretty hefty pack. Well done. Does it actually carry any useful payload?
@@ArxangelRC
First thanks for your inspiring videos. This initially got me excitited to build one too.
The Maiden Launch was surprisingly easy with the 11kg, probably because I was very focused xD.
I made a Package dropping mechanism, so 800g Payload on top of the 11kg no problem.
Here a video showing the maiden launch and the first Parcel drop: ua-cam.com/video/lQOP6zZFq-s/v-deo.html
With the Parcel mounted though and no headwind it is pretty hard not to crash it on launch. Once it half stalled and a wing tip already touched the grass but it recovered luckily.
I think with the power of the 2 3520 400kv Motors on 8s and the 13x10 props it is fine and well speched for that kind of weight. About 3kw of power.
@@jojo42069 NIcely done, plane looks good and seems to work well! I guess the 13" props do help in taking up at that weight, but there is always the looming risk factor here. Hopefully soon I will be able to finish and test the mods I made to mine, and whatever the outcome, I will make a video update on it... could be a spectacular fail... or a not so spectacular success! :P
@jojo42069 Did you have any equipment in the aircraft at that weight? Cameras? FPV gear? Telemetry?
@@icyphotons Yes besides the 6.75kg Battery there was a analog FPV System, a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and an LTE Modem
Nice movie ! Nice vehicle. I regret getting the giant sky hunter . Cargo loading and electronic bays are horrible . This is better )
Yeah, this has tons of space!
aliexpress shows model costs $392, but shipping is $1198 on jan 10 2023 !?? is this the only source?
Well for me the plane cost is $840 and shipping is $500... sooo... however you spin it, the price works out pretty much the same, although that $840 is the price with VAT for the EU, so without it price is $700 for plane and around $420 for shipping... so a bit cheaper, but I guess shipping could be more expensive to the US... who knows... things have been insane with shipping ever since 03.2020!!! Sucks when the packages are big, and the box for this plane is massive!
@@ArxangelRC ok thx- sure seemed like an error
@@PaulStafford-nw8fl Sadly... no... :(
Fly this plane up to 10kg. No problems. Very stable plane.
Nice! :)
I would like to build this as a single tractor propeller 😎🤙 $681 for shipping 🚢 means I won't have it anytime soon lol 😆
Well the single tractor setup is mean for when you have it as a VTOL! I am not sure how reliable hand throw take off would be with a single motor in the nose at that weight...
$1500 just for shipping to Australia!
Ouch! Damn...
You could get a return flight to China for that and check it in as luggage 😂
@@sarahdaviscc Hahaha, pretty much! 😝
That's a shame about the SiYi ground unit.
Indeed! I hope I will get it back and repaired soon, so I can put it on the plane.
You don't want to use glue because of the weight, yet you have no problem adding 3d printed parts that are not needed. OCD much?
Not sure I follow your logic... 3D printed parts are useful and are used out of necessity and to make the built cleaner! Where did I say I don't want to use glue?! The plane is, after all, GLUED together, and I did the glueing, since it came IN PIECES!
I has been a while.
That it has! :)
Your voice always made me sleepy but i want to know your information 😂😅
Hahahahaha, could be! There are UA-cam videos I use for falling asleep as well! :P
Why are you reviewing planes we cannot buy? Please review planes that are available. Otherwise what's the point.
"cannot buy"? Can you elaborate? The plane is available for purchase and is in stock!
@@ArxangelRC my mistake just a different version.vtol
@@MrKeithw124 Good! :)
"Move over beliver" yeah if the shipping from China wasn't more than the price of the actual plane. 😡
Haha, true... but this one is huge, and the box it comes in is huge too! No getting around a higher shipping cost I'm afraid, unless you order 100 of them and have them sea shipped! And that mode of transport has seen a 5 fold increase in cost during the lockdowns.
@@ArxangelRC I'll get one at some point. My believer had a accident and I had to replace the full V tail assembly, all the parts were only 50 USD shipping was 200 USD!!! Almost not even worth it to fix it. But I'm surprised, I bought a Mugin 2940, a massive fiberglass bird and the shipping was only 800 USD.
@@iancommons9841 Per volume larger and heavier items are cheaper to ship than smaller ones.
buddy-Like! useflu - take care~:)
Thanks! :)
Thanks!
Thank you mate! Much appreciated!