Thanks for the shout buddy. Cool idea about the tape for the canopy. I already scratched mine. Gees you had 13 built. Defiantly take on board what you done. I still thinking about EDF in mine 😎. Great explanation bud. Look forward to the flight.
Anytime! You’ve got a great channel there. Yeah I learned about the tape the first one I built and scratched it LOL I hate scratches so the packing tape illuminates that! You can definitely do EDF. I would recommend a Jetfan 80 with aHET motor. As long as you keep it around 3lbs you will be fine for hand launching. Any more and it will need a bungee launcher! I hope the video helps! Flight video soon!
@@DadsRCHangar www.effluxrc.com contact Gary, he is who I get all my stuff from. Great guy and he will build whatever set up you want. I’m pretty sure they can send anywhere, not sure where you’re from. JP is okay, never was impressed with them but then again never owned one my self. I run Jetfan and HET in everything. I’ll be building a EDF Tortuga soon as well! It will get a Jetfan 80 on 12s!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Dam, 12s….. I will contact him, trouble is these days, shipping can be crazy for the USA. But I drop him a mail with what you suggested 👊🏻
Great overview! I’ve got one coming soon! Also ordered the upgraded 3645 2250kv xnova motor. Now you got me thinking no canards lol. Sucks I already bought the servo for it too. Wish I would have watched your video before I bought it!
Thank you! I have built quite a few of them. Personal opinion they fly way better without the canards. The biggest reason I went no canards on this one is to fit the massive 14s set up that’s going in this one LOL I found it easier to hand launch and overall flight performance is faster and smoother.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 haha nice! 14s is going to be insane. Hey is there any chance you know the kind of rpm/current you were getting out of the 3640 motor? I know your castle esc can log that data.
Hi. Other than sanding the fuse where the motor mount goes extremely thin ... what is the best way to get the ring to the edge? Or do you have to?. Thanks
The ring does not need to go to the edge, as long as you have upthrust in the mount (take what the manual says and flip it) sand the ring and inside of the fuse and epoxy in.
What an informative video. Question, I am currently an FPV quad guy and use Radiomaster ELRS gear. Where on the Tortuga would you recommend adding the FPV camera and air unit? Also, I would intend to use my same ELRS controller and would probably need a flight controller and GPS to top it off. Do you see any issues with building something like this with FPV camera, FC + ELRS?
Thank you! So there has been a few guys doing FPV setups on Funjets and fusion Jet (close to the Tortuga) some guys cut the front of the nose off to mount the camera and the. Run there GPS And such on top. There is plenty of room on the Tortuga for everything you would need to run.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I think I'll start with the Flex Piranha since it has more space, less power, and has rudders unlike most fpv wings. I look forward to being confident enough to graduate to the Tortuga. I'm not even sure how usable the video will be from the FPV air units at these 200+ speeds, but it has piqued my interest. Usually we soft mount the camera in quadcopters to help dampen vibrations, but I'm not sure if a plane being foam or more rigid fiberglass would help.
@@RepEvox ua-cam.com/video/zXNUmeg48Lc/v-deo.html This guy does a lot of FPV fast wings! That’s the fusion jet he’s flying. Almost identical to the Tortuga. You can get rudders for the Tortuga but they really are useless at these speeds. More for slow flying flat spins kinda stuff. The Piranha is a very fun wing!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I think the Tortuga might be a little easier to get, the prop Fusion says its unavailable on their website. Also, I plan to use digital FPV so thats a huge upgrade over analog, but a little more challenging to mount because of cooling requirements.
Just finishing up my Tortuga build and am wanting to confirm CG as Ive seen differing things online about it moving with canards and without. I built mine WITHOUT canards as you suggest. Does the book CG work for a build without canards or does it need to be different? Thanks!
So I balance mine straight across the leading edge of the wing. I have it slightly nose heavy. I didn’t notice any balance difference without the canards as I run a 2s Lipo for the RX pack and that’s in the nose. So it weighs the same as the canards and servo and such.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Thanks. I have read if you don't have the canards you need to move the cg back 2 cm. Thats why I was asking to see if you changed the cg from what the manual said.
Thank you! Honestly I don’t think I ever touched on it like I said I would LOL so I have built 11 I believe or so Tortugas. I have flown them in every single way possible with a little too crazy power. The canards make it fly very weird. It takes a crazy amount of elevator authority in the turns it feels very heavy. You lose a ton of speed! Makes hand launching it extremely difficult. So I choose not to run them! Yes the stock X nova motor is great! Run a APC 5.25x6.25 and 6s will be 180mph flat and over 200mph in a dive. Fastest I have gotten one on the stock set up with that prop is 211 mph.
@@NeedSpeedRC I have the 3640 2200kv. I did not know they had a 28mm lol the 36mm is perfect for that light weight but still good speed setup. I’m working on a 14s setup for mine now.
Jeff ? On the Tortuga turbine version can I install a EDF unit Instead of a turbine. If so can u please tell me tell me witch one fits the Tortuga turbine version. Thanks
Yes, a EDF can be made to fit on the turbine as well as prop. You might have to do some cutting and mount making on the turbine version but it would be pretty simple. Just make sure you have up trust on the EDF angle. I would say 80mm EDF, Jetfan 80 with a HET motor and 6s would move good! 8s would be even better!
Know this video has been out for a little while but have a random question. After building so many, do you think there is any way to add retractable gear? I am looking for a platform to run a pulsejet engine and I like this one as its composite and twin tail/delta wing so I can easily mount the pulsejet in the center of the fuse. The location I can fly it at is an old runway with no grass landing option. Would really need gear, fixed would be ok but retracts would be ideal. The interior fuse would be more or less empty, just receiver, battery and fuel tank. The pulsejet I have is rated for 4lbs of static thrust and closer to 6lbs in the air so some extra weight from gear wouldnt be a problem power wise. If you dont think its possible, are there any other airframes in the 3-5lb range that would be similar style/construction? Thanks in advance!
So re-tracks can definitely be added. But! There’s going to be multiple issues and that’s with any Delta wing style aircraft. Number one and biggest issue is going to be bouncing on landing. They like to bounce a lot with wheels because they are short couple. Strength is the biggest issue! When you start cutting into eight for adding wheel wells and everything you are taking massive strength away from the wing. Now depending on how fast it’s going to be or how you’re going to fly it will all depend on if it will really matter or not. Anything can be done! You might have to do some reinforcing or adding some stuff inside but there is tons of room especially in the nose section if you’re not going to be using a battery. Your other big issue that you were going to run into as I was trying to do it with a turbine. Is CG when you run out of fuel versus when you have fuel. Being a pulse jet it’ll be that long enough that you could balance the engine over the main CG and weight of the air frame. I wanted to put a big turbine on one but the turbine was so heavy that I would have to add a bunch of weight in the nose and then when I had fuel in it it was going to be super nose heavy and then when I ran out of fuel it would’ve been more on the tail heavy side and it just didn’t work out lol but you could definitely add re-tracks would take some figuring out but it could definitely be done.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Awesome, thank you for the reply! After thinking about it more, it would probably be smarter to look for a larger airframe as on paper it would be close to a 1:1 power to weight ratio with the Tortuga. That would be alright as I have flown pylon racers and other jets but like you said, adding retracts would weaken the airframe and the wing loading would be pretty high due to the weight with retracts I would think. I will keep looking for something to put this pulsejet on...
@@jeremyholderman1282 So right now the electric set up it will do over 250 mph! It’s about a 3:1 thrust ratio lol it’s nuts! But it’s small! So weight is a issue, now depending on size of the pulse jet. Seagull made/makes A bigger version of it that was made for a nitro pusher engine! I’ll try and find it!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Thats crazy! The best Ive done is 167mph with my Great Planes Rifle which disappears in a blink... haha Want to try out some different props and maybe 4s to see if I can get closer to 200. Ok awesome, thanks! The pulsejet I have is 20 inches long and on paper it puts out 4lbs static but probably 6lbs or so in the air as they get more power from the ram air effect. I think it would work well with the pulsejet as is without gear but I unfortunately just dont have a location to land it thats not concrete.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Also in looking at this model, there is an electric version and turbine version which is $30 more. Do you know what the difference is between them to cause the price difference? Im back to considering this model but either doing fixed gear or flush/barely exposed wheels, or 3d printed replaceable skids... Theres just not much out there ARF that is a good fit for a pulsejet and this one looks awesome (and would look sweet with a pulsejet mounted ontop). It also ticks all the boxes except gear. Think the power would be good too, maybe put me in the 200mph range without retracts.
No, I don’t use the canards. I find it flys better with out them. It’s faster and turns better. With the canards it felt like it was being shoved around and not pulling around.
Manual says 90 Degrees on vertical stabs to main wing… Yeah Mine wouldn’t go 90 vertical, the fit super tight, and there was an angle however I tried moving them around..
lol no, I’ve only built 17 of them. Only gone 222mph with them been the only one to successfully hand launch every flight but nope… don’t know how to setup a mix… 😂😂😂
cant wait to see that up in the air buddy. I have always been a fan of these. such a eye catcher.
It’s definitely a eye catcher! Should get to the field soon and get some videos!
Thanks for the shout buddy. Cool idea about the tape for the canopy. I already scratched mine. Gees you had 13 built. Defiantly take on board what you done. I still thinking about EDF in mine 😎. Great explanation bud. Look forward to the flight.
Anytime! You’ve got a great channel there. Yeah I learned about the tape the first one I built and scratched it LOL I hate scratches so the packing tape illuminates that! You can definitely do EDF. I would recommend a Jetfan 80 with aHET motor. As long as you keep it around 3lbs you will be fine for hand launching. Any more and it will need a bungee launcher! I hope the video helps! Flight video soon!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I think you can only get those fans for the USA, might have to get a similar or JP fans. 👍🏻
@@DadsRCHangar www.effluxrc.com contact Gary, he is who I get all my stuff from. Great guy and he will build whatever set up you want. I’m pretty sure they can send anywhere, not sure where you’re from. JP is okay, never was impressed with them but then again never owned one my self. I run Jetfan and HET in everything. I’ll be building a EDF Tortuga soon as well! It will get a Jetfan 80 on 12s!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Dam, 12s….. I will contact him, trouble is these days, shipping can be crazy for the USA. But I drop him a mail with what you suggested 👊🏻
Great overview! I’ve got one coming soon! Also ordered the upgraded 3645 2250kv xnova motor. Now you got me thinking no canards lol. Sucks I already bought the servo for it too. Wish I would have watched your video before I bought it!
Thank you! I have built quite a few of them. Personal opinion they fly way better without the canards. The biggest reason I went no canards on this one is to fit the massive 14s set up that’s going in this one LOL I found it easier to hand launch and overall flight performance is faster and smoother.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 haha nice! 14s is going to be insane.
Hey is there any chance you know the kind of rpm/current you were getting out of the 3640 motor? I know your castle esc can log that data.
@@unger_cnc yes it does log data, so with the 5.25x6.25 prop I’m getting 2600 watts at around 113 Amps and 40k RPM that’s in flight log.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 awesome thanks! That’s great data!
Hi. Other than sanding the fuse where the motor mount goes extremely thin ... what is the best way to get the ring to the edge? Or do you have to?. Thanks
The ring does not need to go to the edge, as long as you have upthrust in the mount (take what the manual says and flip it) sand the ring and inside of the fuse and epoxy in.
What an informative video. Question, I am currently an FPV quad guy and use Radiomaster ELRS gear. Where on the Tortuga would you recommend adding the FPV camera and air unit? Also, I would intend to use my same ELRS controller and would probably need a flight controller and GPS to top it off. Do you see any issues with building something like this with FPV camera, FC + ELRS?
Thank you! So there has been a few guys doing FPV setups on Funjets and fusion Jet (close to the Tortuga) some guys cut the front of the nose off to mount the camera and the. Run there GPS And such on top. There is plenty of room on the Tortuga for everything you would need to run.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I think I'll start with the Flex Piranha since it has more space, less power, and has rudders unlike most fpv wings. I look forward to being confident enough to graduate to the Tortuga. I'm not even sure how usable the video will be from the FPV air units at these 200+ speeds, but it has piqued my interest. Usually we soft mount the camera in quadcopters to help dampen vibrations, but I'm not sure if a plane being foam or more rigid fiberglass would help.
@@RepEvox ua-cam.com/video/zXNUmeg48Lc/v-deo.html
This guy does a lot of FPV fast wings! That’s the fusion jet he’s flying. Almost identical to the Tortuga. You can get rudders for the Tortuga but they really are useless at these speeds. More for slow flying flat spins kinda stuff. The Piranha is a very fun wing!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I think the Tortuga might be a little easier to get, the prop Fusion says its unavailable on their website. Also, I plan to use digital FPV so thats a huge upgrade over analog, but a little more challenging to mount because of cooling requirements.
@@RepEvox the Tortuga is definitely easier to get, the Fusion is made to order. I plan on getting a fusion jet very soon! Always wanted one lol
Just finishing up my Tortuga build and am wanting to confirm CG as Ive seen differing things online about it moving with canards and without. I built mine WITHOUT canards as you suggest. Does the book CG work for a build without canards or does it need to be different? Thanks!
So I balance mine straight across the leading edge of the wing. I have it slightly nose heavy. I didn’t notice any balance difference without the canards as I run a 2s Lipo for the RX pack and that’s in the nose. So it weighs the same as the canards and servo and such.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Great thanks, Ill set it there. 👍
I have a question for you. Where do you have your cg marked without the canards on? Thanks in advance.
I have my CG at the front of the wing. Where the fillet meets the wing. Battery is placed in the middle of the tray. Slightly nose heavy.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Thanks. I have read if you don't have the canards you need to move the cg back 2 cm. Thats why I was asking to see if you changed the cg from what the manual said.
Damn it, he looks awesome in everything😍
Thanks buddy! Believe it or not I love more planes more then helis! Well I love them the same! But planes where my first passion.
Great review. Sorry if I missed it but why did you decide not to run/use the canards? Do you recommend the stock 2840 2200kv Xnova Motor?
Thank you! Honestly I don’t think I ever touched on it like I said I would LOL so I have built 11 I believe or so Tortugas. I have flown them in every single way possible with a little too crazy power. The canards make it fly very weird. It takes a crazy amount of elevator authority in the turns it feels very heavy. You lose a ton of speed! Makes hand launching it extremely difficult. So I choose not to run them! Yes the stock X nova motor is great! Run a APC 5.25x6.25 and 6s will be 180mph flat and over 200mph in a dive. Fastest I have gotten one on the stock set up with that prop is 211 mph.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Thanks. Makes sense. I’ll follow your advice. It looks like there is an upgraded motor. The XNova 3640 2200kv. I’ll give it a try.
@@NeedSpeedRC I have the 3640 2200kv. I did not know they had a 28mm lol the 36mm is perfect for that light weight but still good speed setup. I’m working on a 14s setup for mine now.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Wow! Are you planning on making a vid? If so, can’t wait to see it.
@@NeedSpeedRC oh yeah! Just waiting on a motor. It’s a custom motor from TP
Jeff ? On the Tortuga turbine version can I install a EDF unit Instead of a turbine. If so can u please tell me tell me witch one fits the Tortuga turbine version. Thanks
Yes, a EDF can be made to fit on the turbine as well as prop. You might have to do some cutting and mount making on the turbine version but it would be pretty simple. Just make sure you have up trust on the EDF angle. I would say 80mm EDF, Jetfan 80 with a HET motor and 6s would move good! 8s would be even better!
@WestHobbiesRC awesome thank you for your help keep up the good work and videos coming.
@@LL-gv8hd you’re welcome! Thank you for watching! I want to build a EDF Tortuga as well! I want to go big! 12-14s! 80mm Jetfan and HET motor.
@WestHobbiesRC 12/14 s it's going to be a monster. Please post a video of your build and flight.
@@LL-gv8hd oh yeah I will definitely video the build and maiden!
I’m looking at getting one off these great review
Thank you, it’s a fun plane!
I usually go for a carbon fiber tube over servo links just because it looks good and it adds strength ( yes i also tend to overbuild stuff :D)
On any thing bigger than a 6 inch-ish pushrod I always carbon sleeve then but on short push roads it’s not needed. You can never over build lol
Know this video has been out for a little while but have a random question. After building so many, do you think there is any way to add retractable gear? I am looking for a platform to run a pulsejet engine and I like this one as its composite and twin tail/delta wing so I can easily mount the pulsejet in the center of the fuse. The location I can fly it at is an old runway with no grass landing option. Would really need gear, fixed would be ok but retracts would be ideal. The interior fuse would be more or less empty, just receiver, battery and fuel tank. The pulsejet I have is rated for 4lbs of static thrust and closer to 6lbs in the air so some extra weight from gear wouldnt be a problem power wise. If you dont think its possible, are there any other airframes in the 3-5lb range that would be similar style/construction? Thanks in advance!
So re-tracks can definitely be added. But! There’s going to be multiple issues and that’s with any Delta wing style aircraft. Number one and biggest issue is going to be bouncing on landing. They like to bounce a lot with wheels because they are short couple. Strength is the biggest issue! When you start cutting into eight for adding wheel wells and everything you are taking massive strength away from the wing. Now depending on how fast it’s going to be or how you’re going to fly it will all depend on if it will really matter or not. Anything can be done! You might have to do some reinforcing or adding some stuff inside but there is tons of room especially in the nose section if you’re not going to be using a battery. Your other big issue that you were going to run into as I was trying to do it with a turbine. Is CG when you run out of fuel versus when you have fuel. Being a pulse jet it’ll be that long enough that you could balance the engine over the main CG and weight of the air frame. I wanted to put a big turbine on one but the turbine was so heavy that I would have to add a bunch of weight in the nose and then when I had fuel in it it was going to be super nose heavy and then when I ran out of fuel it would’ve been more on the tail heavy side and it just didn’t work out lol but you could definitely add re-tracks would take some figuring out but it could definitely be done.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Awesome, thank you for the reply! After thinking about it more, it would probably be smarter to look for a larger airframe as on paper it would be close to a 1:1 power to weight ratio with the Tortuga. That would be alright as I have flown pylon racers and other jets but like you said, adding retracts would weaken the airframe and the wing loading would be pretty high due to the weight with retracts I would think. I will keep looking for something to put this pulsejet on...
@@jeremyholderman1282 So right now the electric set up it will do over 250 mph! It’s about a 3:1 thrust ratio lol it’s nuts! But it’s small! So weight is a issue, now depending on size of the pulse jet. Seagull made/makes A bigger version of it that was made for a nitro pusher engine! I’ll try and find it!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Thats crazy! The best Ive done is 167mph with my Great Planes Rifle which disappears in a blink... haha Want to try out some different props and maybe 4s to see if I can get closer to 200.
Ok awesome, thanks! The pulsejet I have is 20 inches long and on paper it puts out 4lbs static but probably 6lbs or so in the air as they get more power from the ram air effect. I think it would work well with the pulsejet as is without gear but I unfortunately just dont have a location to land it thats not concrete.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Also in looking at this model, there is an electric version and turbine version which is $30 more. Do you know what the difference is between them to cause the price difference? Im back to considering this model but either doing fixed gear or flush/barely exposed wheels, or 3d printed replaceable skids... Theres just not much out there ARF that is a good fit for a pulsejet and this one looks awesome (and would look sweet with a pulsejet mounted ontop). It also ticks all the boxes except gear. Think the power would be good too, maybe put me in the 200mph range without retracts.
Pinch the base of the vertical stabilizers and they pop right in place and end up 90° straight up
Huh? Pitch is based of verticals? lol yeah no.
So why don't you use the canards? You didn't cover that.
No, I don’t use the canards. I find it flys better with out them. It’s faster and turns better. With the canards it felt like it was being shoved around and not pulling around.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Ok, I am thinking of getting one of these.Thanks.
Manual says 90 Degrees on vertical stabs to main wing… Yeah Mine wouldn’t go 90 vertical, the fit super tight, and there was an angle however I tried moving them around..
Yes you want them 90 degrees to the wing. You have to sand the rudders to make them fit right and make sure they are 90 degrees.
He probably couldn't hook up canards with the mix. Canards are what make this thing cool and super acrobatic
lol no, I’ve only built 17 of them. Only gone 222mph with them been the only one to successfully hand launch every flight but nope… don’t know how to setup a mix… 😂😂😂
I bet it dives straight to the ground inverted
lol it’s only been flying for five years now.
i will See the flight
I will be getting a flight video soon, have not flown it since I’ve made this video.