Black Ninja 1
Name: Black Ninja 1
Date: May 2012 (still flying this in June 2016)
Material: R20 Pink Foam covered with 1.5 mm clear laminate
Wingspan: 1000 mm
Airfoil: HS520 (chosen based on Micro Flyer 1's experience)
Root chord: 250 mm
Tip chord: 150 mm
Sweep: 30 degrees
Propeller: 7 x 3.5 (8 x 4 prop overheats motor)
Motor: Turnigy Aerodrive SK3-2100 Kv brushless + 10A ESC; Currently flying with Floater-Jet Replacement Motor (AXN-2208-2150) (44g) 3s (June 2016)
Battery: Turnigy NanoTechs 2S 370 mAh, 2S 850 mAh, 3S 370 mAh, 3S 850 mAh
NP: 180 mm from front tip
Elevator for zero pitching moment: 0.65 degrees (from AVL analysis)
Weight: 205 g (without battery), 252 g (with 2S 850mAh LiPo)
Design:
This flying wing is a combination of the Blue Storm's planform (wingspan, chord, sweep) and the Micro Flyer 1's airfoil. It is also the combination of all the best construction techniques I have learned so far. Some of the highlights are:
- R20 pink foam construction: Although R10 white foam is lighter, the R20 pink foam is a lot stronger, so the wing does not break upon hard landings
- Laminate covering: This is 1.5 mm thick laminate (used in laminating machines), and it adds infinite more strength to the wing! The Black Ninja 1 still flies today!
- Paint: Acrylic spray paint can be applied on the laminate ($8.00 spray cans from Home Depot)
- New improved foam motor mount
- Servos installed flush in wing
- HS520 airfoil: This airplane's glide slope is amazing - with no power, the plane can glide 1/2 the length of a football field! (by dropping only 2-3 feet). I use the 2S LiPos when I want to fly slow and glide around the field, and the 3S LiPos when I want to fly insanely fast.
Date: May 2012 (still flying this in June 2016)
Material: R20 Pink Foam covered with 1.5 mm clear laminate
Wingspan: 1000 mm
Airfoil: HS520 (chosen based on Micro Flyer 1's experience)
Root chord: 250 mm
Tip chord: 150 mm
Sweep: 30 degrees
Propeller: 7 x 3.5 (8 x 4 prop overheats motor)
Motor: Turnigy Aerodrive SK3-2100 Kv brushless + 10A ESC; Currently flying with Floater-Jet Replacement Motor (AXN-2208-2150) (44g) 3s (June 2016)
Battery: Turnigy NanoTechs 2S 370 mAh, 2S 850 mAh, 3S 370 mAh, 3S 850 mAh
NP: 180 mm from front tip
Elevator for zero pitching moment: 0.65 degrees (from AVL analysis)
Weight: 205 g (without battery), 252 g (with 2S 850mAh LiPo)
Design:
This flying wing is a combination of the Blue Storm's planform (wingspan, chord, sweep) and the Micro Flyer 1's airfoil. It is also the combination of all the best construction techniques I have learned so far. Some of the highlights are:
- R20 pink foam construction: Although R10 white foam is lighter, the R20 pink foam is a lot stronger, so the wing does not break upon hard landings
- Laminate covering: This is 1.5 mm thick laminate (used in laminating machines), and it adds infinite more strength to the wing! The Black Ninja 1 still flies today!
- Paint: Acrylic spray paint can be applied on the laminate ($8.00 spray cans from Home Depot)
- New improved foam motor mount
- Servos installed flush in wing
- HS520 airfoil: This airplane's glide slope is amazing - with no power, the plane can glide 1/2 the length of a football field! (by dropping only 2-3 feet). I use the 2S LiPos when I want to fly slow and glide around the field, and the 3S LiPos when I want to fly insanely fast.
LED Lights (for night flying):
The fibre optic LED lights on the Micro Flyer 1 were not good because they kept falling off. However, since I really liked night flying, I decided to use white LEDs from a flashlight ($8.00 for 24 LEDs). There is a different pattern on the top and bottom for orientation. The lights are installed flush inside the wing, so the airfoil is not disturbed and the LEDs will never fall off. I kept the pushbutton switch from the original flashlight, so I can turn off the LEDs when flying during the day.
The fibre optic LED lights on the Micro Flyer 1 were not good because they kept falling off. However, since I really liked night flying, I decided to use white LEDs from a flashlight ($8.00 for 24 LEDs). There is a different pattern on the top and bottom for orientation. The lights are installed flush inside the wing, so the airfoil is not disturbed and the LEDs will never fall off. I kept the pushbutton switch from the original flashlight, so I can turn off the LEDs when flying during the day.