Review of Ritewing Z3

Ritewing recently released a new flying wing called "Zephyr 3 Spade" or just Z3 S 47". The Z2 is probably one of the most popular FPV wing platforms and is my personal favorite. So I was really excited when the Z3 was announced.

The Z3 has a 47” wing span, the same airfoil as the Z2 but a big body in the middle with 4 large bays for batteries and equipment. Another new feature is, that the wings can be taken off for easier transportation.

Building the Z3 is super easy and a lot of fun. The mold is very well thought out, everything has it's place and fits perfectly. There really is not a lot you can do wrong with this built. If you decide to lam the body (which I recommend) then take your time. That is the most difficult step in the whole build. Laminating the wings is super easy as you can just take them of for easier handling.

My setup: Ritewing midi MG servos, OS OMA 3820 1.200kV, 10x6", YEP 80A, EZOSD, EZUHF, Boscam 2.4, Sony 600 TVL, GoPro 3 black

The 4 bays features a lot of space for all kind of different battery setups. On my Z3 I can hit CG with a single 4S 3300mAh, a single 4S 5000mAh, two 3300mAh in parallel (=6600mAh) or even 10.000mAh with two 4S 5000mAh in parallel. I have flown the 5000mAh and the 6600mAh setups and like them both. Flight time differs a lot with different flying styles but just as a reference I emptied around 4000mAh out of my batteries after 20min of fun (cruising around at 80-100 km/h).

Here is a video with onboard recordings from my Ritewing Z2 and Z3. So you can compare the different flying characteristics of those two awesome wings:

For the HD version of the video click here: http://vimeo.com/109497535

The Z2 sometimes had some yaw-wag, the Z3 does not have that. It's a lot more stable than the Z2 and I like the fact that it can be taken down for traveling. None the less I still love my Z2 as it is incredibly sturdy and can take a beating. The Z3 is a really sturdy wing as well but the long nose might need some maintenance after a few hits. Further I really like the Z3's versatility when it comes to battery setups. Being able to decide how many mAh I will need for the planned flight is big plus.

More info on the Z3 can be found here: http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?32482-Z3-S-47