Foam Board Specter V2 - IBCrazy Design

by spencer | March 20, 2013 | (26) Posted in Projects

After much testing and failure, I decided it was time for a proper FPV plane.  I tried a couple designs before landing on Alex's Specter V2 design, and just fell in love with it.  The plane is a dream to fly, and wasn't too bad to build either.  It went together very well, and only took 3 sheets of dollar tree foam board to build it.

 

Parts I used:

3 sheets of foam

Firewall material (I used some plastic sheet I found for cheap)

An aluminum Shaft from a slowstick

3 x 9 gram servos

Turnigy 2230 motor

30 amp esc

Misc hardware, some extreme packing tape, and a hot glue gun

 

Here is a link to IBCrazy's thread.  There are a lot of people flying, and is a very solid plane.

http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?2769-Specter-V2-My-best-FPV-plane-yet&highlight=specter

 

In building this one, I just followed Alex's design as closely as possible.  He gives all the spec's in his thread.  I did as standard fold over wing to get the airfoil.  I used a 1/2" 2 layer foam spar and a 1 inch 2 layer center spar to hold them together.  I should have used 1" and 2" spars, or used a carbon spar, as the wing flexes a little more than I like.  Although, it has survived one crash and it didn't even crinkle the wing at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some dimensions.  Hope this helps for those looking to build this.

COMMENTS

ronnie.burchfield. on March 20, 2013
great looking plane .... do you have a build video and plans ?
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spencer on March 21, 2013
I don't do videos (yet), but plans are coming. Subscribe to get updates on the plans.
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jamo on March 21, 2013
Dare I say, this would be awesome to integrate with the swappable series power pod!!! IBCrazy, lets see it happen!
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oneiwily on March 21, 2013
looks damm nice, I'll put it on my build list .. damm shame it's loooooong list :-)
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Teilchen on March 21, 2013
Hey, would you mind to share the plans? IBCrazy cuts the wing out of foam I believe... And a fold-over design is more acceptable, I guess...
Thanks!
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spencer on March 21, 2013
Plans are coming, subscribe to get updates on the plans.
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ProjectFlightDesign on March 21, 2013
Nice! Hows does it handle?
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spencer on March 21, 2013
Handles great. Its very slow and presice they way I have it set up. Flying weight comes in at 30oz. Glides like a dream!
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spencer on March 21, 2013
I will be putting together some plans with in the next couple weeks. I wanted to make sure the interest was there before I did the work of building the plans in sketchup.
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tinkerbill on March 21, 2013
spencertrejo & viewers,
Credit for the unique folding wing design should go to Jerod over at youtube channel http://bit.ly/ExperimentalAirlines. He named the design after his son, Armin. His method to build a decent performing curved wing is soooo much simpler than burning one from a block of foam using a hot wire. I have found it to be much stronger too! The curved wing build method is just one of his ideas, he has many more like for instance a simple fuselage, a folding Armin wing with removable carbon spar tube, canard wing designs, & so many more! Go check this talented gentleman out, you will be glad you did!
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spencer on March 22, 2013
Absolutely right. I had mentioned Jerod on fpvlabs.com for forgot to give him credit here. He does wonderful work and certainly knows what he's doing. Thanks tinkerbill for keeping me honest.
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Orcoz on March 23, 2013
Looking forward to seeing your build process for the wing.... combining what Alex has done with the swept wing and ExpAir's Armin design. How fast can you get this out? :)
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spencer on March 24, 2013
I'm hoping to have the plans drawn up this week if time allows. I was going to put them together then post it, but wanted to make sure the interest was there.
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Orcoz on March 27, 2013
Any updates here?
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spencer on March 29, 2013
None yet. I've had family in town occupying my hobby room. I will definately get something put together this coming week, so stay tuned.
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Carbon on March 28, 2013
Very, very cool build! The forward swept wings give the specter great stability. Let's see some flight footage!
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spencer on March 29, 2013
I've got a mini 808 camera coming this weekend. I'll get footage with that this coming week. Also got me a small point and shoot for the ground footage as well. Hopefully I can start sharing more info to come, so stay tuned.
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Jaxx on April 9, 2013
Where did you purchase the mini 808 camera? Thanks
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Corsair2014 on March 31, 2013
Glad i found this nice article. im gonna build one myself! how much power do you get with that motor? unlimited vertical?

mind telling me how you made the armin wing with forward sweep like that? thanks!
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spencer on April 3, 2013
It wasn't too bad. I will be posting plans soon (not printable, but it will have all the demesions). I may even do a fastforward video of the build proccess.
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xmolda on April 3, 2013
Very interested in this build, looking forward to buildprocess and/ or plans :)
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spencer on April 3, 2013
Coming soon for sure. Thanks for the comments.
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colflame on April 3, 2013
*Radio static* Attention Spencer! College student awaiting plans for Specter V2 Over *radio static out*
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Orcoz on April 4, 2013
***ATTENTION MR. BIXLER & MR. IBCRAZY.... there is a significant amount of interest in this design :) Perhaps a joint effort to turn this into part of the swap-able series??? I would have a grin a MILE wide to see IBCrazy, the Josh's, and the Swede doing an episode on the release of the Specter!!!
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The Aero Scout on July 4, 2013
I'd like to second this
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spencer on April 8, 2013
Here is a link to a video I just posted of it flying. This is a Los flight, about 2min.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2QJkavW_JQ&sns=em
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Jaxx on April 9, 2013
I am in love with this plane! You did a great job. I will be building one as well, and would love to see it featured in a Flite Test episode. Mind posting a link to the motor you used with this plane? Thanks.
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spencer on April 10, 2013
I used the Turnigy D2830-11 1000kv Brushless Motor. It seems to work great. Using a 30amp w/ a 10x3.8 prop. Unlimited climb out at a 90 degree angle.

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=12921
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Jaxx on April 10, 2013
Thanks!
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ProjectFlightDesign on April 13, 2013
Great work!

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spencer on April 16, 2013
Thanks!
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spencer on April 16, 2013
I've added a sheet with dimensions for the wing and the tail. I will add the fuse later.
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apache64 on May 11, 2013
Great model, i have always liked this type of plane, and await eagerly the fuse plan when you upload it, so i can start the build, keep them coming..!
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wyllsurf on June 10, 2013
Hay quick correction to the wing plans. I think that the length of each wing should be about 2 feet not 2'6". otherwise grate plans.
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spencer on June 30, 2013
Thanks for the correction. It should in fact be 2'.
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CarbonAddict on May 10, 2014
Ah, well I didnt see this comment and I just made my wing 2'6"... Ill see how that goes....

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justinlee1 on June 29, 2013
Hey, is there any chance you could explain how the fuselage goes together? I've cut out the template but for the life of me I think I'm missing something. It isn't clear to me if the view from the template is the inside or outside of the fuselage, or what to do. I had no problem with the wings and tail. Thanks!
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spencer on June 30, 2013
Sorry, life has been a little crazy lately. We just bought a house and my wife just had a baby, so things are a little nuts. I hope to do a complete build video on this very soon. Maybe I'll take some photos of the fuse build in the mean time. Thanks for all the interest, of course none of this would be possible without ibcrazy's design.
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Kamu on January 6, 2014
Had a bit of trouble with the dimensions on the wing. I am following the build steps of the Armin wing, and I think these dimensions don't work if you use 3 layers of spars. Could you please measure for me, the chord length of the widest part of the wing, and the chord length of the shortest section.

Are the tapered wings a part of your design or does the IBCrazy version taper down as well?
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Kamu on January 6, 2014
So I looked up the original Specter forum and I see the taper is part of the IBCrazy version. After I have finished building this I'll release my dimensions.
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Non Action Man on February 14, 2014
just got to maiden mine today, and oh what a dream to fly!! I still had full aileron control under stall conditions. Thanks IBCrazy for an awesome design, and thanks to you Spencer for this article.
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Smok1n on April 23, 2014
OK, I just had to share this. I built one of these and finally got to fly it last week. it was also my first experience with FPV. I took her out for spin yesterday. It was a bit gusty, but not terribly so. I'm not experienced at FPV, and it's also worth noting that I am at best an intermediate LOS pilot, so get ready for a "Yep, we saw this coming moment!"
So I was on my first flight and things were going pretty good, when I decided I'm going to try my first attempt at obstacle avoidance. I headed for a stand of tall trees. :-| I carefully aimed between two of them. Just as I was about to pass through, the big one stepped out directly in front of me! Banking at 90 degrees and pulling on the elevator for all I was worth, I caught that big guy square in the chest. Too little, too late. Whack! I raised the goggles to find the plane was on the ground. Well that sure beat the alternative. I'm a bit too old for climbing trees. I walked over to inspect the damage. It looked a little worse than it actually was. The Velcro straps had let go of the wing, so was lying next the fuselage. The wing only ended up with two small tears along the trailing edge where the Velcro ripped through. The fuselage was bent forward of the wing, easily bent back into shape. If this is how tough the plain old foam board is, its no wonder the guys flying EPP fly through anything and everything with such wild abandon! So, end result? Onboard equipment damage? Zero. Time to repair airframe? 10 minutes. Fun? Endless!
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schaffertown on May 9, 2014
I see in your plans you are using two 2 foot 6 inch wing halfs. that makes for a roughly 60 inch wing. is that with you fly this plane with or should I build mine with a 48 inch. Thank you for your help
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SKT on July 3, 2014
Great stuff mate. Are you able to supply some rough dimensions of your fuse to go with the wing?
Also how did you measure the angle to cut each wing so that they went together with the correct 'sweep'?
And one more....on your build what is the distance between the wing trailing edge and the horizontal stabilizer leading edge as seperated by the carbon spars?

Thx for answering any of these questions mate. I appreciate the effort you have already gone to.

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nUUb on May 21, 2015
Hey. Can I use depron for this plane, and if I can how thick it shoud be.

Thanks
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debay777 on January 24, 2017
I know this is 3 years old but I love the look of this airframe. I built a 60" version but it's rather large to move around and the motor is overkill. I'm using two lipos to get the same flight time as folks who have built the 48" and 40" version. I'm planning on building the 48" and have been scoping out all the builds I can find. One thing that is never clear for the foamboard version is battery placement and CG. On my 60" I can place the batteries nearly under the wings and she flies fine. Even on one battery just forward of the wing she flies good. I've found that my fuse is longer than it needs to be and acts as a rudder when it's windy. She always wants to nose into the wind. So for this build I was the absolute min length fuselage that I need for balance. Any i ideas on fuse length and equipment placement?
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mistik1 on October 22, 2017
I just came in from the most fun day of flying I have EVER had, besides wagging its tail quite a bit this plane flies like it's on rails. Thank you so much for sharing this foamie build, this is now my favorite plane in my fleet.
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Foam Board Specter V2 - IBCrazy Design