Let's Fly! - Blunt Nose Versa

by FliteTest | March 19, 2014 | (52) Posted in Projects

We wish we could take credit for this one, but this project was born and raised by the Flite Test community. Thank you guys so much! 

With the Blunt Nose Versa mod you have plenty of space for your electronics, or more importantly, your FPV setup!

We went out to Furey Field with two of these guys and had an amazing FPV experience. Screenshots below!

This mod is extremely simple so we threw in a quick build after all the flying. If you want to build one yourself, you can pick up a Blunt Nose Conversion Kit in the store, or download the plans for FREE below.

BLUNT NOSE CONVERSION PLANS

We can't thank the community enough for the continued inspiration and support. This project wouldn't exist without you guys, and neither would the show! You are all amazing!

 

FEATURED USERS

LINKS

FREE PLANS

 

Have a mod for your favorite scratch build? Let us know! Chat it up in the forums!

COMMENTS

jjm390 on March 19, 2014
Please keep the build videos seperate from the regular show!!!! When I am building, it is far easier to have the build video open by itself. I am constantly rewiding the video, and if I have to deal with the show at the begining of it, It will just make things frustrating when I am building!

Thanks,
Josh
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sailorJohn on March 19, 2014
And make them easier to find , just built my first FT versa wing ,couldn't remember the name and had a terrible time finding the build video.
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RigoArevalo on March 23, 2014
I believe the name of the build video for the FT Versa is called "FT Versa" ...

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ABQ Bobcat on March 20, 2014
Agree. I like the build videos separate from the review portion. Thanks!

Also I do like the let's fly format, do it again. Just split the build vid out. Awesome work guys.
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Epitaph on March 20, 2014
Try just downloading the videos you need...
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Balu on March 20, 2014
The Let's Fly part was nice besides someone having to mow the lawn mid-video =), but I'd like to have the built part separate too. You could still put both in one article, so they stay together.
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maximaal on March 19, 2014
`great show keep doing these.

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casehatter on March 19, 2014
Love it I'm a wing only and love low and fast, and flying with others it's cool and fun to fly fast around objects FPV and gets the blood pumping..!!
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sailorJohn on March 19, 2014
Good show! One of the few FPV recordings I didn't find boring I wish the travel log type of FPV uploads had their own category to make it easier to skip. Some don't show the plane at all just the scenery.
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eagle4 on March 19, 2014
I think it might have been better if rather than it having the blunt nose, the nose extended a little bit, as it seems now that the cg has been moved forward, its going to be harder to balance the plane if you are flying with just a board camera, as the gopro ads a lot of weight to the nose. if the front was extended then getting the propper cg would have been a ton easier without needing dead weight
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danield on March 20, 2014
The "extended front" would add to the tea totter affect, but it is dead weight. If it works, don't fix it, or ?
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Red20RC on March 19, 2014
Awesome! Thanks for the mention :-)
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FKreider on March 19, 2014
The let's fly show format is one of my favorite format's that you guys use. The Let's fly with trappy is my favorite episode, I have watched it multiple times and showed everyone I know!

Keep up the great work!
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Hookdriver on March 19, 2014
Soooo wait a minute. You are telling me you guys took an extremely capable design and made it even more diverse. Good thing the dollar tree just got in a shipment of foamboard. My original versa has over 50 hrs on it now. Time to retire it and build a "super versa". Great work guys!
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Yule16met on March 20, 2014
I love the format, gives us guys something to watch. If we have bad weather or maybe waiting on parts we can watch and enjoy something through you guys. So please make these a bi-weekly sort of thing. I do wish you took a few seconds to tell is what motors/FPV setup you were running.
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Fatherfox on March 20, 2014
awesome vid guys. love the fly with me. best fpv flight format i've seen yet. you've got all the elements i've been wanting to see in one go. in particular the switching of the views from one bird to the next. keeps things from getting boring. scenery shots are great, but i always want to see at least some shots of the wing or rotor as well. i'm liking the build at the end, but i to would like to see the build vid seperate so it's easy to find. only solution i can think of atm is to somehow separate the two and have the second vid autoplay so your not doubling up your vids/storage but i can only think of the playlist feature on youtube to do that since your not hosting your own server, but that's added complexity to your youtube root unless you constantly add to one playlist. haven't tried that so i don't know if any of those ideas are feasible. i used to run my own server in the way back, so i don't really know about hosted solutions. you may have given me yet something else to investigate now that i finally have a mobius and getting a couple birds almost ready to stretch their wings. rock on FT!
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ringo42 on March 20, 2014
Can we get the plans in a Non-Tiled format please
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walkerr on March 20, 2014
+1. For us non Americans it would be really helpful. And thanks for a great episode!
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sailorJohn on March 21, 2014
It would be nice when they make the video that they would give general dimensions like Ed does during his videos (Experimental airlines) infact it would be helpfull to actually do some scratch builds from plans not always from kits, so newbies learn how to approach building plus it would make a popular show concept.
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klaw on March 26, 2014
+1 Yep, me too. I'm lucky enough to have access to a large format printer, and non-tiled plans would reduce the workload a lot.

I might try to put the PDF tiles into CAD and reverse-engineer a non-tiled plan....
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sailorJohn on March 20, 2014
Watched a second time this morning --great editing ---who 's going to film with tri copter when David leaves fantastic how he kept the planes in view- backwards! comon. This would be the only reason for me to go FPV. Oh yea sitting down -- cool! Next you'll be in the house flying on the big screen with air conditioning and antennas on the roof.
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Latubi on March 20, 2014
how about a wooden camera box?
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rcflyer729 on March 20, 2014
i just got back it form testing my own wing and all it does is fly a couple of feet then nose wright into the ground so i am going to build the versa
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aqiljannaty24 on April 6, 2014
seems to me that its abit nose heavy!
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Christian Jeppesen on March 20, 2014
Great episode. Love the new way, keep it like that. 5 stars ;D
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Jacob Shore on July 13, 2015
I'm building an ft versa wing with the blunt nose conversion for fpv and wanted it to have plenty of power. So can anyone tell me a beef equivalent motor but from hobby king? Any help would be appreciated.
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Ben Presten on March 20, 2014
Please review that Carbon-Z cub that you have there in the background. Please, Please, Please, Please.
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rcflyer729 on March 20, 2014
I just flew mine and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just can't weight to put my fpv gear on it
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aqiljannaty24 on April 6, 2014
what size popsicle stick did you use?
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vipvog on March 20, 2014
I just built and flew mine today. It flew amazing!!!! The extra storage is a must have for the versa if you want your battery to fit inside for the nice clean look.
Everything I wanted.
>Easy and fast build.
>20 min fpv flight with a 3300 mah.
>Something that would fit in my car rtf.
>Fast and Stable.
Thanks for the great plans!!!!
ps
I like the new format! I guess people don't know about that "seek thing" at the bottom of the video!!
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Kiwiflyer98 on March 22, 2014
What motor were you using for that fpv flight?
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Pav on April 8, 2014
im planning to use a 3530 1340kv aerodrive
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=29470&aff=83330
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Pav on April 8, 2014
yes, what motor?
Im building one and got an 3530 1340KV aerodrive from hobbyking and gonna use a 9x5
for fpv. would love to know your setup
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pintokitkat on March 21, 2014
I made an untiled version that is available here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8762676/Versa%20blunt%20nose%20untiled.pdf

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Flying Penguin RC on March 26, 2014
Thanks, you saved me some time on this one.
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SP0NZ on March 21, 2014
I've built and flown a couple Versa's already in tractor and pusher. I love the pusher, but didn't find any great way to put a 2200 lipo in it. Thanks for making a great plane even better FliteTest. I started building my blunt nose last night. Hope to maiden it this weekend.
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alecjohnson723@yahoo.com on March 21, 2014
What is the giant wing in the background!?!?!?!?
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Kiwiflyer98 on March 22, 2014
Does anyone know the overall weight of this wing? with or without battery, it would be really helpful,
Thanks
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beot on April 4, 2014
Before motor, mount and batteries, mine was 450g. Hope this helps
.
Cheers
Mark
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Crashpilot1000 on March 22, 2014
The Spacetaxi rocked!
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Freaky_1 on March 23, 2014
Guys, I have to say.... There is one thing wrong with this episode.
I'll have to get back to you when I figure out what that one thing is :p

Another awesome show y'all! Thanks for sharing the fun.

Frank
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jpleaner on March 23, 2014
Is it just me or is this bird very tail heavy? Granted I have a decent size motor on it (Model: NTM Prop Drive Series 2836 1800v Weight: 84g) but I have had to add a heap of lead up front. Thinking of modifying it further to move the motor further forward into the wing by removing some length from the rear of the wing.

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dz1sfb on March 23, 2014
Would you please post a non tiled version of the plans for this modification?

Thanks in advance
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sailorJohn on March 24, 2014
Just spent the weekend flying the standard FT versa , very windy --no problems! Cut out two more for friends and they will be covered with vinyl but am concerned about tail heavy. I used a reversed power pod and am thinking about a FT f22 type nose to balance. Has anyone tried it?
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sailorJohn on March 24, 2014
I wish they would spend more time and show them adding weight to balance as some people are trying to fly them tail heavy. I had to add 4 oz in front of the battery then it flew like a pussycat. A good third plane.
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SLaSH007 on March 24, 2014
As always, The quality of your your video's and build are surpassed by none! Josh does an amazing job on the builds!

However, I prefer the old video layout.. Build separate from the other stuff. Also the word "Build" put in the title like the other videos.

Flite test is the best thing to happen to RC flight!! Keep up the good work!
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andre on March 24, 2014
After I saw this video I printed the tile plans and set to work.
Cut & taped the plans Friday night, built late into the evening, setup the gear on Saturday and flew on Sunday. http://youtu.be/dM8VadNXtGI

I have one suggestion. I noticed the wing is showing the effect of my hand tosses. Were I grab on to. Now I'm wearing gloves since it is -17 but when I build my next wing I might add some extra foam spars in the "grip" area to help with this.

As always you guys are amazing.

I was very reluctant to make a wing due to the rear prop setup but after seeing this video I was so impressed. I can't wait to go FPV flying this weekend.

Cheers.
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frogs84ss on March 24, 2014
separate videos same article sounds god to be I actually like it anyway you do it.

I had suggested before you just have a tab for the pdf plans and then when you select the the plane there would be a linkto the review as well as the build video and a direct link to the forum. one stop and you have access to al the info youll ever need for all the ft planes.

thanks for all your work I love you planes and builds and all the info you provide. just amazing
thanks flitetest.
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Aquanot on March 25, 2014
like the format! please add info or mark to video where the building instructions are for later reference

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Flying Penguin RC on March 26, 2014
How about some full size plans?
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puzzleflyer on March 26, 2014
Three words... Blunt nose KRAKEN

Consider it a challenge. I would personally love to see something like that.
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helipig on March 27, 2014
Just put one together, moved the CG 5mm closer to the nose, and it flew very well! Thanks for such an awesome plan FT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vyMZvyLe-E
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Ano Pilot on March 28, 2014
Great show. I have an as yet unbuilt HK Bonsai and I was wondering if it might benefit from the blunt nosed treatment for FPV? What do people think?
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nikko on March 29, 2014
hello!
I send you this message from france.
My blunt nose versa wing is quite ready to fly.
I downloaded the plans. Great stuff !
The time has come to put a motor on it, but the instructions on the plan are not very clear. How many power? I plan to 150W. Is it OK?
How do i set the ailerons reflex on neutral position? slightly up?
Great thanks for your job.
Nicolas
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flying farmer on April 1, 2014
great job I am looking forward to building one myself.
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Tetlowj5003 on April 5, 2014
dear Flite Test,
could you apply this too the kraken?
if so it would be amazing!
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aqiljannaty24 on April 6, 2014
what size popsicle stick did you use?
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Pav on April 18, 2014
I believe any size will do just fine. You can always cut it, or use two of them

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Thaikarl on April 7, 2014
I liked the "Lets Fly" format. i'm not even started flying yet - there are so many numbers and acronyms. it would really help if you put in sub-titles occasionally. or at the end.. so when you say "xb200 motor" (or what ever) that is printed on bottom of screen. then one doesn't have to scrub back and forth to find the part where you say a part name - one can see the subtitles appear in the the previews as i scroll through. somewhere you said "you can even put in a POR in here" did i hear that right? what's a POR? a quick subtitle for acronyms would help the noobs like me.
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hbelanger on April 11, 2014
Wow guys you made my week ...! I've spent all winter wondering what wing to built and in the back of my mind was how well the versa I built last summer flew and wished there was a blunt nose version cause it was to tight for fpv gear and there it is.... Awesome .....!

I also made a discovery there is a store called Omer de serre in Montreal, Qc, Canada and they stock black foam board 32"x40"x 3/16" super nice stuff $8 a sheet it stiff easy to work with, does dent or crease as easy the best stuff we can get up here in Cunuck land, since we can't get depron.

You can see the wing progress here --> https://plus.google.com/photos/106651899791066404508/albums/6000991391201011713?authkey=CKj8h-T8m-XVJA

Thanks again
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daddyvinny on April 23, 2014
I added 1/4" dihedral on each wing tips. Very stable, love it. I've build a few of these, the regular and the stub nose. It a great flying design. They turn out better and better every time I build one.
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daddyvinny on April 23, 2014
I'm flying a 24 amp motor on mine. A 2200-2600 lipo seems to be the sweet spot for this design. The 3000 battery uses more throttle and lasts about the same amount of time.
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debay777 on October 8, 2014
Okay. I built my FT Versa with the Blunt Nose conversion. I had a few growing pains as I went through but all in all it went together smooth. Got it ready to fly and found that the blunt section was too long. I trimmed it and tried to use the COG marks. It would not balance but it passed the glide test. My hardware was a Grayson Hobbies v2 park jet motor with a 6x4 prop, 30 amp ESC, orx receiver, HK white 9gram servos mounted to top (inside) of wing., and a 3000 math lipo. All it wanted to do was roll and twist. I couldn't get it to fly level on either axis. Roll was obviously a physical adjustment but the dodgy elevator seemed to be more than that. I had the rates waayyy down ...like 20% or so. Typically when a plane...especially a wing is nose heavy it flips backwards. This guy would go either way you pushed the stick. Also, with the power down to half throttle it was easier to handle.....but still not anywhere near good. Any ideas? Is COG normally a struggle?
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cwy81 on April 19, 2015
Alright so I did this build and I have a ntm prop drive 28-26 1200 kv motor pushed as far forward on the wing as possible and even with two 2200mah batteries in the nose I'm still tail heavy. Any suggestions
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Let's Fly! - Blunt Nose Versa