6 month evolution of the Bixler 2

by nicktutttle | May 1, 2014 | (7) Posted in Just Fun

Essentially a copy and paste from my blogI thought there might be some interest here too. Flitetest has inspired me to go crazy with the hot glue and this is the result applied to my Bixler 2. 

6 months ago I had just FPV'd my Bixler 2 and had been bitten by the bug of fixed wing FPV. Especially the flight times and overall more relaxing experience.
 

So my first mod was to add a better way to mount items for experimentation.

This turned out to be a really clean look, and worked very well for FPV, even holding 3 cameras.

 
 
Until I got cocky... Inverted flight, stock motor, improper balancing... A recipe for a new challenge -a rebuild!
 

The laser cutter and hot glue gun made the rebuild so much more fun!

With new options for mounting, I decided to experiment some more as well..

 

After another great landing I had stripped the servo gears for the camera tilt, but pan still worked and flights were generally good.

Eventually I decided I wanted more information on my ground-station as well as to experiment with a flight controller on a plane. So I purchased a cheap APM clone and redesigned the fuselage mount to allow easy access to the room inside.

Adding and moving things around really changed the CG, so I created a lower deck for the battery. This increases my options for larger batteries as well as extra room in the nose. 

 

I have yet to fly this setup yet due to the recent crazy wind. With all this extra drag and weight it'll be interesting to see how it handles. Though I think it would be cool to get up above one of these dust storms..

I plan to squeeze as much life out of the Bixler 2 as I can. The fuse is beginning to look like swiss cheese! In the near future I can foresee a motor upgrade, moving the servos back, and heavy modification of the tail boom (steerable, CF arrow shafts?).

More LED's are definitely on the list too! 

COMMENTS

andre on May 23, 2014
Awesome.
BTW do you have a photo of the landing gear insert? Have them and have yet to install them.
Was wondering where it sits inside the fuse. Thanks.
Log In to reply
nicktutttle on May 24, 2014
No, I don't.. The instructions aren't exactly clear are they? LOL.. Originally I had inserted and glued it just in front of the foam that supports the servos, but it came unglued after the first landing.. The insert only moved it a cm or two forward and used a rubber band to hold the gear at the right angle..
Log In to reply
andre on May 25, 2014
Instructions? :)

Once I'm happy with all the kit location I will wait to install. Most time I hand launch the plane and land on tall grass so wheels are sort of not needed.
Log In to reply
gremlin88 on May 24, 2014
That's hardly recognizable as a Bixler!
Log In to reply
TexasFPV on May 25, 2014
What kind of laser cutter are you using?
Log In to reply
nicktutttle on May 27, 2014
I have the 5th generation hobby machine from full spectrum laser.
Log In to reply

You need to log-in to comment on articles.


6 month evolution of the Bixler 2