3D Printed Accessories for FT Edge

It started with a Hobbyzone Champ for my 40th birthday. A few years, builds, buys and (many) crashes later, I got a 3D printer for my 45th birthday. Now I'm trying my hand at designing, hopefully, more durable accessories for my FT scratch builds.

My latest scratch build project is the FT Edge. I downloaded and printed the plans, sprayed Super 77 on the back of the prints and glued them to my FT Foam Board. I cut out and assembled the wing, canopy and fuselage. However, before attaching the horizontal and vertical stabilizers, I covered everything in celophane wrap purchased from Hobby Lobby. It's sort of an economy Monocote. I attached it also using Super 77. Initially, it went on smooth, but it has developed wrinkles over time. Still, I'm pretty happy with the result.

I really enjoy the Flitetest scratch builds, but I'm always looking for ways to increase the durability of my planes mostly because I'm not a great pilot. For example, the maiden of this FT Edge ended with a nose dive into the ground. It held up well though and after some repairs, I got a second chance the next day. It flew beautifully. Now, I'm trying to dress it up a bit with some 3D printed accessories including Side Force Generators, Prop Spinner and Landing Gear Fairings.

I've been through a few design iterations on the Side Force Generators. The first ones weren't flat or rigid enough, so they bowed inward and interfered with the ailerons. I added an offset and some small gussets and now they're nice and flat. Printed in PLA, they're flexible even at low temperature. I put one in the freezer for an hour as a test and was surprised at how flexible it still was.

I found the installation to be very easy. In typical Flitetest fashion, just apply hot glue around the inside edge of the wingtip opening, press the boss of the Side Force Generator into the opening and wipe away any excess glue. I uploaded the file to Thingiverse, so if you have a 3D printer, download it and give it a try. I've also thought about printing a few sets and putting them on eBay to try and support my RC habit.

Next, the landing gear. I really like the look and feel of a scratch build complete with landing gear. However, I find the landing gear to be one of the weakest links in the design. Again, if I were a better pilot, I'm sure they would last longer. These are made of 1/2" x 3/32" aluminum flat bar attached to the plane with #6-32 screws threaded into tapped holes in the flat bar. I 3D printed some small washers to keep the screw heads from pressing into the foam board. I also 3D printed fairings with a hole and recess for another #6-32 screw. This way, the gear are anchored to the fuselage in two places about 3" apart. This makes them more rigid, but we'll see if they're rigid enough. The wheels are 3D printed too. I made them a bit over-sized because I fly from a grass strip. I'm hoping for the time and good weather this weekend to put the gear to the test. I've also tried a couple of wheel pant designs but with no success thus far. I think that would really complete the look.

The final 3D printed addition is the prop spinner. I didn't want to spend the time to model bosses and threads for screws, so I found a snap-on design on Thingiverse. Only, it snaps on from the outside, so I'm afraid centrifugal force might loosen it enough in flight for it to come off. So, I modified the design to snap from the inside, so centrifugal force should force the spinner into the base and keep it from coming off. I've spun it up on the bench a few times with no problems, but I'm anxious to see how it performs in flight.

I'm really enjoying designing and making parts for my FT Edge. Next, I plan to make a 3D printed spinner and powerpod for my Flitetest P-51 Mustang. I have several other FT designs on my "to-do" list that could benefit from custom designed and printed parts. As time allows, I'll upload files to Thingiverse and add to the variety of 3D printable parts other community members have already shared.