64mm EDF Versa Wing

EDF FPV Wing By Korben

This was my year 10/11 GCSE product design coursework. (i was 15) i wa one mark off 100% for the practical work and write up.. however i really sruggle wih english and havent had any help with it, and luckily for me, the goverment has changed the exams so even in design technology, the are mostly 10 mark written answers. i got a low C in the exam giving me a B overall.. but please let me know what you think of my plane.  

This is my EDF wing design, I looked all over the internet for a jet/ ducted fan wing to replace my original Versa

wing which I broke due to bad landing surface (landing on plowed mud in the dry is not the best :/), but I

couldn't find anything I liked for inspiration or ideas so this is completely my own design (excluding the FT

Versa plans which I used for a base shape). I started with the FT Versa plans on Sketchup, I pulled the wings

apart and imported a 64mm EDF unit and worked around that.

I used mostly 6mm depron foam with 3 and 2mm detail bits. I reinforced the folds, hinges and bends with tape.

I have a sketchup model, more photos and some templates to scale if anyone wants more detail.

This was a very satisfying plane to build, it looks amazing, is fast, agile, carries a 2700mAh battery with

needing a bit of weights in the back to balance, and holds an FPV camera.

Making the wing with carbon spar in the front and a lolly stick for support at the back.

Motor mount and air duct rib plans.

Cut out all the ribs, rib B will have a cutout for the speed controller.

I mounted the speed controller on a triangle piece of foam with double sided tape because it could melt the glue 

if it gets hot.

I started filling in the front with a piece of 3mm foam with a gap for the tilt on the camera but I cut it out and

changed it a bit later because I didnt like how it looks.

battery hatch.

I used the left overs from 45' bevels to make nice shaped edges along the lowered aria on the front.

Inner tube. for the airflow. the lolly stick is for support in the back and is surprisingly strong but if the thrust

angle isnt straight/ slightly up, then I could attach a fin/ flap or something to change it. This is the only picture I

have of the inner tube, this was a practise fit, I folded the back edge round the rear rib and taped it, and it fits

over the back of the fan at the other end.

bottom cover, I did this one first because it will be seen less and it is slightly flatter so it will be easier to do, I

used 2mm foam and still sanded edges to make it as perfect as i could.

The whole thing is almost perfectly smooth so once painted it should look like one piece.

This intake wont have nearly as much effect as the top one, this, I think, will mostly just even the pressure on

the fan and help at low speeds.

The bottom air intake has a support in because it will be landing on it. I got a bit carried away with fine detail; 

for example i sanded the 2mm foam to a point at the front to cut through th eair better, forgetting the fact it will

be delicate and will be landing on this area.I will have to except that my perfect plane wont stay perfect for very 

long.

Top cover plans. I left the speed controller open for cooling but in is almost in line with the cover to avoid

disrupting the airflow. The front rib is cut and has some wire to hold it together for the removable canopy.

I made control horns with plastic (celebrations tub) which work well on my previous models. piece of foam to 

stop the push rods from bending.

 motor and speed controller with rear center cover.

Glued down more of the top cover, original design was to melt a single piece of foam over the top but as I tested

bits, it proved to be difficult and there's not much on youtube about it, so it had to be improvised, as a lot of the

plane was.

 The battery hatch is held down by the canopy which will only be able to move forward. The battery is bigger

than the gap in the two pieces of foam and considering there is an air intake on the top and bottom, its quite

hard to design this bit but i think this will work. I glued the bends in the cover so it stays in shape with the wing.

Finished. I am really pleased with how this looks and i think it will be fast with 600g of thrust from the 64mm 

ducted fan.

My original design had air breaks as on the sketchup model, but I am going to fly it first to see if they would help

because i dont want to add too much weight and destroy the wing surface if they are not necessary. 

removable front canopy. I did this by cutting the front rib off and through the cover, I left places for paper covers

for the joines to make it all smooth, and a piece of wire for support.

 I rested it on books to stop the covers getting damaged

Fpv antenna (other side of the plane to radio receiver to avoid radio interference). The square foam is for support

and to cover the whole caused by pushing the connector through the foam.

 Nice side view. 

I mixed a dark grey colour for the main colour of the plane. 

Masked of all the bits I dont want painted; motor, speed controller and FPV antenna...

Using air brush to paint it so there is a very thin coat to save weight.

Finished the main colour, Im going to do some detail bits on it too, white lines and panel lines inspired by the

B2 bomber, and some sort of red images.

Found a nice space on my wall.

A great landing was ruined by a lump of mud. 

I cleaned up the aria and sanded of the paint so the tape along the edges will stick.

I marked out another support from 6mm foam.

Cut and glued in place.

The cover for the radio was annoying me because to get to the radio for binding.. you had to lift up the tape 

which never stuck down in the same place and also began to lose stickiness. 

So i cut a new piece to fit leaving a gap for the wires which are too tall. I i will make a tape and glue joint and a 

locking mechanism to hold it down without covering it in tape.

This is how I made the locking mechanism:

I drilled a hole 3/4 through a BBQ skewer.

on the end of another BBQ skewer I trimmed it down to fit in the hole to make a stronger joint 

(For scale)   This was very fiddly and precise. I like things like that but I often end up making them too

complicated and not strong enough.

Test fit the pieces.

glued with super glue in the gap. Super glue dissolves the foam so have to be careful of that.

Tape hinge works but isnt strong enough on its own.

glued the join from the other side with very thin hot glue and pushed a hole for the lock to go into.

The bits of foam are to protect it and the wires from the ground bearing in mind this is on the bottom.

Using the same thing to improve the battery hatch. The paint is very scratched and messy but i have some of

the colour left to touch it up and it will blend well with the airbrush.

Test fit after making the holes.

The front peg also makes a good clip for the top canopy.

Looks much better after painting, and i like the style of the under vent, not as much as the original but it should

be much stronger.

I started to paint some camouflage on the top with matt black. I didnt want it so be too sharp so there is no

stencils or tape.

 With the light reflecting off it the camouflage stands out nicely.

It looks good, I think it gives it a bit more detail. It seems quite strong and I hope the pins dont pull through the

foam but most of is reinforced with glue or tape so it should be okay.

I dont think its worth putting air breaks on it because although it would improve turns and act as a rudder, 

breaks are not necessary at all and they would be heavy and require a long servo extension. 

I have left space for a hinge and servo behind the camera so I can put a tilt mechanism on a switch on 

the transmitter to look forward, or tilt slightly down.

It weighs around 610g and on a 3 cell battery it has around 670g of thrust (according to the motor manufacture).