Swappable Axis Warbird prototype

After seeing the sneak peek image of the flitetest warbird I decided it needed a rival. You simply can't have a war with only one side. Once I decided what to build I set off designing a plane. Design cues were taken from previous builds by flitetest. As of right now the first prototype has been built and flown.

The wind was gusting to 17mph, hardly the kind of weather you maiden a new design in. But, no guts, no glory. She got off the ground ok but the plane seemed to want to dive on me. I trimmed in some up elevator and got it to level off nicely. That was the only trim I had to give it. Roll rates were nice, perhaps a little fast for a warbird but close. Since I was concerned that the plane was nose heavy I tried some inverted flight. I had to give it some elevator but not nearly as much as I expected. It actually felt about right. It was getting pretty cold so I came in for a landing. I didn't have enough power and accidentally landed in the snow. The landing gear I put on was something I had cooked up real quick because I wasn't going to maiden a prototype hand launching in 17mph wind. I really only expected the gear to hold up for takeoff and maybe a landing or two. It turned out to be far stronger than I anticipated. The gear and plane showed no damage in the impact with the snow. Since it's proven it's self strong enough this landing gear design will be in the final plans. All together the plane handled well and even cut through the wind better than expected.

I have already made several design changes and will be building the second prototype in the coming weeks. I am also working on a canopy. Considering how well the maiden flight went I hope to have it perfected and plans released before too long.

I realize the front of the fuse is a bit off. My glue wasn't hot enough and it cured before I got it set right. This will be fixed on prototype two.