The Valkyrie! 65'' scratchbuilt blended wing.

The mud, clinging tight to my shoes and splattering up my legs, couldn’t stop her wheels on the takeoff roll. The Valkyrie roared into the air, motors screaming at full power. Down the flight line the rest of the fighters were launching, and as the Valkyrie came up to them I turned her underside to them and went in broadside, sending two planes to the ground and several more into erratic evasive action.

After powering up to altitude, the Valkyrie slowed down to cruising speed, conserving battery life for the long combat ahead. After all the fighters had started their attacks on each other, it was time for the Valkyrie's attack dive. Swooping into the swarm below, more planes broke their attack to avoid being hit. The Valkyrie circled the area twice more, making passes through the rest of the fleet, and intentionally avoiding the two other fighters in her size class; a massive bloody wonder and a Tupolev bomber- type design.

One by one, planes dropped out of the sky, and the Valkyrie, now maneuvering heavily within the swarm, took hit after hit, but still sent attackers to the ground. Using superior maneuverability and stability to my advantage, I slowed her to a high alpha, enticing the remaining fighters to put the Valkyrie in their sights. After a few more went down, she took the offensive once again, coming in low to entice the Tupolev design to attack. After making a few low passes, the Tupolev pilot brought her in for the attack dive, coming in at a steep angle to push the Valkyrie into the ground. I pushed the motors to full throttle and pulled the Valkyrie up and over, rolling her from inverted to level. The Tupolev pilot had no time to recover- his plane buried herself among the soybeans. Now it was down to the Valkyrie and a chloroplast delta design. In a combat heat that would push both planes to their limits, I knew that the Valkyrie had to win.

THE VALKYRIE STORY

Part 1.- The Design Process

This is the story of my first design; the Valkyrie, all the way from her beginnings as a paper concept, to her adventures at Flite Fest, up until the plane that she is now. The Valkyrie started back in March as an idea. She was originally conceived as a modular Versa Wing. The modular concept was intended to make the design a multi- purpose platform, which, along with the blunt nose Versa piece, could utilize multiple different airframe pieces, even tail sections, to optimize the craft for different missions.

Construction began during the first week of April 2015, using Elmer’s Foam Board. With the two Versa Wing pieces completed, a center section and tail section were created based on the paper sketches that had been drawn up. For electrical components, a LemonRX receiver and Flite Test Power pack C Twin were chosen, with a ReadyMadeRC 8000mAh 3s battery providing the necessary power.

The ‘Ugly Versa Wing’, as Fred Provost so eloquently calls it, first took to the skies in late April, with a half- completed blue and black paint scheme. (This Valkyrie now hangs on my wall, with the paint job still half- finished.) After an entire week of flight trials, which involved correcting the extremely nose heavy initial CG, as well as adding tail dragger landing gear, the Valkyrie began her service life. Her demise, due to joint failure at the root of the wing, thankfully occurred on the ground, and provided valuable insight for the design and build of V2.

V2 saw several design changes! including a custom designed wing, no removable tail section, and a fully enclosed battery bay, as well as a larger vertical stabilizer with rudders. V2 was also constructed out of lighter Adams Readi- Board, a familiar material for any Flite Test fan. The chosen design ‘fix’ for the wing joint failure seen on V1 was not a cross-section spar, but simply more tape and glue. V2 also received proper piano wire landing gear, this time in tricycle configuration.

Part 2.- Flight Testing

Soon the Valkyrie’s second iteration was ready to take to the air. Her biggest challenge this time came not in the form of trimming and determining balance, but simply where to fly. Her wingspan had increased by 5 inches, and with winglets she didn’t seem nearly as friendly to fly in my neighborhood as V1 had.

On the weekend the Valkyrie was driven out to our local flying field, about a 35 minute drive away. After being wheeled out to the runway, preflight checks and radio setup was finished. The smooth paved runway of the field lay out in front. The engines slowly revved to full and the elevator eased up, urging the plane into the air. Instead of going up, the Valkyrie went down, the nose gear wire bent sideways.

Nose gear failure on every attempted takeoff that day saw the loss of three sets of APC props and V2’s possible first flight. Back in the hangar, the Valkyrie received landing gear reinforcement, as well as gear wire adjustment, and after taxi tests in the neighborhood she was deemed ready to take to the field for another go. With throttle at three quarters, she took off just before sunset, powering to altitude above the trees for a short five minute flight before landing just short of the runway on the grass.

The Pressure Is On- The Flite Fest Deadline 

The next flight was on an agenda. With Flite Fest coming up, the Valkyrie had to be prepped and flown for combat readiness. Both battery life and maneuverability would be critical, and combat tactics had to be practiced for her to stand a chance against the proven designs and seasoned pilots that would be taking to the air at Furey Field.

Combat training commenced with the takeoff: A rolling start up the flight line from the other fighters would allow a broadside attack before any considerable defense or orientation on the part of the other pilots could be established. After breaking through the first wave of imaginary combatants, the Valkyrie powered to altitude, then settled into cruise above the dogfight below, choosing the right moment before a roll inverted and a downward dive would send her swooping into the pack.

Combat maneuvers were practiced time and time again, low- speed Immelmann’s, high- alpha hovering, and attack dives. With combat training over, the Valkyrie, I thought, was ready for Flite Fest- she had practiced every possible scenario and maneuver that would be needed to win; or so I thought. I didn’t realize how wrong I would turn out to be.

Too Big to Travel?  The Journey to Flite Fest.

With Flite Fest fast approaching another problem loomed- transport. The modular design having been scrapped, the Valkyrie’s 65” wingspan would have to fit into our van, which would additionally be carrying three people, two tents, an awning, and a large fleet of other aircraft. The landing gear wire would also have to be accommodated, as it could not be removed.

We wound up throwing everything into the car, with the Valkyrie on the very top, her landing gear resting inside of three pockets in the rest of the gear. On the six and a half hour drive to Malvern, every bump or sharp turn made her rattle and shake, but on arrival the only casualty of travel was a bent vertical stabilizer. With daylight left, I pulled her out of the car and took to the flight line, leaving my dad and our travelling companion to unpack the car.

From the flight line, she took off the grass runway beautifully, pulling into the air with ease, the airframe dimly illuminated by the red lights from the receiver and voltage checker. Struggling to see against the darkening sky, she only made two circuits of the field before I was forced to land. Once she was on the ground, I discovered that one of the nut and spinners holding her starboard- side prop on had come loose and fallen off on landing. Unable to find it, even with the help of two of our camping neighbors, one of the campers on the flight line kindly took out his parts box and found a spare nut for me.

The crisis had been averted- the Valkyrie was airworthy once again. The next morning, I woke up early. Walking down to the FPV tent from our camping area, I was disappointed to find nobody yet manning the FPV management spot. I walked back to my tent, and after checking video channels, the Valkyrie took to the skies for a morning FPV flight. The field from the cockpit was beautiful- nobody else was in the air but from the Valkyrie’s view I could see people walking to the shower trailer, getting ready for the day. Satisfied with the morning flight, the Valkyrie came in from way down the field on a long approach run, positioning herself just in the dead spot of my transmitter antenna. Locked out of the controls and twenty feet off the ground, there was no room for the receiver to lock back onto the signal- and the Valkyrie went down, leaving a prop and motor visible in the camera view. Running over, I discovered a destroyed power pod on the starboard side.

The Valkyrie spent the majority of the day in the hangar, not only repairing the power pod, but also prepping for combat, going over every control surface, checking every motor screw, and checking the landing gear. After a brief rainstorm had passed, the Valkyrie set her sights on the main flightline, for the preparation flight before combat. I was lucky enough to have Peter Sripol join me at the flight line to watch her take to the air, and circle the field several times before bringing her in. The end of that day saw the Valkyrie safe and sound- but not yet having seen service in combat.

Flite Fest, Day 2-  We've Got Mud, and Combat!

Day two of Flite Fest was overcast, and the mud from the rain the day before had made the main flight line and pathways a bit more challenging, but the Valkyrie was virtually begging to be taken into battle. When the combat was finally announced over the loudspeaker, I rushed to make sure that my battery was charged, and ran out to the main flight line with the Valkyrie, remembering to set her down away from the other combatants for the takeoff roll. My heart pounded as the countdown was called out; ‘3,2,1…Combat!’

The same mud that clung tight to my shoes and splattering up my legs couldn’t stop her wheels on the takeoff roll. The Valkyrie roared into the air, motors screaming at full power. Down the flight line the rest of the fighters were launching, and as the Valkyrie came up to them I turned her underside to them and went in broadside, sending two planes to the ground and several more into erratic evasive action.

Once she had powered up to altitude, the Valkyrie slowed down to cruising speed, conserving battery life for the long combat ahead. After all the fighters had started their attacks on each other, it was time for the Valkyrie's attack dive. Swooping into the swarm below, more planes broke their attack to avoid being hit. The Valkyrie circled the area twice more, making passes through the rest of the fleet, and intentionally avoiding the two other fighters in her size class; a massive bloody wonder and a Tupolev bomber- type design.

One by one, planes dropped out of the sky, and the Valkyrie, now maneuvering heavily within the swarm, took hit after hit, but still sent attackers to the ground. Using superior maneuverability and stability to my advantage, I slowed her to a high alpha, enticing the remaining fighters to put the Valkyrie in their sights. After a few more went down, she took the offensive once again, coming in low to entice the Tupolev design to attack.

After making a few low passes, the pilot brought her in for the attack dive, coming it at a steep angle to push me into the ground. I pushed the motors to full throttle and pulled the Valkyrie up and over, rolling her from inverted to level. The Tupolev pilot had no time to recover- his plane buried itself among the soybeans. Now it was down to the Valkyrie and a chloroplast delta design. In a combat heat that would push both planes to their limits, I knew that the Valkyrie had to win.

The Delta and the Valkyrie played with each other at tree level; zooming out to the corn and maneuvering around each other. The Valkyrie, while larger than the Delta, was now laboring on the last vestiges of battery voltage, and her props didn’t stand a chance against the chloroplast material of the Delta. Coming back towards the crowd, the Valkyrie once again presented her underside to the spectators, motors roaring as they pulled her across the field. The Delta pilot called out a joust, and, lining the Valkyrie up, I pointed her straight down the field. The two aircraft drew cloer and closer... Miss. A hard bank back around saw the two planes facing off again, the Valkyrie this time a bit further out in the field. Closer… closer…closer… Miss!

At full power now, the Valkyrie was struggling to stay in the air. Though I boasted of superior flight time, I could tell that she was fading, and the Delta showed no signs of slowing down. The next joust came, but this time the Valkyrie was late to the mark, coming around onto the line while the Delta was already on its attack. I put her up about five feet higher, and pushed her down into the Delta, who struck the Valkyrie’s front landing gear, sending two of her wheels flying off into the field and, I would later learn, ripped the Delta’s motor mount directly off of the chloroplast, shattering the prop and tearing the solder joints off of the ESC.

The Valkyrie pulled up hard, and with the spectators cheering, circling the field once for a victory lap before landing on one wheel. I ran off to find the wheels that had flown off on impact while crowds gathered around the two planes sitting in the grass. When I came back people had already started signing their names on the Valkyrie, adding to those that had been written on before the combat. The Delta pilot and I surveyed the two planes and compared battle damage, reveling in the fun and camaraderie of the entire experience.

The victory gave me the chance to talk with many other amazing people, sharing stories, discussing designs, and I’m happy now to be able to call those people my friends. I had driven the Valkyrie’s batteries down to 3.1 volts per cell during the heat, but a cycle later I found no damage to its performance. Later that evening, I joined the crowd by the campfire, overjoyed with the Valkyrie’s performance. I grabbed graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate from our campsite and brought them back to the fire to share with everyone. We talked long into the night, and when it eventually came time for bed I had no idea the challenges that the Valkyrie would face the next day.

Flite Fest, Day 3  More Combat, and a Taste of Defeat

After parking duty the next day I rushed back to the flight line to prepare for combat. I knew today it would be harder- more planes in the air after a full day of building in the tents, and the unwanted attention from nearly every other pilot in the skies trying to take me down from yesterday’s win. The gear having been rendered useless for takeoff on the grass, Balu kindly hand launched me.

Flite Test music playing over the speakers, the Valkyrie roared into battle, my hands shaking at the controls. From the get go I heard Fred, the combat commentator, announce; ‘I see yesterday’s champion up there… can someone PLEASE knock him down today?’, which prompted a swarm of attackers to put the Valkyrie in their sights. Before I could formulate any plan of attack, a Guinea, piloted by Sherman Hartman, scored a direct hit on the port motor.

The guinea spiraled down, landing in the bean fields. The Valkyrie’s motors screamed to full throttle, and with plenty of time to recover it seemed that she would be able to rejoin the dogfight. But Sherman’s attack had loosened the nut securing the propeller onto the motor shaft, and at full throttle the prop spun off, pulling the Valkyrie over to port and forcing a deadstick landing. The Valkyrie had been taken down, and at the end of the combat it was, humiliatingly, a hobbyzone Champ that took her place on the trophy stand.

Flite Fest Concluded, On To The Next Chapter

Proud to have a combat achievement, I brought the Valkyrie, with all her signatures, home from Flite Fest, my pride as well as my plane a little bit worse for wear from the defeat at the hands of the Champ pilot. The V2 was relegated to hang on my wall along with the very first Valkyrie, and the V3 slowly began to take shape. A full cross- section wing spar this time guaranteed a stronger wing, and an opening nose bay allowed for easier access to electronics and LED lighting.

The third version of the Valkyrie will be in my hangar for a long time. The result of my experiences at Flite Fest, it brings back memories any time I put it in the air. From the Valkyrie’s success, my first ever foam board build, and first ever design, the community has been opened up to me in so many wonderful ways.

Beta Testers, Are You One of Them?

The Valkyrie will soon be seeing service in the hands of some of the wonderful members of the Flite Test family, who will be receiving kits to test, and who I’ll be relying on to provide valuable insight into the design before plans are released. With the Valkyrie in capable hands, I now have to get back to my work table- a new design is slowly taking shape. I look forward to telling you all about it soon.

A BIG thanks to Shane Matthews and Sherman Hartman, and my dad for pictures and videography. A big shoutout to Fred Provost for helping me with this article- and THANK YOU to the FT family who have been so encouraging of the design proces.