Two FT Trainers

Frankenstein Trainers

Sorry, this is not a preview of the FliteTest Trainer, but rather these are two Frankenstein Trainers.  Pickings from the graves of previous projects, stitched together and brought to life.  There were two goals in building these planes.

1. I was looking for a stable platform for some aerial surveying, and though a trainer style plane would work well for that purpose.
2. I have enjoyed the Micro Champ as a fun park-flyer to play around with, but wanted something a bit bigger that could handle a bit of breeze.

The end results are so similar (yet different) that I am putting them both in the same article.  There are no plans, as you can use the plans from the FT Spitfire and the FT Simple Soarer, all other parts are so simple I will simply give some dimensions.  Unfortunately I don't do very well at flying and taking video at the same time, so I don't have any flight video (besides, you don't want to see my flying skills).

FT One

The fuselage of this plane is from the Spitfire.  I stretched it in the middle to to the full length of a sheet of foamboard (30 inches), but otherwise it is the same (without the turtle deck).  The wing is from the FT Simple Soarer, only chopped down to 45 inches and just a slight center dihedral

I was too lazy to do all the curves of the spitfire tail, so went with a simple desigh.  The tail is a 5x16 inch rectangle with a 1.25 inch elevator.  The vertical fin is 7 high by 6 long with a 1.5 inch rudder.

To get the over-wing trainer type stability, a 'riser' was added.  The profile started as a 2 inch rectangle, with an additional 1/2 inch added to the front to increase the lift angle.  The front and back slopes were eyeballed for looks.  Originally this was rubber-banded to the fuselage while I adjusted the center of gravity (which is about 1/5 inches back from the leading edge of the wing).

The landing gear is a bit unique, designed for my needs.  I hand launch, so the landing gear is to protect the camera on landing.  The wheels are chunks of pool noodles, with soda bottle caps glued in for hubs, and a straight wire axel.  The unique part is the InstaMorph holder on the bottom for a cell phone.  An old cell phone works great as a video camera, and also captures a GPS record of the flight.  The landing gear and phone holder are attached to a "U" shaped piece of foamboard that rubber bands to the fuselage.  It would probably look better with more conventional langing grear - but this is a Frankenplane!

Originally I built a wing without flaps, but didn't like the 'bank and yank' characteristics.  Balanced out and with flaps it flys great.  It needs more space than a park flyer, but handles well.  From a few of my 'emergency turns' I suspect it would perform some simple aerobataics.

Hardware and Setup

• Motor: Turnigy 2830/11 1000KV
• Prop: 9x4.7 or 9x6
• 20A RedBrick ESC
• 4 - 9 g servos (set up as dual elevator)
• HobbyKing "Orange" receiver
• Turnigy 2200mah 3 cell battery

• Throws are reduced to 60%, with 20% expo - it needs to be 'tamed' a bit for my liking.
• Flaperons - but I have not worked with these much (yet).
• 28 oz flying weight
• 45 inch wing
• 38 inches prop to tail

FT Trainer #2

This little plane was a bit of an accident, but it is another simple, but good trainer. This is the FT Simple Soarer with the body chopped down to 24 inches.  Tail and power pod set-up are all the same, the only difference is the wing and addition of landing gear.

The wing has gone through several lives.  It started out as a 30 inch simple wing, then had 3 inch wingtips added for looks.  This is a simple, single rectangle of foam, 36x6.5 inches.  It was scored at 1 inch and 2 inches from the leading edge and given a camber.  To keep the shape, and add a bit of strength, 6 ribs were added to the underside.  The flaperons are 1 inch x 12 inches - probably a bit bigger than necessary, but ...  There is a carbon rod in one of the folds for addes strength.  The black patch of velcro on the wing is to hold a key-chain camera.  The landing gear (like the other trainer) is attached to a "U" platform which rubber bands to the plane.

The wing is elevated like the other trainer, the only difference is there is a 1/2 rectangle, with an additional 1/2 inch rise on the front; the top of this wing holder for this plane is curved to fit the camber of the underside of the wing.

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Hardware and Setup

This trainer has gone through several power variations.  At one point I tried the same power pod as the above trainer, and found it too fast and hot for my tastes.  The current configuration may be a bit low on power (no vertical or aerobatics), but it is a nice lazy flyer for my local park.

• Motor: HexTronic 24g 1300KV
• Prop: 8x4, might be better with a 8x6
• 20A RedBrick ESC
• 4 - 9 g servos (set up as dual elevator)
• HobbyKing "Orange" receiver
• Turnigy 1000mah 3 cell battery

• Throws are reduced to 60%, with 20% expo - it needs to be 'tamed' a bit for my liking.
• Flaperons - but I have not worked with these much (yet).
• 16 oz flying weight
• 36 inch wing
• 29 inches prop to tail

Conclusion

If you are looking for a step-up from a Nutball or other beginner plane, the small trainer is a great move.  I had it out at the park this evening and it was big enough for the wind, but slow enough for the space.  They are both easy builds, and great for experimenting around with different wing configurations and making modifications.  Once you understand the basics (expecially the importance of CG), it is easy to start playing around with modifications.