Ugly Wonder (Free Plans)

Desciption

The Ugly Wonder is another variation of the FT Bloody Wonder. If you have read the build thread or the article for the Bloody Wonder MkIII, you probably already know that I'm a huge Bloody Wonder fan. I have built, flown, and destroyed more of them than I care to count. Flying combat is one of my favorite things to do in the RC hobby. I'm lucky to have a son, brother and nephew to fly combat with from time-to-time. When we flew combat together, everyone was flying a Bloody Wonder. I always thought that it would be cool to have some different looking, but still closely matched, combat planes in the skies together. So, I started playing around with the design of the FT Bloody Wonder.

My first design was the Bloody Wonder MkIII. The MkIII to me, is really just an evolution of an already great design. I wanted to keep the same basic look and flight characteristics, but add some features to make it a little stronger, while at the same time making it easier to build. Designing the new fuselage and construction techniques I used for the MkIII, opened the door for what I was really after in the first place, a Bloody Wonder, with a whole new look.

With the design for the Ugly Wonder, there is nothing left of the original FT Bloody Wonder. Don't get me wrong, you can still see a Bloody Wonder lurking in there, but every piece of this plane has been modified to give it an entirely different look. The wing area is slightly larger, and the surface area of the vertical stabilizers has been reduced, which should make it an even more maneuverable combat ship. The redesigned vertical stabilizers were designed to still allow for the signature Bloody Wonder vertical take-off option.

The Ugly Wonder is very easy to build.  You'll find a link at the end of this article to the build thread with detailed instructions.  If you've built my other design, the Bloody Wonder MkIII, you'll find the Ugly Wonder is just as easy to build.  In fact, the fuselage is identical for both.  Also, If you like the 'British' graphics scheme for the yellow one pictured in this article, your in luck.  The plans include all the graphics that I created including a complete set of numbers 0-9 to make any tail number you like.  Or, come up with your own graphic design and post a picture of it on the forums.

The flight characteristics of the Ugly Wonder are nearly identical to the FT Bloody Wonder and the Bloody Wonder MkIII.  The wing area is increased and the wing loading is lighter, so you will find that it floats a little better than the Bloody Wonder.  Here are the rest of the specs:

 Specifications

WINGSPAN: 29 IN
LENGTH: 24 IN
WING AREA: 236.5 SQ IN
WEIGHT (AIRFRAME): 6.56 ounces
CHANNELS: 3
CONTROLS: AILERON, ELEVATOR, THROTTLE

Electronics

SERVOS: 2 X 9g (hekTronix HXT900)

Combat Setup
PROPELLER: 8X6 APC
MOTOR: NTM PropDrive 2826 1200kv
ESC: Turnigy Plush 25amp
BATTERY: 1000-2200 mah 3S

Basic Setup
PROPELLER: 9x4.7 Slow Fly
MOTOR: hekTronix 24gram 1300kv
ESC: Turnigy Plush 12amp
BATTERY: 500-1300 mah 3S

Plans

The latest versions of all of my plans will be kept up-to-date here: SP0NZ - Plans Index

MAIDEN FLIGHT

Test Pilots

Special thanks to my test pilots for building from the beta plans and providing feedback during the development of this design.

• Robert Huffman (Rlhuffman049)
• Keegan Sponholz (AkimboGlueGuns)
• Jose "Styx" Valentin (ClearSkiesCalmWinds)

Build Thread

Ugly Wonder - Build

The latest and most up-to-date Instructions for building the Ugly Wonder are available in my build thread on the Flite Test forums.  You'll find detailed instructions and lots of pictures to help you with the build process.  If you have any questions about this design, it's also a great place to ask questions, get answers, or just see what other people have done with the Ugly Wonder.

The Ugly Wonder...Official Adversary of the Bloody Baron!

I know my combat flying this summer is going to have a wider variety of aircraft in the skies.  How about yours?

If you like the article, please take a minute to log in and rate it.  And as always, I really appreciate your feedback, so feel free to post a comment or two.