Zephyr 3 Style Wing DIY Build

So I had my flyingwings Falcon laying around not doing much and a cunning plan came to mind. I like the look of the new Z3 and though that it can't be that much different from the Falcon wings.

Thus the Zephalcon was born!

I cut the Falcon in half and cut out some fins from foamboard to sit into the recess left where the battery was. These were covered with a thin coloured tape I had laying around to make them waterproof.

Cut a center section using the flite test blunt nose Versa wing style airfoil, with depron doublers to form the sides:

Closed over:

Added another carbon spar for strength:

Motor and mount on, went with the 1100kv and going to go 4S:

Starting to lay things out, using the OrangeRX 3 axis stabiliser:

Glued over the canopy, and then cut out a full length hatch. I had some magnets so added them to keep it closed, should hopefully be tight enough!

I then made the cutout and glued in the gopro case to the front. I'll use this as FPV cam to begin with and if it flies well then I'll add a board cam as well. I put the gopro mount in off center for that reason.

Prop Issues

Things were going well so I taped over the center section with white gaffer tape to make it waterproof and a bit more durable. I then decided to test out the motor and the 8x6 folding prop I'd put on. Spun it up and went to full power and a second later (somehow) the prop obliterated itself and took the motor clean off the foam mount in the process! :( It was a cheap prop so I decided to order some Graupner 8x4 props (non-folding) and just run the risk of it catching during landings.

Once these arrived it was just a matter of screwing it on, I also made up a little DIY LC filter for the VTx and OSD power supplies, and it was ready for the maiden! Check out the first few flights in the video above.

Conclusion

Overall I'm really happy how it turned out, it flies really well and is much more stable than the stock Falcon, and I think it is better than my blunt nose Versa I built as well! There is loads of space left over so I may consider fitting an APM or some other kind of OSD/Autopilot. Time will tell how durable it is, but its a great size to chuck in the car for lunchtime flying, when I don't have the time to set up my Skywalker!

I imagine this should also work well with a tek-sumo or any other standard small flying wing!

Completed Specs:

• 1.25m Wingspan
• 4S 3000mAh Battery (Good for around 25 minutes flying at least)
• 1100kV Turnigy Motor
• 8x4 Graupner CAM Prop
• Overlander 30A ESC
• FrSky X8R Rx
• ImmersionRC 600mW VTx
• Towerpro 9G MG Servos
• OrangeRX 3-Axis Stabiliser
• Hobbyking Simple OSD