FT Blunt Nose Versa Wing

by noaflight2 | February 24, 2015 | (16) Posted in Projects

FT Blunt Nose Versa Wing

My first sucessful flight was with a FT Versa Wing, but I later realized that I wanted something bigger and even more versa(tile). After a few days of wondering what I was going to make next, I stumbled upon the FT Blunt Nose Versa. The BN Versa is bigger, and can carry more supplies and equipment. Later that week, I started the quick and simple build of the FT BN Versa.

FT BN Versa Wing- Build Tips

Follow these tips to ensure a clean and smooth FT BN Versa Wing-

  1. Always cut the foam with a sharp knife. Using a dull knife will result in jagged and rough cuts.
  2. Make sure that everything is symmetrical. You can do this by placing the identical pieces of foam on top of each other, and then cut out any excess foam to form the symmetrical pieces.
  3. When making the double bevel cut on the wing, it is better to cut too much of a bevel, than too little of a bevel. Cutting to little of a bevel will result in a wrinkled wing.
  4. Slowly push the wing down when forming the airfoil, this will create a smooth and clean airfoil.
  5. Make sure that the spars for both wings are identical. On my first FT Versa build, I ignored this tip, resulting in uneven airfoils.
  6. More glue is better than less! Since the BN Versa is such a simple build, with not many cuts and folds, I used many sticks of glue to make sure it is secure and strong.
  7. Make sure to sand the ends of the wings down before gluing them together, this will ensure a perfect fit!
  8. Always secure the battery inside of the plane by using pieces of velcro to hold it down. If your battery flies out during flight,it will result in a damaged battery and plane.
  9. Mount your servos on top of the plane. Mouting them on top will prevent them from being damaged during a hard landing or crash.
  10. Make sure that the winglets are parellel when installing them. Uneven winglets could cause unstable and unpredictabll yaw during a turn.

FT BN Versa Wing- Modifications

You can use these modifications and ideas to improve your FT BN Versa Wing-

  • Since the Blunt Nose is bigger than it's little brother, the FT Versa Wing, it should have bigger winglets. I used Red20RC's winglets on my FT BN Versa. These winglets are amazing, they are extremely simple to build, and are very affective when flying the BN Versa. You can find the plans for Red20RC's winglets here.

  • Within my short 4 months of learning to fly, I have wanted to be able to use a bomb drop. Since this plane flew so well, I decided to design a bombdrop that would fit and function on the FT BN Versa. The bomb drop is very simple, it is a long rectangle, with a hatch on the bottom. When I push the gear switch on my controller, the hatch, activated by a servo, will open releasing anything inside. The bomb drop sits on the bottom of the Versa, and is held on with a piece of velcro and tape. I wanted the Versa to be even more Versa(tile) which is why I designed the bomb drop to be easily removed when you feel like it.

  • Since it is still snowing in North Carolina, I decided to cover my BN Versa in tape. Covering it in tape will help water proof and keep the plane cleaner. The clear packing tape also gives the BN Versa a nice finished look.

 

FT BN Versa- Flight Tips

  1. Make sure that the nuetral position on your Versa is not too high, on my maiden my nuetrals were way too high, causing it to shoot into the sky every time I applied throttle. A good nuetral for the BN Versa is about 3-7 degrees from flat.
  2. Make sure that you have enough up and down throw to be able to get out of a bad situation. On my first Versa Wing build, I didn't have enough up throw. This caused the plane to crash into a 150 ft tree at 60 MPH. Luckily, the Versa fell to the ground after a long hour of waiting.
  3. Get comfortable with the plane before you start doing tricks. There is nothing worse than destroying an amazing plane shortly after building it. I recommend getting about 2-4 full batteries in on the BN Versa before doing crazy tricks with it.
  4. Don't get too nervous when flying the BN Versa. Since I have only had about 4 months of flying experience, I still get nervous when flying. If you get too nervous, just take down the plane, relax, and try again.
  5. Make sure to fly in a big field. I fly in way too small of a field for the speed of my BN Versa. Within 3 seconds of 80 MPH, I am at the end of the field. If you are just using the Versa as a trainer, you do not need to worry about flying in a big field, although it is a great advantage.

FT BN Versa- My Thoughts

The FT BN Versa is by far the easiest and best plane I have ever flown. Don't get me wrong though, Turn up the throttle and you have a speed machine. With a huge 400w motor and a 10x5 prop, I am able to get speeds of 85+ MPH. For a beginner, I recommend building the Pusher Conversion of the FT Versa Wing because all the gear is protected by the front of the plane. This plane can carry crazy amounts of weight, weighing in at 1400 grams, this plane still flies amazingly stable and fast. The build process on this plane is extremely simple and easy. I am able to build this plane within 2.5 hours of work. There are minimal cuts and folds, making it ideal for a beginner scratch builder. Overall, I would recommend this plane to anyone because of its Versa(tility) and its simple build process. 

Please Leave Any Tips Or Comments Below!

Thanks For Reading!

Please Rate!

COMMENTS

CrossChen on February 25, 2015
Oh,that is so useful.It is a great idea!
Log In to reply
noaflight2 on February 25, 2015
Thanks so much! I am adding a landong gear to mine right now! Care to rate the article? Thanks!
Log In to reply
kingdog on February 26, 2015
Great idea.
Waiting for your landing gear.

Log In to reply
noaflight2 on February 26, 2015
Thanks! I will probably write an artocle about ot. Could you rate this article? Tell me if you want to see an article about the landong gear!
Log In to reply
Marnix on February 24, 2015
Nice-looking winglets !!!
I have a Blunt Nose Versa Wing too, and it flies amazingly !

One little question: Do you have some gears, or anything to protect this bomb drop bay ? it seems already a bit crumbled...
Anyway, I like your idea of adding a bombdrop thing on your versa wing.

Thanks for sharing,
Marnix
Log In to reply
german60ger on February 25, 2015
You coud make a emergency parachute system with that bomb dropper.
Log In to reply
noaflight2 on February 25, 2015
Great idea! I will have to try that out!
Log In to reply
aeroncalover on March 3, 2015
gonna have to try that bomb drop! Great idea!
Log In to reply
noaflight2 on March 3, 2015
thanks!
Log In to reply
Gsimpson2g on February 26, 2015
Love the winglets! Will have to put those on my BN Versa. Love flying my Versa. I use a flight stabilizer in mine for nice smooth flight, works great! I managed to fit a 4000mah 3S battery in mine, Get around 25 minutes in one flight, depending on the style of flying I am doing.
Log In to reply
noaflight2 on February 26, 2015
Awesome that is crazy flight time! Care to rate this article? Thanks!
Log In to reply
vontugboat on February 28, 2015
I'm working on a 3D-printed bomb drop for the blunt-nosed Versa that will take the landings a little better (got a bevel on the front and rear - helps aero, too). Your proof-of concept is awesome; very nicely done for testing :) It survived way better than I would've expected. Probably also you're that much better at landing than I am :) I'll post the link to the files soon.
Log In to reply
noaflight2 on February 28, 2015
Sweet! A 3d printed one will work great, especially with the aerodynamic shape! If you want any help designing the bomb drop i would love to help! make sure that your bomb drop is greatly bigger than the object you are dropping, this will help release it smoother/quiker, i ignored this when making my bomb drop. You could maybe even make it spring loaded?! i made mine so that it can easily be removed with velcro, it works great! Have fun, and i woulD love to help with designing it!
Log In to reply
noaflight2 on February 28, 2015
I have an awesome idea! 3d printed winglets! They would be strlnger and more durable than foam. tell me what you think of that idea.
Log In to reply
noaflight2 on February 28, 2015
You could maybe put a few holes in it so that you can put an axel in for a landing gear! I am writong an article about my bn versa landong fear right now!
Log In to reply
noaflight2 on February 24, 2015
Thanks! No, I do not. I just put the bomb bay up for experements so I am not looking to have it be that aerodynamic or protected. Care to rate the article? If you have any ideas to improve the bomb bay just let me know.
Log In to reply

You need to log-in to comment on articles.


FT Blunt Nose Versa Wing