Fi 103 - the other V weapon

wow! you aced it!! well done ....so how fast huh, huh huh? :whistle:

What a brillliantly clever man you are Quorneng and very skilled, been a super thread
Thank you

Too fast for you, just yet, Sarah!

Thanks for the kind words.
Willowlea
Its no speed merchant probably 30mph max. Its more about how slow it can go, which looks to be ridiculous for an EDF.
In the video just before it landed it was gliding nose high so I was sure it was going to drop a wing but it still responded to the aileron input to keep the wings level. It looks like the minimum speed could be not much over walking pace!

I flew it again a bit later, sorry no video, to explore its handling and it does need a bit of care doing steep turns as it tends to loose a lot of height unless it is flying fast but low passes are not a problem.

I thought the battery was running down to LVC but it appears the ESC is over heating (it reduces power if it gets over 110 degrees C :ohmy: ) so I have increased the size of the cut out over the heat sink.

It might however require a more 'engineered' solution.

still double the speed of the helios then, so you dont get the world record for slowest plane...yet

Try a little 'bridge' over the vanes, to force the airflow through them.

What he said. ^

What amazes me is how stable it is, I was convinced it would be an absolute Pig! Flown only once!

Klipkopwildlife
It not exactly the nicest thing to fly but I agree it seems remarkably reluctant to drop a wing.
About it most unforgiving feature is the huge effective fin area caused by the long pulse jet duct. With "bank and yank" a bit of adverse yaw in a turn helps to keep the nose up but the V-1 steadfastly keeps the fuselage in line with the airflow so the nose drops rapidly in a turn.

Now painted as a 1948 JB2 USAF test specimen.

'Stars and Bars' still to be added.
Flew again this morning but the video is almost useless. This still is about the best bit.

The additional cooling vents have helped but at full power the ESC still over heats, nevertheless it flies well at reduced power giving a duration in excess of 10 minutes.
The wet soggy grass leaves its mark!

Will video it for you if you like when I come get those batteries. Paint the bottom green, problem sorted :woohoo:

The underside cleans up well enough but rather than paint it green (neat idea!) I have stuck a clear plastic strip on the underside to give a bit of protection to the Depron as well.

Working on a stencil for the USAF markings.

Next calm day you can certainly video it - after you have flown the trainer through all three batteries!

Flew the V-1 again this morning, well, eventually.
The video tells story, heavily edited - expletives deleted.
.
The problem is simply the difficulty of gripping the fuselage to get any sort of throw. These launches were done at full power (previously 3/4) but the high thrust line probably made things worse until it had gained speed.
The first launch did some quite serious damage to the nose, crushing the skin and 3 formers. It does however appear that localised crushing does protect the rest of the airframe.
It certainly flew well enough even if a few bits of Depron came off in flight! :ohmy:
The interesting bit is that at sufficient speed the fan starts to windmill (the brake is 'off'). I had not expected that but I suppose it does suggest the inlet must be quite efficient.
As so much of the nose has to be rebuilt I am taking the opportunity to completely revise the ESC cooling arrangements.

I will also add a reinforced 'finger hole' in the underside so I can launch it a bit faster.
.

make a steam launcher like the real thing.
it does fly well though.

What about a bungee launch thingimibobby? Have seen somewhere online for how to build one of those, cant remember where but could find it if you need it?

The launch problem is not the speed (it flies pretty slowly) but simply a lack of anything to grip. This where a single index finger hole in the underside will allow me to sort of 'flick' it as it leaves my hand.

My solution to the overheating issue consists of removing the shrink wrap that covers the heat sinks, placing the ESC flush with the surface of the fuselage and ducting air under it as well.



The under duct vents into the fuselage to exit through the launching finger hole.
Well that's the theory! We shall see.
.