Strix StratoSurfer

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© Mark Qvale - January, 2018

	New plane!

Introduction

I decided to try something different and having never gone down the Bixler style road, the Strix StratoSurfer seemed like a good place to start. Also, after reading much about this plane, I decided to start with a larger motor/prop combo. For flight management/control I'll be starting with an Omnibus F3Pro flight controller to keep it light and simple.

Here then is a collection of my build notes and eventually a flight review of this plane.

General Specifications

Distributor - BangGood USA
Aircraft - X-UAV Mini Talon
Build Date - April 2017

Airframe Type -	Top Wing FPV Specialist		All-Up Weight -	55oz (1570g) w/ 4S/7000 Li-ion Pack
Wingspan -	59 inches (1500mm)			56oz (1590g) w/ 4S/5200 Li-Poly Pack
Length -	39 inches (1000mm)
Wing Area -	2.95 ft^2 (27.4dm^2)		Wing Load w/5.2Ah/4S -	18.9 oz/ft^2 (58g/dm^2)
Motor -	Sunnysky 2216-1250kv		Max Continuous Power (4S) -	370 watts continuous (4S)
Propeller -	8 x 7 Aeronaut Cam Carbon Folder		Max Prop Power -	325 watts @ 2550ft ASL
Static Thrust -	1150 @ 2550ft ASL		Static Thrust/Weight -	0.72
Battery Type -	4S1P Li-ion/Li-po		Battery Capacity -	7000mah/3C or 5200mah/10C
In flight efficiency -	TBA		Flight Time -	TBA
COG -	65mm @ Wing root (Stock)

Components/Flight Gear

Below is the layout of my selected components:

Power Set-up

For power on this build I have chosen the Sunnysky X2216-1250kv. For an ESC, I am using a HobbyKing Blue Series 40A with extra Low ESR capacitors added. At some point I will replace the Blue Series ESC with a Hobbywing Flyfun v5 40A unit to get active freewheeling.

• Motor - Sunnysky 2216-1250kv
• ESC - Blue Series 40A
• Prop - Aeronaut Cam Carbon Folder, 8x7

For more informaion on setting up a pusher folding prop - How To - Set-Up a Pusher Style Folding Prop

• Battery - Multistar 4S/5200, 10C or a 4S/7000 Li-Ion
  
  

Mounted with a 7x6 Aeronaut folder

Motor Mount

For the motor mount I designed and printed one that spaces the motor 6mm rearward and 19mm above the original mount to get the clearance needed for 7" & 8" props. Additionally, I printed a cowl to protect the motor and direct cooling air to the rear of the motor.

Motor mount parts

Mounted

Front and rear views

ESC Mount

I decided to design and print a simple mount to hold the ESC. It mounts with four M3x6mm nylon screws and a wire tie to hold the ESC. This print is sized for a 25mm wide ESC.

ESC craddle

Flight Control

For flight control I have chosen the Omnibus F3Pro from Banggood. It is very inexpensive and in my experience completely reliable.

• Omnibus F3Pro

w/iNav 1.8.1

All wired up!

FC Mount

To mount the FC I drilled out the existing mount holes to 2.3mm then tapped them to M3 and flooded the tapped holes with thin CA. This makes them more than strong enough for a set of rubber M3x6mm stand-offs.

FC mount

RC Control

For radio gear I am using my standard DragonLink V2 system. I have mounted the DL dipole inside the verticle stabilizer. The RX is mounted on a printed deck below the GPS mount.The printed part is glued in with contact cement but you could also use E6000 or UHU-POR.

RX mount

GPS Mount

For the GPS I printed a mount plate to replace the white plate on the rear of the fuse. This is sized for a Ublox Mini M7 GPS.

• Mini Ublox M7/M8

Video Downlink

For the video downlink I am using an RMRC 1.2/1.3G VTx with a DragonLink video dipole. I will either run 400 or 800mw depending on where and how I am flying. For an FPV camera I have selected a Fatshark V2 700tvl unit because of its size and decent performance.

Airframe

Stabilizers

On the tail linkage I used the stock linkage bits with metal gear digital servos.

Wings

Nothing new or special here. I added 1" (25mm) of 3 mil laminate to the leading edge. Linkage is the same as the elevators and servos are Corona DS929MG's.

Fuselage

The beauty of a plastic fuselage is it is already very durable. Because of where I fly (and land) I still felt I needed a little more protection on the nose and rear skid so I designed up a couple of skids which conform to the fuselage shape. The new nose skid also has a provision for a bolt-on tow hook which I will add later. These are printed in ABS at 80% infil for durability. For glue, I used E6000 which is similar to UHU-POR and Beacons FoamTac.

Front skid

Rear skid (with excessive glue)

Maiden Video!

• Video TBA

Mods

Stay tuned

See Also

TBA

Project 3D Print Files

The following are the 3D print files shown in this build.

Image	Part Number	Part Description	Weight	Print File	Compatibility Notes
	52136	ESC Mount	6.7g	52136.STL	25mm wide ESC craddle
	52137	GPS Mount	3.3g	52137.STL	Mount for a Ublox Mini 7M GPS
	52138	Motor Cowl	4.0g	52138.STL	Motor and mount cover
	52139	RX Mount	4.2g	52139.STL	Mount platform for DL RX
	52140	19mm Offset Motor Mount	3.1g	52140.STL	Motor mount to allow 7 & 8 inch props

Some of the Vendors I used for this project

Ready Made RC

Banggood

Aloft Hobbies

Comments? Questions?

email me!