6 month evolution of the Bixler 2

It's been a while since I last posted. Much has happened, especially with the Bixler 2. Previously I had just FPV'd the Bixler and had been bitten by the bug of fixed wing FPV. Especially the flight times and overall more relaxing experience.

So my first mod was to add a better way to mount items for experimentation.

This turned out to be a really clean look, and worked very well for FPV, even holding 3 cameras.

Until I got cocky... Inverted flight, stock motor, improper balancing... A recipe for a new challenge -a rebuild!

The laser cutter and hot glue gun made the rebuild so much more fun!

With new options for mounting, I decided to experiment some more as well..

After another great landing I had stripped the servo gears for the camera tilt, but pan still worked and flights were generally good.

Eventually I decided I wanted more information on my ground-station as well as to experiment with a flight controller on a plane. So I purchased a cheap APM clone and redesigned the fuselage mount to allow easy access to the room inside.

Adding and moving things around really changed the CG, so I created a lower deck for the battery. This increases my options for larger batteries as well as extra room in the nose.

I have yet to fly this setup yet due to the recent crazy wind. With all this extra drag and weight it'll be interesting to see how it handles. Though I think it would be cool to get up above one of these dust storms..

I plan to squeeze as much life out of the Bixler 2 as I can. In the near future I can foresee a motor upgrade, moving the servos back, and heavy modification of the tail boom (steerable, CF arrow shafts?).

More LED's are definitely on the list too!

Bixler 2 First FPV!

I finally got to get some FPV in on the Bixler2, but first I had to rebuild it.

I started trying to dig the spar I glued in out with an x-acto knife and quickly realized that wasn't the best way to do it. It occurred to me to try using some hanging wire I had laying around to get underneath and around the spar. This worked perfectly!

I needed to fill the gap I left after cutting out the spar, so I got out the hot knife and cut some extra material out of the box.

Using a scroll saw, I then roughly cut it in strips to fit the gap with the spar in.

My strips weren't quite long enough so I snapped some extra pieces off to fit. Then I quickly applied hot glue, pressed the strip in and removed the spar before the glue could stick.

After the glue cooled I went back and sanded everything down. Good as new!.. sort of!..

As I was contemplating how to fix things a previous hobbyking order came in with these landing gear and highly detailed instructions!

The tail wheel had to be offset a bit since the spar was already in there.

I tried to get the front gear in as sturdy of a place as possible without being too close to the CG

Next, I needed a motor mount. All I had was the stock motor, but want to upgrade in the near future, so I quickly drew up and laser cut this mount to allow me to easily get change out the motor.

I cut the foam where the mount was to be glued flat and glued it on, then also cut a flat spot for the ESC to velcro on, and a electronics bay of sorts to make more room in the nose.

It was getting late for flying so I quickly sealed the bay after putting the wings on with the stock wing screws. Removing the tubes and using velcro to attach the wings is on the list of future upgrades..

I taped on the FPV gear, stuffed this guy into my car, and hurried out to the flying field to give it a go..

I made it out just before it started to rain, and in time to catch some friends out at the field.

FPV Bixler 2, not yet FPV

I have really only flown multicopters FPV up to this point. Three or four months ago I got to give it a try when a semi-local FPVer had his Bixler at the flying field. It seemed a bit more peaceful that the multicopters, so I decided I ought to add a fixed wing to my hangar.

In general, I had seen good things about the Bixler 2 so I ordered one. I put it together as per the instructions and finally got to fly it without FPV about 3 weeks ago. It flew great out of the box, and the long flight times compared to the multirotors are a definite plus.

After that first experience, I did find it was a bit of a big plane to haul around; especially if you didn't take care to make sure the spar didn't get glue on it during assembly. It barely fit into my dad's pickup cab, and I was curious if it would even fit into my two seater Honda Insight. This started the adventure for looking for mods, and I found I should of done this step prior to assembly.

I was able to fit it into my car pretty comfortably, so I decided I'd try to fly it again last week at our club meeting. This time it didn't go as well. When I plugged in the battery, I the motor just wanted to kick/cog. Thinking the cause had to be bad calibration of the ESC, I tried a couple times to calibrate it. No dice, so I pulled out the ESC to take a look, and found it to be very hot. I then checked the motor and noticed it was so hot it had melted the motor mount!

So, after I got back from the meeting I decided it was time to do some research and tear down.

As you can see I've removed the motor and mount. It's a little rough, but I figure I can just make a cowl to cover it later. I've looked into some motor upgrades and think I can come up with a solution using the laser cutter or 3d printer. Here are a few of the ideas I came across:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krTzT6Ss9W0

http://www.undcon.com/2012/03/24/bixler-motor-replacement/

I've also read that a better wing spar is pretty much necessary if carrying more weight or going any faster than stock. My spar is glued in so I had been debating the best way to get it out. After I had dug out part of one side with an exacto knife, It hit me that the picture hanging wire I had bought recently might do the job if pulled down the spar.

After digging out enough to get it under the spar, It worked beautifully!

I figured removable wings will make the thing more portable, so I'm going to work that into the 'upgrade' as well. This video shows the velcro concept I plan to use:



Now It's time to order parts!