Airbagit13's 60'' Bluntnose Zephyr build

[airbagit13]

Alright... so I finally maned up and got me a Zephyr.

After speaking with Chris from Ritewing I ended up with a 60'' blunt nose since I will be using a GoPro. I should be able to get about 40 minutes flight time with 2x 4s 3300mah lipos so I can not wait to get this bad boy out of the hangar. So far the build has taken about 5 days but I have an 8 month old at home taking up the majority of my time. Everything has gone smoothly. So far I have no "oh man I should have done that different" moments but we will see in the end.

I got so excited waiting for it to arrive that I came up with some decals for it.

So we will be rocking:

Hacker A30 10L Motor V2
Castle Creations Phoenix ICE Lite 75a ESC
Castle BEC
2x MG servos from Ritewing
2x 3300mah 4s lipos
Dragon Link w/ Turnstile antenna
FY20a Stabilization

Video:
RMRC Ultimate 540 cam
500mw VTX
T OSD
Inverted Vee antenna
500mah 3s lipo

Now if customs would ever release my batteries...


Update:

View this video on YouTube

[airbagit13]

One thing to note about the Bluntnose that I havent read anywhere and had me a little confused is that on top of the two normal internal spars it comes with 2 small rods and 2 retaining rods that are meant to be used as an extension to the normal internal spars. The best way to add the extensions is to use some CA. Glue half the Internal rod into the retainer, glue half the extension into the other side and zap it with some Kicker. Stick the rods into the plane put the blunt section on and the other wing and measure how much you need to cut for it to slide together nicely. Sounds complicated but its easy.

Here's some photos from the start of the build.

Here I have glued it together, cut the motor area out, sprayed the elevons black and marked out my bays.

Last photo shows my shiny new T OSD, just came in the mail and I am VERY VERY excited to use it! It looks incredibly simple considering how man features it has. I mean this thing is easier then Remzibi which is a cake walk.

[airbagit13]

I REALLY wanted to get everything hidden internally yet have it still be accessible in case anything needs to be replaced. I also wanted to pre-wire everything to make it plug and play before Laminating.

I cut all my bays using a little custom soldering jig made with 12 gauge copper wire and cut a long channel for the wires to run between the main bay and the DL receiver. I labeled all the wires so I can just plug and go. Covered that channel with coroplast, LOVE IT! I could have sworn i took a picture of it but I guess not, I cut a hole into the foam right in front of the main bay for cooling. I cut 4 holes into the EPP bulkhead separating the ESC from the main bay for the air to flow through and I cut two holes behind the coroplast for the air to exit.

Added two strips of riteweave to the tops and bottoms of the wings for extra support.

Tonight I am going to finish placing the decals, laminate her ass up and attach the elevons. Waiting till my Batts get here to cut the bays for the batteries and to figure out the placement of the GoPro and flight cam.

[airbagit13]

Some more pictures. I have the DL receiver and Turnstile antenna embedded into the right wing. I left my VTX exposed to the airflow on the left wing. I still may cover it but I am just going to leave it like this for now. Inverted vee antenna is half embedded into the foam.

The T OSD was a breeze to install, I will be starting a review thread on it soon.

Batteries should be getting here tommorrow and I will cut the bays for them, the flight cam, and the GoPRO once I get the CG straightened out. Yes, yes, I know. Ass backwards but I couldn't wait.

[airbagit13]

Last Reserved...

[Derek_S]

What are the elevons made of?

[airbagit13]

Very thick balsa wood. I will take some more shots of them after I laminate them tonight.

[airbagit13]

Updated the 4th post

[Danub]

Lookin good Dude!!! Hope ur batts show up soon

[airbagit13]

Thanks man.