Teksumo Build Log 03

While this is the 3rd "Build Log", I've done nothing more than grouse and show photos of the various components. And this one is no different! I started out with bare curiosity, how heavy is the bare wing?

Evidently, the raw EPP foam wings - and the carbon fiber spars - weigh in at 172 grams. No idea how accurate this scale is, so assume this is a good estimate. Now let's pile on the rest of the LOS equipment:

This jumps the weight up to 485g. It's interesting to note, that the 2200mah 3S Turnigy Nano-tech batteries are... 177g. What's missing here is the receiver, which is probably around 10 grams? Add in the additional weight of the glue, and running longer cables etc, I'm probably in the 500-ish gram range.

According to this online calculator, the drive train should provide more than its weight in thrust, so hopefully I can throttle back to a lower speed for long cruises.

As for positioning the components. I will be putting them on the top side of the wing, as I think landing on the battery, receiver and speed control is a rather bad idea. There are already 2 compartments cut open below for the recommended battery and electronics, so I need to figure out how to fill in those openings, and then cut my own openings up top.

The servos for the elevons also brings up yet another interesting issue. The original placement (see where the multi tool is pointing) gives it probably the best leverage against the elevon, but the servo cable is simply not long enough to reach the receiver if it's mounted in the main electronics bay.

So either a) I run the servos closer to the center bay, or b) I get extension cables, which adds weight.

This also does not include several other items that I want to include down the road:
- FPV Camera
- Video Transmitter
- OSD (on screen display - basic stuff like battery levels, but can be more like heading or attitude indicators)
- Gopro/action cam

The Gopro itself is just over 80 grams, so that brings the aircraft very close to 600 grams all up weight (AUW)! Adding in the OSD/FPV gear will probably add another 100 grams, so maybe 700 grams in total? But we'll see.