What happened to build number two? I wrecked that last week while trying to overcome massive thrust-induced pitch-down. It didn't even get more than a couple seconds of "flight."

I recessed the motor within the planform this time to reduce the thrust-induced pitch. I expected some thrust losses from the extra shielding of the motor behind all the junk on the wing. So, it seemed like a good deal.



All-up weight was about 220g. Wingspan is 2 feet. That's the Medusa 5300KV motor with a GWS 40mm ducted fan and a 3s1p 450 mAh lipo.

Maidened it yesterday morning. It flew mostly okay. I had some issues with the airplane sinking a lot during turns. It wasn't a sudden wing drop or anything. It just kind of sank during a bank and wasn't always responsive to application of elevator to keep the nose up. I got about four short flights in before I finally failed to rescue it from such a sinking trajectory.





I'm not sure whether this is another thrust-induced pitch problem. I suppose it could also be underpowered...but I didn't get that sense from my launches. Perhaps all that crap on top is spoiling the lift? When it was flying, it seemed fairly responsive, though. Not that I have enough experience to speak authoritatively on the subject. I just didn't feel as if I was straining to keep it under control (sink rate excepted).

It got pretty torn up by the end of the morning. I got it all taped back up, and I'll hopefully give it another go this weekend.