Eclipson Pathfinder - Maiden Flight

Maiden (full) flight of the beta version of the Eclipson Pathfinder. Nearly all major parts are designed to be printed in vase mode, which makes it a pleasure to print. My print is done in white Overture Air (white parts) and Polymaker PolyLite (yellow parts) pre-foamed LW-PLA. And as advertised, it printed incredibly easily.
Quite honestly, it might be the best-flying "out of the box" plane I've ever flown.
I know it's a long video. It was initially shared with the group of beta testers to share feedback on the design.
Thanks for watching!
-- Parts (affiliate links where applicable) --
// In the air
Eclipson Pathfinder: www.eclipson-a...
Overture Air PLA (white): amzn.to/40MuLfJ
Polymaker LW-PLA (yellow): amzn.to/3R6b9A3
Sunnysky 2212 1400kv x2: amzn.to/3swO1S5
APCe 7x6: amzn.to/3sMenPN
Xilo 40A BLheli_S ESCs: amzn.to/3QLx3HF
4S 2200 30C: amzn.to/3QOlXSh
Matek F405-Wing: amzn.to/49K7bVe
TBS Crossfire Nano RX: amzn.to/3QJG8jZ
DJI Air Unit (OG): amzn.to/3G9qI3P
Matek SAM-M8Q GPS: amzn.to/47hIkGt
Insta 360 Go 2: amzn.to/3MLdJZB
// On the ground
Frsky Horus X10S: amzn.to/3sJIKGH
TBS Crossfire TX fullsize: amzn.to/3ut1gU8
DJI Goggles V2 with wtf.os: amzn.to/3R3AMBE
iFlight Crystal HD patch antennas: amzn.to/46hoVEh

Awesome flight 💯👌🏻😎👍🏻👍🏻

[@3dprintmiami]

Great flight!

[@mickeyg.c.1654]

pretty bird, awesome video! What a perfect set up!

[@brubakerjm]

It's such a great plane! Can't wait to fly it again this season!

[@Prevettspecialdesign]

Great video, that plane flys really smooth, nice job and thank you of the video! Simon,Sweden

[@brubakerjm]

Yes, it's an incredibly smooth flier. I had one of my best flights of 2023 with it. Side note: I am learning Swedish! Thanks for watching!

[@robtomben]

Couple questions; Firmware INAV or Ardupilot? Did you set up with differential thrust? What was your throttle and pitch angle for auto-launch? Setting mine up and could use some info, thanks. Oh yeah, where did you get those OSD graphics? Why no flaps on landing? Just curious.

[@ioannisbatas1614]

Superb !!!

[@thargor6750]

Looks efficient!!

[@pointman028]

Buitifull flight ✈️

[@HenkBonhke]

Hi there great flight! Did you use lw pla for the wings and body? I just printed the plane in pla, wondering if it flies as smooth as yours😊

[@brubakerjm]

Hello! The entire airframe was printed out of pre-foamed LW-PLA (Polymaker), except for some sensitive pieces like motor mounts and such. I normally prefer PLA+/PLA Pro, but the continuous printing/vase mode design of this model is so good that using LW-PLA was just as simple as normal PLA+. Have you flown yours yet?

[@powerstroke01]

​@@brubakerjmmy polymaker lwpla is super stringy. Have you had any issues?

[@brubakerjm]

@@powerstroke01 Sorry I missed your comment! Yes, pre-foamed LW-PLA is very string if printed in normal ways, i.e. with non-printing moves like travels. Even with a whole bunch of retraction, it still just oozes right out and makes a huge mess. This is not a problem with the Eclipson Pathfinder or other models that are designed for vase-mode printing, since there are zero travels moves and the extruder just continuously extrudes in a single path the entire time. For other designs that are *not* vase-mode friendly (if a part requires infill, for instance), then one needs to dial in retraction and re-prime settings to try and get close to the right amount of stop/start during each travel. In these cases, I also ramp up my travel speed to try and minimize the time the nozzle has to ooze. I also usually turn on (in Cura) Combing -> All, which makes the print head travel along already-printed lines, which helps to hide the inevitable oozing by trying to get it to ooze onto previously printed paths. Some people don't like Combing though, but it has worked pretty well for me. The few remaining wisps can usually be knocked off with just a pass or two of sandpaper. That said, lately if a design is not vase-mode friendly, then I am probably just going to print it in PLA+ and just deal with the extra weight.

[@powerstroke01]

@@brubakerjm I appreciate the reply! I just finished printing the Pathfinder and it came out beautifully. Used the polymaker lwpla as well as some asa, petg, normal pla and tpu of course. Starting to assemble it now. 😎

[@brubakerjm]

@@powerstroke01 Excellent! The designer of the Pathfinder had a previous model called the Helix which I printed. I was astounded at how well it printed given the vase-mode design, having not tried a vase-mode-designed model before. So when the Pathfinder became available, I jumped on it. I have not tried ASA yet, but I have heard that some people find that ASA parts can be even a bit lighter than pre-foamed LW-PLA prints, all with increased strength and heat resistance. I'd like to try an entire airframe in ASA sometime. Good luck with your assembly!

[@amoswolfe7122]

Are you still flying twinky?