FT Storch light - perfect trainer (music video)

[@goodkebo]

Nice video! It flies great with that little motor,

[@bayboos]

goodkebo Yes it does. Thank you.

[@sharp68chevyguy]

I've been digging for Storch videos and it seems as though, you are the only one that followed directions. Floats and flies very stable, slow, or fast whatever you want. Just built mine and just trying to figure out CG, I know this video is pretty old, how far forward is your battery in the tray?

[@bayboos]

Hello, and thank you for your comment. Yes, when building this version of the Storch (using speed build kit) I tried to follow the directions as closely as I could (and the kit made that very easy). However that wasn't my only Storch - after it ended it's life (due to moisture warping the foam) I built another using depron (more details available, if you want), ant it was (in my opinion) even better than the original. About CoG: I suggest you to follow the recommendations on the plans. In my case, I've always tried to push the battery as far back as I could with my chubby fingers :) You can see that on the very first picture of the video - the battery is barely visible below the power pod. I can't measure precisely where the CoG turned out to be in this case - I don't have this plane anymore. But in general, "in the nose, as far back as possible" was the way that worked for me - even with the lightest motor I had. I hope that helps. Good luck, and have fun!

[@dianasoft_tutoriales]

Hi bayboss. let me tell you have the best videos of ft simple storch. Then 80w motor can fly this 800 gr aprox plane? I am using the attitude hobbies recommended configuration but is impossible overpowered for a newbie. But In winter you upgraded to 150w aprox. What do you think is better for this plane?

[@bayboos]

I'm glad you enjoy my work; thank you for the questions. I see nothing extraordinary in my power setup. With proper design, build, setup and gentle flying, it would probably fly on less power; but it would be more difficult, just like flying with too much power. The FliteTest advertises this plane as "the trainer with the capability to progress to more advanced flying". That's why recommended setup is so powerful - with 80w, it doesn't perform almost any aerobatics. But my goal was not to show off; I build this plane in the process of searching for perfect trainer plane for my kids. That's why I focused on the slow flight capability and gentle characteristics. I believe the 80-120w power range is the perfect spot to achieve this goal, I did the upgrade for winter version (skis) solely for three reasons: 1. I had just one day of good weather (light to no wind + snow); 2. I did not have skis suspension ready yet (thus increased drag), and 3. I did not have 120w setup available at that time. I wasn't sure that on the only day I could do the testing, 80w will be enough to overcome increased drag. That's why I used the very next one I had. You can find a lot more details in the articles I prepared for the flitetest.com page: Perfect trainer: FT Simple Storch LIGHT - flitetest.com/articles/perfect-trainer-ft-simple-storch-light Winter Swappables Part 1: Skis - flitetest.com/articles/winter-swappables-part-1-skis Thanks again for the comment. I hope you will find the lecture interesting. Good luck with your Storch; and Have Fun!

[@Oshkoshtruckfan]

Thank you. I am in the process of building one.

[@bayboos]

Good luck, and have fun!

[@haydenfisher9299]

Would it work with a R2205 2200KV motor?

[@bayboos]

The short answer is: probably yes. The long answer starts with: I don't know this motor, and Google isn't very helpful either. The closest thing I found is this: www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3010503-RRUISSI-R2205-2205-2500KV-3-4S-Brushless-Motor with slightly higher kv. If the motor you are referring to is similar then please read the rest of this text. Otherwise: I'm sorry but I can't help you. Now, the motor from my link have relatively high RPM and is designed for small and fast prop (5x4 - typical for racing quads, not slow flying planes). That's not the best choice for the Storch for two reasons: small prop will cause most of the prop wash to hit the fuselage, effectively wasting most of the thrust; and also this plane likes to fly slow, and forcing the fast spinning, high pitch prop to pull it outside it's "comfort zone" will cause more inefficiency with the added "benefit" of the plane flying too fast and thus being much more sensitive to control inputs. In other words: you will probably loose most of the motor's power and also have a plane that is relatively fast and hard to control. But basically the motor is powerful enough to make the plane fly. Just not in the way it was designed. Good luck, and have fun!

[@silbernersurfer8264]

How much kv has had the motor?

[@bayboos]

When making this video, I was using hexTronik 24g 1300kv motor. Since then, I switched to more powerful motor, but kv stayed roughly the same.