I decided to finish up my tail section by wiring the connector as listed in post 118 above. I also added the MFE Fighter Pixhawk Servo Outputs to the post so that by using the MFE parameter list (below), I could use the supplied stickers for the cables that plug into the Pixhawk.
Fighter 4 1 VTOL.param (18.1 KB)
After watching the assembly video a handful of times to see what that part was, I too saw the convenience of the wing interface boards. I also noticed it is not offered separately from the PNP version, however, it is not a critical part.
There are pros and cons to adding another component in the system. A nice place for a junction but gives another point of potential failure.
Is there any failsafe available that will set the servos to preset positions on the plane if power is lost? I am thinking a small battery would be needed to do this. That same battery might operate a beacon to help locate the plane?
Christian,
I agree. There are many ways to build this plane and Iām sure weāll see some interesting ideas.
Here is a list of the PNP parts that do not come with the KIT version. I do not have prices but you can email Cheng Fang at 1641637133@qq.com for them along with shipping cost.
Tim,
I am not aware of any system like this. However, I have been looking at some plane locators recently and found a few interesting ones.
The Marco Polo design could interfere with 900MHz radio or telemetry systems so it would mainly be used when the battery gets disconnected on a crash. The low cost Finder 2 looked very interesting so I bought a few yesterday. It covers the scenario when you lose battery power on a crash but see the plane go into the woods. Otherwise, you can use telemetry or FrSky RSSI to find your plane. It is also useful for older radio systems without any telemetry.
Marco Polo Recovery System - $235.
ViFly Finder 2 - $14.
I had a chance to put my Fighter together after finishing the tail wiring. The wings are not done yet. Itās big and pushes the space limits of my working area in the den. My full size table where I work is behind the couch. I found some very nice slots designed in the plane to initially pry the wing from the fuselage so you donāt have to pull so hard when disassembling it.
One thing I forgot to mention above was that when building a design like this, it is important to use the recommended servos due to the proper fit in all the bays. The 17g EMAX ES3054 servos fit perfectly and I bought mine at RaceDayQuads in the U.S. for $10/ea.
Tim,
On a fixed-wing mapper build I used a TBS crossfire diversity nano RX. It can take a 1S battery for backup power and activates a ābeacon modeā in the case that system power is lost. My field tests worked perfectly fine every time, though I never had to rely on the beacon mode in an actual mission (this a good thing).
It was for piece of mind and I didnāt have much space/weight for an independent tracker. Iām going with a different RX/TX this build so Iāll likely have to fit a stand alone tracker to the new Fighter.
Thatās a nice feature on the TBS Crossfire. Iām a FrSky/Yaapu user mostly on my APM projects with QGC on my tablet. This time, I decided to use the RX8R Redundant receiver so I can place the XM+ receiver in the wing. I donāt fly long distances but have seen some low RSSI reports in the past when flying with my buddies or when the receiver is blocked by a large LiPo pack. I also want to look into one of these FrSky Redundancy Buses that support dual receiver power. Using a separate Rx. pack might stay in place better during a crashā¦if mounted properly.
Thanks again to everyone for the good replies.
I am planning to use this telemetry / RC system unless someone steers me in a better direction:
It is the highest power 900 MHz telemetry system I can find. My plan is to use this MFE Fighter VTOL for search and rescue so I want extreme range. I have this antenna to go with it:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PZFV9NK
I only plan to use on antenna on the aircraft and ground station with no antenna diversity.
For my ground station, I will be using this on an az/el rotor:
I am trying to figure out how to implement failsafes and redundancies with it. Any advice would be appreciated.
I remember there being radio control systems for airplanes in the past that set the servos to pre-specified positions if the receiver failed. Does anyone else remember something like that? The idea being that the control surfaces would be set to cause the plane to circle slowly in as shallow of a dive as possible.
Tim,
The RFD900 systems are excellent. I have three or four of the older ones before they added the R/C channel. If I remember correctly, you could get a 5 mile range just by using one on your GCS and a normal 3DR telemetry unit on your plane. This made it more cost effective for hobbyists like me that have lots of planes. Replace the 3DR unit in the plane with an RDF900 and now you have a 25 mile range. I donāt fly long range anymore so I never bought a V2 set.
Greg,
I think a backup power or separate power system will be a requirement on this new build. That bus is curious.
My setup had a TBS crossfire TX on a Taranis X9D with bluetooth link to a laptop GCS running Mission Planner. There was noticeable latency in telemetry over mavlink, but it was fine for autonomous missions. I would like something more portable so the beta version of Mission Planner app is interesting to me as an alternative to QGC. I havenāt messed with QGC much tbf.
Tim,
I have the RFD900 on my short list for this build as I do want to ensure I have good range and a solid connection for missions. I plan to have a tracking GCS antenna as well.
What flight controller and, more specifically, firmware will you be using? This will help find the correct failsafe options available.
Any pointers to resellers of MFE Fighter in EU?
Christian_H I am a newbie at this, so no wheres near the expert that Greg and the others are. I am using a Pixhawk 2.4.8 with the latest ardupilot firmware. I am always open to suggestions.
I have an original 3d robotics arducopter which I am rebuilding after a crash. Things have changed a bunch since that was state of the art so I am catching up.
Does anyone know what the best glide ratio for the MFE Fighter VTOL is? If I had to do a dead stick landing, I would want to be able to quickly calculate how much distance I could cover from the altitude I was at.
Tim,
No worries, we all start somewhere. I myself have a couple of 3DR Solos that I tinker with and am still flying. Solos have aged well if you keep up with the new firmware.
Ardupilot (Arduplane) is the standard and there is a lot of community support behind it. I will also be looking into the proper failsafe for the new airframe. Be aware that there are many āpixhawkā clones that may not have as good of hardware components so they can be finicky at times. I am pretty sure I have a couple of 2.4.8 clones I fly. Iām switching to a cube for this build.
By ādeadstick landingā you mean the propulsion system fails? One way to do this is get up in the air and cut motor power to essentially make it a glider then look at the logs afterwards to get dz/dt (change of height over change in time). Depending on your final build weight, actual glide will vary from plane to plane. Multiple times I will cut thrust in the air when doing my test flights to observe how it reacts and get practice for that scenario until Iām comfortable with it.
Have a look at the failsafe setup doc as there are numerous types:
https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/advanced-failsafe-configuration.html
My fighter showed up last week!
Looks like all big parts are there. 3 of the small hex screws that hold the hover motor housings perhaps fell out in shipping so Iāll need to buy replacements at the local hardware shop. I still need to go through the small components.
The airframe looks like itās in great condition with no shipping damage.
Christian_H When mine showed up I had those same missing screws. They were all down in the box and styrafoam.
Will it be possible to fly this in any rain? Or will it have to be dry weather only? Again, for search and rescue, I would like to be able to operate in as many weather conditions as possible.
Christian,
Iām glad to see your kit arrived safely. Now make your kit a cartā¦you wonāt regret it! 
Tim,
Iām taking a break from watching the videos to mount some components. I needed a fun diversion from the wing wiring for a while. I mounted my Pixhawk 2.4.8 using some of the screw studs instead of gluing the plate that was designed for that space. By making a few cuts to the hatch, there becomes more room than needed, even for the wires. I also bought a Pixhawk Pro (a.k.a. Pixhawk 1, Pixhawk v2.4.8) from BG as a spare. These are sometimes on sale for $53 and come well packed with accessories.
Hi Andres,
I am not aware of any resellers in the EU. Try emailing Chang Liu at makeflyeasy@qq.com.
Cheers!
Parcel logistics from CN to remote areas in EU are very problematic nowdays - thats why Im looking for importer in EU - that could handle the risks and headache involved in the process.
