FPV Glider ( Volantex Ranger 2000 ) Initial Review
After many years out of the hobbyof R/C models (30 years to be exact) i find myself with a son that has had a fascination since the first plane he saw. I have decided to ensure that he learns as much of it as he wishes by exposing him to a really fun time, with fun toys. For this journey i received much guidance from Vinny at Vinny’sFPV.
As i saw the interest in my sons eyes, i decided to open this website up from just rocketry and include all other R/C aspects that im certain we will get to play with.
NOTE: For those older guys that may think this is a childs hobby, i will build your excitement up by telling you that everything you thought was impossible in the 90’s, is not only possible now, but it literally is as if the future we thought about often was actually here, and its affordable.
How did the plane get chosen?
As my son and I saw Vinny’sFPV plane flying at the park it became rather obvious that we would require something big, slow, and with plenty of cameras to tap into. Vinny’s choice became a very popular choice for my son.. so we went with it.
This FPV glider is the right decision for many different reasons. We will elaborate on it as this article matures.
Volantex is an excellent brand that focuses on making some of the best FPV Gliders on the market. It is important to note that gliders can be near impossible to fly in conditions typically meant for swept wing aircraft or planes that can travel high speed. Gliders are mainly used to ride thermals, and get long flight times with minimal battery usage. These are just several reasons why an electric FPV glider is a great idea.
I was heading out to the park often with my son as we had been shooting rockets off and learning a bit about the forces involved in that process.
The Volantex Ranger 2000 build.
I have decided that this massive battery, needs its own home
**currently considering on embedding the plugs (XT60) onto the side of the plane so I can simply plug in the charger to the plane, and not have to move the battery**
The motor chosen is a 1400Kv motor with a 6 inch propeller. This is a nice upgrade to get about 30% more power to the glider as the motor that comes with the kit will work (800kv), but it is in my opinion a bit under-powered.
The wrapping of the plane
A good fact to know about a glider is that they are harder to fly than most other types of planes, as their wingspan exposes them to every bit of breeze there is. A small breeze can keep the plane aloft. However, these small winds can affect a new pilots experience and cause a crash.
In order to strengthen the EPO foam i decided to go on the web and look up for a good alternative that provides better benefits than the standard monokote. Monokote does provide strength to the airframe, however it cuts easily and during a crash it becomes an unwanted feature.
I came across the website www.alofthobbies.com. They promote a material named “The New Stuff”. I had come across it from a German hobby group that used this type of paper on a non-related technology. I have been trying to find them on the web again to give them credit in this post, but i have not been able to come across the website that referred me over to Aloft.
I ordered 20ft x 18inch roll of “The New Stuff” for this project. This proved to be one of the best investments made as it has saved the Volantex Ranger 2000 on several ocassions.
The “New Stuff” goes on much so like Monokote. Use a heat iron and laminate your plane with it. It is lightweight, so no worries on it adding additional weight, and its a bit of a miracle when it comes to holding the plane together as demonstrated in the photo below.
To this day, several of us are pretty blown away by the amount of strength this wrap has given our planes. I basically use this “New Stuff” on all of my projects.
Eventhough the Volantex Ranger 2000 has undergone a few crashes, i can say that it still flies, and in fast has had the cameras upgraded and an Eagle Tree Vector system has been installed for more fun. Stay tuned for more info on the Ranger.